Iranian or Persian medicine dates back to more than two thousand years ago. In the third century AD, Jundishapur University, one of the oldest academic centers in the world, hosted many great scientists from different civilizations. Jundishapur played an influential role in extending scientific research through history.
The medical history of ancient Persia can be divided into two distinct periods; before and after Islam. Avesta, a collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism, contains some of the earliest records of history of ancient Iranian medicine. The Vendidad, one of the chapters of Avesta, distinguishes three kinds of medicine: medicine by the knife (surgery), medicine by herbs, and medicine by divine words; and the best medicine was, according to the Vendidad, healing by divine words.
In the fourth century AD, Shapur I, the second king of the Sasanian Empire, established Jundishapur science town. Then, inviting all Iranian and Greek physicians, he organized the first academic medical education system in the world. He also founded Jundishapur hospital which was managed by Iranian physicians. Among famous Iranian physicians were Rhazes, Avicenna, Haly Abbas, Aghili-e-Khorasani and Akhawayni whose groundbreaking scientific endeavors and influential books sorted out the complicated mixed Greek medicine, and theoretical medicine was then turned to experimental and practical medicine. Eventually, Disease Science (Elm-al-Amraz), finding the main causes of the diseases, emerged which was ignored by Greek medicine at the time.
Avicenna’s book, “Qanoon”, was taught for 700 years in European medical universities and was translated to more than eighty different languages.1100 years ago Rhazes managed a hospital in Ray in which medicine was taught to physicians just as today’s educational systems. The hospital provided treatment for patients from all over the world. A total number of about 7000 medical reference books were written on Iranian medicine out of which only about 1400 books exist in Iran; the others are kept in Europe and America. As a matter of fact, Iranian physicians paved the way for the main structure of modern medicine, even though their names are missing in European and American medical books.
Traditional Persian Medicine through its prolific history has contributed to the fields of herbal medicine, nutrition, preventive medicine and life style. To benefit from and also develop the rich knowledge provided by Persian Medicine, in the recent years, many medical universities in Iran have started traditional medicine courses.