1700 B.C.: Hebrew health and healing

Each Hebrew village had a physician who specialized in medicine and a surgery.  Some specialized in internal medicine, some external medicine, and others both.  (3, page 28-29) Permission to practice medicine had to be obtained by the magistrates where the physician wished to settle.  If you were sick (perhaps with asthma) you had the option of seeking out this physician to heal you.

This physician, however, also must obtain permission from the Beth-din, which was the council of the town. Did the doctor have to pass a test? Was he interviewed? What questions were asked? Did he otherwise have to prove his competency? The answers to these questions remain a mystery, explains Robley Dunglison in his 1872 history of medicine. (4, page 31-32)

Jewish physicians were knowledgeable of the basics of anatomy, although their knowledge was quite primitive, as it was for most ancient societies.  They did not understand the concept of internal diseases, nor the link between anatomy and disease.  However, as noted by Garrison, they did have a basic understanding of the most common diseases that left visible signs, such as leprosy, syphilis, phthisis, scabies, anthrax, epilepsy, and the various plagues (such as the plague of Ball Peor (numbers 25: 9) in which 24,000 perished. (7, page 59)

The best remedy was the one preached by Moses: good hygiene.  This included bathing, hand washing, sexual restraint, etc. Although, if someone did get sick, the remedies were simple.  For instance, the remedy for leprosy was washing in the Jordan, or "dipping seven times in the Jordan. (2 Kings 5: 14)" (7, page 59-60)

These physicians were educated in "sanitary administration and jurisprudence," says Puschmann.  Along with good hygiene, they were also required to do other things to prevent disease, which included circumcision.  (3, page 28-29)  While modern experts think they have disproved this theory, ancient people believed uncircumcised penises were more likely to become infected.  This was how circumcision made its way into the Bible.

Physicians were also, as noted by Garrison, required to isolate people with infectious disease such as leprosy, syphilis, gonorrhea and leukorrhea, as noted in Leviticus 12-15. (7, page 60)  This was another significant measure of preventing healthy people from getting these diseases.  It must also have been observed that many diseases were spread through sexual contact, and so sexual abstinence prior to marriage was encouraged, and loyalty to one man or one woman was also encouraged.

Puschmann notes that when a person was sick he called upon his physician, who paid the sick a visit. Then the physician was paid by the sick or his family, and not by a collective tax. (3, page 28-29) Although, "Jewish medicine was almost exclusively a medicine of the state, not a private profession," writes Thomas Bradford in his 1898 book "Quiz questions on the history of medicine." (9, page 9)(5, page 31)

The neat thing about ancient people such as Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Hebrews, is you didn't have to be a physicians to be an expert in medicine, says Puschman. He explains this was because medicine was included in the list of knowledge  taught at schools.  It would be like going to college today for Journalism, and having to take classes in math, English and Business.  So many of the people mentioned in the Bible, particularly prophets such as Solomon, Elijah, Elisha and Ahijah, had medical wisdom, and this wisdom allowed them to "become famous for their successful cures."  (3, page 29)

Baas says King Solomon (who reigned 1020-980 B.C.) was a prophet who had the ability to cure, (2, page 32) and Bradford said of Solomon that "tradition attributes to him a medical work which taught how to cure diseases by natural means. Arabian authorities assert that he left a history of plants and animals, and a number of other works." (9, page 8)

There are various, and random, references to the healing powers of the prophets in the Bible.  Elisha, who lived in the 9th century B.C., healed the water that causes miscarriages:

Some men from Jericho went to Elisha and  said, "As you know, sir, this is a fine city, but the water is bad and causes miscarriages." Elisha said, "Put some salt in a bowl and bring it to me." They brought it to him, and he went to the spring, threw in the salt in the water, and said, "This is what the Lord says: 'I make this water pure, and it will not cause any more  deaths or miscarriages.'" And that water has been pure ever since, just as Elisha said it would be. (Kings 2: 19-22)

Elisha also resurrected a Shunammite's son:

When Elisha arrived, he went alone into the room and saw the boy lying dead on the bed.  He closed the door and prayed to the Lord.  Then he lay down on the boy, placing his mouth, eyes, and hands on the boy's mouth, eyes, and hands.  As he lay stretched out over the boy, the boy's body started to get warm.  Elisha got up, walked around the room, and then went back and again stretched himself over the boy.  the boy sneezed seven times and then opened his eyes.  Elisha called Gehazi and told him to call the boy's mother.  When she came in, he said to her, "Here's your son." She fell at Elisha's feet, with her face touching the ground; then she took her son and left." (Kings 4: 32-37) 

He also healed Naaman:

"Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram.  He was a great man in sight of his master and highly regarded.  because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife.  She said to her mistress, 'If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.'” (2Kings 5:1-2)

Naaman's master allowed him to see the king of Aram, who allowed Naaman to see the king of Israel for permission, although the king of Israel " tore his robes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!”

The next passages says that:

When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet. So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”   

But Naaman went away angry and said,

“I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage. Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!”So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. (2Kings 5:9-15)

To finish this neat story, Naaman offered payment, or at least to be a servant to the prophet, but Elisha would not take payment, saying, "go in peace."  Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, was upset that Elisha didn't take payment, and so he did so himself.  Elisha punished Gehazi:

But Elisha said to him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money or to accept clothes—or olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves? Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever.” Then Gehazi went from Elisha’s presence and his skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow. (2Kings 5: 27-28)

In another Biblical story, King Asa (10th century B.C.) was king of Judah, and he was among the first kings to be faithful to the worship of God.  In fact, even his name, Asa, means physician.  He opposed idolatry and all immoral behavior.  Yet despite his faithfulness, when he was struck with disease at the end of his life, he consulted physicians instead of the Lord (2Chronicles 16: 12-14)

"In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe; yet even in his disease he did not seek The Lord, but sought help from physicians. And Asa slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign. They buried him in the tomb which he had hewn out for himself in the city of David. They laid him on a bier which had been filled with various kinds of spices prepared by the perfumer's art; and they made a very great fire in his honor." (2Chronicles 16: 12-14

King Jeroboam, who died in 910 B.C., prayed to an old prophet for healing:

The prophet prayed to the Lord, and the king's arm was healed. (Kings I 13: 7) 

The prophet Elijah, who lived around 869-850 B.C., healed a widow's son:

"Give the boy to me," Elijah said.  He took the boy from her arms, carried him upstairs to the room where he was staying, and laid him on the bed.  Then he prayed aloud, "O Lord my god, why have you done such a terrible thing to this widow?  She has been kind enough to take care of me, and now you kill her son!" Then Elijah stretched himself out on the boy three times and prayed, "O Lord my god, restore this child's life!" The Lord answered Elijah's prayer; the child started breathing again and revived. (Kings I 17: 19-22)

Isaiah cured king Heekiah's illness:

Isaiah left the king, but before he had passed through the central courtyard of the palace the Lord told him to go back to Hezekiah, ruler of the Lord's people, and say to him, "I, the Lord, the god of your ancestor David, have heard your prayer and seen your tears.  I will heal you, and in three days you will go to the temple.  I will let you live fifteen years longer.  I will rescue you and this city Jerusalem from the emperor of Assyria.  I will defend this city, for the sake of my own honor and because of the promise I made to my servant David." (Kings II 20: 4-6)

There are many more references to health and healing in the Bible, from Adam all the way to Jesus. Consider the following:

•  “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the healer.” (Peter 2:24)
• Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:14-16
• And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. (Matthew 10:1)
• And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. (Matthew 4:23)
• “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."  (Isaiah 53:5, and 1Peter 2:24)

Most of these passage are not necessarily about medical healing, but spiritual healing.  Basically, by learning from the sins of others, we can be healed.  By not doing the evil things other people have done, the things that make you spiritually or physically sick, you will stay healthy, or be healed.

So the Bible, while not a medical texts, provides us with some vague information of medical wisdom from around 1500 to 1700 years before the birth of Christ. Most diseases at this time were best left to nature (4, page 30), as the remedies provided (bleeding, purging, emetics) often made the patient feel worse, and sometimes caused death.  The Bible offered a hope and a prayer, perhaps the best remedy of all.

Reference:  See "1700 B.C.: Hebrew Bible influences medicine"

1-650 A.D.: A Jewish girl with asthma

Leah knew her uncomfortable breathing was caused by God. The idea that this was so was not even raised as the physician placed a palm upon her head and said, "May the Lord heal you with the milk of this goat." She lowered herself to her hands and knees, placed her head hesitantly under the goat, and began sucking milk from the teat.

The animal squirmed, and the girl jumped back, only to be caught by the physician. Her father and uncle had their arms wrapped around the beast, which was standing tensely, trying to escape. "Do not be afraid," the physician said, as though unfazed, "drink the milk and you shall be healed."

Tears dribbled down her cheeks as she tried to inhale, yet little air entered. She didn't want to be like this anymore, and she didn't want to do what the physician said either. Yet she prayed that what the physician said would help. So she got down on her knees, and did as she was instructed. The warm milk entered her mouth. She swallowed. Most of it dribbled down her chin, as she gasped. 

Later that night she sat hunched on her knees a blanket near the river, her shoulders high and stiff, her arms braced on the ground as though bracing the shoulders. The flowing of the water, the crisp breeze upon her cheek, seemed to allow more air into her chest. She took slow, purposeful breaths as the physician had said. She tried to allow her shoulders to relax, although she struggled with this. Her chest was stiff, shoulders high, and she pressed her palms to the ground to get them even higher. Her entire body shook as she inhaled.  

On the blanket next to her were figs. It was a fasting time, although the physician said the Rabbi gave special permission for her to eat anything she desired so she could get well. Her stomach grumbled, although she had no urge to eat. The only urge she had was a hunger for air. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the flow of water, hoping, praying, the words of God would help the air in.  

The words of Deuteronomy (28:21-23) rained through her mind:

"The Lord shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed the from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. The Lord shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. And thy Heaven that is overhead shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron."

She could not help but think that the air she inhaled was iron, and that was why it was so hard to suck it in. Yet a more reasonable place settled in her mind, the place where the sounds of the river flowed, chimed in a more soothing thought: "It is not the end. You were like this last week, and the world did not end, and your breath came back.  It will come back again."  The voice was that of God. "Be patient."

She closed her eyes and set down her shoulders, allowing her arms to hang listlessly.  She inhaled, feeling her stomach move outward as she did so.  The air that came in was stiff, as though a horse were resting on her chest.  She exhaled, as the doctor prescribed, through pursed lips twice as long as she inhaled, her stomach going in as she did so.

As she did this, over and over, her mind heard soothing swooshing of the sea, the rustling of leaves through the trees, the soft touch of the Lord's breeze across her face, sending a tingle down her spine.  A smile stretched across her cheeks as she could feel the gentle hug of her Father, the Lord, holding her.  She heard birds chirping, the voice of the Lord telling her she is blessed.  She felt at peace. 

Yet her breathing did not come back.  It was now sun down, and her mother and father were pacing around her bed, and they were arguing.  "We need to get the physician here," she heard her mother say.  She was sitting all hunched up on the bed, and it shook with each breath.  Her eyes were shut, and she envisioned she was flying with the birds.

"You know, my love," her mother's voice pulled her from her fantasy, "that God does not allow for him to work in the early hours of the morning, and in the late hours of the day."

"I'm fine," the girl gasped, feigning a smile.  She hugged her mother back as though to sooth the soother.

This was how life was for anyone with breathing trouble among the Jewish community from the time of Jesus to the time when the Arab physicians revived medicine in the 5th, 6th, and 7th centuries.  The Jews were nomads, and came into contact with many societies along the way, including Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Greek and Roman.  Absorbed into Jewish wisdom was the best wisdom of all these cultures, including knowledge of medicine.  

What is stunning is that even while many of these cultures valued herbal remedies that might have provided relief for Leah, the Jewish community had no pharmacology.  This is also stunning considering they would have had knowledge of a vast number of herbs and plants that would have made good remedies.  If such remedies were used, knowledge of them must have been assumed, because they were not mentioned in the Bible nor the Talmud.  What is mentioned, though, are simple remedies such as figs, liver, heart, gall of fishes, bathing in Jordan to treat Leprosy, and sucking milk from the teat of a goat to treat dyspnea. 

Of interest is even though there was no mention of a pharmacology, and little use of natural remedies, members of the Jewish Community lived just as long as eople of other societies that made great use of such remedies. Perhaps this is proof that few of these remedies were of any use, or that that hope provided by God was equally effective as any medicine, if not more effective.  

There were a few diseases that were known, and a few simple therapies (such as the ones mentioned above), although for the most part the best remedy was prevention. Simple prayers were said every day, and there was an emphasis on a healthy diet that emphasized more food than drink before the age of 40, and more drink than food after the age of 40.  

After meals it was recommended to eat salt, and then to drink water freely. It was recommended for all people to concentrate on the Lord, thanking him often for good health, happiness and healing. It was recommended that people take regular breaks at work, relax on the Sabbath day, not walk more than necessary, not sleep too much, nor indulge in wine. Perhaps of equal importance was to bathe daily, and to anoint and wash freely. These were simple ways to prevent illness.  

The father stepped outside into the darkness, and the mother sat next to the suffering girl, whose fingers were pressed hard on the straw. She rubbed the girl's shoulders and back. The mother read from the scribe Joseph ben Sira (Sirach) who lived and taught in Jerusalem sometime around 200-175 before Christ. 

Honor a physician according to your need of him with the honors due to him: For verily the Lord has created him. For from the Most High comes healing; And from the king he shall receive a gift. The skill of the physician shall lift up his head; And in the sighn of great men he shall be admired. The Lord created medicine out of the earth; And a prudent man will have no disgust at them. Was not water made sweet with wood, That the virtue thereof might be known? And he gave men skill, That they might be glorified in his marvelous works. With them does he heal a man, And takes away his pain. (Sirach 38: 1-7) (Ecclesiastes 38: 1-4)*: 

The girl allowed her body to fall against her mother's body, and she inhaled a full breath.  A smile crept upon her face, and she fell asleep. In her dreams she walked with angels over the river.

* The book was written by Joshua ben Sira (pronounced sairaek) or Jerusalem. It is generally referred to as the wisdom of Sirach, or simply Sirach. He is also referred to as Ecclesiastes, or Ecclesiasticus, son of Sirach, or grandson to the prophet Jesus. His writings is a book of ethical teachings from the 2nd century after the birth of Christ. It generally shows that early Jews, as well as Christians, had great respect for physicians. The book was ultimately not accepted as part of the Hebrew Bible, although there are references to Sirach in the Talmud and other Jewish writings. It is, however, included as part of most Christian Bibles, including the Catholic and Protestant Bibles. It was, however, originally written in Hebrew. As with most ancient works, there are various translations of this work. Some believe Sirach set up a school in Alexandria, Egypt around 200-175 A.D., and it is from there that he wrote the texts (although some assume he compiled the texts). 

References:

1. Baas, John Herman, writer, Handerson, Henry Ebenezer, translator, "Outlines in the history of medicine and the medical profession," 1869, New York, J.H. Vail and Co.., pages 32-36

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628-330 B.C.: Medicine among the early Persians

So we know now what life was like for asthmatics in ancient Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt, now I'd like explain, if only briefly, what life was like for asthmatics in Ancient Iran.  The simple truth of the matter is it really wasn't much better than anywhere else in the world.  If you had asthma, as with any other disease, your best bet was to have someone pat you on the back, provide you with moral support, and to simply allow nature (or spirits or gods) to heal you.

The first people to live in this area, which was not far from Assyria in Upper Mesopotamia, were the Elamites, the Medes and the Persians.  I think these folks were essential to our asthma history because, when western civilization went into a dark ages of medicine after the fall of Rome in 476 A.D., medicine would rise in the east, and mainly in Persia.  This would happen around the 10th or 11th centuries A.D.  So it is essential that we not ignore these folks.

John Hermann Baas, in his 1898 book, "Outlines in the history of medicine,"  explained, that along with the Mesopotamians, the Chaldeans also had a major impact on Persian culture.  The Chaldeans worshiped a series of sacred texts called the Zen Avesta, also referred to as the "Living Word."  This Avesta was put into writing by the Zoroaster (Zaruthustra, Zerdutscht), who was supposedly a Persian prophet.  According to Encyclopedia Britannica, he lived from 628-551 B.C. (3, page 25)

This book, according to Baas, "was subsequently lost, but afterword collected from memory into a book of its present form."  So what is available today is from later copies, of which knowledge of religion, prayers, hymns, origin of the world, and also one section that includes knowledge of physicians and their medicine.
Plinio Prioreschi, in his 1991 "A history of medicine," says this this section was probably copied sometime around 250-200 B.C.  (1, page 488).

The Zen Avesta is among the few sources of knowledge of Persian religion, myths and medicine.  So knowledge of their religion, and their medicine, is scanty. According to Prioreshi:

The religion of the early Iranians, until the sixth century B.C., was similar to that of other Aryan (people who lived in ancient Iran and northern India) populations as, for example, the Vedic Indians.  Their priests were the Magi (wise men); they sacrificed to many gods, among whom Mithra (see below) held a prominent place; and they did not bury their dead but let them exposed to be devoured by wild animals." (1, page 487)

I find this interesting, because Prioreschi also notes that these people have left behind very few monuments, and very few documents, for modern day historians to learn from.  As the bodies of their dead were devoured by animals, their history was devoured by time.  Historians, therefore, have only a few texts to learn about their religion and mythology, and even fewer to learn about their medicine (which, in all essence, was blended into mythology).  So, unless more documents lie unearthed, it is apparent that the ancient Iranians "did not contribute much to world medicine." (that  is, until about the 10th or 11th centuries)  (Prioreschi, pages 487,495)

Yet we can use our imaginations to figure what life was probably like for them, considering, as Henry Sigerist notes in his 1961 "A History of Medicine," most societies pretty much believed sickness and injuries were basically all caused by magic, and healed by magic.  You did not just happen to become dyspneic, or just happen to get bit by an alligator, these things happened because of magical intervention either by enemies, by evil spirts, angry demons, or upset gods or goddesses.  (2)

These people, therefore, paid tribute to the various deities in order to maintain health and order among the civilization.  Some of their most essential deities to our history are:

Ormuzd (Ahuramazda):  Belongs to light, which emanates the good spirits, the supreme Amschaspands.  (3, page 25)

Amschaspand (Ahmeschaepenta):  Decrees diligently executed by their subordinate Izeds (Angels, archangels).  There are 32 angels of Amschaspand, some of these angels are listed here: (3, pages 25-26)

• Korschid:  The sun
• Mithra:  In the middle between the sun and the moon
• The Supreme Diws (Dews, Dewas):  They are the causes of all disease.  The cure will come from Amschaspands through mediation by a priest or priests.  The following emanate from him (Ahriman also belongs to them):  
• Aschmosch: 
• Eghetasch:
• Bochasp:
• Astujad: 
• Tarik:
• Tosius  
• Ahriman (Angramandscha): The evil principle darkness

Ardibehescht:  He is another god who might provide a cure through mediation of the priests, or a priest, on your behalf or on the behalf of the society.  (3, page 26)

Ainyama:  God of healing (3, page 26)

Thrita:  Physicians were his disciples.  To them he was highly esteemed.  He was the god of physician. (3, page 26)

There is much more detail in their mythology than I mention here, and probably enough to entail an entire book.  Still, if you had asthma in ancient Iran, these are the basic deities most relevant to you.
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So if you lived in ancient Iran, did you have other options besides simply worshiping deities?  Perhaps, although, due to the scanty writings from this era, it's difficult to know for sure.  Although, there may be evidence that there were physicians available to assist you with their enemas, salves and potions.

Prioreschi said that there were essentially three types of physicians in ancient Iran: internal priests who used herbal remedies, surgeon priests who used the knife, and incantation priests who used magical words.  (1, page 490).

Baas said these priests were not paid very well, and this may be a sign of disrespect for physicians, because all other professionals were paid very well.  Likewise, he suspected physicians may have occupied a low position, as only Egyptian and Greek physicains were known to be used as court physicians.  (3, page 27)

Baas notes how Cyrus II, who conquered the Babylonians and created the Persian Empire around 530 B.C., surrounded himself with military physicians, although there are many descriptions of Egyptian and Greek physicians coming to the Persian courts.  (3 page 26)

Prioreschi lists a few quotations where Egyptian or Greek physicians were called upon to treat members of the monarchy.  Prioreschi quotes the great Greek historian Herodutus as explaining how Darius hurt his foot while hunting, and even after seven days of Egyptian physician therapy "the king could get no sleep for the pain."  On the eighth day Democedes of Croton was summoned, and he "applied Greek remedies and used gentleness instead of the Egyptian's violence; whereby he made the king able to sleep and in a little while recovered him of his hurt..." (1, pages 496-7)

Of this, Prioreschi explained:

"This could mean that Persian physicians did not enjoy a great degree of professional respect.  On the other hand, it is difficult to assess the accuracy of Herodutus in this matter as it may simply reflect an opinion held among Greeks in his time (that is, in the fifth century B.C.)  (1, pages 496-7)

Persian physicians may have been disrespected mainly because few people survived the surgeries that were performed.  This may have been true despite the fact the the patient may have died anyway.  Yet because the physician acted, he (or she) would probably get blamed.  The same was true of their medicine, which, when the patient died, must have been blamed.  Herbal remedies, by an ignorant populace, must have been viewed as nothing more than poisons.

So Persian physicians were known for their "poisons," and for this reason, you may have been scared to seek out one.  However, if you did, they might have had a potion or two that might have allayed your nerves enough to take the edge off your suffering.  Or, maybe not.
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The following chart should explain how ancient Iranians commingled with other nations in the area, and it is by this means that ideas and culture (including medicine) were shared.

Ancient Iran
Elam:  2850-640 B.C. Sumerian control: 2850-2180 B.C. Elamites regain control: 2180-1830 B.C. Aryan invasions: 1800 Elams invade Babylon: 1176 B.C. Elams plunder temple of Akkad: 1150 B.C. Assyrians defeat Elams: 721-640 Elam civilization ends: 640 B.C.	While under control of the Sumerians they picked up much of their culture. The Aryans invade around 1800 and bring with them knowledge of medicine.  Before this time, ancient Iranian medicine probably mostly involved magic and religion.  (1, page 496)
Medes:  835-550 B.C. Attacked by Assyria: 835-705 B.C.  Assyrian Rule: 705-625 B.C. Median Empire founded: 625-585	Together with the Babylonians, the Medes destroy Nineveh, the capital of Assyria in 612 B.C. Medes declined, and in 550 B.C. was absorbed by Persian Empire.
Persia:  600-330 B.C. Persian Empire formed: 550-530 B.C. Egypt Conquered: 530-521 B.C. Unsuccessful war with Greeks …Battle of Marathon: 490 B.C. Xerxes I defeated by Greeks: 480&489 B.C Decline of Empire:  465-338 B.C. Conquered by Greece: 336-330 B.C.	Cyrus II conquers Babylon, Lydia and Medes to form the Persian Empire.  His son, Cambyses, conquers Egypt.  Darius extends borders of Empire beyond Indus Valley between 521-486 B.C. but cannot conquer Greece. Persia abandons plans to conquer Greece.  They were ultimately conquered themselves by Alexander the Great of Greece between 336-330 B.C.

Please note that these are approximate dates according to Plinio Prioreschi. (1, pages 485-487)

If you have any further questions about what life might have been like in ancient Iran, you might have to step into our time machine and take a ride. Or, you can wait and hope some more ancient Iranian documents are unearthed by archaeological expositions.

References:

1. Prioreschi, Plinio, A History of Medicine: Primitive and Ancient Medicine," Volume I, 1991, UK, The Edwin Mellen Press
2. Sigerist, Henry, "A History of Medicine," volume 2, 1961, Oxford University Press, page 202; also see Plinio Prioreschi, "A History of Medicine: Primitive and Ancient Medicine," Volume I, 1991, UK, The Edwin Mellen Press, page 490
3. Bass, John Hermann, translated by H.E Handerson, "Outlines in the history of medicine and the Medical Profession," 1889, New York, J.H. Vail and Company