Charming Snakes (and Kings), from Egypt to Persia

Abstract The war between Assyria and Egypt resulted in the deportation of scholars from Nile Valley to Mesopotamia. Among them were so-called “snake charmers.” While it was a well-known profession Egypt, this not case or Babylonia, where treatment snakebites scorpion stings left exorcist doctors. A number clues late Neo-Assyrian Achaemenid Persian periods suggest that charmers” enjoyed success with kings great empires Middle East. Their presence most likely professional structure visibility Egyptian charmers,” which relatively absent