PCAC 19
Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq (d. 873 AD), Epistle to ʿAlī ibn Yaḥyā on the Translations of Galen, the Duration of human Existence, How the Truth of a Religion is demonstrated, Critical editions by Rosanna Budelli and Samir Khalil Samir, translations and indices by Rosanna Budelli, Edizioni del Gruppo di Ricerca Arabo-Cristiana, Bologna 2027.
Ḥunayn Ibn Isḥāq is known as the most important translator of works from Greek into Arabic in the early days of Islam. An intellectual and Christian scholar, Ḥunayn made a significant contribution to the development of Arab-Islamic civilization through his work of transmitting knowledge from the Greek world to the Arab world. At the intersection of multiple cultures and languages, Arab and Syriac Christians played a fundamental role in the circulation of science and philosophy across the territories dominated by the Abbasid caliphate. As a physician, Ḥunayn worked for many years in Baghdad, at the court of the caliphs of his time.
This book includes: Ḥunayn Ibn Isḥāq’s Epistle to ʿAlī ibn Yaḥyā, with the complete list of Galenic works he translated, and two of his short treatises of apologetic and religious content: The Duration of Human Existence and How the Truth of a Religion is Demonstrated, which reveal his thoughts on sensitive subjects that are still relevant today.
