Ottoman Medicine - Healing and Medical Institutions, 1500-1700

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Theodore

Ottoman Medicine: Healing and Medical Institutions, 1500–1700 examines how medical pluralism, prevention practices, and therapeutic realities shaped Ottoman healthcare from 1500 to 1700. The study links bodily understanding with hygiene, hydrotherapy, sensory experience, and the interaction between religion and medical practice. It also analyzes medical benevolence, entitlement, and social order, showing how disability, gender, age, and foreign status influenced access. Finally, it situates disease and healing in urban space through institutions, environments, and the spatial logic of isolation and connection.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages299

Reading Time12 h 33 min

AccessFree to download

Contents

List of Illustrations

Preface

Note on Transliteration

Introduction: The Marriage of Medicine and Society

The (In)Visible Middle Eastern Ill in the Scholarship

The Aims and Scope of the Book

Chapter 1: Medical Pluralism, Prevention and Cure

Chapter 2: “In health and in sickness”: The Integrative Body

Chapter 3: “Feed the hungry, visit the sick and set those who suffer free”: Medical Benevolence and Social Order

Chapter 4: Spaces of Disease, Disease in Space

Conclusion: Ottoman Medicine—Ottoman? Successful?

Appendix: List of Hospitals Discussed in the Book

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Ottoman Medicine Healing and MedicalInstitutions 1500–1700 MIRI SHEFER-MOSSENSOHN This page intentionally left blank. Ottoman Medicine This page intentionally left blank. Ottoman Medicine Healing and Medical Institutions, 1500–1700 MIRI SHEFER-MOSSENSOHN Cover art entitled “The Story of the Toothache Tree.” In Turkestan thereis a certain tree which cures toothaches. The wood of the tree is burnt and the ashes rubbed on the painful tooth. The smoke from the wood is also effective. In the picture, one youth with a swollen face holds his head over the smoke of ﬁre made of the Toothache Tree, while another youth stands nearby.“Wonders of Art and Nature,” manuscript held at the British Library, Harl. 5500, f.75v, reproduced by permission of the British Library. Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 2009 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY [www.sunypress.edu](www.sunypress.edu) Production by Diane Ganeles Marketing by Michael Campochiaro Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Shefer-Mossensohn, Miri, 1971– Ottoman medicine : healing and medical institutions, 1500–1700 / Miri Shefer-Mossensohn. [p. cm](p. cm). Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4384-2529-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Medicine—Turkey—History. 2. Medical care—Turkey—History. I. Title. RA537 .M67 2009 610.9561—dc22 2008024275 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To I. with endless love and gratitude This page intentionally left blank. Contents List of Illustrations ix Preface xi Note on Transliteration xv Introduction: The Marriage of Medicine and Society 1 The (In)Visible Middle Eastern Ill in the Scholarship 3 The Aims and Scope of the Book 11 Chapter 1: Medical Pluralism, Prevention and Cure 21 Ottoman Medical Etiologies 22 Therapeutics: The Clinical Reality 29 “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”: Medical Dietary 30 Ginger and Viper Flesh: The Ordinary and the Bizarre in Middle Eastern Pharmacology 34 Surgery? 45 Chapter 2: “In health and in sickness”: The Integrative Body 63 The Senses and the Sound of Music 69 Hygiene and Hydrotherapy: The Power of Water 77 Religion and Medicine, Religion as Medicine: A Placebo Effect? 86 What Is Health, Then? What Is Illness? 93 viii Contents Chapter 3: “Feed the hungry, visit the sick and set those who suffer free”: Medical Benevolence and Social Order 101 The Imperative of Health and Medical Care in a Muslim Context: A Religious Duty and a Philanthropic Act 106 Formal Medical Aid and the Donors 110 The Medically Disabled as Needy and Entitled 117 The Non-Poor Foreigner as Entitled to Medical Help 121 Religious Afﬁliation and Entitlement 125 Male and Female in Medical Neediness 128 The Age of Entitlement 132 Illness as a pre-condition for deﬁning entitlement 134 An Instrument for Social Control: The Other Side of Charity 137 Chapter 4: Spaces of Disease, Disease in Space 145 Ottoman Medical Institutions as Urban Institutions 147 Ottoman Medical Institutions within the Urban Landscape 153 Urban Medical Institutions, Environment and Gardens 154 Walls as Barriers and as Connectors: Degrees of Isolation 166 The Marriage of Etiology and Space 170 Conclusion: Ottoman Medicine—Ottoman? Successful? 181 What Is Ottoman in Ottoman Medicine? 181 Ottoman Turkish: From Vernacular to Literary and Scientiﬁc Usage 185 Hospitals as Ottoman Institution 187 “The sick are cured within three

FAQs

What time span and focus does the book cover?

The book focuses on Ottoman medicine, specifically healing and medical institutions, covering the period 1500–1700. It addresses both medical practices and the institutions that organized care.

How does the book approach medical practice and the body?

It examines medical pluralism, prevention, and clinical therapeutics, then connects these themes to an “integrative body.” Topics include hygiene and hydrotherapy, the senses, and how religion and medicine intersect.

How does the book explain access to medical care and social order?

It analyzes medical benevolence and the social mechanisms of entitlement in a Muslim context. The discussion includes how donors and formal medical aid work, and how neediness, disability, gender, age, and illness define access.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Theodore

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