Academy of Gondishapur

The Academy of Gondishapur or Academy of Jondishapur (Persian: فرهنگستان گندی‌شاپور, Farhangestân-e Gondišâpur) was a famous center of learning in Khuzestan, Iran, during the Sassanid-era. Founded by the king Shapur I, it offered education in important subjects like medicine, philosophy, theology, and science. With a history of more than 1,700 years, it is considered one of the oldest universities in the world.

Gondishapur also had a big hospital and a large library. It played a key role in shaping how we think about hospitals today, as a place for both healing and teaching medicine. During the 6th and 7th centuries AD, its hospital 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 as a base. Later, it was renamed Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz in honor of a brave leader. Today, the old Gondishapur name lives on in a modern university, which operates 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 comes from a longer name meaning “Better than Antioch, built by Shapur.” This place was very important for sharing 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 tells us that Ardashir I gathered 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 had 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 in its time, where scholars from many places, especially Nestorians, came to study and translate works into Persian.

History

In 489 AD, a Christian center for learning in Edessa was closed by the Byzantine emperor Zeno. The scholars moved to the School of Nisibis in Asia Minor, where they continued their work.

Under the rule of the Sassanid emperor Khosrau I, Gondishapur became famous for medicine and learning. Khosrau I welcomed scholars fleeing from the Byzantine Empire. He also sent a physician to invite scholars from India and China. These scholars translated important books on subjects like astronomy, mathematics, and medicine.

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

The world’s first center for maritime diseases

The Academy of Gondishapur had a special area where they studied illnesses that affected sailors. During the 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 played an important role in developing medical education. Instead of learning only from one doctor, students studied in a hospital with many teachers. They had to pass exams to become recognized doctors of Gondishapur. Although we don’t have records about math at Gondishapur, it is likely that math books were translated there along 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 contributed to the understanding of medicine in ancient times.

Modern Gondeshapur

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

The Jondishapur University of Medical Sciences was started in 1959 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 be a top leader at a university in Iran. Starting in 1968, a famous architect named Kamran Diba helped design the new school's buildings.

People also plan 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.