Originally published in 1877 as Magie Chez les Chadeens, Francois Lenormant's Chaldean Magic is a scholarly exposition of the magical practices, religious systems, and mythology of the Chaldeans of ancient Assyria. Apparently translated anonymously by an in-house translator working for the original British publisher, Lenormant extensively revised and added to the text for the English edition. Edited, and with a preface by William Rickets Cooper, a founder of Bagster and Secretary to the Society of Biblical Archaeology, this work primarily explores the 12th-century translation of a large tablet from the library of the royal palace at Nineveh. This tablet, partially destroyed, contains a succession of 28 formulas of deprecatory incantations against evil spirits, the effects of sorcery, disease, and the principle misfortunes that may attack people in the course of daily life.

Some of the topics covered include:
-- Chaldean Demonology and Sorcery;
-- A comparison of Egyptian and Chaldean magic;
-- T Chaldaio-Babylonian religion and its doctrines;
-- Finno- Tartarian magical mythology;
-- The Accadian people and their language;
-- The origin and influence of the Kushito-Semitic religion.

Tracing some of the most ancient sources of magic, this book is invaluable for collectors of comparative mythology and those interested in ancient magical traditions.