ASIPU. — The *à.* («conjurer, exorcist») is one of the chief priests of Babylonian-Assyrian religion. His task, through magical acts, is to remove from a person the wrath and vengeance of a god or demon. For this reason, the *à.* is the servant of the god Ea, who, through incantations, was victorious over the gods Apus and Mummu.
The *à.* has its origin in the city of Eridu, the city of the god Ea. The priest performed incantations (Sumerian *entu*; Akkadian *sīptu*), by means of which he could drive away diseases, impurities, and sins to which, according to the superstitious beliefs of the Babylonians, all illnesses and misfortunes were attributed. It was therefore natural that the conjurer was a highly authoritative person and in contact with all classes of society. The *à.* was consulted even in cases of extraordinary events.