Late Mamluk Medical Regimen for Travellers

The fifteenth-century travel regimen entitled al-Isfar ?an hikam al-asfar ('The unveiling of the wisdoms of the books') written by the Cairene jurist-physician Ibn al-Amshati (d. 1496) is an interesting example of the postclassical medical literature. It includes, besides a travel regimen (written likely as a health guide for the pilgrimage to Mecca), a short pharmacopoeia of single and compound remedies deemed useful for the traveller. The work was composed for Kamal al-Din al-Barizi (d. 1452), the head of the Mamluk Chancery. The Arabic edition, English translation, and commentary of this text are framed by a detailed introductory study of the Arabic-language tradition of travel regimens and various medico-pharmacological glossaries.