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Medicine in Ancient Assur
A Microhistorical Study of the Neo-Assyrian Healer Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡ur
Series: - Ancient Magic and Divination, Volume: 18
Author:
In Medicine in Ancient Assur Troels Pank Arbøll offers a microhistorical study of a single exorcist named KisÌ£ir-AÅ¡Å¡ur who practiced medical and magical healing in the ancient city of Assur (modern northern Iraq) in the 7th century BCE. The book provides the first detailed analysis of a healerâs education and practice in ancient Mesopotamia based on at least 73 texts assigned to specific stages of his career. By drawing on a microhistorical framework, the study aims at significantly improving our understanding of the functional aspects of texts in their specialist environment. Furthermore, the work situates Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡ur as one of the earliest healers in world history for whom we have such details pertaining to his career originating from his own time.
Troels Pank Arbøll, Ph.D. (2017) in Assyriology from the University of Copenhagen, is a Postdoctoral Fellow at that university. He is currently engaged in research on Mesopotamian medicine, magic, and the transmission of knowledge in the ancient world.
Acknowledgements
List of Figures and Tables
Abbreviations and Symbols
Symbols and Further Abbreviations
Introduction
â1.1âColophons
â1.2âMesopotamian Medicine
â1.3âAuthorship
â1.4âProof and Possibility
â1.5âScope and Structure
Framework and Background
â2.1âMicrohistory
â2.2âFramework
â2.3âBackground for Studying Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡ur
â2.4âQuantifying and Contextualizing Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs Texts
Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs Magico-Medical Education as Å¡amallû á¹£eḫru
â3.1âComplex Diagnoses in Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs Å¡amallû á¹£eḫru Texts
â3.2âPrinciples Understood Through Examples
â3.3âThe Head: BAM 9
â3.4âThe âStringsâ and âInnerâ Body
â3.5âSnakes, Scorpions and Horses: A Discussion of RA 15 pl. 76
â3.6âGaining an Understanding of Anatomy and Physiology
â3.7âPreparation for Other Duties as Å¡amallû á¹£eḫru
â3.8âSummary
Training in Anatomy and Physiology as šamallû ṣeḫru
â4.1âThe Role of Venom in Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs Anatomical Understanding
â4.2âVeterinarian Knowledge in Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs Education
â4.3âExcursus: Animal Variants of Human Illnesses
â4.4âAnimal and Human Physiology: The Reverse of RA 15 pl. 76
â4.5âSummary
Further Apprenticeship: šamallû to mašmaššu ṣeḫru
â5.2âThe Å¡amallû maÅ¡maÅ¡Å¡u á¹£eḫru-phase
â5.3âThe maÅ¡maÅ¡Å¡u á¹£eḫru-phase
â5.4âExcursus: The Å¡a Nabû tuklassu-phrase
â5.5âSummary
Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs maÅ¡maÅ¡Å¡u-phase
â6.1âTexts with Colophons Including the Title maÅ¡maÅ¡Å¡u
â6.2âMaking House Calls: Discussion of KAR 230
â6.3âRitually Protecting the Houses of Clients: Discussion of KAR 298
â6.4âNamburbi-rituals and House Calls: KAL 4 no. 7 and LKA 115
â6.5âOther Technical Literature: CT 37 pl. 24f.
â6.6âSummary
Additional Texts that May Belong to the mašmaššu-phase
â7.1âOmission and Inclusion of Titles
â7.2âTablets Without Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs Professional Title
â7.3âTablets with Broken Colophons
â7.4âThe maÅ¡maÅ¡Å¡u-phase and Purpose Statements
â7.5âA Discussion of the Dated Tablet KAR 267
â7.6âOther Technical Literature: BAM 307 and ACh Supp. 2 24
â7.7âSummary
Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs maÅ¡maÅ¡ bÄ«t AÅ¡Å¡ur-phase
â8.1âThe Title maÅ¡maÅ¡ bÄ«t AÅ¡Å¡ur
â8.2âMedical Texts from Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs maÅ¡maÅ¡ bÄ«t AÅ¡Å¡ur-phase
â8.3âTested Prescriptions Among the Medical Texts
â8.4âPanaceas Among the Medical Texts
â8.5âRitual Texts from Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs maÅ¡maÅ¡ bÄ«t AÅ¡Å¡ur-phase
â8.6âTexts Connected to the AÅ¡Å¡ur Temple
â8.7âSummary
Situating Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs Knowledge Production
â9.1âKiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs Overall Medical Focus
â9.2âNumbered Nisḫu-extracts
â9.3âCatch-lines and Duplicate Passages in Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs Texts in Relation to the Therapeutic Series Ugu
â9.4âThe Exorcistâs Manual (EM)
â9.5âKiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡ur and the Scholarly Traditions in Assur
â9.6âSummary
Synthesis and Conclusion
Catalogue of Texts
Edition of RA 15 pl. 76
âTransliteration
âGeneral Observations
âCommentary
Bibliography 346
Index
List of Figures and Tables
Abbreviations and Symbols
Symbols and Further Abbreviations
Introduction
â1.1âColophons
â1.2âMesopotamian Medicine
â1.3âAuthorship
â1.4âProof and Possibility
â1.5âScope and Structure
Framework and Background
â2.1âMicrohistory
â2.2âFramework
â2.3âBackground for Studying Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡ur
â2.4âQuantifying and Contextualizing Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs Texts
Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs Magico-Medical Education as Å¡amallû á¹£eḫru
â3.1âComplex Diagnoses in Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs Å¡amallû á¹£eḫru Texts
â3.2âPrinciples Understood Through Examples
â3.3âThe Head: BAM 9
â3.4âThe âStringsâ and âInnerâ Body
â3.5âSnakes, Scorpions and Horses: A Discussion of RA 15 pl. 76
â3.6âGaining an Understanding of Anatomy and Physiology
â3.7âPreparation for Other Duties as Å¡amallû á¹£eḫru
â3.8âSummary
Training in Anatomy and Physiology as šamallû ṣeḫru
â4.1âThe Role of Venom in Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs Anatomical Understanding
â4.2âVeterinarian Knowledge in Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs Education
â4.3âExcursus: Animal Variants of Human Illnesses
â4.4âAnimal and Human Physiology: The Reverse of RA 15 pl. 76
â4.5âSummary
Further Apprenticeship: šamallû to mašmaššu ṣeḫru
â5.2âThe Å¡amallû maÅ¡maÅ¡Å¡u á¹£eḫru-phase
â5.3âThe maÅ¡maÅ¡Å¡u á¹£eḫru-phase
â5.4âExcursus: The Å¡a Nabû tuklassu-phrase
â5.5âSummary
Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs maÅ¡maÅ¡Å¡u-phase
â6.1âTexts with Colophons Including the Title maÅ¡maÅ¡Å¡u
â6.2âMaking House Calls: Discussion of KAR 230
â6.3âRitually Protecting the Houses of Clients: Discussion of KAR 298
â6.4âNamburbi-rituals and House Calls: KAL 4 no. 7 and LKA 115
â6.5âOther Technical Literature: CT 37 pl. 24f.
â6.6âSummary
Additional Texts that May Belong to the mašmaššu-phase
â7.1âOmission and Inclusion of Titles
â7.2âTablets Without Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs Professional Title
â7.3âTablets with Broken Colophons
â7.4âThe maÅ¡maÅ¡Å¡u-phase and Purpose Statements
â7.5âA Discussion of the Dated Tablet KAR 267
â7.6âOther Technical Literature: BAM 307 and ACh Supp. 2 24
â7.7âSummary
Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs maÅ¡maÅ¡ bÄ«t AÅ¡Å¡ur-phase
â8.1âThe Title maÅ¡maÅ¡ bÄ«t AÅ¡Å¡ur
â8.2âMedical Texts from Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs maÅ¡maÅ¡ bÄ«t AÅ¡Å¡ur-phase
â8.3âTested Prescriptions Among the Medical Texts
â8.4âPanaceas Among the Medical Texts
â8.5âRitual Texts from Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs maÅ¡maÅ¡ bÄ«t AÅ¡Å¡ur-phase
â8.6âTexts Connected to the AÅ¡Å¡ur Temple
â8.7âSummary
Situating Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs Knowledge Production
â9.1âKiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs Overall Medical Focus
â9.2âNumbered Nisḫu-extracts
â9.3âCatch-lines and Duplicate Passages in Kiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡urâs Texts in Relation to the Therapeutic Series Ugu
â9.4âThe Exorcistâs Manual (EM)
â9.5âKiá¹£ir-AÅ¡Å¡ur and the Scholarly Traditions in Assur
â9.6âSummary
Synthesis and Conclusion
Catalogue of Texts
Edition of RA 15 pl. 76
âTransliteration
âGeneral Observations
âCommentary
Bibliography 346
Index
Suited for everyone interested in ancient Near Eastern magico-medical texts and practices, ancient libraries, and the training of specialists, as well as anyone concerned with the history of ancient medicine.