Iraq: Pseudo-Galen. Illustration from a Theriaca or book of antidotes. Iraq, 1199

Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus (September AD 129 – 199/217; Greek: Γαληνός, Galēnos, from adjective γαληνός, 'calm'), better known as Galen of Pergamon (modern-day Bergama, Turkey), was a prominent Roman (of Greek ethnicity) physician, surgeon and philosopher.

Arguably the most accomplished of all medical researchers of antiquity, Galen contributed greatly to the understanding of numerous scientific disciplines including anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology and neurology, as well as philosophy and logic.

The first major translator of Galen into Arabic was the Syrian Christian Hunayn ibn Ishaq. Hunayn translated (c.830-870) 129 works of 'Jalinos' into Arabic. One of the Arabic translations, ‘Kitab ila Aglooqan fi Shifa al Amraz’, which is extant in the Library of Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Sciences, is a masterpiece of all literary works of Galen.

Although they are hardly visible in the ‘Galenic corpus’ as it stands, many works that were once attributed to Galen are now ascribed to a ‘Pseudo-Galen’ and rarely give any additional information about the author’s identity.

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Pictures From History

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ISLAMIC SCIENCE