Book contents
- Drugs in the Medieval Mediterranean
- Drugs in the Medieval Mediterranean
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Note to the Reader
- Medieval Mediterranean Pharmacology
- Part I Transmission of Pharmacological Knowledge
- Chapter 1 Ibn al-Tilmīdh’s Book on Simple Drugs
- Chapter 2 Drugs, Provenance, and Efficacy in Early Medieval Latin Medical Recipes
- Chapter 3 De sexaginta animalibus
- Chapter 4 Arabic Terms in Byzantine Materia Medica
- Chapter 5 The Theriac of Medieval al-Shām
- Chapter 6 ‘Already Verified’
- Part II The Borders of Pharmacology
- Index
- References
Chapter 5 - The Theriac of Medieval al-Shām
from Part I - Transmission of Pharmacological Knowledge
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 October 2023
Book contents
- Drugs in the Medieval Mediterranean
- Drugs in the Medieval Mediterranean
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Note to the Reader
- Medieval Mediterranean Pharmacology
- Part I Transmission of Pharmacological Knowledge
- Chapter 1 Ibn al-Tilmīdh’s Book on Simple Drugs
- Chapter 2 Drugs, Provenance, and Efficacy in Early Medieval Latin Medical Recipes
- Chapter 3 De sexaginta animalibus
- Chapter 4 Arabic Terms in Byzantine Materia Medica
- Chapter 5 The Theriac of Medieval al-Shām
- Chapter 6 ‘Already Verified’
- Part II The Borders of Pharmacology
- Index
- References
Summary
Theriac was an ancient antidote against poisons, as well as a strong medicine for serious diseases and plagues. Theriac was a much-needed compound drug, and therefore authorities took an active part in its production. We learn from historical sources that commercial ties and networks between countries were linked with the trade in the ingredients of theriac. The vast majority of these ingredients (of plant, animal, and inorganic origin) were brought from the region of the Dead Sea and from other parts of al-Shām. During the tenth century theriac specialists were active in Jerusalem, producing the antidote and exporting it to other countries. During the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods, Egypt became the main centre of production for theriac. The uses of theriac were known and applied in the East throughout the late medieval and early modern periods right through to modern times.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Drugs in the Medieval MediterraneanTransmission and Circulation of Pharmacological Knowledge, pp. 184 - 203Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023
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