Disseminating Medical Knowledge from the East: Two new Judaeo-Syriac fragments from the Cairo Genizah

Abstract This article presents an edition and analysis of two Judaeo-Syriac fragments from the Cairo Genizah, T-S AS 213.22 and T-S NS 186.59, which likely belonged to the same manuscript. These fragments preserve at least six medical recipes, exhibiting connections to both Persian and Indian traditions of medical knowledge. Special attention is given to the pharmacopeia of the recipes, which includes terms of Aramaic, Greek, Middle Iranian, and Sanskrit origin, as well as to the linguistic categorization of the text. The study examines parallels between these recipes and the Syriac Book of Medicines and explores their significance for reconstructing the transmission of Eastern medical traditions to the West, particularly the role of Syriac physicians in this process. Finally, the article considers whether the text may have originated in the Gondēšāpūr medical academy in late antiquity.