Editing Witchcraft (section)

===Ancient Mesopotamian religion===
[[File:Robert William Rogers. The religion of Babylonia and Assyria especially in its relations to Israel. 1908.djvu|page=215|thumb|A [[clay tablet]] from the ''[[Maqlû]]'', outlining an ancient Akkadian anti-witchcraft ritual.]]
{{Main|Witchcraft in the Middle East}}
Magic was an important part of [[ancient Mesopotamian religion]] and society, which distinguished between 'good' (helpful) and 'bad' (harmful) rites.{{sfnp|Hutton|2017|p=49–50}} In ancient [[Mesopotamia]], they mainly used counter-magic against witchcraft (''kišpū''{{sfnp|Reiner|1995|p=97}}), but the law codes also prescribed the death penalty for those found guilty of witchcraft.{{sfnp|Hutton|2017|p=49–50}} According to Tzvi Abusch, ancient Mesopotamian ideas about witches and witchcraft shifted over time, and the early stages were "comparable to the archaic shamanistic stage of European witchcraft".{{sfnp|Abusch|2002|p=65–66}} In this early stage, witches were not necessarily considered evil, but took 'white' and 'black' forms, could help others using magic and medical knowledge, generally lived in rural areas and sometimes exhibited ecstatic behavior.{{sfnp|Abusch|2002|p=65–66}}

In ancient Mesopotamia, a witch (m. ''kaššāpu'', f. ''kaššāptu'', from ''kašāpu'' ['to bewitch']{{sfnp|Reiner|1995|p=97}}) was "usually regarded as an anti-social and illegitimate practitioner of destructive magic ... whose activities were motivated by malice and evil intent and who was opposed by the ''[[ašipu]]'', an exorcist or incantation-priest".{{sfnp|Abusch|2002|p=65–66}} These ''ašipu'' were predominantly male representatives of the state religion, whose main role was to work magic against harmful supernatural forces such as [[Mesopotamian demon|demons]].{{sfnp|Abusch|2002|p=65–66}} The stereotypical witch mentioned in the sources tended to be those of low status who were weak or otherwise marginalized, including women, foreigners, actors, and peddlers.{{sfnp|Hutton|2017|p=49–50}}

The Law [[Code of Hammurabi]] ([[18th century BCE]]) allowed someone accused of witchcraft (harmful magic) to undergo [[trial by ordeal]], by jumping into a holy river. If they drowned, they were deemed guilty and the accuser inherited the guilty person's estate. If they survived, the ''accuser's'' estate was handed over instead.{{sfnp|Hutton|2017|p=49–50}}

The ''[[Maqlû]]'' ("burning") is an ancient [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] text, written early in the [[first millennium BCE]], which sets out a Mesopotamian anti-witchcraft ritual.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Witchcraft Series Maqlû |first=Tzvi |last=Abusch |isbn=978-1628370829 |series=Writings from the Ancient World |volume=37 |publisher=SBL Press |year=2015 |page=5}}</ref> This lengthy ritual includes invoking [[List of Mesopotamian deities|various gods]], burning an effigy of the witch, then dousing and disposing of the remains.{{sfnp|Abusch|2002|p=15–16}}