Esagil-kin-apli
Babylonian scribe and scholar
Esagil-kin-apli, was the ummânū, or chief scholar, of Babylonian king Adad-apla-iddina, 1067–1046 BCE, as he appears on the Uruk List of Sages and Scholars (165 BCE) listed beside him and is best known for his Diagnostic Handbook, Sakikkū (SA.GIG), a medical treatise which uses symptoms to ascertain etiology, frequently supernatural, and prognosis, which became the received text during the first millennium.
He was a “prominent citizen of Borsippa” from a learned family as he was referred to as the “son” of Assalluḫi-mansum, the apkallu, or sage, of Hammurabi’s time, c. 1792–1750 BCE.
Works
The Exorcists Manual
The Exorcists Manual, also known as KAR 44, is sometimes described as a vademecum or handbook and is a compendium of the works all those aspiring to master the āšipūtu or craft of exorcism, should be cognizant. These include exorcism rituals, royal rituals, medical knowledge, incantations and omen series. It begins, "Incipits of the Series belonging to the art of exorcism (mašmaššūtu), established (kunnu) for instruction (izhu) and testing (tāmartu), all to be read out." It is actually composed of two manuals, the first concerning kakugallūtu, “exorcism corpus,” and išippūtu, “esoteric knowledge,” and the second of which begins on the reverse line 4 stating that what follows on lines 5 to 20 is the manual of the exorcist according to the scholar Esagil-kin-apli and then goes on to list works such as the great omen series of astrological (Enūma Anu Enlil) and terrestrial (Šumma Ālu) portents.
The Esagil-kīn-apli catalogue
Subtitled the niṣirti E[zida], “secret of Ezida,” this is extant in a Neo-Assyrian and a Neo-Babylonian copy. It provides a biographical introduction and then Esagil-kīn-apli provides an explanation for the new edition of the diagnostic compendium SA.GIG (Sakikkû) and the physiognomic series Alamdimmû, which he describes “(Regarding) the twin series, their arrangement is one.” Although the Catalogue of Texts and Authors credits the authorship of the two works to the god Ea, it is this catalogue together with the codicil on the Sakikkû which suggest otherwise. The catalogue opens with an index of sorts, providing incipits for each of the tablets together with the number of their lines.
Alamdimmû
Šumma alamdimmû, “if the form,” contains physiognomic omens on twenty-seven tablets. In his catalogue, Esagil-kin-apli describes the work as: “...
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Esagil-kin-apli” is babylonian scribe and scholar. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Esagil-kin-apli, Babylonian and scribe, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “babylonian scribe and scholar” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 12, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q5396676. VIAF identifies the subject as 8759158127399715150008. The Library of Congress control number is no2020008576. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1067, 1046, 1792 and 1750.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Esagil-kin-apli”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Esagil-kin-apli primary sources, Esagil-kin-apli archive and Esagil-kin-apli research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Esagil-kin-apli”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Esagil-kin-apli” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.