Gondishapur School of Medicine: The Most Important Medical Center in Antiquity

Iran has a rich civilization and a long history during which medical science flourished at specific periods. For instance, medicine blossomed in Sassanids era (226 – 652 AD). One of the most remarkable cultural and scientific centers of Sassanids era was the city of Gondishapur located in the south-west Iran in Shah-Abad near Susa in Khuzestan Province. The city was rebuilt in the third century AD, whereupon it soon became the most important scientific focal point of the ancient world. Gondishapur Medical School was a renowned cosmopolitan institution and had a crucial impact upon the further development of Islamic medicine. Actually, at this school, the Greek, Persian, and Indian medical heritage was conserved, developed, and it was then transferred to the Islamic world and subsequently to the West. Gondishapur Hospital was also an excellent model for establishment of hospitals especially in the Islamic countries. Presented here is a brief account of the foundation of Gondishapur School of Medicine and its role in promoting medical science in antiquity.