This term literally means “conjuror". The ashipu was an exorcist priest who purified men, animals and places. They were also able to lift curses, usually by transferring them to a body or thing other than the intended individual or building. The ashipu was also a physician. Medicine in the early 1st millennium was primarily the domain of the asû. But their prerogatives were eventually exercised by the ashipu. This is why the term is often translated as exorcist-physician.