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Origin and Development

The Unani system of medicine owes, as its name suggests, its orgin to Greece. It was the Greek philosopher-physician Hippocrates (460-377 BC) who freed Medicine from the realm of superstition and magic, and gave it the status of Science. The theoretical framework of Unani Medicine is based on the teachings of Hippocrates.

After a number of other Greek scholars enriched the system considerably. Of them Galen (131-210 AD) stands out as the one who stablized its foundation, on which Arab physicians like Rhazes (850-925 AD) and Avicenna (980-1037 AD) constructed an imposing edifice. Unani Medicine got enriched by imbibing what was best in the contemporary system of traditional medicine in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Persia, India, China and other Middle East and Far Eastern countries.

It also benefited from the native medical systems in vogue at the time in various parts of Central Asia. That is why this system is known, in different parts of the world, with different names, such as, Greeco-Arab Medicine, lonian Medicine, Arab Medicine, Islamic Medicine Traditional Medicine, Oriental Medicine etc.

In India, Unani system of medicine was introduced by the Arabs, and soon it took firm roots in the soil. When Mongols ravaged Persian and Central Asian cities like Shiraz, Tabrez and Geelan, scholars and physicians of Unani Medicine fled to India. The Delhi Sultans, the Khilijis, the Tughalaqs and the Mughal Emperors provided state patronage to the scholars and even enrolled some of them as state employees and court physicians.

During 13th and 17th century Unani Medicine has its hey-day in India. Among those who made valuable contributions to this system in the period were, to name only a few, Abu Baker bin Ali Usman Kashani, Sadruddin Damashqui Bahwa bin Khwas Khan, Ali Geelani, Akbar Arzani and Mohammad Hashim Alvi Khan.

The scholars and physicians of Unani Medicine who settled in India were not content with the known drugs but they subjected Indian drugs to clinical trials and as a result of their experimentation added numerous native drugs to their own system, thus further enriching its masses and soon spread all over the country and continued to hold an unchallenged sway for a long period even after the downfall of Mughal Empire.

During the British rule, Unani Medicine suffered a setback and its development was hampered due to withdrawal of governmental patronage. But since the system enjoyed faith among the masses it continued to be practiced. It was mainly the Sharifi Family in Delhi, the Azizi family in Lucknow and the Nizam of Hyderabad due to whose efforts Unani Medicine survived in the British period.

An outstanding physician and scholar of Unani Medicine, Hakim Ajmal Khan (1868-1927) championed the cause of the Unani system in India. The Hindustani Dawakhana and the Ayurvedic and Unani Tibbia College in Delhi are the two living examples of his immense contribution to the multipronged development of the two Indian system of medicine, Unani Medicine and Ayurveda.

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