Jews from the Umayyad Caliphate

physician

Māsarjawaih () was one of the earliest Jewish physicians of Persian origin, and the earliest translator from the Syriac; he lived in Basra about 683 (Anno Hegirae 64). His name, distorted, has been transmitted in European sources; it has not yet been satisfactorily explained. Neuda (in "Orient, Lit." vi. 132) compares the name "Masarjawaih" with the Hebrew proper name "Mesharsheya"; but the ending "-waih" points to a Persian origin. The form "Masarjis" has been compared with the Christian proper name "Mar Serjis"; but it is not known that Masarjis embraced either Christianity or Islam.