Albucasis was born near Cordoba in al-Andalus, the center of a flourishing culture of science and philosophy. There, the two disciplines often complimented one another as traditional Islamic theology and law were embraced alongside the secular sciences. Among the many Islamic physicians and scientists who advanced medical science in their lifetimes, Albucasis would codify the art of surgery in an encyclopedic work, al-Tasrif, that it is still read today. His story is intimately connected to the history of Islam and how Muslims preserved the knowledge of the old Roman world, information that Europe would not rediscover for another four hundred years.