MarwÄn ibn JanÄḥ is renowned for his works on Hebrew grammar and lexicography, which he composed in al-Andalus in the first half of the eleventh century. Lesser-known is the KitÄb al-TalkhÄ«á¹£ (âBook of the Explanationâ), a fundamental Arabic work he composed on the nomenclature of medicinal drugs, edited here for the first time along with an annotated English translation and studies of its Ibero-Romance terms.
The true significance of the TalkhÄ«á¹£ was unknown until recent research (see Introd., §â¯8) revealed that it is the oldest extant alphabetical monograph on the nomenclature of simple drugs. It is also invaluable because of the vast number of fragments from older sources it contains (§§â¯17â110). Later authors on this topicâmost of whom depend directly or indirectly on Ibn JanÄḥâs book (§§â¯111â119)ârarely mentioned these primary sources, so only the TalkhÄ«á¹£ allows a reconstruction of how specific names of drugs became part of the later and more famous lists of synonyms, such as those by Maimonides and al-ZahrÄwÄ«.
Ibn JanÄḥâs TalkhÄ«á¹£ has deep roots in the earlier literature explaining arcane names of drugs and other technical terms. The early translators of Greek and Syriac medical treatises (§§â¯60â71, 85) lacked the appropriate Arabic equivalents of phytonyms, and this led to the production of polyglot synonym lists. Even Ibn BukhtÄ«shÅ«Ê¿ (§â¯76) and Ḥunayn (§â¯83e) composed such tables, sometimes quoted by al-RÄzÄ« (§â¯89g). The originals of these texts of the so-called PushshÄq shmÄhÄ-type are all lost; a few fragments were preserved in the Syriac glossographical literature (especially by Bar BahlÅ«l), in al-BÄ«rÅ«nÄ«âs á¹¢aydana, and in the tables of al-RÄzÄ«âs ḤÄwÄ«âthese last obviously depend extensively on such a source.1
Most of the old medical encyclopedias (KunnÄsh, pl. KanÄnÄ«sh) of the Syro-Arabic tradition, written between the second/eighth and fourth/tenth century, certainly contained chapters on simple drugs. Since most of these, too, are lost, it is difficult to decide whether these texts, including those by AbÅ«/Ibn Jurayj (§â¯73), Ahrun (§â¯70), Masīḥ (§â¯77), and Ibn SarÄfiyÅ«n (§â¯85), also contained separate lists of synonyms. Ê¿AlÄ« ibn Rabban al-ṬabarÄ«âs Firdaws al-ḥikma (§â¯78) has lists of simple drugs only, but no chapters on their nomenclature, while volume xxii of al-RÄzÄ«âs ḤÄwÄ« consists of lengthy tables of synonyms of drugs, technical medical terms, and weights and measures.2 Lists of synonyms were also part of a previously almost unknown genre, the KanÄnÄ«sh, written by authors from al-Andalus such as YaḥyÄ ibn IsḥÄq (§â¯92) and Ibn Shirfand (§â¯102). The Kairouan school of medicine did apparently not produce such lists, although its members often mentioned terms interesting for our author (§§â¯88, 91, 93, 95).
Another important precursor of Ibn JanÄḥ was his teacher Ibn Juljul, who wrote a commentary on Dioscoridesâ Materia medica and a rather short list of drugs not mentioned by Dioscorides. The striking difference with the TalkhÄ«á¹£ is that Ibn Juljul followed the original arrangement of Dioscoridesâ work. This made it difficult for a practitioner to use his list. It is likely that Ibn Juljul wrote yet another treatise on this subject, a lost and hitherto unnoticed RisÄlat al-TabyÄ«n, perhaps identical to the RisÄla fÄ« l-Ê¿AqÄqÄ«r, mentioned once by Ibn JanÄḥ (§â¯99). Because of the paucity of information, it is difficult to decide whether the latter was an alphabetically arranged prototype of the TalkhÄ«á¹£.
As noted, Ibn JanÄḥâs TalkhÄ«á¹£ is the oldest preserved alphabetical monograph dealing with the nomenclature of simple drugs. It is possible that Ibn JanÄḥ was indeed the inventor of this genre, which flourished for centuries. Similar monographs were written by Maimonides (Sharḥ asmÄʾ al-Ê¿uqqÄr, §â¯116), AbÅ« l-Khayr al-IshbÄ«lÄ« (Ê¿Umdat al-á¹abÄ«b, §â¯113), al-HarawÄ« (Baḥr al-Ê¿ulÅ«m, 16th c.), Ê¿Abd al-RazzÄq al-JazÄʾirÄ« (Kashf al-rumÅ«z, 18th c.), and the anonymous author of the Tuḥfat al-aḥbÄb (18th c.). Ibn JanÄḥâs text also had an enormous impact on books on simple drugs and the glossographical sections of other medical works, like al-ZahrÄwÄ«âs Taá¹£rÄ«f, Ibn BiklÄrishâs MustaÊ¿Ä«nÄ«, KÅ«hÄ«nâs MinhÄj al-dukkÄn, al-IdrÄ«sÄ«âs á¹¢ifÄt, al-GhÄfiqÄ«âs MufradÄt, Barhebraeusâ Muntakhab, and Ibn al-Bayá¹Ärâs JÄmiÊ¿ (§§â¯111â119).
Ibn JanÄḥ does not rely exclusively on medical literature. He also makes extensive use of Arabic philological texts, especially the classical lexica available at that time and the famous monograph on plants by AbÅ« ḤanÄ«fa. Following the conventions of philology, he often includes shawÄhidâverses by ancient and modern poets that illustrate the use of a phytonym. This feature should not be underestimated, because earlier lists of medical synonyms seldom made use of the classical lexica. The earliest texts on medical nomenclature were rooted in the tradition of the polyglot tables and not in Arabic lexicography. Even Ibn JanÄḥâs teacher Ibn Juljul rarely referred to philological texts,3 whereas books written after Ibn JanÄḥâs time use these sources as a matter of course. Particularly AbÅ« ḤanÄ«faâs K. al-NabÄt was often quoted by authors like al-GhÄfiqÄ« and Ibn al-Bayá¹Är. It is difficult to decide whether Ibn JanÄḥ was the inventor of this approach, given that such quotations4 can also be found in the JÄmiÊ¿ of his presumed contemporary Ibn SamajÅ«n, who may even depend on an enigmatic common source (§â¯110). It should also be stressed that Ibn JanÄḥ holds philological sources in much higher esteem than Ibn SamajÅ«n did.
Ibn JanÄḥâs most important philological source was certainly AbÅ« ḤanÄ«faâs K. al-NabÄt (§â¯56). Many of his quotations from ancient philologists (e.g., §§â¯45â48) and most of the shawÄhid verses were also borrowed from AbÅ« ḤanÄ«fa. Ibn JanÄḥâs second most important source was al-KhalÄ«l ibn Aḥmadâs K. al-Ê¿Ayn (§â¯43). The TalkhÄ«á¹£ also contains several quotations from âal-lughaâ, meaning the lexicographical literature in general (§â¯59). Other books to which Ibn JanÄḥ clearly had access were AbÅ« Ê¿AlÄ« al-QÄlÄ«âs BÄriÊ¿ (§â¯57), Ibn Qutaybaâs Adab al-kuttÄb (§â¯55), Ibn al-SikkÄ«tâs Iá¹£lÄḥ al-maná¹iq (§â¯52), and al-JawharÄ«âs á¹¢iḥÄḥ (§â¯58). Such philological works are the sources of almost all verses by ancient Arabic poets cited by Ibn JanÄḥ (§§â¯17â35). In a few cases, he quotes poets of the fourth/tenth century that do not seem to be included in the lexica he drew on (§§â¯36â40). Our author was personally acquainted with contemporary philologists and physicians, whom he often mentions as well (§§â¯99â110).