Yusuf al-Ilaqi

Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Ilaqi was an eleventh century Persian physician from Khorasan.

He was reportedly a student of Avicenna. His name, Ilaqi, suggests that he or his family were from Ilaq, a town near Nishapur. He made an epitome of the first book of the Canons of Medicine by Avicenna which was known by various names: Kitab al-Fusul al-Ilaqiyah ("The Aphorisms of al-Ilaqi") and Kitab al-asbab wa-al-`alamat ("The Book of Causes and Symptoms"). Ilaqi's greatly abbreviated version of the first book of the Canon was very popular, and many copies have survived.

Some historians have argued that he was killed in 1141 in the battle on the Qatwan steppe in which the Seljuq ruler Sanjar ibn Malikshah (ruled 1118–1157) suffered a severe defeat at the hands of Buddhist invaders from northern China, usually known as the Qara Khitay.

Sources

• C. Brockelmann, Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur, 1st edition, 2 vols. (Leiden: Brill, 1889–1936). Second edition, 2 vols. (Leiden: Brill, 1943–49). Page references will be to those of the first edition, with the 2nd edition page numbers given in parentheses. , vol. 1, p. 485 (638).
• C. Brockelmann, Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur, Supplement, 3 vols. (Leiden: Brill, 1937–1942). , vol. 1, p. 887.
• D.M. Schullian and F.E. Sommer, A Catalogue of Incunabula and Manuscripts in the Army Medical Library (New York: Henry Schuman, [1950]). , Cat. of incun. & MSS, p. 325).
• Lutz Richter-Bernburg, "Iran's Contribution to Medicine and Veterinary Science in Islam AD 100–900/AD 700–1500", in The Diffusion of Greco-Roman Medicine in the Middle East and the Caucasus, ed. J.A.C. Greppin, E. Savage-Smith, and J.L. Gueriguian (New York: Caravan Press, 1999).
• Dimitri Gutas, "Notes & Texts for Cairo MSS, II", Manuscripts of the Middle East, vol. 2 (1987), p. 15 note 13.
• A. Z. Iskandar, A Catalogue of Arabic Manuscripts on Medicine and Science in the Wellcome Historical Medical Library (London: The Wellcome Historical Medical Library, 1967)., pp. 51–2.
• Sami Hamarneh, "Arabic Manuscripts of the National Library of Medicine, Washington, D.C.," Journal for the History of Arabic Science, 1977, vol. 1, pp. 72–103. p. 91.
• A.Z. Iskandar, A Descriptive List of Arabic Manuscripts on Medicine and Science at the University of California, Los Angeles (Leiden: Brill, 1984). p. 42.

See also

• List of Iranian scientists