The Medieval Islamic Hospital: Medicine, Religion, and Charity

by Ahmed Ragab

Overview

The first monograph on the history of Islamic hospitals, this volume focuses on the under-examined Egyptian and Levantine institutions of the twelfth to fourteenth centuries. By the twelfth century, hospitals serving the sick and the poor could be found in nearly every Islamic city. Ahmed Ragab traces the varying origins and development of these institutions, locating them in their urban environments and linking them to charity networks and patrons' political projects. Following the paths of patients inside hospital wards, he investigates who they were and what kinds of experiences they had. The Medieval Islamic Hospital explores the medical networks surrounding early hospitals and sheds light on the particular brand of practice-oriented medicine they helped to develop. Providing a detailed picture of the effect of religion on medieval medicine, it will be essential reading for those interested in history of medicine, history of Islamic sciences, or history of the Mediterranean.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781316418475
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/14/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Ahmed Ragab is the Richard T. Watson Assistant Professor of Science and Religion at Harvard Divinity School, where he also directs the Science, Religion, and Culture Program. He is a member of the Commission on History of Science and Technology in Islamic Societies and the International Society for Science and Religion.

Table of Contents

Introduction; Prologue: a tale of two bīmāristāns; Part I. Building a Bīmāristān: 1. From Jerusalem to Damascus: the monumental bīmāristāns of the Levant; 2. Reclaiming the past: the (new) bīmāristāns of Egypt; 3. 'The best of deeds': medical patronage in Mamluk Egypt; Part II. Physicians and Patients: 4. Theory and practice: the reign of the bīmāristān physicians; 5. 'A house for king and slave': the patients of the bīmāristān; Conclusion; Annex: who built the first Islamic hospital?

Editorial Reviews

'… specialist and non-specialist alike will be enthralled by much of what the author has to tell them, as he unveils a medieval hospital world far too little known even to Islamicists, let alone historians of medieval Europe.' History Today

From the Publisher