The Inside Assyria Discussion Forum #5

=> Arabs, The Moslem Assyrians

Arabs, The Moslem Assyrians

Posted by David Gavary (Guest) - Saturday, July 12 2008, 19:26:06 (CEST) from 12.199.144.42 - mail.shpl.org Non-Profit Organizations - Linux - Mozilla Website: Website title:

Who or what is an Arab? It is very difficult but not impossible to define its ethnic terms. The Arabs might be a nation but in a legal sense they are not as yet a nationality. A person who claims is an Arab should describe her or himself in passport or other international corresponds as of Iraqi, Jordanian, Syrian, Lebanese, Yemeni, Saudi Arabian, Libyan, Kuwaitis, Sudanese, Tunisian, Algerian, Moroccan etc. There are Arab states, and indeed a league of Arab states, but as yet there is no single Arab state of which all Arabs are nationals. But if Arabism has no legal content, it is none the less real. The pride of the Arab in his Arabdom, his consciousness of the bonds that bind him or her to other Arabs past and present, are less intense. Is the unifying factor then one of language is an Arab simply one who speaks Arabic as his mother tongue? It is simple and at first sight a satisfying answer, yet there are difficulties. Is the Arabic speaking Assyrian of Iraq , Syria or Lebanon, Or the Arabic speaking Jew of Yemen an Arab? The enquirer could receive different answers amongst these people themselves and among their Muslim neighbours. Is even the Arabic speaking Muslim of Egypt an Arab? Many consider themselves such, but not all, and the term Arab is still used colloquially in both Egypt and Iraq to distinguish the Bedouin (the wonderer Assyrians after the fall of Assyria) of the surrounding deserts from the indigenous peasantry of the two great river valleys (Euphrates & Tigris). In some quarters the repellent word Arabophone is used to distinguish those who merely speak Arabic from those who are truly Arabs. A gathering of Arab leaders some decades ago defined an Arab in these words “Whoever lives in our country, speaks our language, is brought up in our culture and takes pride in our glory is one of us.” We may compare with this a definition from a well qualified Western source, Professor Gibb of Harvard : “All those are Arabs for whom the central fact of history is the mission of Muhammad and the memory of the Arab Empire and who in addition cherish the Arabic tongue and its cultural heritage as their common possession”. Neither definition, it will be noted, is purely linguistic. Both add a cultural, one at least a religious, qualification. Both must be interpreted historically, for is only through the history of the people called Arab that we can hope to understand the meaning of the term from its primitive restricted use in ancient Assyria times to its vast but vaguely delimited extent of meaning today. As we shall see, through this long period the significance of the word Arab has been steadily changing, and as the change has been show, complex and extensive, we shall find that the term may be used in several different senses at one and the same time and that a standard general definition of its content has rarely been possible. Some historians because of their own personal feelings toward Assyria, claim the origin of the Arabs is still obscure, though Philologists have offered explanations of varying plausibility. For some, the word is derived from a Semitic root “West” and was first applied by the inhabitants of Bet-Nahrain (Mesopotamia) to the people to the west of the Euphrates valley. This etymology is questionable on purely linguistic grounds and is also open to the objection that the term was used by the Arabs themselves and that a people is not likely to describe itself by word indicating its position relative to another. More profitable are the attempts to link the word with the concept of nomadism. This has been done in various ways, by connecting it with the two ancient languages Aramaic or Hebrew “ Arabha”- dark land or steppe land, and with the Aramaic root “Abahar ” or Hebrew “Erebh” which in a sense they both mean to move 2 or pass, from which the word “Abraham” or “ Avraham” is probably derived, since has been known which the Biblical figure Abraham got that name after he passed Bet-Nahrain (Mesopotamia) rivers. The association with nomadism is borne out by the fact that the Arabs themselves seem to have used the word at an earlier date to distinguish the Bedouin from the Arabic-speaking town and village dwellers and indeed continue to do so to some extent at the present day. The traditional Arab etymology deriving the name from a verb meaning “ to express” or “enunciate” is almost certainly a reversal of the historic process. THE WORD ARAB MAKES ITS FIRST APPEARANCE IN AN ASSYRIAN INSCRIPTION OF 853 B.C. IN WHICH KING SHALMANESER III RECORDES THE DEFEAT BY ASSYRIAN FORCES OF A CONSPIRACY OF REBELLIOUS PRINCELINGS, ONE OF THEM WAS “Gindibu the Aribi” WHO APPROPRIATLY CONTRIBUTED 1,000 CAMELS TO THE FORCES OF THE CONFEDERACY. FROM THAT TIME UNTIL THE SIXTH CENTURY B.C. THERE ARE FREQUENT REFRENCES IN ASSYRIAN AND BABYLONIAN INSCRIPTIONS TO ARIBI, ARABU, AND URBI. THESE INSCRIPTIONS RECORD THE RECIEPT OF TRIBUTE FROM ARIBI RULERS USUALLY INCLUDING CAMELS AND OTHER ITEMS INDICATIVE OF A DESERT ORIGIN, AND OCCASIONALLY TELL OF MILITARY EXPEDITIONS INTO ARIBI LAND. SOME OF THE LATER INSCRIPTIONS ARE ACCOMPANIED BY ILLUSTRATIONS OF ARIBI AND THEIR CAMELS. THESE CAMPAIGNS AGAINST THE ARIBI WERE CLEARLY NOT WARS OF CONQUEST BUT PUNITIVE EXPEDITIONS INTENED TO RECALL THE ERRING NOMADS TO THEIR DUTIES AS ASSYRIAN VASSELS. THEY SERVED THE GENERAL PURPOSE OF SECURING THE ASSYRIAN BORDERLANDS AND LINES OF COMMUNICATION. Moslem Assyrian Contribution Viewing the Moslem Assyrian epoch in retrospect, one is inclined to marvel at both the momentum and magnitude of scientific activity during that period “unparalleled in the history of the world”. The Moslem Empire was created with collaboration of orthodox Assyrians and Christian Assyrians, Copts, Magians and Sabeans. But this assistance does not wholly explain what might be called the miracle of Moslem Assyrianic science, using the word miracle as a symbol of our inability to explain achievements which were almost incredible. There is nothing like it in the whole history of the ancient history of the mankind, except in Babylon and Assyria. The immenseness of the Moslem Assyrian contribution can best be realized by recapitulating of her activities, considering at the same time their impact on a Europe struggling upward through the barbarism of the Dark Ages. Medical Science Because the science of medicine is so important to human welfare, its advancement has been continuous from the Ancient Assyrian times to the present day, overcoming the barriers of race and religion which have sometimes impeded the progress of other sciences. Recognizing the importance of medical science, The Moslem Assyrians raised physicians to a high social rank and rewarded them with generous emoluments even the 3 non converted ones, the Christians or orthodox Assyrians, such as “Bakhtishou” or Bet-EEshoe. The science of medicine-allied in the Moslem Assyrians as in the Hellenistic world to the study of philosophy flourished in every caliphate and court of the Islamic Empire. The stimulated, the Moslem Assyrians scientists made significant advances in the art of healing, especially in the use of curative drugs. The world’s pharmacopoeia is the richer for these discoveries. They established hospitals far and wide, and even provided medical care in some prisons. They made careful clinic observations of diseases. They did creative work in the field of optics, and ophthalmology which was known since king Sargon II (721-705) who personally use to operate for cataract. (the Assyrian kings or elites children were trained physicians as well as Archery and other warfare, since their childhood.) The greatest contributions of the Islamic scientists to Europe of the Middle Ages, however were in the encyclopaedic field. Al Razi, known to Europe as Rhazes (865-925), Al Havi, later known to Europe in Latin translation as Continens, Ibn Sina, known to Europe as Avicenna (980-1037). Avicenna, one of the world’s great intellects, had an encyclopaedic mind and photographic memory. By the age of twenty one he had read and absorbed all the books in the royal library of the Sultan of Bukhara. He then set to work to systemize the knowledge of his time. Avicenna in his book “The Canon of Medicine” presented to the world the final codification of Moslem Assyrians medical thoughts. Translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona in twelfth century, this work became the most authoritative medical text of the Middle Ages, and was used in all the medical schools of Europe, passing through numerous editions. The material medica of this Canon contains some seven hundered and sixty drugs. From the twelfth to the seventeenth centuries this work served as the chief guide to medical science in the west, and it is still in occasional use in the Moslem Assyrians and Eastern Moslems. In the words of Dr. Osler, “it has remained a medical bible for a longer period than any other work” The medical doctrines of Galen, greatest of Greek physicians, as improved upon by the Moslem Assyrians, dominated Europe through her Middle Ages. As the Renaissance brought a new awakening of the human intellect, Europe which had been stimulated by its contacts with Moslem Assyrian culture, proceeded on its own energy and initiative toward those discoveries which have so greatly affected the health and longevity of man upon this planet. Chemistry The Moslem Assyrians, upon the conquest of Alexandria in 642 A. D., fell heir to all the science of ancient Babylon, Assyria and Egypt as developed and reconstructed by brilliant Hellenes of the Alexandrian period. The Moslem Assyrians, picking up this applied science from the Alexandrians, expanded it and handed it on to Europe under its Assyrian name “ Al- Kmayouta” or as pronounced by Moslem Assyrians “al-kemer or al- chemer” or Persian name “Kimia”, which it means rare, known to medievalists of Europe as alchemy. Up to the Renaissance alchemy and chemistry were synonymous, and the most important discoveries in the field of chemistry were those made by alchemist in his search for a formula which would convert metals into gold. In this search for the magical creation of gold, and in their researches in materials, Moslem Assyrian chemists developed formulas for making the three chief mineral acids used by the modern world- 4 nitric acid, sulphuric acid and hydrochloric acid. They discovered the arts of distillation, oxidation and crystallization, also the making of alcohol. Europe was indebted for all of its beginnings in alchemy and chemistry to the chemical science of the Moslem Assyrians, which reached them through translation of Moslem Assyrianic works into Latin. In this science, as in other arts and sciences which they inherited from their ancient Assyrian ancestors and practiced, they developed an objective and experimental method as opposed to the purely speculative method of the Greeks. The father of chemistry and the greatest genius was Jebraiel, called Jabir, known to Europe as Geber. He made significant advances in the theory and practice of his science, developing new methods for evaporation, sublimation and perfecting the process of crystallization. His works, translated into Latin, exerted a tremendous influence in Europe until the beginning of modern chemistry. Astronomy, Geography and Navigation The Moslem Assyrians absorbed all the astronomical, geographical and navigational science and skill from their ancient Assyrian and Babylonian ancestors and set about formulating it into a practicable body of knowledge. Drawing heavily from Greek sources, they introduced the works of Ptolemy into the scholastic life of Europe. Accepting the contention of Eristosthenes and other Greek geographers that the earth is round, The Moslem Assyrians established correctly its circumference and measured quite accurately the length of terrestrial degrees. They devised tables of latitude and longitude of places throughout the world, and worked out means of determining positions. Navigation in the Mediterranean required only star lore. But for navigation in the Atlantis ocean something more was needed. This something more-the compass-was borrowed by Moslem Assyrians from Chinese, and from the Greeks they borrowed the astrolable- an instrument which was used by Phoenicians (Assyrian Navy Force) for mapping the position of stars for navigational use. The Moslem Assyrians were expert navigators. For millenniums they had boldly traversed the Indian Ocean and boldly go where no man was gone before, in quest of trade with India and with the east cost of Africa. The Mediterranean they dominated for some five centuries, and they had anticipated Columbus in venturing into Atlantic, as far as perhaps as Azores. It was under the tutelage of these skilled Moslem Assyrian navigators that Prince Henry the Navigator trained his pilots, soon claiming for Portugal the best seamen and fastest ships in Europe. “ Portuguese pilots and navigators became the foremost masters of nautical science of their time, possessing the most exact instruments then known. It was in Portugal and on the newly won Portuguese islands of Madeira a and Azores that Columbus studied navigation. There the explorer sought information before setting out from Spain to find the seaway to India.” It is safe to say that without these navigational skills Which these misunderstood Moslem Assyrians bequeathed him, and without the revival of the Greek concept of round earth which was known to Ancient Assyria and Babylon, which the Moslem Assyrians stored to Europe, Columbus would never have ventured forth over the Atlantis or even have conceived the idea of such a voyage, which ended up in discovery of America. It is so unfortunate a nation which gave so much to the world, now is struggling to have their own land back, The holiest of holies the Bet-Nahrain (Mesopotamia). 5 The Rise of the University The Moslem Assyrians, as we have seen, began to found universities in the ninth century, first in Baghdad and soon in Cairo, Fez, Cordova and other Moslem cities. The El-Azhar university of Cairo boasts of being the oldest existing university in the world next to the Jondishapor university in Iran which was built during the Sasaanid Dynasty with the contribution of Christian Assyrian physicians like Bakhtishoe or Bet-Eshoe family which later a remnant from this family became Haroun-Al-Rashid’s personal physician. El-Azhar was founded in the tenth century and has remained from that day the world’s leading Islamic theological centre. The universities of Cordova and Toledo were well known to Europeans, and their hospitals were frequented by Christian princes in need of medical care such as Christian Europe could not furnish. The first medical schools of Europe were the direct result of this Moorish [ The remnant of the Carthegians an Assyrian region in northern Africa ( the most famous Carthegian commander was Banipal, oops….Hanibal) ] influence, and of great importance to the development of the scientific spirit in medieval Europe. For scientific inquiry, as it had been developed by the Greeks and Moslem Assyrians, thus gained a foothold within the precincts of a Europe dominated by the Church, by theology, and by ecclesiastical culture. The first university of Europe that of Salerno in Sicily had arisen just such medical foundations. The origins of this universities goes back to Jondishapour, Jondishavour or “Qendana-D-Shavour, (king Shapour or King Shavour’s work or Tug)” in Iran and organized by Christian Assyrian physicians as I mentioned them earlier. But unfortunately is reputed to have been founded in the ninth century by a Latin, a Greek, a Jew. Its textbooks were translated by Constantine the African (an important figure in the history of learning) Arabic (originally in Aramaic) works which were themselves partly original (Aramaic) and partly translated from Greek and Hellenes. Salerno was eclipsed by the establishment of the University of Naples in 1224 by Frederick II, who as have seen was a proponent of the Moslem Assyrians culture. Frederick had the works o Aristotle translated from Arabic language into Latin, as well as the works of Iben Rusd (Averroes) The Moslem Assyrian Astronomer, Physician, Aristotelian commentator and greatest of the Moslem Assyrian philosophers. During the early thirteenth century universities sprang up all over Europe. In these universities, and in others founded later, the men of Christian Europe studied for the first time subjects that were purely secular as Astronomy, Philosophy and Medicine, having at their disposal texts created by Greeks of classic and Hellenic days, and texts created by the Moslem Assyrians genius. Machinery Machinery could be traced from its early and late inventions by the Ancient Assyrians and Babylonians to its current elaboration in our modern industrial age. They perfected the mechanism of the wheel which they inherited its technicality from their ancestors the Sumerians and discovered the principle of the lever, the pulley and the screw and demonstrated them successfully and used them to water the hanging gardens of Babylon. 6 (The Gardens, actually were not hanging but were built in a very high elevation, the- mistake is in translation, The Assyrians calls any personality in a high standard or any high ground “Ma Alia, like we call A Patriarch Baba Ma Alia and so the Moslem’s Caliphate was called Ali or “Elaya orAlaya”. Which “Ma Alia” is equable to Arabic “Moalia “ or MoAlagh as they pronounce it, The Greek misunderstood it as Malagh in Arabic which is “Avizan” in Persian so it was translated Hanging Gardens, this is one of the many mistakes which the Greeks committed and it resulted in great damages to the glorious Assyrian history). Nothing of importance was lacking for the creation of a machinery age except the will to produce it, which The Assyrians were naturally motivated people. When the Moslem Assyrians in 641 conquered Egypt and took possession of Alexandria, they fell heir to what remained of Greek captivity and creativity. They made translations of Hero’s Mechanics and applied its principles to two important Assyrian’s inventions, the water-mill and the windmill. Unfortunately some ignorant historians have traced it to Romans, Persians, and the Caliph Omar, it is my duty as a Hanief Assyrian (orthodox or a person who believes only in the monotheism of the Creator and the organized religions are not known to him, like The Assyrian kings and their subjects, the Biblical figures as Adam, Abraham and….)to challenge any such historians who are continuously repeating these nonsense, it is as simple as to say “ What would have become of the Jewish history if it was written by Hitler or the Iranian history by Sadaam Hussein, Who believed only two creatures shall seize to live, the flies and the Persians?” Those windmills came into use in Europe by way of Morocco and Spain. Leonardo da Vinci somehow came into possession of Hero’s books and set about to improve the Ancient Assyrian’s inventions. In this he was followed by other Italians, notably Ramelli. By 1600 the science of mechanics was well established in Europe and after the discovery of America was brought and improved to this point. To sum up, let us envision the seventh century world into which Islam was born and Assyrian Haniefs and Assyrian Christians were converted in its early stage not by force but by will, [While Mohammad blessed be his name, was alive did not allow a single sword to be pulled against a Christian or specifically an Assyrian for his mission was to submit the Pagans to the will of the Creator “Ashur” who was known to him as “Allah” in Arabic. The intellectual Assyrians who Mohammad was surrounded with, saw their existence and going back to the future of their glorious ancient through Islam and Mohammad, but unfortunately after Mohammad passed away things changed and Islam took a different course by some individuals who were thirsty for power. His true successor “Emam Ali” along with a band of his followers and a considerable number of the converted Assyrians moved to Bet-Nahrain (Mesopotamia) in order to ally with Christian Assyrian and the Persians who were converted to Christianity, to restore what Mohammad wished for. Unfortunately, much like it is today the clergies were interested only to keep their seats, positions and personal interest. At end he was assassinated and his sons were murdered in place called “Qourba-d-allaha (close to God) or today’s karbala.] realized the condition of Roman culture. This classic civilization had come to a standstill. 7 It now lacked vigour, enterprise and spirit. In no world centre was scientific activity being carried on. The Moslem Assyrians, erupting into this ancient and tired civilization, picked up the threads of ancient science and technology anywhere available and wove into a definite pattern of progress. They salvaged the science of the classic world and developed it for five centuries. They enlarged the boundaries of all the technologies then known. But they were more than mere encyclopaedists. They made practical application of this knowledge to the needs of the times. It was no accident that the Moslem Assyrian people attained such wide-spread prosperity and felicity. In pursuit of these progressive goals the Moslem Assyrian scientists attained an experimental objectivity that the Greeks had disdained. They took a long step toward Bacon’s noble vision of modern science: “By experimentation to discover truth and by the application of this truth to advance human progress.” This Assyrianic-Islamic science and technology, reaching Europe via Sicily and Spain, awoke her from the Dark Ages in which she was slumbering. The detailed elaboration of the actual routes by which this transference took place have only recently been outlined by historians. Over a hundred years ago a statement of the full influence of the Moslem Assyrian’s culture on Europe would have been incredible. But modern research has firmly established its incontestability. The Oxford History of Technology sums it up as follows: “ There are few major technological innovations between 500 A.D. and 1500 that do not show some traces of the Islamic culture.” Medicine in ancient Bet-Nahrain Unfortunately, a huge number of cuneiform tablets did not get translated and are putrefying inside the dark basement corridors of European museums, some are sold to private collectors and some were destroyed, looted or stolen from Baghdad museum during the so called liberation. Since there is not much proves for the causes, we will rest the case and read from the ones which miraculously made their way to translation and are concerned with medical issues. Many of the tablets that do mention medical practices have survived from the library of Ashurbanipal, the last great king of Assyria. The library of Ashurbanipal was housed in the king’s palace at Nineveh, and when the palace was burned by invaders, around 30,000 clay tablets were baked and thereby preserved by the great fire. In the early 1920’s, only 660 medical tablets from the library of Ashurbanipal were published by Cambell Thompson. Recently over 400 tablets found from sites other than King Ashurbanipal’s library, including the library of a medical practitioner (an asipu in Sumerian vocabulary or an asia in Assyrian) from Neo-Assyrian, as well as Middle Assyrian and Middle Babylonian texts were translated. The vast majority of these tablets are prescriptions, but there are few series of tablets that contained entries that were directly related to one another, and these have been labelled “treatises.” The largest surviving such medical treatise from ancient Bet-Nahrain (Mesopotamia) is known as “Treatise of Medical Diagnosis and Prognoses.” The text of this treatise consists of 40 tablets collected and studied by French scholar R. Labat. Although the oldest surviving 8 copy of this treatise dates to around 1600 B.C, the information contained in the text are mixtures of several centuries of Bet-Nahrain medical knowledge. The diagnostic treatise is organized in head to toe order with separate subsections covering convulsive disorders, gynaecology and paediatrics. It is unfortunate that the antiquated translations available at present to the non-specialist make ancient Bet-Nahrain medical texts sound like excerpts from a sorcerer’s hand book which in my opinion it’s a deliberate act to make Assyrians a subject for jokes by its specific and long term enemy, the Jews, for believing those fables and fairy tales written in the Bible. In fact, as recent research is showing, the descriptions of diseases contained in the diagnostic treatise demonstrate a keen ability to observe and are usually astute. Virtually all expected diseases can be found described in parts of the diagnostic treatise, when those parts are fully preserved, as they are for neurology, fevers, worms and flukes, Venereal diseases and skin lesions. The medical texts are, moreover, essentially rational, and some of treatments, as for example those designed for excessive bleeding ( where all the plants mentioned can be easily identified), are essentially the same modern treatments for the same condition. The Ancient Bet-Nahrain Medical Practitioners By examining the surviving medical tablets it is clear that there were two distinct types of professional medical practitioners in ancient Bet-Nahrain. The first type of practitioner was ashipu a spiritual healer, one of the most important roles of the ashipu was to diagnose the ailment. In the case of internal diseases, this most often meant that the ashipu determined which demon was causing the illness. The ashipu also attempted to determine if the diseases was the result of some error or sin on the part of the patient. The ashipu could also attempt to cure the patient by means of charms and spells that were designed to entice away or drive out the spirit causing the disease. The ashipu could also refer the patient to a different type of healer called an asu. (later on as the Assyrians improved in medicine, the asu was called asia) He was a specialist in herbal remedies and surgeries. The knowledge of the asu in making plasters is of particular interest. Many of the ancient plasters seem to have had some helpful benefits. For instance, some of the more complicated plasters called for the heating of plant resin or animal fat with alkali. This particular mixture when heated yields soap which would have helped to ward off bacterial infection. While the relationship between the ashipu and asu is not entirely clear, the two kinds of healers seemed to have worked together in order to obtain cures. The wealthiest patients probably sought medical attention from both an ashipu and an asu in order to cure an illness. It seems that the ashipu and the asu often worked in cooperation with each other in order to treat certain ailments. Beyond sharing patients, there seems to have been some overlap between the skills of the two types of healers: an ashipu might occasionally cast a spell and an asu might prescribe drugs. Evidence for this crossing of supposed occupational lines has been found in the library of an asu that contained pharmaceutical recipes. Another textual source of evidence concerning the skills of Bet-Nahrain physicians comes from the Law Code of Hammurabi.[Hammu or Khammu-Rabi,(means: the Concerned / Thoughtful Teacher) the first law giver in the history. It makes me wonder, why the Biblical writers chose only ten Hummurabi’s laws for Moses ten commands!] This collection was 9 not found written on a tablet, but was discovered on a large block of polished diorite. Several similar collections are known from other areas and periods, from different Assyrian kings and Babylonian rulers, Hammurabi’s cannot be taken as representative of all Bet-Nahrainian justice, in fact, it is outstanding for its application of the principle of an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth, while other codes allow monetary penalties. Among Hammurabi’s laws were several that pertained to the liability of physicians who performed surgery. These laws state that a doctor was to be held responsible for surgical errors and failures. Since the laws only mention liability in connection with “use of a knife,” it can be assumed that doctors in Hammurabi’s kingdom were not liable for any non-surgical mistakes or failed attempts to cure an ailment. It is also interesting to note that according to these laws, both the successful surgeon’s compensation and the failed the failed surgeon’s liability were determined by the status of his patient. Therefore, if a surgeon operated and saved the life of a person of high status, the patient was to pay ten sheckels of silver. If the surgeon saved the life of a slave, he only received two sheckels from his master. Regardless of the risks associated with performing surgery, at least four clay tablets have survived, that described a specific surgical procedure. Unfortunately, one of the four tablets is too fragmentary to be deciphered. Of the remaining three, one seems to describe a procedure in which the asu cuts into the chest of the patient in order to drain pus from the pleura. The other two surgical texts belong to the collection of tablets entitled “Prescriptions for Diseases of the Head.” One of the texts mentions the knife of asu scraping the skull of the patient. The final surgical tablet mentions the postoperative care of a surgical wound. This tablet recommends the application of dressing consisting mainly of sesame oil, which acted as an anti-bacterial agent. Another important consideration for study of ancient Bet-Nahrainian medicine is the identification of the various drugs mentioned in the tablets. Unfortunately, many of these drugs are difficult to identify with any degree of certainty. Often the asu used metaphorical names for common drugs, such as “lion’s fat” (much as today’s terms “tiger Lilly”). Of the drugs that have been identified, most were plant extracts, resins, or spices. Many of the plants incorporated into the asu medicinal repertoire had antibiotic properties, while several resins and many spices have some antiseptic value, and would mask the smell of a malodorous wound. Beyond these benefits, it is important to keep in mind that both the pharmaceuticals and the actions of the ancient physicians must have carried a strong placebo effect. Patients undoubtedly believed that the doctors were capable of healing them. Therefore, at the very least, visiting the doctor psychologically reinforced the notion of health and wellness. [unlike today, the patients psychologically looses the notion of health, while or when are reminded for their co-payments, deductibles, or hospital bills. In many cases they would rather drop dead if they have no insurance]. Beyond the role of the ashipu and the asu, there were other means of procuring health care in ancient Bet-Nahrain. One of these alternative sources was Temple of Gula. Gula, often envisioned in canine form, was one of the more significant gods of healing. While excavation of temples dedicated to Gula have not revealed signs that patients were housed at the temple while they were treated. The primary center for health care was the home, as it was when the ashipu or asu were employed. The majority of health care 10 was provided at the patient’s own house, with family acting as care givers in whatever capacity their lay knowledge afforded them. Outside of the home, other important sites for religious healing were nearby rivers. The Bet-Nahrainian believed that rivers had the power to care away evil substances and forces that were causing the illness. Sometimes a small hut was set up for the afflicted person either near the home or the river to aid in the families centralization of home health care. [It seems nothing has been changed for some Christian Assyrians, more or less like their ancestors they believe in ashipu the spell doctor, before they go for a surgery or an operation they see their priest and ask for his prayers which later he is merited by the immediate relatives. After they are saved by the Surgeon or a Doctor and are released from hospital, the first thing they do is to donate some money to the church or chip in a “Shara” (a feast given to one of their so called saint, a clergy’s birthday or death day, who lived and died few centuries ago which is called “Doukhrana” Redemption. But they forget to send a simple thank you card to the Physician who is the one who saved their life.] Now, I am honestly asking these Christian Assyrians, why is it that, the Moslem Assyrians are so advanced and way ahead of them in any form and shape? I think they should ask this question from their clergies, specifically their bishops, which it seems they have answers for every question. At the end I am humbly asking, “let us have love and respect for one another, it does not mater which side of the fence we are at, for we are all Assyrians and for those Assyrians which are bragging about their Christianity, should remember that the Chaldean Assyrians or Syrian Assyrians are Christians, a peaceful religion on a little blue spot in the universe, called Earth.” The Prophet Muhammad’s order to the followers of the Islam, Regarding the Christian Assyrians. “God has told me in a vision what to do, and I confirm his command by giving my solemn promise to keep this agreement”. To the followers of the Islam I say: Cary out my command, protect and help the Nazarene (Christian Assyrians) nation in this country of ours in their own land. Leave their places of worship in peace; help and assist their chief and their priest when in need of help, be it in the mountains, in the desert, on the sea, or at home. Leave all their possessions alone, be it houses or other properties, do not destroy anything of their belongings, the followers of Islam shall not harm or molest any of this nation, because the Nazarenes are my subjects, pay tribute to me and will help the Muslims. No tribute, but what is agreed upon, shall be collected from them, their church buildings shall be left as they are, they shall not be altered, their priests shall be permitted to teach and worship in their own way-the Nazarenes have full liberty of worship in their churches and homes. None of their churches shall be torn down, or altered into a mosque, except by the consent and free will of the Nazarenes. If any one disobeys this command, the anger of God and his prophet shall be upon him. 11 The tribune paid by the Nazarenes shall be used to promote the teachings of Islam and shall be deposited at the treasury of Bait-Al-Mal. A common man shall pay one dinar, but the merchants and people who own mines of gold and silver and have taxes levied upon them. If a man inherits property he shall pay a settled sum to the Bet-Al-Mal treasury. The Nazarenes are not obliged to make war on the enemies of Islam, but if an enemy attacks the Nazarenes, the Muslims shall not deny their help, but give them horses and weapons, if they need them, and protect them from evils from outside and keep the peace with them. The Nazarenes are not obliged to turn Muslims, until God’s will makes them believers. “The Muslims shall not force Christian women to accept Islam, but if they themselves wish to embrace it, The Muslims shall be kind to them.” If a Christian woman is married to a Muslim and does not want to embrace Islam, she has liberty to worship at her own church according to her own religious belief, and her husband must not treat her unkindly on account of her religion. If any one disobeys this command, he disobeys God and his prophet and will be guilty of a great offence. If the Nazarenes wish to build a church, their Muslim neighbours shall help them. This shall be done, because they have obeyed us and have come to us and pleaded for peace and mercy. If there be among the Nazarenes a great and learned man the Muslims shall honour him and not be envious of his greatness. If any one is unjust and unkind to the Nazarenes he will be guilty of disobeying the Prophet of God. The Nazarene should not shelter an enemy of Islam or give him horse, weapon or any other help, If a Muslim is in need the Nazarene shall for three days and nights be his host and shelter him from his enemies. The Nazarenes shall, furthermore, protect the Mohammedans women and children and not deliver them up to the enemy or expose them to view. If the Nazarenes fail to fulfil these conditions, they have forfeited their right to protection, and the agreement is null and void. “ This document shall be entrusted to the Nazarenes chief and head of their church for safe keeping.” The peace of God be over them all! This agreement is written by Moavijah Ben Sofian, according to the dictates of Muhammad, the Messenger of God, in the 4th year of the Hegira in the city of Medina. David Gavary California, 2/14/2007 --------------------- - BACK TO INDEX - REPLY - QUOTE - EDIT - DELETE -

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