Mohammad Kermanshahi

←Created page with '{{Infobox person | name = Mohammad Kermanshahi | birth_date = July 1829 | birth_place = Kermanshah, Qajar Iran | death_date = February 1908 (aged 78–79) | death_place = Tehran, Qajar Iran | resting_place = Ibn Babawayh Cemetery, Tehran | occupation = physician, medical educator | known_for = Early introduction of bacteriology and anatomical dissection in Iran | alma_mater...'

New page {{Infobox person

| name = Mohammad Kermanshahi

| birth_date = July 1829

| birth_place = [[Kermanshah]], [[Qajar Iran]]

| death_date = February 1908 (aged 78–79)

| death_place = [[Tehran]], Qajar Iran

| resting_place = [[Ibn Babawayh Cemetery]], Tehran

| occupation = physician, medical educator

| known_for = Early introduction of bacteriology and anatomical dissection in Iran

| alma_mater = [[Sorbonne University]]

| works =

| spouse =

}}

'''Mohammad Kermanshahi'''{{efn|{{langx|fa|محمد کرمانشاهی}}, also referred to as '''Mohammad Kermanshahi "Kofri"''' ({{langx|fa|کفری}}; {{lit|unbeliever}}), the term "Kofri" was reportedly applied to Mohammad Kermanshahi by opponents who considered [[#Views|his views]] to be religiously [[heterodox]]. It was not part of his name.{{cite journal | title=The Background of the Constitutional Movement in Azerbaijan | journal=Middle East Journal | publisher=Middle East Institute | volume=14 | issue=4 | year=1960 | issn=00263141 | jstor=4323290 | pages=456–465 | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/4323290 | access-date=2026-06-21}} In Iran, he is referred to as '''[[Hakim (title)|Hakim]] Mohammad Kahn Kermanshahi "Kofri"''',{{cite book | last=Doorn-Khosrovani | first=Sahar Barjesteh van Waalwijk van | title=Qajar Era Health, Hygiene and Beauty | publisher=International Qajar Studies Association | date=2003 | isbn=978-90-5613-071-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EORQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA42 | access-date=2026-06-21 | page=42}} or '''Mirza Mohammad Kermanshahi'''.{{cite web | title= Seyyed Hassan Taqizadeh: a political biography | url=https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/access/item%3A3192549/view |website=Scholarly Publications, University of Leiden| access-date=2026-06-21}}}} (c. 1829 – 1908) was an Iranian physician, surgeon, and [[medical educator]] active during the late [[Qajar period]].{{cite web | last=Mahdavi | first=Shireen | title=KOFRI KERMĀNŠĀHI, MOḤAMMAD | website=Encyclopaedia Iranica | date=2026-04-30 | url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kofri-kermansahi-mo%E1%B8%A5ammad/ | access-date=2026-06-20}}{{cite book | last1=Keshavarzian | first1=Arang | last2=Mirsepassi | first2=Ali | title=Global 1979: Geographies and Histories of the Iranian Revolution | publisher=Cambridge University Press | date=2021-07-15 | isbn=978-1-108-83907-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gm8yEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA341 | access-date=2026-06-21 | page=341}} He was trained in both [[Iranian traditional medicine|traditional Persian medicine]] and modern European medical science. He played a central role in the pioneering of [[modern medicine|modern medical]] practices in Iran and was among the earliest Iranian physicians to receive formal medical training in France.{{cite web | title= Dr. Mirza Mohammad Kermanshahi, one of the pioneers of modern Iranian medicine in the Qajar era and the author of the book Children's Disease (Amraz-e-Atfal)| url=https://ce.mazums.ac.ir/article-1-916-en.pdf |website=Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences |access-date=2026-06-21}}

== Early life and education ==

Kermanshahi was born in July 1829 in [[Kermanshah]], Iran to Pir Mohammad Zare, a merchant. He received his early education in his native city before moving to [[Najaf]], where he received his religious education. After returning to Kermanshah, he studied French.

He later relocated to [[Tehran]] and enrolled at [[Dar al-Fonun]], where he learned traditional medicine under Mirza Abd al-Baqi Etezad al-Atebba and studied European medicine under [[Joseph Désiré Tholozan]], a French doctor to the court of [[Naser al-Din Shah Qajar|Naser al-Din Shah]]. After completing his studies, he returned back to Kermanshah to organize a [[quarantine]] facility for the region.

In 1870, Kermanshahi went to Paris to pursue his further medical education. He later wrote in the introductory section of ''Amrāż al-aṭfāl'' (a work on pediatric diseases), he made his journey by selling a [[refrigerator]] inherited from his father along with [[carpet]]s woven by his mother, as he lacked sufficient funds for the trip. He remained there for approximately nine years, studying several branches of medicine. In 1879, he earned a [[medical diploma]] from [[Sorbonne University]]{{cite web | title=History of Medicine in Iran| url=https://journalaim.com/PDF/269 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260621131557if_/journalaim.com/PDF/269 |archive-date=2026-06-21 |website=Archives of Iranian Medicine |access-date=2026-06-21}} after completing a doctoral thesis titled ''De La Valeur Diagnostique Du Bruit De Piaulement Dans L'endocardite Aigue''.

That following year, in 1880, he joined the French Society of Clinicians and received the academic distinction [[Ordre des Palmes Académiques]].

== Career ==

After returning to Tehran in 1881, he was appointed as director of the governmental hospital (Marizhkaneh-e Dowlati, in modern-day [[Sina Hospital]]). Following that he came into contact with [[Naser al-Din Shah]] through [[Aliqoli Mirza Qajar]], who served as minister of Post and Telegraph. He subsequently entered royal service as one of the physicians to the Shah's court. He was also appointed physician to the Ministry of Post and Telegraph, placed in charge of the state hospital in 1881, and was subsequently appointed as professor at Dar al-Fonun.

He also introduced laboratory instruments, including a [[microscope]], and began teaching methods for examining [[microorganism]]s based on recent European scientific methods. He was the first medical instructor in Iran to demonstrate [[red blood cells]] (RBC) in classroom teaching. He became among the earliest Iranian [[bacteriologist]]s.

In 1887, he moved to [[Tabriz]], where he served as physician to [[Hasan-Ali Khan Amir Nezam Garrusi]], then serving as deputy of Azerbaijan. During this period, he trained several students, including [[Mohammad Ali Tarbiat]], an Iranian revolutionary and founder of the [[Tarbiat Library]],{{cite web | title=مرکز پژوهش‌های ایرانی و اسلامی | website=دائرةالمعارف بزرگ اسلامی | date=2019-09-29 | url=https://www.cgie.org.ir/fa/article/224171/%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A8%DB%8C%D8%AA%D8%8C-%D9%85%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%B2%D8%A7-%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%B9%D9%84%DB%8C | language=fa | access-date=2026-06-21}} and [[Hassan Taqizadeh]], who later wrote that he studied subjects such as anatomy, [[physiology]], [[pathology]], and [[physics]] under him.

== Views ==

Kermanshahi supported [[modern medicine]] and held views described by contemporary sources as socially and politically liberal. He criticises [[authoritarianism|authoritarian rule]] and beliefs he regarded as lacking rational or religious foundation. He promoted [[anatomical]] [[dissection]] as part of medical education. Assisted by [[Johannes L. Schlimmer]], he carried out dissections that were considered controversial by some uncertain religious group. The practice, particularly involving abandoned bodies, provoked criticism from clerical circles that viewed such procedures as incompatible with accepted religious practice.

His advocacy of European medicine created divisions among physicians. Support largely came from doctors trained abroad, while many practitioners of traditional medicine opposed both his methods and the introduction of imported medicines such as [[aspirin]]. Because some religious scholars considered his ideas unorthodox, he became known by the [[epithet]] ''Kofri'', meaning "unbeliever". Growing opposition eventually led to the loss of his official positions by 1886, although he continued teaching students privately from his residence, where much of his teaching and research activity took place.

== Publications ==

In 1900, Kermanshahi wrote two medical publications addressing [[diphtheria]]. These included ''Resale dar Bayan-e Serom-e Qarabadini va Sayer-e Mayeaat-e Haywaniya-ye Qabel-e Tazriq'', a work translated from French, and ''Elaj-e Diftiri'', concerning the treatment of diphtheria that appeared the same year.

His other publications include ''Amraz al-atfal'' concerning children's diseases, and ''Kuft Amraz-e Moqabarati'' concerning [[venereal disease]]s. A work titled ''Zia al-Nazerin'', published in Tehran in 1892, was at one time attributed to him incorrectly. The translation was actually prepared by Mohammad Khan Shaikh Ehya al-Molk. His unpublished writings addressed several subjects, including anatomy, pathology, [[chemistry]], [[therapeutics]], [[pharmacology]], [[forensic medicine]], [[hygiene]], and obstetrics.

He also translated ''Gil Blas'', a work by [[Alain-René Lesage]], into Persian; the translation was published in 1905.

== Death and legacy ==

Kermanshahi died in Tehran in February 1908 and was buried at [[Ibn Babawayh Cemetery]].

The [[government of Iran]] established the Dr. Mohammad Kermanshahi Hospital in Kermanshah, a specialized pediatric hospital named after him. Affiliated with the [[Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences]], the teaching hospital was officially inaugurated in 2011.{{cite web | last=کرمانشاه | first=دانشگاه علوم پزشکی | title=تاریخچه | publisher=دانشگاه علوم پزشکی کرمانشاه | date=2019-11-12 | url=https://drkermanshahi.kums.ac.ir/fa/moarefi/tarikhche | language=fa | access-date=2026-06-21}}

== Notes ==

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== References ==

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