<P> There is a stone sign for a pharmacy with a tripod, a mortar, and a pestle opposite one for a doctor in the Arcadian Way in Ephesus near Kusadasi in Turkey . The current Ephesus dates back to 400 BC and was the site of the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the world . </P> <P> In Baghdad the first pharmacies, or drug stores, were established in 754, under the Abbasid Caliphate during the Islamic Golden Age . By the 9th century, these pharmacies were state - regulated . </P> <P> The advances made in the Middle East in botany and chemistry led medicine in medieval Islam substantially to develop pharmacology . Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi (Rhazes) (865--915), for instance, acted to promote the medical uses of chemical compounds . Abu al - Qasim al - Zahrawi (Abulcasis) (936--1013) pioneered the preparation of medicines by sublimation and distillation . His Liber servitoris is of particular interest, as it provides the reader with recipes and explains how to prepare the ` simples' from which were compounded the complex drugs then generally used . Sabur Ibn Sahl (d 869), was, however, the first physician to initiate pharmacopoedia, describing a large variety of drugs and remedies for ailments . Al - Biruni (973--1050) wrote one of the most valuable Islamic works on pharmacology, entitled Kitab al - Saydalah (The Book of Drugs), in which he detailed the properties of drugs and outlined the role of pharmacy and the functions and duties of the pharmacist . Avicenna, too, described no less than 700 preparations, their properties, modes of action, and their indications . He devoted in fact a whole volume to simple drugs in The Canon of Medicine . Of great impact were also the works by al - Maridini of Baghdad and Cairo, and Ibn al - Wafid (1008--1074), both of which were printed in Latin more than fifty times, appearing as De Medicinis universalibus et particularibus by' Mesue' the younger, and the Medicamentis simplicibus by' Abenguefit' . Peter of Abano (1250--1316) translated and added a supplement to the work of al - Maridini under the title De Veneris . Al - Muwaffaq's contributions in the field are also pioneering . Living in the 10th century, he wrote The foundations of the true properties of Remedies, amongst others describing arsenious oxide, and being acquainted with silicic acid . He made clear distinction between sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate, and drew attention to the poisonous nature of copper compounds, especially copper vitriol, and also lead compounds . He also describes the distillation of sea - water for drinking . </P> <P> In Europe pharmacy - like shops began to appear during the 12th century . In 1240 emperor Frederic II issued a decree by which the physician's and the apothecary's professions were separated . "The first pharmacy in Europe (still working) was opened in 1241 in Trier, Germany ." </P>

Who is considered the father of modern pharmacy