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esopotamian Magic: Ancient Tablets Reveal a World of Witches, Sorcerers and Exorcists
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Ancient Mesopotamia was a vast region in Western Asia which has become known as the ‘cradle of civilization’ due to the huge number of feats the culture achieved. Agriculture, animal herding, and domestication had developed there by 8000 years ago. By 3000 BC they had created the world’s oldest known cities and invented the wheel. And along with their advanced solutions to the practical needs of a society, ran sophisticated traditions of occult rituals and witchcraft, which is clearly documented in the Maqlú tablets.
A Rich Record
A deep insight into the Mesopotamian civilization has been gained from the hundreds of thousands of clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform, one of the earliest forms of writing, that they left. When cuneiform was deciphered by archaeologists in the middle of the 19th century it meant that texts like the Epic of Gilgamesh could be finally be accessed and appreciated.
The Gula incantation. The writing on this tablet asks Gula and Marduk (identified by his Sumerian name, Asalluhi) to help cure a patient who is thought to have been attacked by a ghost.
The Gula incantation. The writing on this tablet asks Gula and Marduk (identified by his Sumerian name, Asalluhi) to help cure a patient who is thought to have been attacked by a ghost. ( The Metropolitan Museum of Art )
The Mesopotamians were prolific in the scope of their writing, and along with the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Library of Ashurbanipal also contains tablets detailing military campaigns, treaties, detailed accounts of a monarch’s reign, the Enûma Eliš (Babylonian creation myth), and astronomical observations. Tablets found elsewhere discuss codes of laws, maps, medical manuals, trade, domestic disputes, and diplomatic correspondence.
Marduk: Babylonian King of Gods and Reportedly Liberator of the Jews
