Bīt mēseri at Aššur

Bibliographic Data

ID20323533
AuthorsDaniel Schwemer (0000-0001-9341-6344, Universität Würzburg Institut für Altertumswissenschaften, Lehrstuhl für Altorientalistik Würzburg Deutschland, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume113
Issue1
Pages51-72
Publication date2023-06-26
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueZeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0084-5299 • E-ISSN: 1613-1150
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1515/za-2022-0013
OpenAlexW4310212276
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited1

A 191, a Neo-Assyrian tablet from the Haus des Beschwörungspriesters in Aššur, preserves instructions for the performance of an apotropaic ritual called Bīt mēseri (“house of enclosure”). The tablet, which is edited here for the first time, offers a version of the ceremony that is markedly different from the standard Bīt mēseri ritual known from other first-millennium sources found at Nineveh, Aššur, and various Babylonian sites. Whereas the core rites with their apotropaic images (figurines and paintings) are far less complex than their counterparts in the standard ritual, the ceremony attested on A 191 also includes elements that are absent in other Bīt mēseri sources. These elements include a Pazuzu rite, ointments, and the burning of incense, all of which are known from other āšipūtu (exorcistic) text series, such as Muššuʾu, Qutāru, the Zi-pà Compendium, and the Pazuzu Compendium

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Art history · Ceremony · Compendium · Georgian · Incense · Painting · Rite · Theology · Ancient Near East History · Eurasian Exchange Networks · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Philosophy

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