ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT

The Unani ( Greeco- Arab ) system of medicine owes, as its name ( Unani i.e belongs to Ionia , a place in Greece where from most of the Greek philosophers emerged) suggests, its origin to Greece. It was the Greek philosopher-physician Buqrat (Hippocrates - 460 – 377 BC) who freed medicine from the realm of superstition and magic, and gave it the status of science. The theoretical framework of Unani Medicine is based on the teachings of Hippocrates. After Hippocrates, a number of other Greek scholars enriched the system considerably. Of them, Jalinoos (Galen - 131 – 210 AD) stands out as the one who stabilized its foundation, on which Arab physicians like Abubaker Razi) (Rhazes - 850 - 925 AD) and Ibne Seena (Avicenna - 980 – 1037 AD) constructed an imposing edifice.

Unani Medicine got enriched by imbibing what was best in the contemporary systems of traditional medicine in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Persia, India, China and other Middle East and Far East Countries .It also benefited from the native medical systems in vogue at the time in various parts of Central Asia. That is why the systems is known ,in different parts of the world ,with different names such as Greco-Arab Medicine, Iranian Medicine ,Arab Medicine ,Islamic Medicine , Traditional Medicine ,Oriental Medicine etc.

The Unani system of medicine was introduced to India by the Arabs, and soon it took firm roots in the Indian soil. The Delhi Sultans, the Khiljis , the Tughlaqs and the Mughal Emperors provided state patronage to the scholars and even enrolled some as state employees and court physicians . The system found immediate favour with the masses and soon spread all over the country. During the 13th and 17th century Unani Medicine had its heyday in India . Among those who made valuable contribution to this system in the period were ,to name only a few , Abu Bakr bin Ali Usman Kashani , Sadruddin Damashqui , Bahwa bin Khwas Khan ,Ali Geelani , Akbar Arzani and Mohammad Hashim Alvi Khan.

The scholars and physicians of Unani medicine who settled in India were not content with the known drugs but they subjected Indian herbs to clinical trials and as result of their experimentation added numerous native drugs to their own system, thus further enriching its treasures. The system found immediate favour with the masses and soon spread all over the country and continued to hold and unchallenged sway for a long period even after the downfall of Mughal Empire.

FUNDAMENTALS

Unani Medicine, as said earlier, is based on the principles put forward by Hippocrates. He was first person to establish that disease was a natural process that its symptoms were the reactions of the body to the disease, and that the chief function of the physician was to aid the natural forces of the body. He was the first physician to introduce the method of taking medical histories. His chief contribution to the medical realm is the humoral theory.