Abstract
THIS book contains the Arabic text, with an annotated German translation, of the “Book of Poisons” of S £n £q, that is, C £nakya (Chanakya), the minister of King Chandragupta (fourth century B.C.). The Arabic version is not a direct translation of an Indian original, but is rather a compilation from both Indian and Greek sources. It was apparently based on a Persian translation of an Indian “Poison-book of Chanakya” made by an Indian physician, Mankah, of the celebrated hospital at Jundi-Shapur. Mankah also translated other Indian medical books, such as a treatise on the names of drugs, and a medical compendium of Susruta. The Arabic version of the “Poison-book” was made from the Persian by one Ab ¼ H £tim of Balkh, about whom we have no information. It was later re-edited by Al-Abbas ibn Sa’ ed al-Jauhar, who was probably responsible for the introduction of the Greek material.
Das Giftbuch des anq: eine Literaturgeschichtliche Untersuchung
Von Bettina Strauss. (Quellen und Studien zur Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften und der Medizin, Fortsetzung des Archivs für Geschichte der Mathematik, der Naturwissenschaften und der Technik, Herausgegeben vom Institut für Geschichte der Medizin und der Naturwissenschaften, Band 4, Heft 2.) Pp. 64 + 66. (Berlin: Julius Springer, 1934.) 15 gold marks.
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H., E. Das Giftbuch des anq: eine Literaturgeschichtliche Untersuchung. Nature 136, 128 (1935). https://doi.org/10.1038/136128a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/136128a0