Dioscorides of Anazarbus was a Greek physician and botanist who lived and worked in the 1st century CE, during the early Roman Empire. His exact dates are unknown, but he was likely active during the reigns of emperors Nero and Vespasian. He came from Anazarbus, a city in Cilicia (modern-day Turkey). According to his own writings, he traveled widely across the Roman Empire, and many scholars believe he may have served as a military surgeon, which would explain his practical focus and extensive firsthand knowledge of regional plants and remedies.

He is famous for a single, monumental work: De materia medica (On Medical Material). This five-book treatise describes roughly 600 plants, 90 minerals, and 30 animal products used for medicine. Its revolutionary contribution was its organization. Earlier authors often listed substances alphabetically or by physical appearance, but Dioscorides grouped them based on their therapeutic effects on the body. This practical, experience-based system made the work an indispensable manual for physicians. While other texts were later attributed to him, modern scholars generally consider De materia medica to be his only authentic surviving work.

Dioscorides’s significance is immense. De materia medica became the foundational textbook of pharmacology and herbal medicine for over 1,500 years. It was continuously copied, translated into Latin and Arabic, and commented upon throughout the Byzantine, Islamic, and medieval European worlds. Its authority remained largely unchallenged until the scientific advances of the Renaissance. Today, he is recognized as a pioneering figure in empirical botany and pharmacognosy—the study of medicines derived from natural sources.