A Judaeo-Arabic Fragment of Ibn-Biklārish'sKitāb al-Mustaʿīnī, Part of a Unique 12th-Century Tabular Medical Book Found in the Cairo Genizah (T-S Ar.44.218)

Abstract

AbstractThe reconstruction of the library of Eastern medieval Jewish scholars and medical practitioners according to the Cairo Genizah is a long-term project. In the course of the work a Judaeo-Arabic fragment of a unique tabular medical book by Ibn Biklārish (T-S Ar.44.218) was identified by the authors of this article.The fragment is unique in several respects, particularly (a) very few medieval Arabic tabular medical works are known, (b) only few works by Andalusian Jewish authors of the late 11th or early 12th century have been found in the Genizah so far, (c) only one Judaeo-Arabic fragment of Ibn Biklārish'sKitāb al-Mustaʿīnīis known to date.The main importance of our find is that it is the first time that a rare Spanish medical book has appeared in the Cairo Genizah collection. Dozens of the Genizah's fragments have been identified as medical books, but none by a Spanish Jewish author, written in Judaeo-Arabic, and tabulated!