Rashid al-Din al-Suri (, 1177–1241) was a leading physician and botanist in the

Islamic world The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is ...

in the 13th century. He served the leading figures of the

Ayyubid dynasty The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egyp ...

.Ali, 1996, p.41.

Biography

Al-Suri was born and brought up in Tyre, then part of the Crusader-ruled

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and derives his name ''al-Suri'' from the name of the city in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

"Sur". After completing his preliminary education in Tyre, he moved to

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, under Ayyubid control, where he served as a physician at a hospital. He later met and greatly impressed the Ayyubid sultan al-Adil in the early 13th century. Al-Adil brought al-Suri to

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

and made him his personal physician. He also served al-Adil's son, al-Mu'azzam and grandson, an-Nasir Dawud, the successive governors of

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. Besides medicine, al-Suri held an interest for plant life and was a botany researcher. He used to roam about and study herbs and plants in their natural surroundings. He employed a professional painter to sketch and paint for him the plants in different stages of their growth as specific as possible by the use of various colors and dyes. His book, entitled ''al-Adwiyat al-Mufradah'' ("The Simple Medicines") is not extant.Ali, 1996, p.42.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Al-Suri, Rashidun 1177 births 1241 deaths 13th-century physicians Physicians from the Ayyubid Sultanate Botanists of the medieval Islamic world Medical researchers