Author Description

Ancient Pharmacology A Pharmacist's Journey Through Ancient Drugs, Poisons, and Cures What did the ancients know about healing, and how much of it still matters today? From temple scrolls to battlefield salves, enchanted roots to early anaesthetics, Ancient Pharmacology explores the hidden world of ancient drugs with the precision of a modern pharmacist and the curiosity of a historian. This groundbreaking book dives deep into how medicine was understood, prepared, used, feared, and forgotten in the ancient world and what modern science can tell us about it today. Spanning Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, India, China, and beyond, this richly researched and beautifully written volume takes the reader on a global tour through centuries of healing practices. Drawing on both ancient texts and modern pharmacological science, it shows how early healers combined ritual, observation, and raw plant power to develop sophisticated remedies, some of which laid the foundations for modern medicine. Inside you'll discover: How ancient healers prepared and administered complex treatments without scales, chemistry, or microbiology Why opium, cannabis, mandrake, and even fermented dung were revered as medicines The pharmacological secrets behind divine intoxication, ritual hallucination, and sacred sleep The untold story of midwives, witches, and healers who shaped women's medicine - and were later silenced How modern pharmacology validates (and occasionally debunks) ancient therapeutic claims The real science behind neuroactive plants used in magic, oracles, and madness How poisons, venoms, and deadly herbs became both feared and sacred What ancient clinical trials, surgical manuals, and early pharmacopoeias can teach us today Blending ethnobotany, history of medicine, and clinical phar