Medicine in Ancient Assur

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

 1.1 Colophons

 1.2 Mesopotamian Medicine

 1.3 Authorship

 1.4 Proof and Possibility

 1.5 Scope and Structure



Framework and Background

 2.1 Microhistory

 2.2 Framework

 2.3 Background for Studying Kiṣir-Aššur

 2.4 Quantifying and Contextualizing Kiṣir-Aššur’s Texts



Kiṣir-Aššur’s Magico-Medical Education as šamallû ṣeḫru

 3.1 Complex Diagnoses in Kiṣir-Aššur’s šamallû ṣeḫru Texts

 3.2 Principles Understood Through Examples

 3.3 The Head: BAM 9

 3.4 The “Strings” and “Inner” Body

 3.5 Snakes, Scorpions and Horses: A Discussion of RA 15 pl. 76

 3.6 Gaining an Understanding of Anatomy and Physiology

 3.7 Preparation for Other Duties as šamallû ṣeḫru

 3.8 Summary



Training in Anatomy and Physiology as šamallû ṣeḫru

 4.1 The Role of Venom in Kiṣir-Aššur’s Anatomical Understanding

 4.2 Veterinarian Knowledge in Kiṣir-Aššur’s Education

 4.3 Excursus: Animal Variants of Human Illnesses

 4.4 Animal and Human Physiology: The Reverse of RA 15 pl. 76

 4.5 Summary



Further Apprenticeship: šamallû to mašmaššu ṣeḫru

 5.2 The šamallû mašmaššu ṣeḫru-phase

 5.3 The mašmaššu ṣeḫru-phase

 5.4 Excursus: The ša Nabû tuklassu-phrase

 5.5 Summary



Kiṣir-Aššur’s mašmaššu-phase

 6.1 Texts with Colophons Including the Title mašmaššu

 6.2 Making House Calls: Discussion of KAR 230

 6.3 Ritually Protecting the Houses of Clients: Discussion of KAR 298

 6.4 Namburbi-rituals and House Calls: KAL 4 no. 7 and LKA 115

 6.5 Other Technical Literature: CT 37 pl. 24f.

 6.6 Summary



Additional Texts that May Belong to the mašmaššu-phase

 7.1 Omission and Inclusion of Titles

 7.2 Tablets Without Kiṣir-Aššur’s Professional Title

 7.3 Tablets with Broken Colophons

 7.4 The mašmaššu-phase and Purpose Statements

 7.5 A Discussion of the Dated Tablet KAR 267

 7.6 Other Technical Literature: BAM 307 and ACh Supp. 2 24

 7.7 Summary



Kiṣir-Aššur’s mašmaš bīt Aššur-phase

 8.1 The Title mašmaš bīt Aššur

 8.2 Medical Texts from Kiṣir-Aššur’s mašmaš bīt Aššur-phase

 8.3 Tested Prescriptions Among the Medical Texts

 8.4 Panaceas Among the Medical Texts

 8.5 Ritual Texts from Kiṣir-Aššur’s mašmaš bīt Aššur-phase

 8.6 Texts Connected to the Aššur Temple

 8.7 Summary



Situating Kiṣir-Aššur’s Knowledge Production

 9.1 Kiṣir-Aššur’s Overall Medical Focus

 9.2 Numbered Nisḫu-extracts

 9.3 Catch-lines and Duplicate Passages in Kiṣir-Aššur’s Texts in Relation to the Therapeutic Series Ugu

 9.4 The Exorcist’s Manual (EM)

 9.5 Kiṣir-Aššur and the Scholarly Traditions in Assur

 9.6 Summary



Synthesis and Conclusion



Catalogue of Texts



Edition of RA 15 pl. 76

 Transliteration

 General Observations

 Commentary

Bibliography 346



Index