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Biography of RaziName: RaziBirth Date: c. 865 Death Date: October 26, 925 Place of Birth: Ray, Persia Nationality: Persian Gender: Male Occupations: physician Razi The Persian physician al-Razi (ca. 865-925), also known as Rhazes, prepared compilations that were influential in Western medicine for centuries. His monograph on smallpox and measles is still considered a medical classic.Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi was born at Ray, a city not far from modern Teheran in northeastern Iran. He is believed to have devoted his early years to the study of music and philosophy. An accomplished lute player and singer, he enjoyed music throughout his life and even compiled an encyclopedia on the subject. According to one Islamic biographer, however, he never truly grasped the purpose of metaphysics and finally abandoned philosophy for more practical pursuits. He may even have earned his living for a time as a banker or money changer.Authorities differ on precisely when al-Razi began to study medicine. Some maintain that he first left Ray and journeyed to Baghdad as a mature man, …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…at Venice in 1498, was a translation from the imperfect Greek text, but in 1747 a more accurate version was prepared on which the first translation into English was based.In his declining years, al-Razi was hindered by the slow deterioration of his sight. An anecdote relates that when urged to have the films removed from his eyes surgically, the old man rejected the proposal, replying that he had already seen enough of the world. Though the place and date of his death are uncertain, one rather reliable Islamic chronologer places it at Ray on Oct. 26, 925. Further Reading Biographical material on al-Razi is in Edward G. Browne, Arabian Medicine (1921), and Cyril Elgood, A Medical History of Persia and the Eastern Caliphate (1951). See also Donald Campbell, Arabian Medicine and Its Influence on the Middle Ages (2 vols., 1926); George Sarton, Introduction to the History of Science, vol. 1 (1927); and Henry E. Sigerist, History of Medicine, vol. 2 (1961). |