Health, Health Institutions and Medical Education in Seljuks

Kesik M.

TURKISH JOURNAL OF HISTORY-TARIH DERGISI, no.71, pp.115-144, 2020 (ESCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Publication Date: 2020
  • Doi Number: 10.26650/turkjhist.2020.008
  • Journal Name: TURKISH JOURNAL OF HISTORY-TARIH DERGISI
  • Journal Indexes: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, L'Année philologique, Historical Abstracts, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
  • Page Numbers: pp.115-144
  • Keywords: The Seljuks, Medicine, The Seljuk hospitals, Diseases, Darus-sifa
  • Istanbul University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

In addition to their military and political success, the Seljuks also achieved great accomplishments in the medical field by giving great importance to medical education and treatment of diseases. From the very foundation of the Seljuk empire, the Sultans invested heavily in medicine. Medical services in the Seljuk Empire consisted of the following: bimaristans, daru's-sifas and caravanserais. In the Great Seljukian state, medical education was carried out in facilities such as bamaristan and daru's-sifas rather than in madrasahs. The Seljuks placed great importance on health, both in regard to the principles of social state understanding and the risk of possible epidemics caused by being at the intersection of many geographies. State of art treatment methods were applied against diseases such as leprosy, boils, smallpox, strokes, plague, and tuberculosis.