There are no known remaining records of the first two members of the family. And the remaining records of the chain start from
Jurjis. But the genealogical sequence follows as:
Bukhtishu I Jibrail I Jurjis Jurjis, the father of Bukhtishu II and grandfather of Jibril ibn Bukhtishu, was a scientific writer and was the director of the hospital in Gondeshapur, which supplied physicians to courts in Iraq, Syria, and Persia. He was called to Baghdad in 765 AD to treat the stomach complaint of the
Caliph al-Mansur. After successfully curing the caliph, he was asked to remain in attendance in Baghdad, which he did until he fell ill in 769 CE. Before allowing him to return to Gondeshapur, the caliph invited him to convert to Islam but he declined, saying that he wanted to be with his fathers when he died. Amused by his obstinacy, the caliph sent an attendant with Jurjis to ensure he reached his destination. In exchange for the attendant and a 10,000
dinar wage, Jurjis promised to send his pupil Isa ibn Shahla to the caliph, since his son, Bukhtishu II, could not be spared from the hospital at Gondeshapur.
Bukhtishu II Bukhtishu II was the son of Jurjis ibn Bukhtishu and the father of Jibril ibn Bukhtishu. He was left in charge of the hospital at Gondeshapur when his father was summoned to treat the stomach complaints of Caliph al-Mansur. Jurjis never intended for Bukhtishu II to go to Baghdad and tend to the caliphs and had offered to send one of his pupils in his stead. Nevertheless, Bukhtishu II was in turn called to the city to treat the
Caliph al-Hadi, who was gravely ill. He was unable to establish himself in Baghdad until 787 AD, when
Caliph Harun al-Rashid was suffering violently painful headaches. He successfully treated Harun al-Rashid and in gratitude the caliph made him physician-in-chief, a post he held onto until his death in 801 C.E.
Jabril ibn Bukhtishu Alternate Spellings: Djibril b. Bukhtishu’, Jibra’il ibn Bukhtyishu, Djabra’il b. Bakhtishu Jibril ibn Bukhtishu was the son of Bukhtishu II, who served the caliphs in Baghdad from 787 AD until his death in 801 AD. In 791 AD, Bukhtishu II recommended Jibril as a physician to
Jafar the Barmakid, the
vizier of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid. Despite the recommendation, Jibril did not succeed his father until 805 AD, after he successfully treated one of Harun al-Rashid's slaves, thereby winning the confidence of the caliph. The hospital and connected observatory was modeled after the one in Gondeshapur where Jibril had studied medicine and served as the director. Jibril also served as the director of this new hospital, which Harun al-Rashid named after himself. Being a part of such court interactions, Jibril would occasionally approach the caliph with a level of frankness not allowed most attendants. During Harun al-Rashid's final illness, Jibril's matter-of-fact responses to the caliph won him disgrace and soon after he was condemned to death. He was saved from execution by
Fadl ibn al-Rabi and subsequently became the physician of
al-Amin. After
al-Ma'mun gained power, Jibril again faced imprisonment, but was needed to treat Hasan ibn Sahl and thus was released in 817 AD. Three years later he was replaced by his son-in-law, Mikha’il, but was again called to Baghdad in 827 AD when Mikha’il was unable to treat the caliph. He died in the favor of the caliph sometime between 827 and 829 AD and, being Christian, was buried in the Monastery of St. Sergius in
Ctesiphon which is in modern-day Iraq, on the east bank of the Tigris. Jibril is estimated to have a career income of 88,800,000
dirhams for serving Harun al-Rashid for 23 years and the Barmakids for 13, which does not include his fees from lesser patients.
Hunayn ibn Ishaq gained Jibril's his recommendation after studying Greek for several years, which allowed him to become known in later centuries in both the Near East and in Europe for his translations.
Bukhtishu III Yuhanna ibn Bukhtishu Ubeidullah ibn Bukhtishu Jibrail III Jibrail III was the son of
Ubayd Allah ibn Bukhtishu, a finance official for the Caliph al-Muktadir. After his father's death, his mother married another physician. Jibrail III began studying medicine exclusively in Baghdad, where he went penniless after the death of his mother. After treating an envoy from
Kirman, he was called to
Shiraz by the
Buyid ruler
'Adud al-Dawla but soon after he returned to Baghdad. He only left Baghdad for short consultations, even declining an offer from the
Fatimid al-Aziz who wished to establish him in
Cairo. Jibrail III died on June 8, 1006. ==See also==