Health in the Ottomans

Aybars AKKOR

 

Materials Used in Medicine and Pharmacy in the Ottomans

 

“There is no respectable object among the people like the state / A state to be is like a breath of health in the world.”, wrote Suleiman the Magnificent after he fell ill with gout (nikris) caused by taking too much protein.

 

Indeed, the most important thing in human life is health, without health, it does not matter how much property you have. For this reason, while taking precautions regarding health, it is necessary to learn from history and learn what happened in the past.

 

We have some books, endowments and archival documents on health in the Ottomans. But unfortunately, many of the books written are copyrighted works and most of them are far from reflecting the health practice practiced in the society. Archival documents, on the other hand, are mostly related to appointments and salary payments.

 

We do not have statistical information on how many patients are affected by which disease, what treatments are applied to them, and how much recovery there is after these treatments. The fact that we come across the most detailed figures on the number of doctors and pharmacists in the memoirs of Evliya Çelebi, whose statements we should always be suspicious of, shows how inadequate the Ottomans' resources on health were.

 

Fortunately, however, a branch of science dealing with the History of Medicine has been established and the scientists here shed light on our health history with their research.

 

In this study, the Cuisine And Healing history of the Ottomans until 1827, which is considered the beginning of the transition to modern medicine, and the drugs and materials used in pharmacy are summarized. For this, the works written on these subjects were examined and the existing data were tried to be reviewed. The fact that the Istanbul City Health Museum and the Medical History Museums in Cerrahpaşa, which I believe will be a great data source, are closed and the materials here are locked in the warehouses, prevented the study from being sufficient in terms of visual data.

 

In the Istanbul Pharmacy Museum, which I visited, there are only historical artifacts from the 19th and 20th centuries. In the Health Museum in Edirne, which I visited on this subject, animations were created by making use of the drawings of the 15th century physician, Honoreddin Sabuncuoğlu, and allowing people to imagine more easily about the treatments of that period.

 

The reason why this work is until the beginning of the 19th century is that at the beginning of the 19th century, III. It is due to the modernization efforts initiated by Selim and the Faculty of Medicine opened in 1827, and the restructuring of the understanding of health in the Ottomans according to the practices in European countries.

 

General History of Medicine

 

According to the belief in ancient times, the cause of diseases was evils outside the body. For this reason, sorcerers, shamans and priests, who took on the role of physicians, were more interested in seeking out and finding this external evil, and then connecting with the holy realm and destroying it, rather than intervening on the body.

 

Although many surgical tools were found in excavations of ancient times, they were often used to make holes for the evil elements that had settled inside the person to come out. On the other hand, cauterization and treatments with drugs made from various herbs are the methods that create a transition to today's medicine.

 

In Babylon, there is a distinction between physicians and surgeons in the laws of Hammurabi. Thus, healing people began to be seen as a profession and was classified. The physician is also a priest, he connects with the holy realm to heal the sick, so he has no responsibility. Surgeons, on the other hand, would perform an operation on the body, rewarded if successful, and punished if not.

 

In China, the physician was held responsible for the treatment, and he was punished for the treatment that resulted in bad results. For the Indians, medicine was a branch of the priesthood, wrong treatment was not punished, because sickness and its cure came from the Gods, and only physicians who did what the Gods wanted could not be punished.

 

Philosopher physicians in ancient Greece, especially Hippocrates (4th century BC), developed the theory that diseases develop depending on the inner characteristics of the human being, not the divine realm. Thus, the physician could apply treatment without contacting the holy realm. Hippocrates and physicians of the same period regarded diseases as natural phenomena. One of the developments in the Hippocratic period was the development of treatment methods, as well as the determination of the professional ethics of physicians by rules.

 

Having conquered Greece, the Romans took Greek physicians as prisoners of war and spread their skills throughout the empire. In the 2nd century BC, Galenos of Pergamon gained a great reputation in medicine. The greatest contribution Galenos made to the history of medicine was to create forms of medicine and to increase their effects by combining them. Most of the physicians who grew up for centuries were content with interpreting the works of Hippocrates and Galenos. one

 

In the first years of Islam, the treatment and prevention of diseases were mostly done in a spiritual and spiritual way. Talismans have undertaken an important function in this way. It is known that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) allowed the use of amulets, the evil eye, snake and scorpion stings, and "breathing" (reading and blowing) against diseases in general, although he forbade magic. For centuries, talismans have cured most people's desperation, strengthened their weakness, and perhaps acted as a shelter where some people take shelter in search of a friend, breathe and feel safe under their protective power. 2

 

In the 9th and 10th centuries, the works of Hippocrates and Galenos were translated into Arabic. The era of physician philosophers, who interpreted and improved these works in their own way, began. Successful physicians such as Zekeriya El Razi, Ibni Sina, Abulkasim Zehravi and Ibn Rushd were trained. Although the physicians were not religious men, they were also knowledgeable about religion. They were paid for their services. Physicians were also supervised, and those who did not follow the rules were punished. One of these physicians, especially Ibn Sina, became famous for his book called El-Kanun fit-Tıb (The Law of Medicine), which continued as the main source work in the field of medicine for seven centuries, and this book was taught as a basic work in medical science in European universities until the middle of the 17th century.

 

The Beginning of Medicine in the Ottomans

Among the Central Asian Turks, there were physicians who took the name of "herbalists", who applied medicine, and "enchanters" who read to those who were afflicted with jinn. The Seljuks adopted the medicine of the Islamic World by bringing successful physicians from Arab countries. Sivas Hospital was established in the 1200s. Physicians in this hospital were divided into physicians, surgeons, kehhal (ophthalmologists) and pharmacists.

 

Seljuks gave importance to medicine not only in civilian life but also in military life. During the Melikşah period (11th century), there was a mobile hospital and many physicians in the army.

 

When the Ottoman State was founded, there was no institution to train physicians. For this reason, physicians trained in Islamic Geography were used in treatment services. On the one hand, physicians began to be trained in a master-apprentice relationship. There was no need to obtain a certificate by working with a physician or attending a Medicine Madrasah to practice medicine.

 

Some people called "Mutetabbib" used to treat patients as they wished. They used to prepare medicine and give it to patients as well as deal with talismans. For treatment, they made patients drink water that was read in a "healing bowl" or tried to treat patients by dressing them in shirts with religious writings on them. Some of them claimed that medicine was a profession inherited from their fathers. 3

 

Although we do not have much information about the health system until the establishment of hospitals, we can guess that the training of physicians is based on a master-apprentice relationship. Theoretical medical knowledge in Ottoman darüşşifas; It was given from the books of Hippocrates, Calinos, Ebubekir Razi, Abul-Kasim Zehravi, ibn Sina, ibn Baytar, Hacı Pasha. The most popular among them were Ibn Sina's work called Kanuni't-tıbb and his abbreviated text Mücez el-Kanun t-tibb and its commentaries.

 

In addition, physician candidates would be with the hospital doctors and they would learn about the diseases and their treatments, and gain experience in diagnosis and treatment by learning how their teacher diagnosed and what drugs he recommended at the bedside. We only have documents showing that physicians were trained in Fatih Hospital in Istanbul. For now, we do not have any evidence that medical education was given in other hospitals.

 

The first clues that medical education was given in Fatih Darüşşifa are the presence of two medical disciples (students) on the list of those who ate in the soup kitchen of Fatih Complex, and the archive records about two medical students being hospitalized in the hospital. There were rooms reserved for medical students and a classroom (administrative teacher) in the Fatih Complex. The existence of many medical books in the library of the complex was also accepted as a proof of medical education. Although there is no record in the great foundation charter of Fatih Kulliye showing that medicine was among the courses such as mental sciences, mathematics, biology and philosophy read here, the beginning of Istanbul Medical Faculty is connected to Fatih Darüşşifa. Because it is reported that there are rooms for medical students in the small foundation charter and hospital in the Topkapı Palace Archives (No.3882). 

 

Evliya Çelebi also states that there is an administrative teacher in this hospital. Students who started their medical education at the hospital used the theoretical knowledge of the physicians as well as the theoretical knowledge of the doctors and, if necessary, benefited from the Arabic, Persian and Turkish medical classics in the madrasah libraries. This is confirmed by the presence of various medical books among the hundreds of books that Fatih Sultan Mehmet left from his private library and donated to the Fatih Complex. After many discussions, for these reasons, in 1970, the 500th anniversary of medical education was celebrated in Istanbul with ceremonies.

 

The most reliable documents showing that medical education was given in Fatih Darüşşifa are the "appointment to the doctoral discipleship", that is, the documents to the medical student, made to the hospital in the 60 years between 1723-1783. It is understood from these nine recently published nurses that there are six medical student cadres in the hospital, and new medical students are appointed by the chief physician when these positions are vacated. Medical education was done systematically. All of the medical students were selected from the Süleymaniye Medical Madrasa. All of the physicians trained in the Fatih Hospital were appointed as palace physicians. 4

 

Hospitals in the Ottomans

 

After the collapse of the Seljuk empire with the Mongol invasion, the Ottoman Turkish empire began to develop and spread in Anatolia and the Balkans in the 14th and 15th centuries. Especially in the 16th and 17th centuries, in the Ottoman Empire, which spread from Algeria to Isfahan, from Moscow and Vienna to Abyssinia and the Indian Ocean, and became one of the largest empires in world history, hospitals were established not only for the people, but also for the army and even the members of the court.

 

The Ottomans, who did not need to establish new hospitals in the places where the Seljuk and Mamluk period hospitals were in operation, left them in operation due to their foundations and built new hospitals in newly conquered cities such as Bursa, Edirne, Istanbul, Thessaloniki, Belgrade and Budapest.

 

Eight darüşşifas were in service in the Ottoman Empire between 1399 and 1621. The first Ottoman Hospital is the I. Beyazid Hospital (1399), located in the Yıldırım Kulliye in Bursa. According to the charter, in the early days of its establishment, there was a chief physician and two physicians in the hospital. There were also two sherbet sellers, two pharmacists, a cook and a baker. 5

 

Fatih Hospital (1470) was the first hospital to be put into service in Istanbul. Manisa Hafsa Sultan Hospital, Haseki Hürrem Sultan Hospital, Atik Valide Nurbanu Sultan Hospital were built by the mothers or wives of the sultans for charitable purposes.

 

Haseki Hospital (1538-1550), Suleymaniye Hospital (1552-1557), Nurbanu Valide Sultan Hospital (1583), Sultan Ahmed Hospital (1616), which was built in the heyday of the empire, are the most famous ones. Except for the Sultan Ahmed Hospital, the others have reached the present day in a well-preserved form. 6

 

In Ottoman Darüşşifas, both patients were treated and physicians were trained by the master-apprentice method in accordance with the Islamic tradition. There was a separate Medicine Madrasa only in the Süleymaniye Complex. Since the 19th century, when the foundations and incomes of the hospitals in the Ottoman Empire fell into the hands of incompetent people, they could not be cared for and the general hospital lost their identity and became a shelter for the mentally ill. In this period, their name has also turned into a bimarhane. For this reason, the word Bimarhane has changed its meaning and has become a term that expresses mental hospitals.

 

The most admired feature of the Ottoman Darüşşifas is that the duties and responsibilities of those to be appointed and the moral qualities sought are stipulated in their foundations. For the first time, qualifications for the employees of Fatih Hospital were determined in line with the moral understanding of the period. These qualities are in Edirne II. It continued in the foundation charters of Beyazıt Hospital, Haseki Hürrem Sultan Hospital and Atik Valide Nurbanu Sultan Hospital, and decreased considerably in the last Ottoman Hospital, Sultan Ahmed Hospital. 7

 

According to the memories of pharmacist Reinhold Lubenau from Königsberg, who came to Istanbul in 1587 with the embassy delegation of the Austrian Emperor Rudolf II under the leadership of Bartholomaus Petz, there were 110 hospitals, 515 madrasahs and 625 schools in Istanbul at that time. These hospitals could generally accept 150 patients, while the larger ones could receive 300 patients, some of them accepted patients of all faiths without discriminating between Muslims and Christians, and some only women. Apart from the chief physicians, ophthalmologists, surgeons and pharmacists were also employed in these hospitals. The most obvious architectural feature of the Ottoman hospitals is that they were planned as a part of complexes such as mosques, madrasahs, soup kitchens, tabhanes, caravanserais, baths, shops and fountains.

 

If we look at the hospitals in terms of architecture, we see that the cultural traditions of the old Seljuk period were continued in the Ottomans, but it is also seen that new architectural ideas were realized in the Ottoman hospitals of the Renaissance period. For example, although the architectural features of Seljuk hospitals are seen in Yıldırım Bayezid Hospital in Bursa (1394) and Hafsa Sultan Hospital in Manisa (1539), it is seen that new architectural ideas were applied in the Sultan Bayezid II Hospital in Edirne (1484) and in the hospitals built by Mimar Sinan in Istanbul. 

 

It is seen that the Enderun Hospital, which was established in the Topkapı Palace at the end of the 15th century and developed in the 16th century, was planned and built according to the descriptions and plans of Alberto Bobovion, who grew up in the palace as Ali Ufki Bey, in the Italian work called Saray-i Enderun, written in 1665, keeping certain functional considerations in the foreground. Bayezid II in Edirne. Hospital and this Enderun Hospital in Topkapı Palace are the greatest proofs that the Ottoman architects of the Renaissance period planned and built hospitals according to functional and rational planning principles. 

 

In addition, it is seen that the Turkish architects of the Ottoman period took into account the treatment with music and bath to be applied in these hospitals and the isolation of some patients from others, such as dangerous mental illnesses. Architect Hayreddi's realization of new ideas in the field of central planning and ventilation techniques aimed at getting more efficiency with less staff in the Beyazıd II Hospital in Edirne at the end of the 15th century and in the hospitals built by Mimar Sinan in the 16th century in Istanbul proves the high level that Ottoman architects reached during the Renaissance period. The idea that today's most modern psychiatric hospitals should be built on the shore of a lake or river, such as a small city with a shopping mall, school, religious temple, hospital, was in the 15th century long before today. It is seen that it was realized in the Bayezid II Complex on the banks of the Tunca river, which included the Bayezid II Hospital in Edirne at the end of the century. 8

 

Treatments Applied in Hospitals 1-Treatment with Food for the Protection of Human Nature

 

The doctor tried to protect and treat the health of the patient with food and drink first, and as a requirement of medicine, great importance was attached to how the food was cooked. In addition to preventing diseases, information on how to prepare foods for use in treatment is found in general medicine works as well as in books on pharmacist (curriculum) and drug preparations (ink). It is a matter of medicine that the food will be healthier or more effective when it is cooked with which method and with which material.

 

2-Medicine Treatment

In addition to the treatment with nutrients suitable for his condition, the patient was also treated with drugs obtained from plants, animals and minerals, or with drugs prepared from them. In order to be able to give the appropriate drug to the patient, it was necessary to know the natural characteristics and medical effects of drugs, defined as hot, cold, dry or wet. For this reason, it was stipulated in foundation charters that the physician to be appointed in the hospital should know which medicine has what effect on which disease and what kind of patient it has, and that he be skilled and experienced in the preparation and composition of medicines. As stated in the charters, hospital doctors, who work hard to treat with appropriate drugs reported in good medical books; 

 

He is adept at arranging medicines, is able to know whether syrups and pastes are suitable for the nature of the patients, is well-versed in medicine knowledge - its benefits and harms, is very knowledgeable about the benefits and harms of medical knowledge and its cures; adept at drug preparation procedures, understanding of pastes, syrups and their appropriate – good or adverse – effects for patients; He has had a lot of experience in the manufacture and preparation of drugs, he is aware of the temperament of the patients and to what extent the drug is related, thus he gathered the theory and practice in his own person; It was expected that they would know the principles of drug preparation and be skilled in preparing drinks and pastes.

 

3- Drug Distribution

There would be patients who could not go to the hospital for treatment. But not everyone could afford to call a doctor to their house. Therefore, there would be people who applied to hospitals to buy medicine for themselves or their patients. For example, according to the Fatih Charter, the overseer, the doctor and the clerk gathered at the hospital in the morning and fell ill in Istanbul and fell to bed, but were unable to supply some suitable medicines and were unable to invite a doctor to their home, who applied and applied for help from the benevolent's warehouses and cellars.

 

Medicines given in the form of halva, paste, murabba, cevaşir, soft drinks, sherbet and soup attracted the people and there were those who wanted to take advantage of them and sell them even though they were not sick. Giving medicine to those who come to get free medicine with the excuse of sickness II. It was prohibited in Beyazıd and Haseki foundation charters.

 

4- Surgical Treatment

In the classical period Ottoman medicine, efforts were made to treat with drugs as much as possible, and surgical intervention was avoided unless it was necessary. Only in the Fatih charter, the physician should have extensive knowledge in the science of dissection (anatomy)" and in the Atik Valide Charter, the physician should be skilled in the science of anatomy. The most common surgical procedures in the consent documents given by the patient or their relatives before the operation are bladder stone removal and inguinal hernia operations. 

 

The vast majority of surgical practices consisted of external treatments. For example, the treatment of ulcers, wounds and fractures in the head, boils and abscesses, pus-filled tumors, fistulas and blisters; monitoring tumors and pain and correcting hernias; We learn from his charter that he should know interventions such as tooth extraction, blood collection from veins, wound dressing, cauterization, closure and healing of wounds. Surgeons were also expected to be adept at preparing wound ointments and suppositories.

 

5- Treatment with Music

We learn from historical sources that in Amasya, Fatih, II. It is also recorded that Mehterhane-i Hakani was played on certain days and hours for the purpose of treatment with music. In Evliya Çelebi's Travel Book, mitriban (saz committee) and hanendegan (singers) were appointed for the Fatih Hospital to ward off their troubles/diseases for the sick and the divane. says. 

 

Evliya Celebi in Edirne II. He wrote the following about the treatment with music in the Beyazıd Darüşşifa: As a cure for the sick, food for the souls of the divane and for the love of devotion, gulams were appointed in ten hanes and saz players, three of them, one neyzen, one violinist, one musician, one santur player, one çengi. One of them is a çetsanto player and the other is a oud player. They come three times a week to play music chapters for the sick and the insane. By Allah's command, many enjoy the sound of the saz and feel comfortable. In fact, in the science of music, the tonalities of neva, rast, dugâh, segah, çargah and suzinak are reserved for them. But if the zengule maqam and the buselik maqam come together, it gives life to a person. There is food for the soul in all instruments and makams.9

 

Palace Physicians and Chief Physician

In the first period of the Ottoman Principality, historical documents have been found to establish whether there was a physician providing health care in the palace. Despite this, Orhan Beyden II. It is believed that during the reign of the sultans who came to Beyazid, there were palace physicians who were accepted as the authority on health issues. However, there is a common belief that these are not the chief physicians at the head of a comprehensive health organization or an institution serving in the field, but the palace physicians who undertake the treatment of the monarch and his family.

 

In general terms, the first chief physician responsible for the organization of health services and the management of this organized structure was Mehmet Muhyiddin Izmit, who was appointed during the reign of Beyazid II. Thus, the individual duty, such as the palace physician, left its place to a hierarchical structure that found its place within the state organization.

 

Chief Physicians primarily took care of the health of the sultan and members of the dynasty, and also advised the sultan on health issues. Etıbba-ı Hassa, the chief physician, who managed the hospitals and pharmacies in the palace, was also the chief of the surgeons, kehhalin-i hassa and the astrologers. Apart from the palace, health affairs all over the country were under the control of the chief physician, who was the highest level health manager. The appointment of physicians, surgeons, kehhals and pharmacists in all health institutions within the borders of the Ottoman Empire, as well as the appointment of army doctors were made by him. Doctors and surgeons had to obtain a work permit bearing the seal of the chief physician in order to open a practice especially in Istanbul.

 

Chief Physicians had an important place in the state protocol. They were in the position of the responsible and top manager of the health organization within the Ottoman State structure. In today's sense, the Minister of Health had powers that exceeded his powers, because the powers partly extended to the military field. During the war, if the sultan personally participated in the war, the chief physician went to war alongside him as the army chief physician. If the sultan did not participate in the expedition, he would appoint one of the palace physicians under his command as the chief physician of the army. In other words, in a sense, its powers and duties include the General Staff Health Department as well as the Ministry of Health.

 

XVI. century, which started with Mehmed Muhyiddin Izmit and XIX. In the 350-year period that ended with Abdülhak Molla in the middle of the century, 42 people served 58 times as chief physician.

 

Most of the chief physicians were members of the ilmiye class who had completed their education in classical Ottoman madrasas. Many of them also worked as professors in madrasahs and darüşşifas from time to time. Some of the chief physicians were promoted to the Anatolian and Rumelian district attorneyship, one of the highest duties of the state.10

 

The salaries of chief physicians living in the place called Baş Lala Tower in Topkapı Palace were 80 akce per day. Daily wages of chief physicians XVI. from the middle of the XVIII century. Until the beginning of the century, it came as 80 akces without change. Another income other than their salaries was their benches. Hekimbaşı barley was in places like Tekirdag and Gallipoli. Chief Physicians also received tips from the sultan and state dignitaries in return for their treatment. 11th

 

Chief physicians were primarily responsible for the health of the sultan. They also acted as consultants (consultants) and companions (conversational companions) to the sultans they served. Even during the campaign, they would not leave the sultan's side, they would prepare strong and appetizing syrups for them. Frankincense Juice was drawn from the retort with fragrant flowers, filled into ornate bottles and presented to the Sultan. Musk and amber pastes and various herbal extracts used in the palace, hand soaps, laundry soaps, bath soaps, candles were made according to the formulas given by the physician's head. They were also directly influential in the purchase of kitchen-related material. The chief physician, who also supervised the preparation of the sultan's meal, was with him while he ate.

 

Başlala was in the position of the chief Physician, who was the Minister of Health of the Ottoman Empire. Hekimbaşı would sit in the tower of Hekimbaşı, which is also the palace pharmacy, in Enderun, and when medicine was needed for the sultan and the sick palace members in the palace hospital, the pharmacists next to him in the pharmacy here used to make medicines in front of the eyes of Başlala, Enderun Kullukçu, Zülüflü and Baltacı. These drugs were kept in cupboards after being sealed together by Başlala and Hekimbaşı.

 

Medicines to be given to the Sultan were prepared by the Chief Physician himself in the presence of the Beginner, placed in beautiful bottles, inkwells and bowls, then wrapped with fabric and sealed by the Chief Hekim and Başlala, then presented.

 

Medicines of the sultan and his relatives, as well as the members of the palace who were treated in the palace hospitals, were kept ready for distribution in the building called Hekimbaşı Room, which is still opposite the Mecidiye Pavilion, which was built by Fatih Sultan Mehmet, who founded this palace and the palace organization. But it cannot be claimed that all these drugs were made here. Because, according to its interior dimensions, this building, which is 4.83 m x 4.83 m in size and consists of two rooms above and below, is too small for this work.

 

Apart from the Chief Physician Tower, in the Helvahane in the kitchen part of the palace, pastes are made by mixing darülfülfül, galangal, rose and poppy in very large cauldrons to be used as a medicine in spring once a year under the supervision of the palace physicians. They were kept in this Tower of Physician to be distributed in decorated bowls and inkwells according to their positions. The night when these pastes were made was called the night of the song. It was customary for the members of the Helvahane Hearth to have a festivity until morning, by calling the team of Hayalbaz, juggler and incesaz. 12

 

Although there were female physicians in the palace, lady sultans were examined and treated by the chief physician when they got sick. The examination was made with a precious thin ball shawl covered from head to toe of the patient, while one of the sultan's concubines was kept in the room. 13

 

Famous Physicians in the Ottoman Empire

According to many authors, the first medical book in the Ottomans was written by Isaac bin Murad in 1389 under the name Havassul Edviye. Ishak bin Murad's book is a book that talks about plants that are considered as simple medicines, each of which is a cure-all on its own. This book also talks about the treatment of known diseases. 14

 

There is a work called Yadigar-i ibn-i ierif, which is often found among the manuscripts of Istanbul and European libraries. But it can be considered as one of the first medical books belonging to the Ottomans. While talking about Istanbul, showing it as a Muslim city indicates that the work was written after the conquest of Istanbul. Although the author says that wine is forbidden in Islam, he does not hesitate to count its benefits in medicine one by one; because he is writing a medical book, not an ilm-i state. 

 

Although he says that wine especially increases body temperature and thus stimulates nutrition, he explains that drinking too much wine will give bad results with this simple analogy: “If you drink a lot of wine, the temperature will go down instead of rising; just as the fire goes out if too much wood is put on a well-burned fire.” 15

 

Altıncızade, who was among the first physicians who applied scientific treatment in the Ottoman period, was a specialist in urinary tract diseases, Akşemsedin, one of the famous sheikhs of the period and the author of the book "Kitab-ı Medicine ve Maddetül Hayat", together with the Fatih's teacher Molla Gürani, Ahmet Kutbüddin Novice, İikrullah Şirvani, Hoca Ataullah Novice , Yakub Hekim, Lari-i Novice and Physician Arab. Molla Lütfi from Tokat, who specialized in mathematics and medicine in the periods after the Conqueror, and Ahi Çelebi, who gained the trust of Beyazid II, and who had a treatise called Faide-i Hasat about kidney and bladder stones, is one of the leading names.

 

The medical books, named santraliyetül Hanniye and Mücerrebname, written by Sabuncuoğlu Şerefeddin, who worked as a physician in Amasya Hospital for many years, have survived to the present day. The types of surgery, treatment methods and surgical instruments in the books are at a level that arouses admiration even when viewed with today's advanced medical knowledge. He is also considered the first physician to practice experimental medicine in the Ottomans. He worked as a physician in Amasya and Kastamonu, and the books he wrote were used as the main source in Ottoman Hospitals for centuries. 16

 

Among the famous physicians of the Ottoman Period, Davut El-Antaki, who was born in Antakya (year of death: 1599), should definitely be counted. Although al-Antaki is blind, he is a philosopher, physician and astronomer. He was the head of the physicians of his age, the master of the science of wisdom (philosophy) and the miracle of the time. Despite his disability, Davud al-Antaki was someone who loved the journey and put up with it. He left his country at a young age. 

 

It had a wide and high position. He mastered many languages, including Greek. He was the chief physician of his time and the master of philosophical sciences. He wrote iiiir and was also famous in engineering and legal sciences. He became famous for his detailed explanations since his youth. It is said that when he was asked about mathematics, nature, or the philosophical arts, he would explain to the audience one or two rolls of paper (writing). 17

 

Davut El-Antaki was not only concerned with human health, but also with animal health, and played a major role in the development of veterinary medicine in the Islamic World. Starting from the books he wrote, many scientists have made great progress in the treatment of diseases and surgical treatments of animals, which are the biggest supporters of people in social life. 18

 

XVII. Among the various medical movements in the century, the Paracelsius (death year: 1551) movement was the most influential on Ottoman medicine. In this period, the understanding of medicine, which was almost entirely under the influence of the west, was called Tıbb-ı Cedid. Salih bin Nasrullah is known as the pioneer of this trend in the Ottoman country. II. In the first years of Ahmed's reign, the inadequacy of physicians and the inadequacy of physicians emerged as a separate problem, as the practices performed under the name of Tıbb-ı Cedid, especially by some physicians from Europe. It is possible to see in various archive documents that some physicians were banned during this period. 19

 

One of the most famous physicians of the transition period from traditional medicine to modern medicine in the Ottoman Empire is ianizade Ataullah Efendi. XIX. He is one of the important scientists trained in the first half of the century. Iânîzâde, who translated and wrote works in the fields of medicine, history, mathematics, literature and geography, is mostly known for his pioneering role in the modernization of Ottoman-Turkish medicine. 

 

The first three volumes of the five-volume work, which he translated from German in order to transfer the knowledge of European medicine to the Ottoman Empire, were published as a single volume in 1820, becoming the first medical book published in the Ottoman Empire. Although he had his medical education in a madrasah, he was also aware of the modern medicine of the West thanks to his grammar, and tried to combine old and new medicine. He wanted to introduce western medicine to Ottoman physicians with his translation works. He worked as a chronicler (historian) between 1819 and 1825. 1808-

 

Pharmacy in the Ottoman Empire

In the Ottoman Empire, the production of medicines in the palace was carried out both by the halva makers under the management of the chief helvacı, and by the special doctors working under the supervision of the chief physician. The important medicines were kept in the Baş Lala Tower, also known as the chief physician's room, and were given in sufficient quantities when necessary. Since the palace physicians and halva makers were competent in making medicine, it was not expected from the asşabs to provide services in this field. They were only responsible for collecting medicinal plants. It is known that the drugs used in the palace as medicine or in its production were taken by a cellar who used to work in the cellar-i amire attached to the palace kitchen. 

 

XVII. It has been known since the beginning of the century. XVII. From the beginning of the century, it is seen that the head muskçi, who is understood to have been chosen from the cellarists who are experts in this field, assumed this task. Towards the end of this century, Jewish attars began to supply drugs. These were no longer salaried palace servants, although they held the title of chief musk maker. XVIII. As mentioned in some documents in the 16th century, these goods bought by the musk maker Jew were delivered to the peskirbasi, who was a member of the Pantry Room and was also bought as a lala, and was kept in the Pantry Room.

 

On the other hand, in the Ottoman Hospitals, there are various officials who took on the function of making medicines. The name of "şerbetiyan" (who prepares syrup and sherbet), "saydalan" (who makes paste, pills, tablets, etc.) and "aşşaban" (who collects plants, buys them, delivers them to the hospital pantry) in Yıldırım Darüşşifa, the first known hospital of the Ottomans. It has been understood that there are people who are trained in a master-apprentice relationship. During the Fatih period, “tabbah-ı Eşribe” (“who cooks syrup”) and “hafız-ı Eşribe” (syrup saver); In the period of Suleiman the Magnificent, it is seen that there were also people who were called “aşşab” and “edviye-kub” (pharmacy beater) or “edviyegu” (the person who beats roots and cures and makes them usable) and who were in charge of pharmacy education in hospitals.

 

First of all, like all physicians, the physicians in the hospitals were experts in the manufacture of drugs. Officers such as asşab/saydelani, şerbetçi, tabbah and edviyeküb contributed to these physicians in the manufacture of medicines. It was expected that the officer, who is sometimes referred to as a seydelani and sometimes as aşhab, in the foundation charters of the darüşşifa, had deep knowledge of medicinal plants and could make medicine from them. They assumed the function of a full pharmacist. The supply of medicinal plants and other materials to be used in medicine was carried out by this officer. Şerbetçi or tabbah-ı Eşribe used to produce various sherbets and syrups that had the quality of a cure. 

 

The syrup was produced by the staff called edviyeküb (medical plant beater) in some hospitals. Tabbahs, that is, cooks, were responsible for the preparation of fast meals according to the temperament of the patients hospitalized in the hospital and the production of some printed products. The edviyekübs, who were in the position of assistants of the asshabs, were the ones who beat the plants used in medicine in a mortar. XIX in the Ottoman Empire. In the modern hospitals established in the 19th century, pharmacists took over the function of the soup kitchens, and the mortars took the role of the edviye - kubs.

 

Medicinal plants and medicines produced in darüşşifas were kept in the pantry of the darüşşifa. The cellar officer (cellar, cellar, emin-i mahzen), who is expected to be selected from among the righteous, honest, reliable and pure-hearted people, receives these materials; He would deliver the required amount of medicine to doctors or surgeons when requested. It is understood that the medicines made in the hospitals are sold abroad as well as for the patients hospitalized here, and a substantial amount of income is obtained from this sale.

 

In the Ottomans, surgeons, like physicians, prepared medicine. It is understood that they have superior skills especially in the preparation of ointments. XIX. The mention of a surgeon among the candidates to be appointed as a pharmacist in a century-old document is an important proof of the competence of the group in drug preparation.

 

In the Ottoman Empire, apart from the palaces and hospitals, various medicines were also made by special service groups. These include attar, putty shop, sherbet shop, tutiya vendors, and rose water and flower oil vendors. Attars, as well as selling drugs known as mufrad edviye (simple medicines), also produced some compounds (ink edviye). 21

 

Weighing was very important in pharmacy. Since all kinds of medicinal substances to be included in the pharmaceutical form will be used in a certain amount, the issue of weighing was given importance. This issue was very complicated and its settlement caused many disagreements. It was necessary to gather together the separate scales used in every country and city and to facilitate the work by mentioning a general scale in the books. As a unit of measure (Barley), “habbe = grain” was accepted. 22

 

Outside the hospital, there were herbalists (Arabic "attar": pharmaceutical merchant) who prepared the compositions written by the physician or supplied the medicine directly to the people. Herbalists used to sell various spices as well as herbal, animal and mineral primitive substances used in medicine. We learn from Evliya Çelebi (1611-1685) that there are other tradesmen dealing with these businesses.

 

Evliya Çelebi categorizes the professions related to pharmacy in Istanbul in the middle of the 17th century as follows: Tutyacians (“tutyaciyan”), who prepare and sell the material, which is generally zinc compound, used in the treatment of eye diseases or as a paste, paste sellers (“esnaf-ı maccuyan”), water of various cures. Those who extract (“artsnaf-ı edhan-ı edviye”), those who sell rose water and other fragrant water (“esnaf-ı gulabcıyan”), those who extract the oil of various remedies (“esnaf-ı edhan-ı edviye”). (See: Table 1)

 

Table 1

According to Evliya Çelebi, IV. Health Workers in Murad Era

• Occupation Number

• Physicians 1000 700

• Kehhaller (Eye Doctor) 80 40

• Surgeons 700 400

• Macuncuyan 500 300

• Tutyaciyan (Making and selling eye medications) 100 0

• Tradesmen-i soft drink-i cure 600 500

• Gülabcıyan (who sells rosewater) 70 41

• Esnaf-ı edhan-ı edviye (who sells vegetable oil) 14 8

3064 1989

 

The center of the pharmaceutical trade was the Spice Bazaar in Istanbul, and it was built at the same time as the mosque to generate income for the New Mosque. Construction began in 1657 and was completed in 1664. Since the 17th century, this place has a special importance because health products and herbal medicines coming from Arabia and India via Egypt have been sold in herbal shops here, and it got its name from this relationship. Here, the herbalists used to buy pharmaceuticals and spices wholesale from the merchants who brought them from abroad, sold them to the public and small tradesmen as retail, and played an important role in the Turkish economy. 

 

Aktar shops consisted of two parts. In the front, there was the section for selling and sorting the pharmaceutical containers in the form of wooden benches, and the section used as a warehouse and workshop at the back. Pharmaceuticals were stored in specially shaped glass jars, earthenware, wooden or tin boxes, and the name of the drug was written on them. Among the items sold here were red madder, smut, gum arabic, cinnabar sugar, clove sugar, "anisun" (anise) sugar, anber and rose sugar, coriander sugar, palace almond sugar, cheese sugar and camphor. 23 (14) On the eaves of some shops, there was a symbol (such as a fire tower, a small boat, ostrich egg, scissors, tassel) that made the shop easily recognizable. With the help of these symbols, the public could easily find the shop they wanted or describe it to someone else. 24

 

Physician's Shop in Ottoman

The "etibba" group dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases in the Ottoman Empire can also be divided into groups according to the places they work. At the head of the Etibba group is the Etibba-yi Hassa, the doctors working in the palace, and the chief physician is their head. An equally important class of physicians are those who work in the army. Military doctors were in the navy, in the shipyard, or in every part of the military organization on land. Another class of doctors is hospital doctors. Physicians working in hospitals built as foundations were included in a distinguished group in terms of their selection and duties. 

 

Another important group of the Etibba group consisted of those who practiced their profession freely. Freelance physicians were generally physicians who had a practice (shop) and looked after patients for a certain fee. But we know that it was always possible for self-employed physicians to be selected and assigned to the palace, to the army during wars, and to the palace physician to work as a freelance doctor and to be assigned to the army when necessary.

 

We find the most extensive information on this subject in Evliya Çelebi's Travel Book. In the first volume of the travel book, a lot of information about Istanbul was given and the tradesmen took a large place here. Evliya Celebi wrote this information in 1638. He wrote on the basis of the census and real estate census books commissioned by the Grand Vizier Bayram Pasha during the reign of Murad II. It has also been shown that Razavi also benefited from the Fütüvvetname written in 1525. Sultan IV, who personally participated in this information. The monitoring of the official parade in the presence of Murad was also added. 

 

In chapter 270 of the first volume of his book, Evliya Çelebi talks about the medical community with the title „Esnaf-ı essential-i commodities. After giving information about the Chief Physician, it is mentioned about the physician tradesmen who have a shop in the „Esnaf-ı dekakin-i government department. It is recorded that there are more than 1000 physicians in 700 physician shops in Istanbul. In addition, it is said that there are hundreds of thousands of doctors whose shops are not full. In this section, along with the tradesman-ı tutıyacıyan, he also included the tradesmen of the asylum, huddam and circumciser. Pastry shop, medicine beverage shop, gulab shop, dehhan-ı edviye shopkeepers who prepare and sell medicines are also among these 57 types of tradesmen. 25

 

Physician's office was called "Medical Shop". Surgeons and kehhas also had shops. It is estimated that there are manuscripts, materials and tools for making various compositions on the shelves in these shops. In the shops, apprentices were working alongside the master doctor. The physician would apply to the chief physician to obtain permission to open a shop. After examining whether the chief physician was authorized or not, he would answer the application. In case of any corruption, the chief physician was authorized to close the medical shop. Shops could not be opened in every desired place; this was subject to the permission of the chief physician. However, if a physician died or relocated, another physician could open a shop in the same place or in the same neighborhood. Some shops opened in Istanbul and Anatolia became famous. 26

 

Examples from different centuries can be given that physicians opened shops. Emir Çelebi (date of death: 1638) praises the practice he opened in Istanbul: “I opened a shop near Balkapanı in Istanbul. Such a shop that the places of philosophers (the places where they wrote their works) and the (former) temples of physicians appear as ruined (places) next to it...27

 

Ali Münşi from Bursa (date of death: .1733) and Abbas Vesim (date of death: 1759), one of the precision doctors, also had a practice in Istanbul. Abbas Vesim, who found the shop in the Sultan Selim bazaar near Fatih, gives important information about the doctor's shop: “As you explained, after the hereafter works are completed, he turns to the shop to ensure his material life, says Bismillah and opens the shop, removes the scales and removes the dirt on the ropes and pans, and then uses the scales. Is it good or right, try the scales and sit down. So test the scales (weights) so that an object sticks to someone else and does not become a mistake. No matter if someone appears while sitting in his shop as a physician, he will serve you as much as anyone else. 

 

If there is a need, if he wants an object, if possible, do not neglect it and hasten to collect the moment, according to people's works. If it is not possible to fulfill the need, act in accordance with the time and situation according to the time and situation, and intending the reward and the consent of Allah in the treatment according to the sayings. And if it is for the wine (drink) or non-material object, first clean the container and if it is clean, look inside it again and then put the object to be placed. And if it is necessary to send an object to anyone, send it sealed, not to neglect these matters. And the one who is convinced that he has won, that is, the amount mentioned in the amount given with the consideration of the drugs he uses in the treatment and the doctor's fee, that is, the main opinion. 28

 

Those Who Prepared Medicines According to Archive Documents in the Ottomans

According to the information we obtained from the Darüşşifa foundation charters, it was expected that all officials involved in the supply of pharmacies, preparation and preservation of medicines would act on the order of the physician and as he saw fit. Hospital physicians who had knowledge of pharmacy and knew how to prepare drugs would not prepare the drugs themselves. The pharmacist prepares medicine according to the doctor's prescription, the tabbah cooks according to the doctor's recipe; The cellar would take the medicine out of the cellar with the knowledge of the doctor. On the other hand, all these officials also carried the professional responsibility of their own work. 

 

For this reason, it is possible to say that they are complements as well as assistants of the physician they work with. Those who were in charge of the preparation of medicines were referred to with adjectives describing their work. These are indicated by various professional names such as ashşâb (aşşâbân), saydalani (saydalâniyân), şerbetçi (şerbetçiyan), edviye-kubledviyeci (edviye-kübân), tabbah (tabbahin) in foundation charters and accounting records.

1- Asşâb (Aşşaban) / Saydalâni (Saydalâniyan)

 

In the charter of Bayezid I, two seddalâniyân / aşşaban, that is, two pharmacists who make medicine from plants, which we can define as herb pharmacist or botanist pharmacist, as well as two şerbetçiyans who prepare liquid medicines are mentioned. In Fatih's endowment, it is stipulated to appoint an experienced and perfect person. Two pharmacists to be appointed to Atik Valide Hospital are expected to be fully specialized in the improvement and manufacture of medical pharmaceutics, pastes and syrups that must be prepared for those in need.

 

The duties and duties of the pharmacist, who is called Asşâb, are given in detail in the Süleymaniye foundation charter: “A person who knows the correct method, names and qualities of the roots, dried and fresh herbs and flowers used as medicine, and knows their good, bad and other characteristics, is an asşab and has a simple and compositional composition. should follow the best practice regarding the drugs that have been taken. He should buy and bring the tools and equipment needed in the hospital as the chief deems appropriate, bring them to the cellar, and ensure that they are ready for use when necessary. However, the cures and medicines taken must be fresh, pure and of high quality as described in medical books; stale, spoiled and bad ones should not be taken, and should not be content with the equivalent while the original is available. In the 16th century, the daily wage of the pharmacist at the Süleymaniye Hospital varied between 3 and 5 coins.

 

2- Edviye-Küb (Edviye-Kübân)

The pharmacist journeyman, called Edviye-küb, was a strong, strong person who beat and crushed the raw medicine and used his arm strength in the preparation of the medicine. This person would help the pharmacist get ready to make medicine. The diary of a pharmacist named Edviye-küb was 3 coins. The edviye-Kübân, who was in charge of the Fatih Darüşşifa, was two people, and their daily wages were three coins. At the end of the 16th century, there were two pharmacy beaters (edviye-cuban) working in the Süleymaniye Hospital and they received three coins a day. We find the best definition of edviye-kub in the Suleymaniye foundation: “Two strong, powerful people who are knowledgeable about beating the devas, hitting and crushing roots will be a household name and will beat the roots that need to be hit and beaten properly, according to the recipe of the physicians, to make them suitable for use and composable.

 

In some of the hospitals, the pharmacist used to perform these services instead of the edviye-küb. In the charter of Bayezid II, it is stated that the pharmacist will also do the work of the edviye-cube and that he will be paid an additional fee for this: "In the hospital, syrups, pastes, murabbayât, cevarişât, tablets, all the necessary things for the preparation and composition of the compound cures and the beating and crushing of simple cures. And a person who is skilful, strong and quick in the services of these, should perform the services of the known method of dviye-cub and compound cures, which he is responsible for, correctly and without negligence. He appointed a salary of four akçes per day for the services of arranging syrups and mixing pastes, and two akçes per day for the service of edviye-kübluk, a total of six akçes per day, so that one hundred and eighty akçes would be given each month.

 

3- Şerbetçi (İerbetçiyan) Tabbâh-I Eşribe

Those who prepared the medicines called sherbet according to the doctor's prescription were called tabbâh-ı Eşribe, which means sherbet maker or the one who cooks sherbet. Sherbet was sometimes used in the sense of apothecary. In addition to the daily allowance, the scavengers are often given provisions. For example, in the middle of the 16th century, in addition to 2 akçes per day, the sherbet maker of the Bursa Darüşşifa was given 6 muds of wheat for 3 months and sometimes also 1.5 muds of rice. In Fatih Darüşşifa, sherbet-making was carried out as three separate tasks: preparing syrup (eşribeküb), cooking syrups (tabbâh-ı Eşribe) and preserving syrups (hâfız-ı Eşribe).

 

In the Suleymaniye charter, it was stipulated that the two tabbâh-ı esribe to be assigned to the Darüşşifa should be “skilled, masters and people whose dexterity in cooking syrups was evident, and who served uninterruptedly with full care, diligence and perseverance. We learn from archival documents that at the end of the 16th century, four şerbetçiyans served in the Süleymaniye Hospital and that each of them had four coins per day.

 

4- Cook / Tabbah - I Et' Ime ( Tabbahin )

Hospital cooks were called tabbah. The cook who prepared the food according to the doctor's prescription was called tabbah-ı etime. In the second half of the 16th century, the Bursa Darüşşifa cook used to receive three mud hinta (wheat) every year, in addition to his diary, which had two coins. In Fatih and Süleymaniye Hospitals, cooks used to receive three coins. At the end of the 16th century, two cooks (Tabbâhın) were employed in the Süleymaniye Hospital. Since nutrition was given great importance in the treatment of the patient, the cook would cook the meals according to the doctor's recipe for the person who prepared the patient's meal. 

 

For example, the condition that the cook to be appointed to the Atik Valide Hospital should be reliable in fulfilling the doctor's orders is noteworthy: Medical doctors will cook meals suitable for patients in a way that a skilled and intelligent doctor will trust and be safe, and pay close attention to the well-cooking of what they cook in a way that will appeal to the patient's appetite. they will take care. Moral characteristics sought in tabbahs; He concentrates on the rule of care, which is determined in conditions such as performing his duty in accordance with the doctor's description and on time, being careful and clean.

 

Considering the direct relationship between food and medicine in Ottoman medicine, it is understood that the tabbahs assigned to the hospitals should be private cooks who prepare diet meals. Nutrition was considered part of the treatment. For example, according to Fatih's foundation charter, two merd-i righteous tabbâh-ı taâm, who will receive three coins a day, is as yellow as an autumn leaf, is caught in many troubles, in need of mercy, weakened by various diseases that befell him, and gives up his life force to the needy person who has lost hope of treatment. He will cook and bring food to feed him, and he will work hard to please the wounded and devastated heart of the patient. 

 

Today, we learn from the charters that the food and beverages of the hospital cook, who works as a dietitian, are required to be prepared in accordance with the patient's illness and temperament. For example, in the charter of Bayezid II: In the Bimarhane kitchen, two competent, clean, moral, well-intentioned masters do their best to cook all kinds of sweet and sour dishes in the best possible way, if the physicians order and press appropriately for each patient's disease. Some measures are required for the cooks who will be appointed as they will perform all the services that are under the responsibility of the cooks cleanly and quickly. In the Sulaymaniyah endowment, there are two tabbâh-ı meat, natures, who have full intuition and knowledge about cooking in every respect. should cook dietary supplements and others appropriate to the temperament and diseases of the patients, in a timely manner and in accordance with the physicians' recipe; There are rules that should prepare the taste and other necessary things according to his decision.

 

5- Kilerci (Kilarci- Kilardar- Kilari- Emin-i Mahzen)

One of the important issues in darüşşifas was the preservation and preservation of curricula prepared from raw pharmaceuticals, that is, simple remedies and ink, or compound remedies, such as sherbet and paste. This material in the cellar was guarded by the officer who was responsible for the material in the cellar, called the eminent cellar or the cellar and the kilardar or the kilarcı.

 

6- Trustee ( Trustee )

The trustee is the person who meets the needs of the patient as a caregiver. However, beyond being a nurse, trustees who work as nurses in today's sense are introduced as "people who are ready to serve the patient without getting tired, in accordance with the qualifications such as the one who stays and the one who is standing and who have to serve by running". The conditions in the charters show that the trustee is in close contact with the patients. The number of trustees varied according to the patient capacity of the hospital.

Aybars Akkor / February 2014

 

For example, in the years of 1594-1596, the trustees (kayyuman) in Süleymaniye were 6 people (nefer) and each of them had 3 coins per day. 29

 

Palace Medicines in the Ottomans

In the Ottoman period, compositions such as Amber course, Frankincense juice, Hopper oil, Hünkar's Paste, Red Paste and Nevruziye prepared in the Halvahane in Topkapı Palace for the members of the Palace had a great reputation among the people. These compositions could not be made or sold outside the Palace. For this reason, the people could only obtain these drugs with the help of their friends in the palace. The fact that they were very rare and prepared in the palace also gave these drugs a spiritual power. (See: Table 2) One of the most admired medicines prepared in the palace was Dried Amber. White amber was made into paste with fragrant substances (musk, oud, sandalwood, rose oil), starch and tragacanth gum, rose or hyacinth water, cut into special molds and dried at low temperatures. It is known as a heart and sexual power strengthener. 30

 

Table 2

The Putty Arrangement Prepared by the Arab and Persian Laws for Mehmed the Conqueror

• Clove

• Darcin

• Anison-i misri

• ivy seed

• Chewing gum

• Harvest seeds

• Honey

 

Kabab

Ud-ül kahir Nettle seed Peat seed Cassia Bitter almond oil Musk

full

Celery seeds Carrot seeds Mastaki

White daily Nigella sativa sugar

 

One of the most used drugs in the Ottomans was addicts, a mixture of opium and various substances. IV. After Murad's death, the opium addiction spread throughout the country, among all classes of people. A wide variety of drugs, called “paste” and containing opium, began to be sold. These had a more or less effect on the type of substances put into it and the body of the person using it. The common paste was made by mixing opium with hashish, aloe vera and various spices. Wealthy people would also add to it gray amber, musk, scarlet and other scented substances, precious essences. The pastes to be used by the sultans and the notables of the empire were prepared with even greater meticulousness and powdered pearls, coral, rubies and emeralds were added to them. These pastes were called “cevahir paste”. 

 

Another thing that can be counted among these kinds of substances is “tensuh”. There is no opium in the composition of this substance. They are prepared with substances such as musk, gray amber, yellow patience, rose water, rose oil, pearl powder and are made in various forms in molds. But it is always flat and usually has "Mashallah" written on it. Most of the Muslims, especially women, carry "tensuh" on their clothes. Because it smelled so good. Some even swallowed a small piece of it while drinking coffee.

 

Gum chewing was very common among women. It was said to strengthen the gums, cure tooth and stomach ailments, and even stop bleeding. For this reason, many physicians would add this to the composition of their medicines. 31

 

One of the most admired mixtures of the Ottomans was mesir paste. The word mesir is a word derived from the name of Mithridat, the king of Pontus. The paste, called Mithridaticum, had been made in Venice since the middle ages and was sent to all parts of Europe with great festivities. XVI. It entered Turkey from Venice in the 19th century. In the east, festivities are held on Nowruz. 

 

Musa bin Muslihiddin, known as Merkez Efendi and the first chief physician of the Darüşşifa, which was built in Manisa in 1539 in the name of Hafize Sultan, the mother of Suleiman the Magnificent, gave Mesir paste, which was made up of forty different substances, to his patients. He became famous and after a while, the people started to ask for paste by applying to Merkez Efendi. 

 

It was decided that the paste, which was initially sold to the rich with money, would later be distributed free of charge due to the excess of applications by the poor. Merkez Efendi climbed to the minaret of the Sultan Mosque in Manisa on April 15, 1539 and threw it into bite-sized pieces to the people gathered around the mosque. From this date on, the Manisa picnic area has become a tradition and paste is distributed every year with festivals and ceremonies. 32

 

One of the most important medical materials in the Ottomans was the rose. Rose was a medicine that Ottoman physicians could not give up as much as it was important with its beauty and scent. At the initial stage of the production of rose oil, which is made by the method of passing through 33 retort, the rose-scented water prepared by passing the scent of fresh rose petals into the water is called rose water (gulab). Apart from its use as cologne, rose water is poured on sweets such as water pudding, rosemary and ashura to give them a special taste and smell, and is also used in the preparation of some lotions and ointments as an eye medicine. 34

 

CONCLUSION

Although the Ottomans understood the importance of health, unfortunately, even in the periods when they were most developed in terms of politics and military, they could not develop much in terms of medicine, and it remained in place for almost five hundred years after its establishment. They found the solution to health in copyrighted works, drugs containing drugs, drinking water from healing bowls and carrying talismans.

 

The most read medical books in the Ottoman period were the books of Ibn-i Sinan, who died in 1037, Hacı Pasha, who died in 1417, and Sabuncuoğlu irefeddin, who died around 1470. Unfortunately, the Ottomans, who followed the developments in medicine too late, started to follow modern medicine only after the establishment of the Mekteb-i Tıbbiye-i iahane, which was opened in 1827.

 

Unfortunately, the contributions of the Ottomans, who were helpless against plague and cholera epidemics for years, to world medicine can only be grouped under two headings:

 

1- Smallpox vaccine (It is known that the Ottomans used it two centuries before Joseph Lester, who discovered the smallpox vaccine. This is also clearly stated in Lady Montegue's letters. However, since they never based this invention on a scientific basis, the invention is considered to belong to Lester.)

 

2- Treatment with music (The Ottomans tried to treat them with music in Bimarhanes even when Europeans treated the mentally ill under the worst conditions, and in some cases they even succeeded.)

 

Although they did not make any progress in medicine, they adhered to professional ethics and removed those who violated these moral rules.

 

Descriptions:

 

1 DOBSON, Mary, The Story Of Medicine, Quercus Publishing, Cambridge, 2003.

2 ACAR, M. iinasi, Objects of Daily Life in the Ottoman Empire, Feed Publication, istanbul-2011, p.68.

3 BAYTOP, Turhan, History of Turkish Pharmacy, Istanbul University Press, Istanbul -1985 Pg:70.

4 YILDIRIM, Prof. Dr. Nuran, Istanbul's Health History, Düzey Matbaacılık, istanbul-2010, p:254-255

5YILMAZ, Dr. Coskun and YILMAZ, Dr. Necdet, I. Beyazid Hospital Foundation, Health in the Ottomans Volume II, Bif Publications, istanbul 2006

6 TERZiOĞLU, Prof.Dr. Arslan, Seljuk and Ottoman Hospitals, United German Pharmaceutical Factories TAi – 1986.

7 YILDIRIM, Prof.Dr.Nuran, Istanbul's Health History, Düzey Matbaacılık, istanbul-2010, Pg: 153.

8 TERZiOĞLU, Prof.Dr. Arslan, Seljuk and Ottoman Hospitals, United German Pharmaceutical Factories TAi – 1986.

9 SARI, Prof.Dr. Nil, Darüşşifalar Part 1, Sanovel Publications, istanbul 2010, p. 106-107.

10 YILMAZ, Dr. Coskun, YILMAZ Dr. Necdet, Health in the Ottomans 1, Esen Ofset, istanbul 2006, P:85,86,

11 AFYONCU, Asst. Associate Professor. Erhan, Ottoman Chief Physicians and Precision Physicians in Health in the Ottomans 1, Esen Ofset, istanbul 2006, p: 250,251.

12 TERZiOĞLU, Arslan, Helvahane Book and Pharmacy in Topkapı Palace, Archeology and Art Publications, istanbul-1992.

13 YILDIRIM, Prof.Dr.Nuran, Istanbul's Health History, Düzey Matbaacılık, istanbul-2010, Pg:20.

14 iEVKi, Dr.Osman, Five-Century History of Turkish Medicine, Ministry of Culture Publications, Ankara-1991, Pg:29.

15 ADIVAR, A. Adnan, Science in Ottoman Turks, Remzi Bookstore, istanbul -1982, p:68-69

16 Republic of Turkey Governorship of Amasya, Amasya Physician and Surgeon Sabuncuoğlu ierefeddin, First Edition 2004 - Printing Nokta Ofset Basım Sanayi Ve Ticaret Ltd.iti.

17 KARASU, Mehmet, NAZiK, Dr. Sadık, Wise Physician from Antakya Davut El-Antaki, Omay Ofset Ankara, 2nd Edition December 2009 Ankara, p: 27-28.

18 SHEHADA, Housni Alkhateeb, Arab Veterinary Medicine And The “Golden Rules” For Veterinarians, According To A Sixteenth-Century Medical Treatise, In “Animals And People In The Ottoman Empire”, Ed By Suraiya Faroghi, Eren Publishing House, istanbul 2010, Pf : 315-331.

19 YILMAZ, Dr. Coskun, YILMAZ Dr. Necdet, Health in the Ottomans 1, Esen Ofset, istanbul 2006, p: 29,30,31,32.

Aybars Akkor / February 2014

He wrote a four-volume work known as "Şânizâde Tarihi", which narrates the events that took place between 1821 and 1821. 20

20 KAZANCIGiL, Prof Dr Aykut and ZÜLFiKAR Bedizel, XIX. Anatomy in the Ottoman Empire in the Century, Special Publications, Istanbul, 1991.

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As the head chef Ahmet ÖZDEMİR, I see the source:

Mr. I sincerely thank Aybars AKKOR for his academic studies titled "Health in the Ottomans" and wish him success in his professional life. It will definitely be considered as an example by those who need it in professional kitchens and the gastronomy and culinary community.