Sāmānu as a Human Disease.

Abstract

The ancient Near Eastern demon Sāmānu is described as a human disease in Mesopotamian documents. There exist numerous magical and medicinal textual sources, which are very descriptive of his nature. Described as a skin disease, Sāmānu is always associated in the cuneiform tablets with specific parts of the human body. The tablets identify symptoms and prognosis. This article offers a deeper insight into the medical-magical sources describing the demon as a human disease, and suggests possible identifications of this disease in modern medicine.