“Place in my hands the inexhaustible craft of medicine!” Physicians and healing at the royal court of Esarhaddon

Abstract

The medicine of ancient Mesopotamia has long been the topic of investigation, but the texts explored within this field are mainly “handbooks” for persons practising medicine and lists of diseases. This medical literature, however, comprises theoretical information rather than data on actual medical practices. Therefore, the Neo-Assyrian letters and divinatory queries (especially from the reign of the king Esarhaddon) that provide a more colourful picture of diseases of concrete individuals and their healing by specific physicians are a priceless source for our knowledge of “real” Mesopotamian medicine, despite the fact that this picture is limited only to a small group of persons standing closest to the king (mostly members of the royal family) in the role of patients, with the highest-ranking specialists as their healers.