Medicine in Seljuk and Byzantine eras (A comparative study)

This study, which tackles the historical development of "Seljuk and Byzantine Medicine", lays light to the fact that the Islamic medicine influenced the both civilisations greatly. The applications in the Islamic medicine were synthesised by both of these civilisations and resulted in the breakthroughs in the medieval medicine. The Seljuk Empire laid great importance on human health. Through building hospitals, baths, caravanserais and fountains, they pioneered the medicine of the era. In the hospitals built within the respect, the patients were treated free of cost. Within the Byzantine Empire, the Pantokratoros Monastery and hospitals called "xenodcheis" offered healthcare. The monastery served the elderly and the homeless. In both civilisations, the pills used in treatments were based on a mixture called "theriac", which was obtained from herbal drugs. The two empires also shared the source of the medicinal applications, which were based on the works of Islamic scholars like Avicenna and al-Razi as well as ancient scholars like Galen and Hippocrates. The works of these scholars were adapted through the adaptations to the methods of the time and put thus into application. For this reason, the Seljuk medicine had a key impact within the course of the medical history. It can be asserted that the Seljuk medicine influenced the field of medicine internationally, including that of the European civilisation.