Ibn Uthal or Ibn Athal ( Arabic: ابن أثال) was an Arab Christian from Damascus who was the personal physician of the caliph Mu'awiya I and was regarded as the most distinguished of the medical practitioners of the early Umayyad period. [1] His medical knowledge can be considered a continuation of the tradition that existed in pre- Islamic Arabia. He was skilled in toxicology and was reportedly killed in a revenge attack. [2]