السليماني (Sulaimani)

Ingredients

mercury sublimate

Evidence

"وكان بها ورقة أخرى فيها شيء من السليماني ، لم يتذكرها ، وهو أبيض ، والكحل أيضاً أبيض"

Remarks

In the biography of Prince Ismail Efendi al-Ruznamji, the text describes a medical mishap involving 'Sulaimani'. It is described as a white powder that was visually indistinguishable from the 'white kohl' it was stored alongside in paper wraps. Historically, in the context of 18th-century Egyptian pharmacy, Sulaimani refers to corrosive sublimate (mercury(II) chloride). The text explicitly mentions it was mistaken for kohl, leading to a fatal application to the eyes (p. 602).