Dr Mohsen Masoudian, Dr Abdolrasoul Foroutan,
Volume 0, Issue 0 (9-2025)
Abstract
This study aims to reinterpret the body and the experience of illness in historical medical texts through a sociological lens, focusing on the seminal work of Hakim Bahā’ al-Dawlah Rāzī, Khulasat al-Tajārib. Using qualitative content analysis and grounded in medical sociology frameworks—including the sick role, symbolic interactionism, social conflict theory, and the ecosocial approach—this research demonstrates that the experience of illness and the representation of the body in late Timurid to early Safavid periods were not purely biological phenomena, but complex outcomes shaped by social, cultural, economic, and environmental factors. Findings indicate that the body is not merely a physiological reality but a “social text,” inscribed with lifestyle, social class, diet, gender, and ethnic diversity. In Khulasat al-Tajārib, for example, Nomadic and peasant populations, due to strenuous lifestyles and high-energy diets, exhibited robust physicality, whereas urban and elite populations, with sedentary habits and refined diets, were more prone to chronic illnesses. Women are marginally represented in the text, with their experience of illness constrained by social limitations and exposure to violence. Despite social hierarchies, the medical system of the period provided relative access to treatment for all social strata. Epidemics, urban policies, and preventive measures reflect the interplay of biopolitics, environment, and public health. Furthermore, the integration of traditional medicine, folkloric practices, and ethnic diversity among physicians rendered the experience of illness a multilayered social and cultural process. Analyzing this text offers insights into the historical, social, and cultural understanding of the body and illness and illuminates the .
