Abū Zayd Ḥunayn Ibn Isḥāq al‐˓Ibādī (Johannitius AD 808–873), a physician, philosopher, and translator, was born in al‐Ḥīrah (Hira), now southeast of al‐Najaf (Iraq). He and his ancestors were Syrians who belonged to the Nestorian church. The family nickname, al‐˓Ibādī, is derived from “al‐˓Ibād,” a Christian Arab tribe.
Ḥunayn studied medicine in his youth in Baghdad. The thirteenth‐century medical historian, Ibn Abī Uṣaybi˓a, author of the book ˓Uyūn al‐Anbā˒ fī Ṭabaqāt al‐Aṭibbā(Sources of Information about the Classes of Physicians), gives a lively account of the difficulties that confronted Hunayn as a student of medicine. Yūḥannā Ibn Māsawayh (Mesue d. AD 857) was a famous physician and a highly respected teacher of medicine. He conducted classes in a vast room in his large house. Questions from young Hunayn, who was very keen on amassing knowledge, interrupted the serenity of Mesue's lessons. Mesue reprimanded Hunayn several times without effect, then finally ordered him out...
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Iskandar, A.Z. (2008). Ḥunayn Ibn Isḥāq. In: Selin, H. (eds) Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4425-0_9796
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