Avicenna International Award winners announced

Iran's Avicenna Festival has announced its winners during a ceremony in the city of Hamadan, where the Persian polymath has been laid to rest.

Hungarian scholar Miklos Maroth received the international award for his studies in Avicenna philosophy.

Maroth is the director of the Avicenna Institute for Middle Eastern Studies and a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Iran's Seyyed Hadi Khosrowshahi was honored for his research on Islamic luminaries, especially Seyyed Jamal al-Din Asadabadi, known for his political activities in Iran, Afghanistan, Egypt, and the Ottoman Empire during the 19th century.

Ali-Akbar Velayati, a pediatrician and the foreign policy adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, was granted an award for his medical activities.

Iranian professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University Hossein Nasr was also among the winners honored for his efforts to elevate human life through science.

Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi-Amoli was also awarded for his efforts in teaching and promoting philosophy.

Also known as Shaykh al-Ra'is (Master and Head), Avicenna wrote about 450 works, of which only 240 have survived. Some 150 of his books are on philosophy and 40 on medicine.

Avicenna is regarded as the father of modern medicine and his magnum opus Kitab al-Shifa (The Book of Healing) is an immense encyclopedic work.

Many literary and scientific figures were influenced by Avicenna, including the renowned poet Omar Khayyam and the celebrated 13-century scientist Khwaja Nasir al-Din at-Tusi.

Avicenna disciple Jorjani (Sorsanus) has documented his life story in the Life of Avicenna.