1.Historical Clarification and Review of Usage of Surgical Instruments in Mongolian Medicine from XVII to the XIX Century
Khaliunaa B ; Baasanjav N ; Bold Sh
Mongolian Medical Sciences 2018;185(3):125-131
History of surgical services in Mongolian medicine began at least from New Stone Ages (Neolithic
Era). However, we decided to study usage of surgical instruments in Mongolian medicine from 1578
to the XIX century. Because, the third transmission of Buddhism into Mongolia occurred during
the time of the Altan Khan of the Southern branch of Central Mongols, a descendent of Kublai
Khan, tried to revive Mongol strength and unification. After that Undur Gegeen Zanabazar was also
holding a religious service around his residence. Furthermore, in 1651 he established 7 parts of the
Monastery including Financial, Lamasery, Food service, and Personal physician’s divisions based
on his attendants, people, and lamas. The Personal physician’s division was one of the basis for the
sect of “Four Medical Tantras”. Since that time the sect of “Four Medical Tantras,” had been spread
effectively and many medical schools were established near the Buddhist temples in Mongolia. They
respected “Four Medical Tantras,” and “Shun,” as the main scripts and focused to base it on their
theory and practice.
During the research we identified that from the XVII century, Mongolian doctors and scientists
wrote many commentary books on “Four Medical Tantras” and renewed some of the content of
“Four Medical Tantras.” Especially, Agvanluvsandanbijaltsan and Jambaldorj wrote a medical and
medicinal books including surgical instruments. Also Ishbaljir wrote practical book about internal
medicine, surgical methods, and services.
The major conclusion to this study was that Mongolian nation established their own medical art,
comprehensive knowledge, and surgical methods as well as updated surgical instruments during the
XVII and XIX Century. Particularly, they could renewed surgical methods and surgical instruments,
which came from Indian Ayurveda and Tibetan medicine.
2.Investigation of the Surgical Methods in the “Secret History of the Mongols”
Khaliunaa B ; Baasanjav N ; Bold Sh
Mongolian Medical Sciences 2019;187(1):48-51
In the 13th century, a wound caused by an arrowhead was healed by scorching the surface of the injury. For instance, in the early 13th century during a battle, Ugudei Khaan was shot in the neck. One of his knights, Borokhul, sucked a blood clot from the wound and carried him on his horse. When Chinggis Khaan saw them, he grieved, wept, and ordered a fire to be made. After scorching Ugudei’s wound, he gave him something to drink and waited to fight their enemies. We came across instances of curing injuries with dairy products in the Secret History of Mongolia. In one case, when he was wounded in the neck, Chinggis Khaan traveled with difficulty and camped in a battle field at sunset.
One of Chinggis’ knights, Zelme, nursed him by sucking blood until midnight. He cared for the unconscious Khaan by himself, not trusting others. When midnight passed, Chinggis Khaan woke up and said “blood has dried and I am thirsty.” Zelme took off his hat, boots and deel (dressing-gown), leaving only underwear and entered their enemy’s camp. He searched for eseg (mare’s milk) on carriages of commoners who camped behind the military camp. However, he couldn’t find any eseg because the refugees hadn’t milked their mares. Therefore, he stole a leather sack of tarag (a drink made by fermenting the milk of sheep, goat, or cow) and carried it back to his camp.
Nobody saw Zelme, God might have blessed him. Zelme gave Chinggis Khaan the tarag mixing it with water to drink. Chinggis Khaan had the drink and said he felt relieved. At that time it was dawn.
One of the achievements of Traditional Mongolian Medicine of that time was curing wounds with the help of surgical means. In the beginning, the Mongolians got much knowledge of animal anatomy by dismembering joints and internal organs of different animals while slaughtering. Afterwards, based on their knowledge of animal anatomy, they set bones and cured wounds. Additionally, they broadened their knowledge by performing autopsies on dead bodies, etc. In 1263, during one of the battles between the Mongolian and South Sun nation troops, which the Sun lost, Zuukhar was hit by 3 arrows. The arrowhead in his left shoulder could not be removed. Hyavtsag opened the wound with the help of two men who were sentenced to death (these people were Sun nation) and examined if the arrow could possibly be removed. Finally, he was able to remove the arrow from Zuukhar’s body. Thence, the
Mongolians of that time performed autopsies as well as surgical treatment along with medical treatment.
In the mid-13th century, Traditional Mongolian curing methods were rapidly developing. The Mongolian army had special doctors to cure injured soldiers. According to some sources, in the early 13th century, there was a position of “military doctor,” among Chinggis Khaan’s army. When generals or troops got injured, the military doctor was ordered to cure them by a fixed deadline.
3.Explanation of the names of some Turkish, Arabic and Persian diet in “Fundamental principles of food and drink”
Sambuu Ochirkhuu ; Buyandelger Sharav ; Shagdarsuren Dashjamts ; Gerelmaa Battogtokh ; Khaliunaa Baasanjav ; Bold Sharav
Mongolian Pharmacy and Pharmacology 2025;26(1):29-34
Introduction:
This time, we will clarify the terms used to express the traditional medical knowledge of
Turks, Arabs, Persians, Khotons, or Uyghurs that have not been deeply explored by researchers in the book “Fundamental Principles of Food and Drink.” In addition, we propose to lay the foundation for studying the level of ancient medical relations between the ancient Mongols and Islamic countries and to create a new direction of research. Therefore, it is important to conduct a detailed study based on the sample of words related to food, drink, and herbal medicine of Islamic countries such as Turks, Arabs, Persians, and Uyghurs in the book “Fundamental Principles of Food and Drink” besides from Chinese medicine.
The aim of the research:
To explain the names of food and drink of Turkic, Arabic, and Khoton (Uyghur)
origin in the “Fundamental Principles of Food and Drink” of 1330 AD.
Research results
Paul D. Buell and Eugene N. Anderson (2010), who translated the book “Fundamental
Principles of Food and Drink” into English titled “A Soup for the Qan” with an explanation, have extensively and seriously considered how the book relates to the Islamic world. These researchers also say that “the diet, medicinal plants, and grains of the Islamic world reflect a common Middle Eastern (Iranian-Arab) culture rather than the specifics of the Turkic peoples. However, since Turkic elements are dominant in other parts of Islamic culture, there is no doubt that the Turkic forms of some Arabic and Iranian words are often found in “Fundamental Principles of Food and Drink.” Therefore, we have selected some words from Paul D. Buell and Eugene N. Anderson’s book “A Soup for the Qan” and considered them to be Turkic, Persian, and Arabic words. In fact, there are 36 Turkic origin words, 4 Persian origin words, and 5 Arabic origin words. However, if we look closely, we find that there are quite a few Mongolized Turkic words and Turkized Mongolian words. Conclusion: In the book “A Soup for the Qan” translated from Chinese with commentary into English by Paul D. Buell and Eugene N. Anderson, words of Turkic, Persian, and Arabic origin, namely 36 Turkic words, 4 Persian words, and 5 Arabic words, were selected and noted. Our research revealed that 11 of these 45 chosen words were Mongolian or Mongolian words of Turkic origin after thorough analysis. This result is in line with Bold Sharav’s 2022 book, which explained and noted that there were 23 Mongolian words in “Fundamental Principles of Food and Drink,” and it became clear that there were a total of 34 Mongolian or Mongolian words of Turkic origin words.
4.A study of an ancient book of Islamic medicine
Sambuu Ochirkhuu ; Ariunaa Erdene ; Shagdarsuren Dashjamts ; Gerelmaa Battogtokh ; Khaliunaa Baasanjav ; Bold Sharav
Mongolian Pharmacy and Pharmacology 2025;26(1):35-39
Introduction:
Among the ancient medical books, manuscripts written in clear script, with unique vocabulary and treatment methods, have been found. The vocabulary in this work is very ancient, and the treatment
methods are systematic, with few mentions of theoretical concepts. Most of the unfamiliar words were written in the pronunciation of the ancient Oirat Torghut and Dorbet. Some of these words were of Uyghur and Sartuul (Khui Khui) origin. Therefore, we worked to determine when and by whom this book was written, what its content was, and which direction of medicine it belongs to.
Objectives:
To study an ancient book written in clear script, containing Islamic medical knowledge, found
in Mongolia.
Results
“The Healing Charm of Blue Ram” (Khökh khutsyn uvdis orshivai) records that Genghis Khan
ordered Chagatai Khan to send him medical books from his land. He may have been in poor health shortly after the founding of the Chagatai state in 1225. Thus, he ordered Chagatai to send him books containing medical methods. It is reasonable to assume that the books were sent in 1226. At that time, the Chagatai state was highly developed, consisting of many ethnic groups, including Khorezm, Sartuul, and Uyghurs, who practiced Islam. In particular, the medical field was well advanced, resulting in many excellent doctors and medical books. We tried to list and explain a total of 15 words from “The Healing Charm of Blue Ram,” with many more to explore in the future. In general, it is hypothesized that many vocabulary related to medicine have spread to the Mongolian vocabulary through Arabic, Turkic, Uyghur, and Sartuul among the Western Mongolians. Conclusion: The ancient book “The Healing Charm of Blue Ram” found in Mongolia, written in clear Mongolian script, contains Islamic medical knowledge, as well as traditional Mongolian medicine methods, as is clear from the explanations of some vocabulary related to medicine. In the future, it is important to further clarify how Mongolian medicine and Islamic medical knowledge influenced each other and the contribution of Mongol khans to the development of the Ilkhanate and the Chagatai state in the study of the history of Mongolian medicine.