ABSTRACT
Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq was the most celebrated translator into Arabic of Greek medical and philosophical works in tenth century Baghdad. This chapter examines why he also made numerous translations into Syriac, in the case of his medical translations, by consideration of the identity and profession of his patrons. From this it is clear, on the basis of a letter (risāla) from his own hand, that these were meant to be read in Syriac and used by Syriac physicians, even though some were also employed by others less proficient in Greek as a basis for translations into Arabic. Comparable direct evidence is lacking on the Syriac translations of Aristotle and his commentators made by him and his son Isḥāq, but all the available indications point to a similar conclusion in that case also. In tenth century Baghdad there was a vibrant Syriac medical and philosophical culture alongside the Arabic, and a ‘Graeco-Syriac translation movement’ alongside the celebrated ‘Graeco-Arabic’.
