832?-932?

Jewish Egyptian physician and philosopher who wrote on a number of subjects and greatly influenced European medicine. The dates of Isaac's life are uncertain—he could have been born as late as 855, and died as late as 955—but it is known that he lived to be about 100 years old. During his long career, he served the Fatimid caliphs in Egypt and wrote eight medical works on topics that included fevers, urine, pharmacology, ophthalmology, and various diseases and treatments. Translated by Constantine the African (c. 1020-1087), these writings would have a great impact in Western Europe. As a philosopher, Isaac is considered the father of Jewish Neoplatonism in the Middle Ages.