(X century, Bukhara city)

Prominent physician, teacher of Avicenna in medical science

 

 

Abu Mansur Hasan ibn Noh Qumri was born in early X century in Bukhara. He worked as a physician at court of the governors of Bukhara. Avicenna would frequently meet with Qumri and learned a lot from him attending his lessons. The scholar died in about 999 and was buried in Bukhara.

 

 

Qumri wrote 8 manuscripts on medical science, only two of which have retained to date: «Kitab al-gina wa-l-muna» «A Comprehensive and Desired Book», comprising description and treatment of all diseases of the human body. It was very popular in those times, which is proved by numerous manuscripts kept in the storages of Asia, Africa and Europe.

 

The second work written by Qumri was – Kitab at-tanvir fi-l-istilahat at-tibbiya «A book of Medical Terms» – a wordbook containing over 350 of medical terms; over 20 manuscripts are available to-date.

 

 

However only two manuscripts of the whole scientific legacy left by Qumri have been preserved to-date, these are considered to be of great significance for the history of the science:    «Comprehensive and Desired Book» is one of the few major medical manuscripts retained to-date and written in Bukhara right before Avicenna’s «Canons of Medicine» appeared; comprises the data about over 30 authors-physicians both – predecessors and contemporaries of the author.

 

The wordbook of medical terms is of great importance in terms of looking into the medical terminology of Avicenna’s epoch. Details of different healthy meals and drinks and individual appliances used in the medical practice of that time represent a particular interest as ordinary dictionaries do not contain interpretations of these terms as well as they are not mentioned either in “Cannon” or other manuscripts.

 

 

Biographical data about Qumri and his scientific works is mentioned in the medieval Arabic and Persian bio and bibliographic dictionaries.

In the XVI century, Qumri’s dictionary was translated into Persian by Ismail ibn Yusuf – the folk healer derived from the family of the famous court physician of Babur and his son Humayun.