Witchcraft

===Ancient Mesopotamian religion===
{{Main|Witchcraft in the Middle East}}
Working magic was widely accepted and deeply integrated into the religion and the wider Mesopotamian society.{{r|HuttonFear|p=49}} According to Tzvi Abusch, the early stages of the development of witchcraft (''ipšū'' or ''kišpū''{{sfnp|Reiner|1995|p=97}}) in ancient [[Mesopotamia]] were "comparable to the archaic shamanistic stage of European witchcraft".{{sfnp|Abusch|2002}}{{rp|65–66}} In this early stage, witches were not necessarily considered evil, but took white and black forms and could help others using a combination of magical and medical knowledge.{{sfnp|Abusch|2002}}{{rp|65–66}} They generally lived in rural areas and sometimes exhibited ecstatic behavior,{{sfnp|Abusch|2002}}{{rp|65–66}} which was more usually associated with the ''[[ašipu]]'' (exorcist), whose main function at this stage of development was to battle non-human supernatural forces.{{sfnp|Abusch|2002}}{{rp|65–66}}

In [[ancient Mesopotamian religion]], witches (m. ''kaššāpu'', f. ''kaššāptu'', from ''kašāpu'' ['to bewitch']{{sfnp|Reiner|1995|p=97}}) eventually{{when?|date=September 2023}} came to be "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}}{{rp|65–66}} who were predominantly male representatives of the official state religion.{{sfnp|Abusch|2002}} The individuals mentioned in records of Mesopotamian society as witches tended to be those of low status who were weak or otherwise marginalized, including women, foreigners, actors, and peddlers.{{r|HuttonFear|p=49}} 

By the time of the [[Code of Hammurabi]] (about 2000 BC), the use of magic to harm others without justification was subject to legal repercussions:

{{blockquote|If a man has put a spell upon another man and it is not justified, he upon whom the spell is laid shall go to the [[holy river]]; into the holy river shall he plunge. If the holy river overcome him and he is drowned, the man who put the spell upon him shall take possession of his house. If the holy river declares him innocent and he remains unharmed the man who laid the spell shall be put to death. He that plunged into the river shall take possession of the house of him who laid the spell upon him.<ref>The Oldest Code of Laws in the World
By C.H.W. Johns https://www.gutenberg.org/files/17150/17150-h/17150-h.htm</ref>{{efn|There is some discrepancy between translations; compare the displayed text with that of the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15674a.htm article on Witchcraft] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211045956/https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15674a.htm |date=2021-02-11 }} (accessed 31 March 2006)<ref name=CathEnWitch>{{Cite web |date=1912-10-01 |title=Catholic Encyclopedia: Witchcraft |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15674a.htm |access-date=2013-10-31 |publisher=Newadvent.org |archive-date=2021-02-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211045956/https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15674a.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/medieval/hamframe.htm L. W. King translation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070916163034/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/medieval/hamframe.htm |date=2007-09-16 }} (accessed 31 March 2006).}}}}

The ''ašipu'', in their continued efforts to suppress witchcraft,{{sfnp|Abusch|2002}} developed an [[Akkadian Empire|Akkadian]] anti-witchcraft ritual, the [[Maqlû]], probably composed in the early first millennium BC.<ref name=abusch>{{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 |pages=5}}</ref>