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New Genizah Documents 19*

text, but so far an exact equivalent has not been found in any pharmacopoeia.
This underscores the practicality and originality of our text, and thus its value
in reflecting reality and practical mindedness, in contrast to books, in which
recipes were copied regardless of their actual usefulness.46

More specifically, information about the treatment of eye complaints from
the Genizah prescriptions and medical notebooks teaches us, among other
things, that eye drops were used to relieve symptoms such as inflammation,
dimness of vision, and widening of the pupils.

According to Samarqand¯ı, there are two main kinds of eye medicine:
antimony powders (Kuhl) and collyria.

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Kohl (kuhl in Arabic) is the general name of a compound for eye diseases as

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well as for cosmetics and make-up. It was used extensively during the medieval
period and still exists in the Middle East to the present day, mainly among
users of traditional medicine. According to Levey, kuhl powders follow the

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principle of ‘opposites cure opposites,’ as the eye is a moist and soft organ.47
The same name described, and still describes, other inorganic materials which
are used mainly for the treatment of eye diseases as well as for make-up such as
galena (PbS) and stibium (Sb). In general, and according to the medieval Arabic
medicine, powders, which are hard and dry, are used when there is much dirt in
the corner of the eye.48 According to Said, kuhl are a class of sufufs (powder)

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meant for the treatment of eye diseases. In present day pharmacopoeias of
Eastern medicine they are characterized by their fineness, as they are sieved
through fine cloth and applied to the eye with a collyrium stick.49

Collyria (ashya¯f in Arabic) are salves used to treat various eye diseases and
for clearing and strengthening the eyes. They were compounded variously for

46 J. M. Riddle, ‘Theory and Practice in Medieval Medicine,’ Viator 5 (1974), pp. 157y184,
p. 175.

47 M. Levey, The Medical Formulary or Aqra¯ba¯dh¯ın of al-Kind¯ı (University of Wisconsin
Press, Madison, 1966), p. 140.

48 Ibid. p. 136.
49 H. M. Said, Hamdard Pharmacopoeia of Eastern Medicine (Time Press, Karachi, 1970), p.

136.