Important helath institutions from the Seljukid Period hospital of Kaykᾱwῡs and Dᾱr al-Shifᾱ' of Diwrīgī

Islamic medicine learned about the Gundī-Shᾱpῡr Medical School after the İslamic armies captured Iran in the 7th A.D. The knowledge of Greco-Iranian-Indian medicine synthesized here played a major role in the development of Islamic medicine. As the Great Saldjῡḳs State started to rule over the Middle East, this knowledge and experience made possible the foundation of many valuable hospitals. Important institutions such as the 'Aḍudī hospital, Nῡr al-Dīn Maḥmῡd b. Zankī Hospital and the Hospital within the Gökbörü Complex, founded by the Great Saldjῡḳs and their affiliates, had an influence over the social and cultural World of Anatolia in many ways. A number of physicians trained in these hospitals came to Anatolia. They trained students and transferred the medical knowledge they learned to the region. Because of the Crusader attacks undermining Islamic sovereignty in the Mediterranean, Islamic States had to turn to Anatolia for trade XIIIth century is a time of intense increase in the number of caravanserais in the Anatolian peninsula, triggered by the successful policies of the Anatolian Saldjῡḳs and leading to a significant increase in the vitality of trade movements. High social and economic activity made health services compulsory. The medical knowledge coming from the Middle East made it possible to take important steps in this regard and hospitals were established in Anatolia. Two of the first built hospitals were Hospital of Kaykᾱwῡs and Dᾱr al-Shifᾱ' of Diwrīgī, the two focus points of this study. These hospitals continued to exist as living institutions that are intertwined with social life. They performed many duties within the social structure of Anatolia. Abdüllatîf al-Bağdâdî, who worked in Dᾱr al-Shifᾱ' of Diwrīgī, had gained medical knowledge in the schools of the Middle East. While he was treating diseases, he was also teaching in Anatolia and doing plant researches in the region. Intellectuals like him used the trade routes alongside of which caravanserais were located to supply the necessary material for preparing drugs that was not available in the region. These medical professionals were not only interested in patients coming to the hospital, but they were also visiting patients with serious discomfort lodged in a caravanserai, where a special room was mostly reserved for the doctor's visit and the most commonly used drugs were kept at hand. The hospitals also had contacts with the palace. When sultans got sick, the best physicians took care of them and sometimes these names worked in the palace. When necessary, they even participated in wars with the sultan. Significant resources were allocated for the financial needs of these hospitals, through hospital foundations. Thanks to these revenues, The Divriği Hospital was able to continue its existence until the XIVth century and the Sivas Hospital until the XVth century. In this study, we focused on the founders, structures, staff, economical resources and the archeological remains of these two medieval hospitals. We also discussed how and why they lost their function. We examined these two buildings in a comparative way.