of human life to supernatural interference. They were also long used to detailed
observation of the world, from the movement of the stars to the sometimes bizarre
behaviour of human beings and animals. Convinced that all observable phenomena
can encode divine messages they set about to systematize procedures and the collection
of data. Diviners were the most highly skilled and respected practitioners of cuneiform
learning, giving advice to kings and, thus, indirectly influencing the course of history.
Their only rivals were the exorcists engaged in anti-witchcraft rituals. Tzvi Abusch
presents an overview of the voluminous cuneiform literature on the subject. This
reveals again to what extent fear and anxiety were both fostered and alleviated by a
highly complex and prestigious system of neutralizing ‘evil’. While in many cultures
the suspected ‘witch’ is socially close, a co-wife or younger brother, whose jealousy
or resentment activates an inner force, the Babylonian witch constructed by the texts
and rituals, became a pervasive and cosmic power that could only be neutralized by
summoning all the divine forces and binding them together in lengthy and elaborate
ritual performances.
The separation of religious and intellectual life would not have made much sense
for a Babylonian. Here, it serves only to distinguish chapters that are primarily
concerned with cuneiform traditions from those that also consider cult and ritual
behaviour. Even so, the one would not have functioned without the other. In Part
VI, Mark Geller shows that incantations formed an essential part of the healing
practice and process, combating the source of the affliction and eliminating obstacles
for the patient’s recovery, but they were not understood to constitute treatment
because this relied on the use of diagnosis and the prescription of medicines. While
writing was always restricted to a literate elite throughout Mesopotamian history,
there were periods when more people had access to written information. One such
time was the Old Babylonian period which saw a proliferation of cuneiform writing.
Drawing on the famous palace archive of the Middle Babylonian city of Mari,
Dominique Charpin shows that letter writing and sending was widespread and not
restricted to the ‘large institutions’. A rudimentary but efficient postal system, with
relay stations, linked the major centres of the kingdom. It was a vital tool of intelligence
at a time when political alliances were formed and reformed continuously. In addition
to their historical importance, the letters allow us precious glimpses into people’s
private affairs. Mathematical skills were indispensable to Babylonian scribes and many
school tablets have been preserved showing problems and exercises. Eleanor Robson
gives a general account of the various numerical systems, from the sexagesimal to the
decimal, methods of computation, arithmetic and the numerical tasks that were
performed by Babylonian professional specialists and she explores to what extent these
systems allow us insights into the peculiarities of the Babylonian mind. This is also
a theme explored by Jon Taylor in his chapter about lexical lists. They were much
more than a reference tool, which incidentally have also been invaluable for our
contemporary dictionaries of Sumerian and Akkadian. Lists were highly valued as an
index of wisdom and cultural continuity reaching back to origins of cuneiform writing.
While the appreciation of lexical lists is generally the preserve of specialists, stories
provide a much more vivid and accessible entry to the Babylonian world and none
better than the story of Gilgamesh. Andrew George, who has recently completed the
mammoth task of providing a new edition of all available texts, as well as a modern
English translation, himself takes up the guise of a story teller to introduce the scribes
— Gwendolyn Leick —