Jabril ibn Bukhtishu (also spelled Jibril ibn Bakhtisha, Gabriel bar Bokhtisho', or Bakhtyshu) was an influential 8th–9th century physician from the prominent Bukhtishu (Bokhtisho') family, a dynasty of Church of the East Christian doctors associated with the Academy of Gondishapur. He spoke Syriac, though much of his medical work was composed in Arabic.
Life and career
Jabril was the grandson of Jirjis ibn Jibril and lived during the second half of the 8th century. He first served as physician to Ja'far al-Barmaki and later to the Abbasid caliphs Harun al-Rashid (), Al-Amin (), and Al-Ma'mun (). He died in 828/829 and was buried in the Monastery of St. Sergios in Ctesiphon.
He proved his worth to Harun al-Rashid in 805 AD by successfully treating one of the caliph’s slaves, a feat that earned him the position of director of Baghdad’s major hospital that bore al-Rashid's name. His reputation extended beyond medicine; the caliph frequently sought his counsel on various administrative matters, even requesting his intervention when the vizier, Yahya al-Barmaki, made errors.
Jabril is mentioned several times in the letters of Catholicos Timothy I (). In Letter 47 he assisted Timothy in obtaining copies of the Syro-Hexapla, while in Letter 21 he interceded with the caliph on Timothy’s behalf. Despite their cooperation, Timothy is said to have rebuked Jabril for his philandering; later traditions report that Jabril repented of this behavior.
Medical Contributions
thumb|250px|A folio of the earliest manuscript of the Kitāb naʿt al-hayawān, attributed to ibn Bukhtishu, depicting [[Aristotle]]Jabril was a leading figure in the transmission of Greek science into the Islamic world. He is credited with commissioning translations of Galen and other Greek authors through figures such as Iyob of Edessa and Hunayn ibn Ishaq. Besides his role as a patron of translation, he also authored a number of medical works, including: