From Padua to Istanbul: Peregrinatio Medica of Joseph Solomon Del Medigo (1591-1655) and Tobias Cohen (1652-1729)

Öz

This paper examines the stories and works of two Padua-trained Jewish physicians, Joseph Solomon Del Medigo (d.1655) and Tobias Cohen (d.1729) who traveled between major urban centers of the Eastern Mediterranean. In the early modern Mediterranean, Jewish physicians served as the vectors of knowledge between different geographies. The paper will start by rendering the learning and practicing medicine in 16th and 17th century Padua and then move on to the experiences of the abovementioned physicians in the Ottoman Empire with a particular focus on their biographies. The final section of the article will focus on the reasons and consequences of their sojourn in the Ottoman Empire. In addition to scientific quests, the paper argues that Del Medigo and Cohen headed towards the East with religious motives, the realization of which could only be made possible by the career opportunities offered by the Ottomans. This paper will conclude that the stories of Del Medigo and Cohen pose an episode of the coalescent nature of European and Eastern Mediterranean science.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Tobias Cohen
• Solomon Del Medigo
• Early Modern Mediterranean
• Ottoman History of Science

Padua’dan İstanbul’a Peregrinatio Medica: Joseph Solomon Del Medigo (1591-1655) ve Tobias Cohen (1652-1729)

Öz

Bu çalışma, Padua’da tıp eğitimi almış ve bir müddet Osmanlı İmparatorluğunda mesleğini icra etmiş olan Yahudi doktorlardan Joseph Solomon Del Medigo’nun (ö.1655) ve Tobias Cohen’in (ö.1729) biyografilerini ve eserlerini inceleyecektir. Erken modern dönemde, bu iki ismin örnek teşkil ettiği üzere Yahudi doktorlar Akdeniz’in farklı köşeleri arasında bilgi vektörleri olarak hizmet ediyorlardı. Bu makale öncelikle 16. ve 17. yüzyıllarda Padua’da tıp eğitimi ve uygulamalarını ele alıp ardından bu iki hekimin Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’ndaki deneyimlerine odaklanacaktır. Bu çalışmanın temel iddiası bu hekimlerin Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’na göç etmelerinin sebebi olarak mesleki ve bilimsel faktörlerin yanında dini saiklerin de oldukça etkili olduğudur. Del Medigo ve Cohen’in zihinlerindeki dini tekamülün gerçekleşmesi ancak Osmanlıların kendilerine sunduğu kariyer fırsatlarıyla mümkün olmuştur. Bu iki hekimin hikayesinin, erken modern biliminin esnek ve bütüncül doğasının bilim tarihi alanındaki yansıması olduğunu iddia eden bu çalışma, dini ve bireysel amillerin Osmanlı bilimlerinin dönüşümündeki rolünü anlama çabasındadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Erken Modern Akdeniz Tarihi
• Osmanlı Bilim Tarihi
• Solomon Del Medigo
• Tobias Cohen

Kaynakça

1. Manuscripts / Yazma Kaynaklar
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36. Dissertations / Tezler
37. Küçük, Harun. “The Case for the Ottoman Enlightenment: Natural Philosophy and Cosmopolitanism in Eighteenth-Century Istanbul.” PhD dissertation University of California, San Diego, 2012.