La classification des animaux sauvages chez un naturaliste et médecin du X^e siècle Aḥmad Ibn Abī al-Ašʿaṯ

We consider the classification of animals of a scholar of the 10^th century, Aḥmad Ibn Abī al-Ašʿaṯ, a recognized practitioner and theoretician in the field of medicine. This author had a wide knowledge of the works of his Greek predecessors, including Galen. His original approach addresses the field of wild animal taxonomy (in his book Kitāb al-Ḥayawān) by their constitution and composition by the four elements. While taking into account other factors, mainly the living environment, this classification differs from that of Aristotle or the Arab scholar al-Ğahiz (9^th). In this paper, we delve deeper into the analysis of a chapter of his work, on the classification of wild animals, which is particularly remarkable for its theoretical and systematic aspect. Ibn Abī al-Ašʿaṯ proposes general laws that allow the reader to place any animal, known or unknown to the author, in a corresponding category. Sixteen categories are thus defined and illustrated by examples of real animals. In this article, we examine the relationships between medical Art and the establishment of these categories.