ABSTRACT
The introduction to the Arab and Muslim world of Hippocratic and Galenic medical texts and Arabicized medicine was begun by the second half of the ninth century by two contemporary physicians: Yuhanna ibn Masawa, known in the West as Jean Mesue, and' Ali ibn Sahl al-Tabari. Numerous circles of scholars emerged, each focused on a renowned spiritual master with whom they met regularly to discuss and elaborate philosophical ideas, as well subjects related to other areas of knowledge including music and medicine. In addition to the link between music and medicine that had characterized traditional healing, a new and more complex type of theoretical association between music and medicine emerged. The biblical evidence of the power of music, evidence that has been quoted time and again in both Jewish and non-Jewish literature, concerns Saul the first King of Israel, and describes the role of music in inspiring ecstasy and prophetic vision.
