Academy of Gondishapur

The Academy of Gondishapur or Academy of Jondishapur (Persian: فرهنگستان گندی‌شاپور, Farhangestân-e Gondišâpur) was a famous place for learning in Khuzestan, Iran, during the Sassanid-era. It was started by the king Shapur I. People could study important subjects like medicine, philosophy, theology, and science. It is one of the oldest universities in the world.

Gondishapur had a big hospital and a large library. The hospital helped shape how we think about hospitals today, as places for healing and teaching medicine. In the 6th and 7th centuries AD, it was the most important medical center in the ancient world.

In more recent times, a new university called Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences was created in 1955. During the Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s, part of this university was used for other purposes. Later, it was renamed Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz. Today, the old Gondishapur name is used by a modern university with many schools and hospitals across several campuses. The original site is now an archaeological site.

Name and archaeology

According to Richard Frye, the name Gundishapur means “Better than Antioch, built by Shapur.” This place helped share knowledge from Greece, Iran, and India into the Islamic world. The first hospitals in the Islamic time were based on the hospital in Gundishapur.

Ibn al-Nadim says that Ardashir I collected old Persian books from India and China and kept them safe. His son, Shapur I, kept collecting books translated into Middle Persian. He also put together the Avesta into one book after Alexander destroyed it. Later, Khosrow I built a big library in Gundishapur for the university, adding many books from all over the world. Gundishapur became a top learning place, where scholars from many places, especially Nestorians, came to study and translate works into Persian.

History

In 489 AD, a Christian learning center in Edessa was closed by the Byzantine emperor Zeno. The scholars went to the School of Nisibis in Asia Minor to keep working.

Under the rule of the Sassanid emperor Khosrau I, Gondishapur became known for medicine and learning. Khosrau I welcomed scholars who were leaving the Byzantine Empire. He also sent a doctor to ask scholars from India and China to come. These scholars translated important books about astronomy, mathematics, and medicine.

Khosrau I asked the scholars to translate Greek and Syriac books into Middle Persian. They translated many books on medicine, astronomy, philosophy, and useful skills.

The world’s first center for maritime diseases

The Academy of Gondishapur had a special area for studying illnesses that affected sailors. During a time when explorers sailed across the oceans, doctors traveled with the ships to help keep the sailors healthy.

Significance of Gondeshapur

The Academy of Gondishapur helped improve medical education. Students learned in a hospital with many teachers, not just one. They had to pass exams to become doctors of Gondishapur. We don’t have records about math at Gondishapur, but math books were probably translated there with other subjects.

[T]o a very large extent, the credit for the whole hospital system must be given to Persia.

— Cyril Elgood, A Medical History of Persia

Main article: Tārīkh al-ḥukamā

Gondeshapur after Islam

In 832 AD, the leader al-Ma'mūn helped build the famous House of Wisdom. Many teachers from the older Academy of Gondeshapur worked there.

By this time, the main learning place of the Abbasid Caliphate had moved to Baghdad. After that, there were not many stories about universities or hospitals in Gondeshapur. Over time, Gondeshapur became less important. A writer named Al-Muqaddasi wrote around 1000 AD that Gondeshapur was falling apart. The last known leader of Gondeshapur's hospital passed away in 869 AD.

Famous physicians of Gondeshapur

The Academy of Gondishapur had many famous physicians who helped advance medical knowledge. Some of these important doctors include Borzūya, Bukhtishu, Masawaiyh, Sarakhsi, Sabur ibn Sahl, and Nafi ibn al-Harith. Their work at the academy helped people learn more about medicine in ancient times.

Modern Gondeshapur

During the time of the Pahlavi dynasty, people remembered the old Gondeshapur by creating a new school called Jondishapur University. They also started another school called Jondishapur University of Medical Sciences near the city of Ahvaz in 1955.

The Jondishapur University of Medical Sciences began in 1959. It was started by a man named Dr. Mohammad Kar, who was the father of Cyrus Kar. In the mid-1960s, Dr. Tal'at Basari became the first woman to hold a top leadership position at a university in Iran. Starting in 1968, a famous architect named Kamran Diba helped design the new school's buildings.

People also want to study the very old Gondeshapur area to learn more about its history. Experts from Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization and the University of Chicago plan to start digging there in early 2006.