Hunayn ibn Ishaq
Abū Zayd Hunayn ibn Ishaaq al - ʿ Ibadi (Arabic أبو زيد حنين بن إسحاق العبادي, DMG Abū Zayd Hunayn b Ishaq al - ʿ Ibadi, . * 808 in al - Hira; † 873 in Baghdad ) was a Christian Arab scholar and translator. His Latinized name is Johannitius.
Life
After studying medicine in Baghdad, where he (also a Nestorian Christian ) was a student of Yuhanna ibn Māsawayh, he undertook a study tour to Alexandria in Egypt, where he learned Greek. In Basra, he studied the Arabic language. As a Nestorian Christian, he mastered the Syriac language.
On his return to Baghdad, he worked in the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, a cultural center with the most important at that school of translators. In whose behalf he traveled with colleagues to Syria, Palestine and Egypt, where he bought ancient manuscripts of the Greek sciences. In the House of Wisdom, he and his students translated the mostly Syrian versions of classical Greek texts in the Arabic language. Thus, these works were known in the Arab world. His translations are distinguished by their high quality. In particular, his translations of Galen's works are emphasized their Greek original manuscripts have been lost. He was later appointed to the post of chief physician at the court of the caliph al - Mutawakkil; a position he held until his death. In the meantime, let him imprison the Caliph because he refused to produce a poison that was meant for killing enemies of the Caliph.
Ishaaq ibn Hunayn, his son and the son Hubay Ibn al -Hasan al - A'sam al - Dimašqī († 888) his sister were his closest collaborators with the translations, especially the philosophical sources. According to the encyclopedia Kitab al - Fihrist of Ibn al - Nadim († 998 ) has Hunayn translated Plato's Republic and prefectures, as well as his son, the Sophist. He and his staff should have Hunayn also translated works of Hippocrates and mathematical works of Euclid and Archimedes, works the logic of Aristotle and Plato's Timaeus. Some of Hunayns works have been translated into Hebrew by Moses ibn Tibbon.