ABSTRACT
Religious personnel occupied a central place in Mesopotamian life, for only they had the ability to communicate with the unseen forces that directed mortal lives, acting on behalf of the community as well as individuals. Ritual specialists were of many types, with different religious functions, some of which changed over time even though their titles remained the same. They were further differentiated by selection process and social role. Nevertheless, it is difficult to divide religious personnel into distinct groups since their domains of competency overlapped: administrative personnel could also perform ritual functions, and cultic celebrants could lead rites in and outside various sacred spheres. Spiritual healers as well as experts in magic and divination were not tied to any specific locality: some addressed the gods in temples while others served the king and the people. The most noticeable division was between cultic functionaries who officiated in the worship of one specific deity and non-cultic ritual specialists who operated in any setting and were not limited to the rites of a particular deity.
