Challenges in Verifying Historical Ophthalmological Texts: The Case of a Turkish Book Derived From a Persian Source Publisher



Mortazavi MS ; Ince F ; Irannejad S ; Zargaran A
Source: Journal of Research on History of Medicine Published:2025

Abstract

This study aims to describe the challenges of authenticating and establishing the uniqueness of historical ophthalmological treatises by way of comparative analysis of two significant texts: the Persian “Zahire-ye Hawarizmsahi” authored by Isma’il Ibn Husayn Gurgani (1040-1136 AD) and the Turkish “Miftah al-Nur wa-Hazaʾin al-Surur” of Muʾmin Ibn Muqbil, a 15th-century Ottoman oculist from Sinop (present-day Turkey). Although the latter claims independent scholar merit, investigation confirms that it is an adaptation and translation of the Gurgani’s work. It raises major issues in medical historical scholarship, such as proper source material identification, translation concerns, and the consequences of misattribution in the history of ophthalmology. It accentuates the importance of rigorous source authentication protocols in ensuring scholarly integrity and generating more understanding of the transmission of medical knowledge in the Islamicate world, specifically in the Iranian plateau and Anatolia. It also addresses implications of broad significance for historians examining the development of ophthalmological knowledge in different cultures. © Journal of Research on History of Medicine.