Semitic Magic: Its Origin and Development
R. Campbell Thompson · 1908
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Description
R. Campbell Thompson, a British Museum curator, published Semitic Magic in 1908. He surveyed magical practice across the ancient Near East and traced its growth. Assyrian, Hebrew, and Arabic traditions all pass through his account.
Thompson draws on cuneiform tablets that few Western readers knew existed. Exorcisms, charms, and folk rites show traditions borrowing from one another. He asks where practices began and how they traveled between peoples. The survey pioneered a map of Semitic magical traditions as one connected field. Later scholarship corrected details but kept his broad frame. Thompson's museum work with tablets gave the book unusual firsthand authority.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | R. Campbell Thompson |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 1908 |
| COLLECTION | BOOKS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 630 KB |
| LICENSE | Public Domain |
| RIGHTS | PUBLIC DOMAIN |
| SOURCE | Internet Archive |
Source: https://archive.org/details/semiticmagicits00thomgoog