Challenges in Verifying Historical Ophthalmological Texts: The Case of a Turkish Book Derived from a Persian Source
Journal of Research on History of Medicine, cilt.14, ss.31-36, 2025 (Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 14
- Basım Tarihi: 2025
- Doi Numarası: 10.30476/rhm.2025.108947.1372
- Dergi Adı: Journal of Research on History of Medicine
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.31-36
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Eye diseases, History of Medicine, Ophthalmology, Persian Medicine
- Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
This study aims to describe the challenges of authenticating and establishing the uniqueness of historical ophthalmological treatises by way of comparative analysis of two significant texts: the Persian “Zaḫīre-ye Ḫāwarizmšāhī” authored by Isma’īl Ibn Ḥusayn Ğurğānī (1040-1136 AD) and the Turkish “Mīftāḥ al-Nūr wa-Ḫazāʾīn al-Surūr” of Muʾmin Ibn Muqbil, a 15th-century Ottoman oculist from Sinop (present-day Turkey). Although the latter claims independent scholar merit, investigation confirms that it is an adaptation and translation of the Ğurğānī’s work. It raises major issues in medical historical scholarship, such as proper source material identification, translation concerns, and the consequences of misattribution in the history of ophthalmology. It accentuates the importance of rigorous source authentication protocols in ensuring scholarly integrity and generating more understanding of the transmission of medical knowledge in the Islamicate world, specifically in the Iranian plateau and Anatolia. It also addresses implications of broad significance for historians examining the development of ophthalmological knowledge in different cultures.