Xenodocheion
A xenodocheion is loosely defined as a modern-day hospital, but divulging into the debates of the provided services gives insight into their charity. Originating in the Byzantine Empire, this early Christian church strengthened the society by establishing public services. The church can be credited through evidence that “…the first monograph surveys the whole range of hospitals, hospices, orphanages, old-age homes and the like that were founded during the Byzantine millennium.”¹ At the forefront of the society was the caring for the sick, the underprivileged, and the dying. Xenodocheion translates literally into “house for strangers”, implying these being sites for travelers.² Prior to the the presence of public houses for the sick, civilizations viewed the sick as disregarding to the furthering of society. It was understood that a society could not flourish when dependent on incapable people. Therefore, the sick were left to be and the healthy were viewed as the premiere.³ The church’s political involvement shifted into the understanding that “Christianity brought about freedom, hope, ad salvation’s new insight into the ancient world, which had been based on … compassionless attitude towards the ill.”⁴
Viewed throughout Islamic history as the cornerstone inspiration for their first hospital was the Byzantine xenodoncheion in Jundi-Shapur.⁵ These care houses were dedicated to the treatment of disease and feeding the orphaned and homeless. Nearly always were xenodocheions attached within the confines of the monastery, oftentimes along with the priest serving as a supervisor.⁶ Most encompassing would be to understand xenocheions as philanthropic platforms upon which the church was able to provide a multitude of services. Expanding their realm of public philanthropy, oftentimes these served as destinations frequented by pilgrimage travelers. Inspired by the xenodocheions of the Byzantine Empire, the Islamic region integrated charitable public soup kitchens called imarets. Serving a similar philosophy, it was drawn from the budding recognition of civil duty to help others. Overall an umbrella term, xenocheions served to provide free food, healthcare, and shelter to those in need. |
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Depiction of inside a xenodocheion in Turkey.
Bennett Francois De Chaumont, Francis Stephen, M.D. , F.R.S. "Hospital." Disappearance of Serfdom.
France. England. Italy. Germany. Spain. Accessed December 08, 2018.
https://www.1902encyclopedia.com/H/HOS/hospital.html.
Bennett Francois De Chaumont, Francis Stephen, M.D. , F.R.S. "Hospital." Disappearance of Serfdom.
France. England. Italy. Germany. Spain. Accessed December 08, 2018.
https://www.1902encyclopedia.com/H/HOS/hospital.html.
Original drafted plan of a typical Byzantine hospital/inn by Alexandria Szabo
Al-Shorman, Abdulla, Abdelqader Ababneh, Akram Rawashdih, Ahmad Makhadmih, Saad Alsaad, and Monther Jamhawi. "Travel and Hospitality in Late Antiquity: A Case Study from Umm El-Jimal in Eastern Jordan." Near Eastern Archaeology80, no. 1 (2017): 22. doi:10.5615/neareastarch.80.1.0022.
Al-Shorman, Abdulla, Abdelqader Ababneh, Akram Rawashdih, Ahmad Makhadmih, Saad Alsaad, and Monther Jamhawi. "Travel and Hospitality in Late Antiquity: A Case Study from Umm El-Jimal in Eastern Jordan." Near Eastern Archaeology80, no. 1 (2017): 22. doi:10.5615/neareastarch.80.1.0022.
¹Horden, Peregrine. "How Medicalised Were Byzantine Hospitals?" Phytopathologia Mediterranea. Accessed December 08, 2018. http://www.fupress.net/index.php/mes/article/view/10356/9562.
²,³,⁴ Horden, Peregrine
⁵Dols, Michael W. "THE ORIGINS OF THE ISLAMIC HOSPITAL: MYTH AND REALITY." Bulletin of the History of Medicine61, no. 3 (1987): 367-90. Accessed December 8, 2018. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44442098?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents.
⁶Telea, Marius. "MEDICAL CARE IN BYZANTIUM FROM MISSION TO DEVOTION." European Journal of Science and Theology, 151-162, 8, no. 2 (December 1, 1918). Accessed December 8, 2018. http://www.ejst.tuiasi.ro/Files/33/Telea (16).pdf.
²,³,⁴ Horden, Peregrine
⁵Dols, Michael W. "THE ORIGINS OF THE ISLAMIC HOSPITAL: MYTH AND REALITY." Bulletin of the History of Medicine61, no. 3 (1987): 367-90. Accessed December 8, 2018. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44442098?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents.
⁶Telea, Marius. "MEDICAL CARE IN BYZANTIUM FROM MISSION TO DEVOTION." European Journal of Science and Theology, 151-162, 8, no. 2 (December 1, 1918). Accessed December 8, 2018. http://www.ejst.tuiasi.ro/Files/33/Telea (16).pdf.