224 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



still or suffered decline, and the few writers who attained any note were 

 little more than compilers of and commentators on the more ancient 

 authorities. Greco-Roman medicine came to an end in the west with the 

 fall of Rome in 476 A.D., while the capture of Alexandria and burning of 

 its great library by the Arabians about 640 ended the intellectual influ- 

 ence of that city. In the Eastern or Byzantine Empire, Greek medicine 

 continued for a longer time, overlapping the Arabian period. Among 

 the important writers or compilers of this later (post-Galenic) period 

 may be mentioned Oribasius (A.D. 326-403), Alexander of Tralles 

 (525-605), and Paul of ^Egina or Paulus iEginaeta (about 600). Ulti- 

 mately Greco-Byzantine medicine declined with the decay of the Eastern 

 Empire, its last distinguished exponent being John Actuarius (died 

 1283) ; and the last remnant of the Roman Empire and of direct Greek 

 influence came to an end with the capture of Constantinople by the 

 Turks in 1453. 



Arabian Medicine. — Soon after the Roman Empire fell, another 

 people, the obscure Arabian tribes, energized by the religion 

 founded by Mahomet, burst forth and established a vast dominion 

 under whose fostering care enlightenment and learning were carried 

 along during the centuries while Europe floundered in darkness and 

 chaos. The Moslem era is dated from the Hegira, or flight of Mahomet 

 from Mecca, in 622. Within a few years from this the Arabians, 

 organized and inspired by the new religion, overran and conquered 

 western Asia, northern Africa, and Spain, and over that wide territory 

 established a dominion that lasted for six centuries. This dominion 

 soon broke up into two independent divisions or sovereignties, the 

 eastern Caliphate, embracing the Asiatic territories, and the western 

 Caliphate, in Spain. About 750 two enlightened dynasties were 

 founded, one in the east with its capital at Bagdad, the other in Spain 

 with its capital at Cordova, both of which encouraged and developed 

 culture and education to a high plane. The Moorish dominion in 

 Spain was broken in 1212, and the eastern Caliphate was overthrown by 

 the Mongols in 1258. The Arabian period of culture therefore covered 

 the years from about 750 to 1200. 



During this period the Arabian scholars collected and translated the 

 learning of the Greeks, Persians and Indians, and cultivated the arts 

 and sciences, especially architecture, philosophy, mathematics, astron- 

 omy, geography, alchemy and medicine. In some branches they made 

 notable advances, as in mathematics; but in the main their chief ser- 

 vice was more in conserving the learning of the past than in creating 

 new knowledge. Important schools, libraries and hospitals were estab- 

 lished, especially at Bagdad and Cordova, but also at Damascus, Samar- 

 cand, Bokhara, Seville, Toledo, Granada and numerous other cities. 



In medicine the Arabians displayed great interest and proficiency, 



