The Jewish Presence in Arabic Writings on Medicine and Pharmacology During the Medieval Period

The Jewish connection to medicine is longstanding and ongoing, as has been the interest in the history of medicine among Jews. This paper will attempt to go beyond the 'Great Men' school of historiography, to discuss a number of aspects of the Jewish presence in the fields of pharmacy and medicine in the Arabophone world in the medieval period, and Jews' interactions with the Islamic majority. The emphasis will be on pharmacy and medicine in the Galenic tradition. After an overview of Greco-Arabic medicine, I will discuss the contribution of Jewish physicians and pharmacists to medical writings in Arabic and that of the Cairo Genizah documents to our knowledge of the social history of medicine in the medieval Middle East.