A Study on the Sources of Chief Physician Kãtib-zãde Meḥmed Refî' Efendi's Risãla 'Illat Mathãna: Did Kãtib-zãde Actually Use the Works of European Authors as Sources?

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify the Eastern and Western authors and physicians quoted by Kãtib-zãde Meḥmed Refî' Efendi (died 1769), the chief physician of the Ottoman Empire, in his work Risãla 'illat mathãna. The study also aimed to determine whether Kãtib-zãde Meḥmed Refî' Efendi benefited from the views of the physicians that he mentioned in his treatise and, if so, from which works he benefited. In this study, a copy of Kãtib-zãde Meḥmed Refî' Efendi's Risãla 'i rãbi' fî al-mathãna, with the registration number T 3796/4 in the Turkish manuscripts section of the Istanbul University Rare Books Library, was examined. Eastern and Western physicians mentioned by Kãtib-zãde Meḥmed Refî' Efendi in this work were first identified; then, a literature search was conducted regarding these authors and their works. In his Risãla 'illat mathãna, Kãtib-zãde Meḥmed Refî' Efendi mentions the names of eminent Eastern physicians and quotes from their works. For example, he mentions Ibn Sînã (980-1037) and his work al-Qãnūn fî al-Ṭibb, Najîb al-dîn al-Samarqandî (died 1222) and his work al-Asbãb wa l-'alãmãt, and Ibn Mãsawayḩ (died 857). He also mentions the names of Western physicians and their works. For example, he mentions Lazarus Riverius (1589-1655), Ioannes Fernelius (1497-1558), Petrus Forestus (1521-1597), and Amatus Lusitanus (1511-1568). Regarding sources, Kãtib-zãde Meḥmed Refî' Efendi refers to The Canon of Medicine and a commentary on al-Asbãb wa l-'alamãt written by al-Kirmãnî in his work. His main Western source was Lazarus Riverius's Praxis Medica. More specifically, he draws on the section of Praxis Medica titled "Dysuria seu ardoris urine curatio." Kãtib-zãde Meḥmed Refî' also refers to other Western physicians, including Ioannes Fernelius, Petrus Forestus, and Amatus Lusitanus. These physicians are actually the physicians mentioned and quoted in the section of Lazarus Riverius' work mentioned above.