Osmanlı Medeniyeti Araştırmaları Dergisi

Öz

This study investigates how foods such as the meat, milk, and rennet obtained from horses, as well as various other parts of the horse, were used in the medieval Anatolian Turkish civilization in the field of health, as well as in the hippotherapy practices of the period. In our study, works written, compiled and translated using Turkish in Anatolia between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries were used. According to our findings, equestrianism was recommended as a treatment method, with horse hair, hooves, skin, dung, bone, teeth, hair, blood, marrow, adeps, meat, and milk being used in the field of health. According to the Islam, the internal use of substances such as wine, horse blood, and horse meat is prohibited or considered doubtful. However, these substances have been recommended, giving precedence to human health. It has been observed that the therapeutic use of horse-origin pharmaceuticals in the sources of medieval Anatolian Turkish civilization is consistent with their uses in Ancient Greek and Medieval Islamic works. On the other hand, it has been observed that it has developed unique remedy areas. In our sources, it has been determined that some examples of the use of horse-origin pharmaceuticals recorded by Pliny are not included. This situation is the result of the fact that, while the works of Classical Antiquity civilization were translated into Arabic in the Middle Ages, emphasis was placed on Greek works. In the literature of medieval Anatolian Turkish civilization, there is a developed horse culture. Alongside a rich diversity of definitions regarding the morphology and symbolism of the horse, horse breeding, husbandry, and riding have been praised. Furthermore, horse-origin pharmaceuticals have been used in the field of health.