Abstract

Background: As for the development of pharmacy in medieval Bosnia it was largely conditioned by the specific position of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) during the period when Bosnia was a part of Ottoman Empire from 1463 until 1878, and later was ocupied by Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1878 until 1918. Objective: The topic of this paper is the development of pharmacy in the Middle Ages, while the aim of this article is to introduce readers to the development and importance of pharmacy and health care activities in general in this century. Methods: For preparing this article authors used, as main source, published books, monographs and papers deposited in indexed databases: PubMed Central, Scopus, Hinari, EBSCO, etc., especially documents that speak and testify about health and hygiene data and conditions in B&H from the Middle Ages and the time of the independent Bosnian state. Because, very little was written down and knowledge was mainly transmitted orally. Results and Discussion: Bosnia, as an independent country, was first mentioned in the Charter of the Kulin Ban in the 12th century. The charter was addressed to the Dubrovnik Republic and it ensured safe passage for merchants through Bosnia and exemption from taxes. The Dubrovnik Republic also had a lot of influence on the development of all social conditions, including medicine and pharmacy. Doctors and pharmacists could come to Bosnia without hindrance and engage in treatment and the sale of medicines, without having to fear whether they would pay taxes to the state or be robbed. In the Medieval Bosnia there are used various ljekarusas (medicine books): Muslim, Jewish, Serbian, Croatian/Franciscan. Unfortunately, many of these manuscripts were destroyed or is lost track of them. Some perished in the wars in 1914, 1941 and 1992. The incineration of the Oriental Institute and the National and University Library, Gazi Husrev-bey Library, the Monastery Plehan, Petricevac, Jajce, Guca Gora, Fojnica, Kresevo, etc. Most of them are preserved in the Franciscan monasteries and, also, the previously transcribed of ljekarusa in oriental languages like was Dervis Nidaija (Bedrudin Muhammad bin Muhammad Ibn Derivis ‘Quasumi). There were about 30 copies of his works „Menafiun us Tibbi Nida“ - for the benefit of the people Nidaija book - which were transcribed from the 1557 to 1839. There are several copies of the works of Alauddin Ibn Nafis (Ali ibn Abi l-Hazm al-Qarshi Ibn al-Nafis), followed by Abdullah Ibn Sina - Avicenna (Abu Ali al-Husain Ibn Abd-Allah Ibn Sina), Rhazes (Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Zakariyya ar-Razi) and other Arab authors. Some of theme were translated by Hamdija Karamehmedovic and Sakir Sikiric, which kept at Library of Hygiene and Public Health Institution in Sarajevo. These manuscripts were accessible mainly to intellectuals and people from the wealthy ruling circles until Bosnia fellt under the influence of the Ottomans, medical treatment in Bosnia was quite primitive, the number of pharmacies and health institutions was minimal, and hygienic conditions were quite poor. Conclusion: In the Medieval Bosnia the most important was practicing of traditional medicine based of used of experiences from the arabic literature which dominated almost 6 century in medieval Bosnia and spells were mainly practiced, which were passed down from generation to generation, and also in the Medieval Bosnia there are used various ljekarusas: Muslim, Jewish, Serbian, Croatian/Franciscan, by word of mouth. It was only with the arrival of the Ottomans that Vakuf's hospitals (Hastahanas in Sarajevo, Tuzla, Mostar, Travnik and Banja Luka) and pharmacies began to open, and the health system was better organized.

Key words: Pharmacy, Middle ages, Folk medicine and Pharmacy, doctors, Medieval Bosnia.