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A legendary pre-Islamic sage who, according to some sources, was originally from Alexandria though others say he was Persian. He is frequently cited in Arabic and Persian alchemical literature as an authority on alchemy. An Arabic alchemical treatise titled Kitab al-Fuṣūl al-ithnay ‘ashar fī ‘ilm al-hajar al-mukarram (The Book of the Twelve Chapters on the Honourable Stone) is attributed to him.
For this elusive alchemical authority from late Antiquity, see Ullmann, Natur, p. 184; and Georges C. Anawati, 'Arabic Alchemy' in Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science, ed. by Roshdi Rashed (London: Routledge, 1996), volume 3, p. 862.
