Osman Süreyya Kocabaş (Hacettepe University)
This study will examine how early modern Ottoman medicine used fragrances to prevent the contagion of the epidemic. The main question of this study is why and how the Ottomans used fragrances in the treatment of the epidemic. For Classical Islamic scholars and the Ottomans, as their successors, one of the reasons for the spread of epidemics is the theory of miasma which signifies the negative effect of the presence of foul odors and spoiled air on the human body. On this point, Islamic medical scholars often suggested that during the spread of epidemics such as tā'ūn (plague), the spoiled air in the places where people live should be cleaned, and foul odors should be removed. They prepared some special fragrance recipes for therapeutic purposes for individuals to use on their own bodies.
In his book, Masālih al-Abdān wa'l-Anfūs (Physical and Mental Health), Abū Zayd al-Balkhī (d. 322/934), like many other Islamic scholars, advises that in case of an epidemic, people should clean the spoiled air with some fragrances if they cannot abandon the region. According to al-Balkhī, the interactions between four essential elements (air, water, earth and fire) create fragrance, and accordingly physicians use fragrances to restore the balance of the body that has been disturbed by disease. The therapeutic use of scents suggested by al-Balkhī is known and employed by the majority of Islamic medical scholars. Regarding the treatment of plague epidemics, Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna), in his al-Qānūn (The Canon of Medicine), recommends that the patients should smell the plants such as rose, sandalwood, and camphor to strengthen their hearts and reduce their fever. Similar suggestions are also found in the Ottoman medicine. In his Muntakhāb al-Shifā (The Chosen Medicine), Hajī Pasha (d. 827/1424) states that the spread of the plague was due to the deterioration and foul odor of the air, and he recommends spilling a little vinegar into the houses, sprinkling myrtle leaves, and making daily incense with herbs such as sandalwood, camphor, oud, and amber. Another Ottoman scholar, Tashköprüzāde (d. 968/1561), who emphasizes the need for cleanliness and hygiene in both places like home and individuals, suggests that people should put fragrant plants all over their homes and burn fragrant incense that will strengthen the heart and mind. Although most Islamic scholars accepted the idea that the contagion of the epidemic to a person or society was solely at the discretion of God, these scholars were aware that the epidemics had natural causes. As some researchers like Nükhet Varlık and Yaron Ayalon have figured out, the Ottomans in the early modern period realized that epidemics were contagious.
For this reason, this study will concentrate on fragrance prescriptions as one of the individual measures suggested by Ottoman medicine to people to reduce the contagious effect of epidemics. Also, prescriptions of fragrances recommended for treatment in these scientific works and their preparation instructions will be examined. Besides, medical explanations in terms of selecting the fragrant plants will also be discussed.