DEMONIC EXORCISMS

In the 1973 film, THE EXORCIST, the Mesopotamian demon Pazuzu, the king of the south winds and the bearer of drought and storms, was the malefic force behind the possession of Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair). In the movie's prologue, Father Merrin is confronted by a life-size statue of Pazuzu while on an archaeological dig in Iraq (modern day Mesopotamia). It is implied that Merrin has dealt with the demon before, and it becomes more apparent when he is called upon to exorcise Regan of the malign entity that possesses her.

This article, from issue #14 (October, 2019) of ANCIENT ORIGINS magazine, discusses the origins of the occult in Mesopotamia (which included the cultures of the Sumerians and Babylonians), and the influence that demons and other spirits had over their lives.