Duban

A relatively minor character in the Arabian Nights, Duban is a wise man who cures King Yunan (a fictional king of one of the ancient Persian cities, in the province of Zuman, now modern Armenia) from leprosy. Duban, a sage, is described as being a man of extraordinary talent. The ability to read Greek, Persian, Turkish, Arabic, Byzantine, Syriac and Hebrew, as well as a deep understanding of botany, philosophy and natural history are only a few. Duban works his medicine in an usual way: He creates a mallet and ball to match, filling the handle of the mallet with his medicine. When the king plays with the ball and mallet, he perspires, thus absorbing the medicine through the sweat from his hand into his bloodstream. After a short bath and a sleep, the King is cured.