An Investigation of the Transfer of Traditional Medicines from the Northern Routes of the Persian Gulf to Shiraz in the Al-Buwayh Period

The transfer of medicine through the Northern roads of the Persian Gulf to the shores and backshores of the Persian Gulf has a long history. In the history of post-Islamic Iran, al-Buwayh was the first government who facilitated the transfer of medicine from the Northern and Southern ports of the Persian Gulf to Shiraz. The emirs of this dynasty, especially Adud al-Dawla, played an important role in transporting medicine from the Northern and Southern ports of the Persian Gulf to Shiraz by making the roads safe. The present study, by performing a library research and following a descriptive-analytic method, seeks to find out, firstly, what the most important routes of drug transfer from the Persian Gulf ports to Shiraz were, and secondly, what the rulers of Al-Buwayh did for the security of the roads from the Northern Persian Gulf to Shiraz. The research findings indicate that, in the Al-Buwayh era, imported medicines (such as Cinnamon, Barbahar, and Alpinia officinarum(khosrodaro) were used to be first unloaded in Sohar and Siraf ports and then be transferred to Shiraz through three important highways.

Keywords:

Al-Buwayh , Medicine , Persian Gulf , Cinnamon , barbahar , Alpinia officinarum (khosrodaro) , Clove , Camphor