In this publication, the extensive but cautious use of opium in a variety of remedies by Baghdad physicians in the ninth century shows an amazing awareness of the therapeutic usefulness and potential dangers of the opiate.

Selma Tibi, M.R. Pharm. S. (1974), D.Phil. (2003) in the History of Medicine, University of Oxford, is a Community Pharmacist working in Oxford. Her research interests are medieval Islamic history, Islamic civilisation and the transmission of Islamic medicine to the Latin West.