Mandaeism (

Classical Mandaic Mandaic, or more specifically Classical Mandaic, is the liturgical language of Mandaeism and a South Eastern Aramaic variety in use by the Mandaean community, traditionally based in southern parts of Iraq and southwest Iran, for their religiou ...

: ),https://qadaha.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/nhura-dictionary-mandaic-english-mandaic.pdf sometimes also known as Nasoraeanism or Sabianism, is a

Gnostic Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: , romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: �nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among early Christian sects. These diverse g ...

monotheistic Monotheism is the belief that one God is the only, or at least the dominant deity.F. L. Cross, Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. A ...

and

ethnic religion In religious studies, an ethnic religion or ethnoreligion is a religion or belief associated with notions of heredity and a particular ethnicity. Ethnic religions are often distinguished from universal religions, such as Christianity or Islam ...

with

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

, and

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

influences. Its adherents, the

Mandaeans Mandaeans (Mandaic language, Mandaic: ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀࡉࡉࡀ) ( ), also known as Mandaean Sabians ( ) or simply as Sabians ( ), are an ethnoreligious group who are followers of Mandaeism. They believe that John the Baptist was the final and ...

, revere

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

Abel Abel ( ''Hébel'', in pausa ''Hā́ḇel''; ''Hábel''; , ''Hābēl'') is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within the Abrahamic religions. Born as the second son of Adam and Eve, the first two humans created by God in Judaism, God, he ...

Seth Seth, in the Abrahamic religions, was the third son of Adam and Eve. The Hebrew Bible names two of his siblings (although it also states that he had others): his brothers Cain and Abel. According to , Seth was born after Abel's murder by Cain, ...

, Enos,

Noah Noah (; , also Noach) appears as the last of the Antediluvian Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5–9), the Quran and Baháʼí literature, ...

Shem Shem (; ''Šēm''; ) is one of the sons of Noah in the Bible ( Genesis 5–11 and 1 Chronicles 1:4). The children of Shem are Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram, in addition to unnamed daughters. Abraham, the patriarch of Jews, Christ ...

, Aram, and especially

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

. Mandaeans consider Adam, Seth, Noah, Shem, and John the Baptist prophets, with Adam being the founder of the religion and John being the greatest and final prophet. The Mandaeans speak an

Eastern Aramaic Eastern Aramaic refers to a group of dialects that evolved historically from the varieties of Aramaic spoken in the core territories of Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq, southeastern Turkey and parts of northeastern Syria) and further expanded into n ...

language known as

Mandaic Mandaic may refer to: * Mandaic language * Mandaic alphabet The Mandaic alphabet is a writing system primarily used to write the Mandaic language. It is thought to have evolved between the second and seventh century CE from either a cursive fo ...

. The name 'Mandaean' comes from the

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

'' manda'', meaning knowledge. Within the Middle East, but outside their community, the Mandaeans are more commonly known as the (singular: ), or as Sabians (, ). The term is derived from an Aramaic root related to

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

. The term

Sabians The Sabians, sometimes also spelled Sabaeans or Sabeans, are a religious group mentioned three times in the Quran (as , in later sources ), where it is implied that they belonged to the 'People of the Book' (). Their original identity, which ...

derives from the mysterious religious group mentioned three times in the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

. The name of this unidentified group, which is implied in the Quran to belong to the "

People of the Book People of the Book, or ''Ahl al-Kitāb'' (), is a classification in Islam for the adherents of those religions that are regarded by Muslims as having received a divine revelation from Allah, generally in the form of a holy scripture. The clas ...

" (), was historically claimed by the Mandaeans as well as by several other religious groups in order to gain legal protection () as offered by

Islamic law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intan ...

. Occasionally, Mandaeans are also called "Christians of Saint John", in the belief that they were a direct survival of the Baptist's disciples. Further research, however, indicates this to be a misnomer, as Mandaeans consider

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

to be a

false prophet In religion, a false prophet or pseudoprophet is a person who falsely claims the gift of prophecy or divine inspiration, or to speak for God, or who makes such claims for evil ends. Often, someone who is considered a "true prophet" by some peop ...

. The core doctrine of the faith is known as (also spelled and meaning Nasoraean gnosis or divine wisdom) (Nasoraeanism or Nazorenism) with the adherents called (

Nasoraeans The Nazarenes (or Nazoreans; ). were an early Jewish Christian sect in first-century Judaism. The first use of the term is found in the Acts of the Apostles ( Acts 24, ) of the New Testament, where Paul the Apostle is accused of being a ringleader ...

or Nazorenes). These Nasoraeans are divided into (priesthood) and (laity), the latter derived from their term for knowledge '' manda''. Knowledge (''manda'') is also the source for the term Mandaeism which encompasses their entire culture, rituals, beliefs and faith associated with the doctrine of . Followers of Mandaeism are called Mandaeans, but can also be called Nasoraeans (Nazorenes), Gnostics (utilizing the Greek word ''

gnosis Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge ( γνῶσις, ''gnōsis'', f.). The term was used among various Hellenistic religions and philosophies in the Greco-Roman world. It is best known for its implication within Gnosticism, where ...

'' for knowledge) or Sabians. The religion has primarily been practiced around the lower

Karun The Karun (, ) is the Iranian river with the highest water flow, and the country's only navigable river. It is long. The Karun rises in the Zard Kuh mountains of the Bakhtiari district in the Zagros Range, receiving many tributaries, such as ...

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

and

Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...

, and the rivers that surround the

Shatt al-Arab The Shatt al-Arab () is a river about in length that is formed at the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the town of al-Qurnah in the Basra Governorate of southern Iraq. The southern end of the river constitutes the Iran– ...

waterway, part of southern Iraq and

Khuzestan province Khuzestan province () is one of the 31 Provinces of Iran. Located in the southwest of the country, the province borders Iraq and the Persian Gulf, covering an area of . Its capital is the city of Ahvaz. Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's R ...

in Iran. Worldwide, there are believed to be between 60,000 and 70,000 Mandaeans. Until the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

, almost all of them lived in Iraq. Many Mandaean Iraqis have since fled their country because of the turmoil created by the 2003 invasion of Iraq and subsequent occupation by U.S. armed forces, and the related rise in sectarian violence by extremists. By 2007, the population of Mandaeans in Iraq had fallen to approximately 5,000. The Mandaeans have remained separate and intensely private. Reports of them and of their religion have come primarily from outsiders: particularly from

Julius Heinrich Petermann Julius Heinrich Petermann (August 12, 1801, in Glauchau – June 10, 1876, in Bad Nauheim) was a German Orientalist.Orientalist; as well as from

Nicolas Siouffi Nicolas Siouffi (1829 (Damascus) – 1901 ( Baabda)) was a Syrian Christian, and later French citizen and vice-consul at Mosul, remembered for his study of Mandaeism. He is known for works such as ''Études sur les Soubbas ou les Sabéens'' ...

, a Syrian Christian who was the French vice-consul in Mosul in 1887, and British cultural anthropologist Lady

E. S. Drower Ethel, Lady Drower ( Ethel May Stefana Stevens; 1 December 1879 – 27 January 1972) was a British cultural anthropologist, orientalist and novelist who studied the Middle East and its cultures.Christa Müller-Kessler, Drower ée Stevens Ethe ...

. There is an early if highly prejudiced account by the French traveller

Jean-Baptiste Tavernier Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605–1689) was a 17th-century French gem merchant and traveler. Tavernier, a private individual and merchant traveling at his own expense, covered, by his own account, 60,000 leagues in making six voyages to Persia ...

from the 1650s.

Etymology

The term Mandaic or ''Mandaeism'' comes from

and appears in

Neo-Mandaic Neo-Mandaic, also known as Modern Mandaic, sometimes called the "''ratna''" ( "jargon"), is the modern reflex of the Mandaic language, the liturgical language of the Mandaean religious community of Iraq and Iran. Although severely endangere ...

as . On the basis of cognates in other Aramaic dialects,

semiticist Semitic studies, or Semitology, is the academic field dedicated to the studies of Semitic languages and literatures and the history of the Semitic-speaking peoples. A person may be called a ''Semiticist'' or a ''Semitist'', both terms being equi ...

s such as

Mark Lidzbarski Mark Lidzbarski (born Abraham Mordechai Lidzbarski, Płock, Russian Empire, 7 January 1868 – Göttingen, 13 November 1928) was a Polish philologist, Semiticist and translator of Mandaean texts. Early life and education Lidzbarski was born in Ru ...

and

Rudolf Macúch Rudolf Macúch (16 October 1919, in Bzince pod Javorinou – 23 July 1993, in Berlin) was a Slovak linguist, naturalized as German after 1974. He was noted in the field of Semitic studies for his research work in three main areas: (1) Mandaic ...

have translated the term , from which derives, as "knowledge" (cf. in Daniel 2:21, 4:31, 33, 5:12; cf. , with characteristic assimilation of /n/ to the following consonant, medial -nd- hence becoming -dd-). This etymology suggests that the Mandaeans may well be the only sect surviving from

late antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

to identify themselves explicitly as

Gnostics Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: , romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: �nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among early Christian sects. These diverse g ...

Origins

According to the Mandaean text which recounts their early history, the ''

Haran Gawaita The ''Haran Gawaita'' ( Mandaic: , meaning "Inner Harran" or "Inner Hauran"; Modern Mandaic: ''(Diwān) Harrān Gawāythā'') also known as the ''Scroll of Great Revelation'', is a Mandaean text which recounts the history of the Mandaeans as ...

'' (the Scroll of Great Revelation) which was authored between the 4th–6th centuries, the Nasoraean Mandaeans who were disciples of

, left

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

and migrated to

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

in the first century CE, reportedly due to persecution. The emigrants first went to

Haran Haran or Aran ( ''Hārān'') is a man in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. He was a son of Terah, brother of Abraham, and father of son Lot and daughters Milcah and Iscah. He died in Ur of the Chaldees. Through Lot, Haran was the ance ...

(possibly

Harran Harran is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 904 km2, and its population is 96,072 (2022). It is approximately southeast of Urfa and from the Syrian border crossing at Akçakale. ...

in modern-day Turkey) or

Hauran The Hauran (; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, to the northeast by the al-Safa field, to the east and south by the Harrat ...

, and then to the Median hills in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

before finally settling in southern Mesopotamia (modern day

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

). According to

Richard Horsley Richard A. Horsley was the Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and the Study of Religion at the University of Massachusetts Boston until his retirement in 2007. He described his view of the historical Jesus in these words (''Jesus'' ''and the ...

, 'inner Hawran' is most likely

Wadi Hauran Wadi Hauran (also Wadi Houran, Wādī Ḩawrān ) is the longest wadi in Iraq. Located in Al Anbar Governorate west of Iraq, at Latitude 33.0333°, Longitude 40.2500° it's roughly midway between Damascus and Baghdad near the town of Rutba, it s ...

in present-day

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

which the

Nabataeans The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ) were an ancient Arabs, Arab people who inhabited northern Arabian Peninsula, Arabia and the southern Levant. Their settlements—most prominently the assumed capital city o ...

controlled. Earlier, the Nabataeans were at war with

Herod Antipas Herod Antipas (, ''Hērṓidēs Antípas''; ) was a 1st-century ruler of Galilee and Perea. He bore the title of tetrarch ("ruler of a quarter") and is referred to as both "Herod the Tetrarch" and "King Herod" in the New Testament. He was a s ...

, who had been sharply condemned by the prophet John, eventually executing him, and were thus positively predisposed toward a group loyal to John. Many scholars who specialize in Mandaeism, including

Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley (born Jorunn Jacobsen, 1944) is a Norwegian-American religious studies scholar and historian of religion known for her work on Mandaeism and Gnosticism. She was a former Professor of Religion at Bowdoin College. She is ...

, agree with the historical account. Others, however, argue for a southwestern Mesopotamian origin of the group. Some scholars take the view that Mandaeism is older and dates back to pre-Christian times. Mandaeans claim that their religion predates Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and believe that they are the direct descendants of

's son. They also believe that they are the direct descendants of John the Baptist's original Nasoraean Mandaean disciples in Jerusalem.

History

During Parthian rule, Mandaeans flourished under royal protection. This protection, however, did not last with the

Sasanian emperor The House of Sasan, Sasanian monarchs were the rulers of Iran after their victory against their former suzerain, the Parthian Empire, at the Battle of Hormozdgan in 224. At its height, the Sasanian Empire spanned from Turkey and Rhodes in the west ...

Bahram I Bahram I (also spelled Wahram I or Warahran I; ) was the fourth Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 271 to 274. He was the eldest son of Shapur I () and succeeded his brother Hormizd I (), who had reigned for a year. Bahram I's reign marked th ...

ascending to the throne and his high priest

Kartir Kartir (also spelled Karder, Karter and Kerdir; Middle Persian: 𐭪𐭫𐭲𐭩𐭫 ''Kardīr'') was a powerful and influential Zoroastrian priest during the reigns of four Sasanian kings in the 3rd century. His name is cited in the inscriptions ...

, who persecuted all non- Zoroastrians. At the beginning of the

Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia As part of the early Muslim conquests, which were initiated by Muhammad in 622, the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Sasanian Empire between 632 and 654. This event led to the decline of Zoroastrianism, which had been the official religion of ...

in , the leader of the Mandaeans,

Anush bar Danqa Anush bar Danqa () was a 7th-century Mandaean priest who was active around the Muslim conquest of Persia. According to Mandaean tradition, he led a delegation of Mandaeans to the Muslim authorities in Basra in the year 650/651 CE. Some scholars h ...

, is said to have appeared before the

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

authorities, showing them a copy of the ''

Ginza Rabba The Ginza Rabba (), Ginza Rba, or Sidra Rabba (), and formerly the Codex Nasaraeus, is the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism. The Ginza Rabba is composed of two parts: the Right Ginza (GR) and the Left Ginza (GL). T ...

'', the Mandaean holy book, and proclaiming the chief Mandaean prophet to be

, who is also mentioned in the

as Yahya ibn Zakariya. This identified Mandaeans as among the (

). Hence, Mandaeism was recognized as a legal minority religion within the Muslim Empire. However, this account is likely apocryphal: since it mentions that Anush bar Danqa traveled to

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, it must have occurred after the founding of Baghdad in 762, if it took place at all. Nevertheless, at some point the Mandaeans were identified as the

mentioned along with the

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, the

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

and the Zoroastrians in the Quran as

.. The earliest source to unambiguously do so was

Ḥasan bar Bahlul Ḥasan bar Bahlul (, '; , ') was a 10th-century Christian bishop and Syriac linguist. Not much is known of Bar Bahlul's life. His name has appeared in the list of bishops who supported Abdisho I's ascent to the patriarchy of the Church of the ...

() citing the Abbasid vizier

ibn Muqla Abu Ali Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Muqla (; 885/6 – 20 July 940/1), commonly known as Ibn Muqla, was an official of the Abbasid Caliphate who rose to high state posts in the early 10th century. His career culminated in his own assumption of the v ...

(–940),; on the identification of al-Hasan ibn Bahlul's source (named merely "Abu Ali") as Abu Ali Muhammad ibn Muqla, see p. 58. though it is not clear whether the Mandaeans of this period already identified themselves as Sabians or whether the claim originated with Ibn Muqla.. On Ibn Muqla's possible motivations for applying the Quranic epithet to the Mandaeans rather than to the

ian pagans (who were more commonly identified as 'Sabians' in the

of his time), see p. 66. Mandaeans continue to be called Sabians to this day. Around 1290, a Catholic Dominican friar from Tuscany, Riccoldo da Monte di Croce, or Ricoldo Pennini, was in Mesopotamia where he met the Mandaeans. He described them as believing in a secret law of

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

recorded in alluring texts, despising circumcision, venerating John the Baptist above all and washing repeatedly to avoid condemnation by God. Mandaeans were called "Christians of Saint John" by members of the

Discalced Carmelite The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel () or the Order of Discalced Carmelites (; abbrev.: OCD; sometimes called in earlier times, ), is a Catholic mendicant ...

mission in

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

during the 16th and 17th centuries, based on reports from missionaries such as Ignatius of Jesus. Some Portuguese Jesuits had also met some "Saint John Christians" around the

Strait of Hormuz The Strait of Hormuz ( ''Tangeh-ye Hormoz'' , ''Maḍīq Hurmuz'') is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is one of the world's most strategica ...

in 1559, when the Portuguese fleet fought with the

Ottoman army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

Beliefs

Mandaeism, as the religion of the Mandaean people, is based on a set of religious creeds and doctrines. The corpus of Mandaean literature is quite large and covers topics such as

eschatology Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of Contemporary era, present age, human history, or the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic and non-Abrah ...

, the knowledge of God, and the afterlife. According to

Brikha Nasoraia Rishama Brikha H. S. Nasoraia (full name: Brikha Haithem Saed Naṣoraia; ; born 1964 in Iraq) is an Iraqi-Australian Mandaean priest and scholar based in Sydney, Australia. He is affiliated with the University of Sydney and Mardin Artuklu Univ ...

Principal beliefs

# Recognition of one God known as

Hayyi Rabbi In Mandaeism, Hayyi Rabbi ( Neo-Mandaic; ), 'The Great Living God', is the supreme God from which all things emanate. Hayyi Rabbi is also known as "The First Life", since during the creation of the material world, Yushamin emanated from Hayyi ...

, meaning The Great Life or The Great Living (God), whose symbol is ''Living Water'' ('' Yardena''). It is, therefore, necessary for Mandaeans to live near rivers. God personifies the sustaining and creative force of the universe. # Power of Light, which is vivifying and personified by ''Malka d-Nhura'' ('King of Light'), another name for ''Hayyi Rabbi'', and the

uthra An uthra or ʿutra (, Neo-Mandaic ''oṯrɔ'', traditionally transliterated ''eutra''; plural: ʿuthrē, traditionally transliterated ''eutria'') is a "divine messenger of the light" in Mandaeism. Charles G. Häberl and James F. McGrath transl ...

s (angels or guardians) that provide health, strength, virtue and justice. The

Drabsha The drabshaDrower, Ethel Stefana (1937). ''The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran''. Oxford at the Clarendon Press. (; Modern Mandaic: ''drafšā'') or darfash () is the symbol of the Mandaean faith. It is typically translated as 'banner'. Etymology T ...

is viewed as the symbol of Light. # Immortality of the soul: the fate of the soul is the main concern with the belief in the next life, where there is reward and punishment. There is no eternal punishment since God is merciful.

Fundamental tenets

According to

, the Mandaean

Gnosis Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge ( γνῶσις, ''gnōsis'', f.). The term was used among various Hellenistic religions and philosophies in the Greco-Roman world. It is best known for its implication within Gnosticism, where ...

is characterized by nine features, which appear in various forms in other gnostic sects: # A supreme formless

Entity An entity is something that Existence, exists as itself. It does not need to be of material existence. In particular, abstractions and legal fictions are usually regarded as entities. In general, there is also no presumption that an entity is Lif ...

, the expression of which in time and space is a creation of spiritual, etheric, and material worlds and beings. Production of these is delegated by It to a creator or creators who originated It. The cosmos is created by Archetypal Man, who produces it in similitude to his own shape. #

Dualism Dualism most commonly refers to: * Mind–body dualism, a philosophical view which holds that mental phenomena are, at least in certain respects, not physical phenomena, or that the mind and the body are distinct and separable from one another * P ...

: a cosmic Mother and Father, Light and Darkness, Left and Right, syzygy in cosmic and microcosmic form. # As a feature of this dualism, counter-types (

dmuta In Mandaeism, a dmuta () or dmut is a spiritual counterpart or "mirror image" in the World of Light. People, spirits, and places are often considered to have both earthly and heavenly counterparts (''dmuta'') that can dynamically interact with ea ...

) exist in a world of ideas (

Mshunia Kushta In Mandaean cosmology, Mshunia Kushta () is a part of the World of Light considered to be the dwelling place of heavenly or ideal counterparts (''dmuta''). It is similar to Plato's concept of the hyperuranion (realm of Forms), which can be roug ...

). # The soul is portrayed as an exile, a captive, his home and origin being the supreme Entity to which he eventually returns. # Planets and stars influence fate and human beings and are also the places of detention after death. # A savior spirit or savior spirits that assist the soul on his journey through life and after it to 'worlds of light'. # A cult language of symbol and metaphor. Ideas and qualities are personified. # 'Mysteries,' i.e., sacraments to aid and purify the soul, to ensure its rebirth into a spiritual body, and its ascent from the world of matter. These are often adaptations of existing seasonal and traditional rites to which an esoteric interpretation is attached. In the case of the Naṣoraeans, this interpretation is based on the Creation story (see 1 and 2), especially on the Divine Man, Adam, as crowned and anointed King-priest. # Great secrecy is enjoined upon initiates; full explanation of 1, 2, and 8 being reserved for those considered able to understand and preserve the gnosis.

Cosmology

The religion extolls an intricate, multifaceted, esoteric, mythological, ritualistic, and exegetical tradition, with the emanation model of creation being the predominant interpretation. The most common name for God in Mandaeism is

('The Great Life' or 'The Great Living God'). Other

names A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A person ...

used are ('Lord of Greatness'), ('The Great Mind'), ('King of Light') and ('The First Life'). Mandaeans recognize God to be the eternal, creator of all, the one and only in domination who has no partner. There are numerous

s (angels or guardians), manifested from the light, that surround and perform acts of worship to praise and honor God. Prominent amongst them include

Manda d-Hayyi In Mandaeism, Manda d-Hayyi or Manda ḏ-Hiia () is an uthra (angel or guardian) sent by the Great Life ('' Hayyi Rabbi'', or the Transcendent God) as a messenger to John the Baptist. Manda d-Hayyi is considered to be the most important uthra, si ...

, who brings manda (knowledge or

) to Earth, and

Hibil Ziwa In Mandaeism, Hibil () and/or Hibil Ziwa () and sometimes pronounced Hīwel is referred to an uthra ("excellency", an angel or guardian) from the World of Light or the son of Adam (then; only referred as Hibil). Hibil, the man, is considered to b ...

, who conquers the

World of Darkness ''World of Darkness'' is a series of tabletop role-playing games, originally created by Mark Rein-Hagen for White Wolf Publishing. It began as an annual line of five games in 1991–1995, with ''Vampire: The Masquerade'', ''Werewolf: The Apocaly ...

. Some uthras are commonly referred to as emanations and are subservient beings to 'The First Life'; their names include Second, Third, and Fourth Life (i.e.

Yushamin In Mandaeism, Yushamin () and also known as the 'Second Life', is the primal uthra (angel or guardian) and a subservient emanation who was created by the Mandaean God 'The Great Life' (''Hayyi Rabbi'' or 'The First Life'), hence beginning the cre ...

Abatur Abatur (, sometimes called Abathur; Yawar, ; and the Ancient of Days and also pronounced Awāthur) is an Uthra and the second of three subservient emanations created by the Mandaean God ''Hayyi Rabbi'' (, “The Great Living God”) in the Mand ...

, and

Ptahil In Mandaeism, Ptahil () also known as Ptahil-Uthra (uthra, "angel, guardian"), is the Fourth Life, the third of three emanations from the First Life, Hayyi Rabbi, after Yushamin and Abatur. Ptahil-Uthra alone does not constitute the demiurge but ...

(), the 'Fourth Life', alone does not constitute the

demiurge In the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy, the Demiurge () is an artisan-like figure responsible for fashioning and maintaining the physical universe. Various sects of Gnostics adopted the term '' ...

but only fills that role insofar as he is seen as the creator of the material world with the help of the evil spirit

Ruha Ruha (pronounced /ˈruːhə/) is a term with spiritual connotations found across various religious traditions. In Arabic, Ruh () signifies "spirit" or "soul" and is a fundamental concept in Islam, referring to the divine breath of life.Esposito, ...

. Ruha is viewed negatively as the personification of the lower, emotional, and feminine elements of the human psyche. Therefore, the material world is a mixture of 'light' and 'dark'. Ptahil is the lowest of a group of three emanations, the other two being

(, the 'Second Life' (also spelled Joshamin)) and

(), the 'Third Life'. Abatur's demiurgic role consists of weighing the souls of the dead to determine their fate. The role of Yushamin, the first emanation, is more obscure; wanting to create a world of his own, he was punished for opposing the King of Light ('The First Life') but was ultimately forgiven. As is also the case among the

Essenes The Essenes (; Hebrew: , ''ʾĪssīyīm''; Greek: Ἐσσηνοί, Ἐσσαῖοι, or Ὀσσαῖοι, ''Essenoi, Essaioi, Ossaioi'') or Essenians were a mystic Jewish sect during the Second Temple period that flourished from the 2nd cent ...

, it is forbidden for a Mandaean to reveal the names of the angels to a gentile.

Chief prophets

Mandaeans recognize several prophets.

, known in Mandaic as ''Yuhana Maṣbana'' () or ''Yuhana bar Zakria'' (John, son of Zechariah), is accorded a special status, higher than his role in either Christianity or Islam. Mandaeans do not consider John to be the founder of their religion, but they revere him as their greatest teacher who renews and reforms their ancient faith, tracing their beliefs back to

. John is believed to be a messenger of Light (''nhura'') and Truth (''

kushta In Mandaeism, kushta or kušṭa () can have several meanings. Its original literal meaning is "truth" in the Mandaic language, and is thus typically used to refer to the Mandaean religious concept of truth. The same word is also used to refer t ...

'') who possessed the power of healing and full

('' manda''). Mandaeism does not consider

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

, or

to be Mandaean prophets. However, it teaches the belief that Abraham and Jesus were originally Mandaean priests. They recognize other prophetic figures from the

Abrahamic religions The term Abrahamic religions is used to group together monotheistic religions revering the Biblical figure Abraham, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The religions share doctrinal, historical, and geographic overlap that contrasts them wit ...

, such as

, his sons

Hibil In Mandaeism, Hibil () and/or Hibil Ziwa () and sometimes pronounced Hīwel is referred to an uthra ("excellency", an angel or guardian) from the World of Light or the son of Adam (then; only referred as Hibil). Hibil, the man, is considered to b ...

(

) and

Sheetil In Mandaeism, Shitil () is an uthra (angel or guardian) from the World of Light. Shitil is considered to be the Mandaean equivalent of Seth. Prayers in the Qulasta frequently contain the recurring formula, "In the name of Hibil, Šitil, and Anu ...

(

), and his grandson Anush ( Enosh), as well as Nuh (

), Sam (

), and Ram ( Aram), whom they consider to be their direct ancestors. Mandaeans consider Adam, Seth, Noah, Shem, and John the Baptist to be prophets, with Adam the founder and John the greatest and final prophet.

Scriptures and literature

The Mandaeans have a large corpus of religious scriptures, the most important of which is the ''

'' or ''Ginza'', a collection of history, theology, and prayers. The ''Ginza Rabba'' is divided into two halves—the ''Genzā Smālā'' or ''

Left Ginza The Left Ginza () is one of the two parts of the Ginza Rabba, the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism. The other part of the Ginza Rabba is the Right Ginza. As of 2024, a critical edition that includes an annotated transl ...

'', and the ''Genzā Yeminā'' or ''

Right Ginza The Right Ginza () is one of the two parts of the Ginza Rabba, the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism. The other part of the Ginza Rabba is the Left Ginza. Summaries of each book (or tractate), based mostly on Häberl ( ...

''. By consulting the colophons in the ''Left Ginza'', Jorunn J. Buckley has identified an uninterrupted chain of copyists to the late second or early third century. The colophons attest to the existence of the Mandaeans during the late

Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power centered in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe ...

. The oldest texts are lead amulets from about the third century CE, followed by

incantation bowls Incantation bowls are a form of protective magic found in what is now Iraq and Iran. Produced in the Middle East during late antiquity from the sixth to eighth centuries, particularly in Upper Mesopotamia and Syria, the bowls were usually inscrib ...

from about 600 CE. The important religious texts survived in manuscripts not older than the sixteenth century, with most coming from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Mandaean religious texts may have been originally orally transmitted before being written down by scribes, making dating and authorship difficult. Another important text is the ''

,'' which tells the history of the Mandaeans. According to this text, a group of Nasoraeans (Mandean priests) left

Judea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...

before the destruction of Jerusalem in the first century CE and settled within the

. Other important books include the ''

Qulasta The Qulasta, also spelled Qolastā in older sources (; ), is a compilation of Mandaean prayers. The Mandaic word ''qolastā'' means "collection". The prayerbook is a collection of Mandaic prayers regarding baptisms ('' maṣbuta'') and other sa ...

'', the canonical prayerbook of the Mandaeans, which was translated by

. One of the chief works of Mandaean scripture, accessible to laymen and initiates alike, is the ''

Mandaean Book of John In Mandaeism, the Book of John () is a Mandaean holy book in Mandaic Aramaic which Mandaeans attribute to their prophet John the Baptist. The book contains accounts of John's life and miracles, as well as a number of polemical conversations w ...

'', which includes a dialogue between John and Jesus. In addition to the ''Ginza'', ''Qulasta'', and '' Draša d-Yahya'', there is the ''

Diwan Abatur The ''Diwan Abatur'' (; "Scroll of Abatur"; Modern Mandaic: ''Diwān Abāthor'') is a Mandaean religious text. It is a large illustrated scroll that is over 20 ft. (6.1 m) long. A similar illustrated Mandaean scroll is the '' Diwan Nahraw ...

'', which contains a description of the 'regions' the soul ascends through, and the ''

Book of the Zodiac The ''Book of the Zodiac'' (; Modern Mandaic: ''Asfar Malwāši'') is a Mandaean text. It covers Mandaean astrology in great detail. The book is used to obtain a Mandaean's baptismal name (''malwasha''). It is also an important source on Mandaea ...

'' (''Asfar Malwāshē''). Finally, some pre-Muslim artifacts contain Mandaean writings and inscriptions, such as some Aramaic incantation bowls. Mandaean ritual commentaries (esoteric exegetical literature), which are typically written in scrolls rather than

codices The codex (: codices ) was the historical ancestor format of the modern book. Technically, the vast majority of modern books use the codex format of a stack of pages bound at one edge, along the side of the text. But the term ''codex'' is now r ...

, include: Mandaean priest initiation 22

* ''

The Thousand and Twelve Questions ''The Thousand and Twelve Questions'' ( ; Modern Mandaic: ''Alf Tressar Ešyāli'') is a Mandaean religious text. The ''1012 Questions'' is one of the most detailed texts on Mandaean priestly rituals. It is kept by Mandaean priests in the shk ...

'' (''Alf Trisar Šuialia'') * ''

The Coronation of the Great Šišlam ''The Coronation of the Great Šišlam'' (or ''The Coronation of Shishlam Rabba''; ) is a Mandaean religious text. The text is a detailed commentary on the initiation of the tarmida (junior priests), with detailed discussions on masbuta and masi ...

'' * '' The Great "First World"'' * '' The Lesser "First World"'' * ''The

Scroll of Exalted Kingship The ''Scroll of Exalted Kingship'' ( ; Modern Mandaic: ''Diwān Malkuthā Əlaythā'') is a Mandaean religious text. Written as a large illustrated scroll, the text consists of 1363 lines. The scroll is a commentary on the initiation of the tar ...

'' * ''

The Baptism of Hibil Ziwa ''The Baptism of Hibil Ziwa'' or ''Diwan Maṣbuta ḏ-Hibil Ziwa'' (, "Scroll of the Baptism of Hibil Ziwa") is a Mandaean illustrated scroll. It describes the soteriological descent of Hibil Ziwa to the World of Darkness, and his baptisms bef ...

'' The language in which the Mandaean religious literature was originally composed is known as

, a member of the

group of dialects. It is written in the

Mandaic script The Mandaic alphabet is a writing system primarily used to write the Mandaic language. It is thought to have evolved between the second and seventh century CE from either a cursive form of Aramaic (as did Syriac) or from Inscriptional Parthia ...

, a cursive variant of the Parthian chancellery script. Many Mandaean laypeople do not speak this language, although some members of the Mandaean community resident in Iran and Iraq continue to speak Neo-Mandaic, a modern version of this language.

Worship and rituals

The two most important ceremonies in Mandaean worship are

(''

Masbuta Maṣbuta (; pronounced ''maṣwottā'' in Neo-Mandaic) is the ritual of immersion in water in the Mandaean religion. Overview Mandaeans revere John the Baptist and practice frequent baptism (''masbuta'') as ritual purification, not of initia ...

'') and 'the ascent' (''

Masiqta The masiqta () is a mass or ritual practiced in the Mandaean religion in order to help guide the soul ('' nišimta'') towards the World of Light in Mandaean cosmology. They are typically performed as funerary rites for Mandaeans who have just di ...

'' – a mass for the dead or ascent of the soul ceremony). Unlike in Christianity, baptism is not a one-off event but is performed every Sunday, the Mandaean holy day, as a ritual of purification. Baptism usually involves full immersion in flowing water, and all rivers considered fit for baptism are called Yardena (after the

River Jordan The Jordan River or River Jordan (, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn''; , ''Nəhar hayYardēn''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Sharieat'' (), is a endorheic basin, endorheic river in the Levant that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and d ...

). After emerging from the water, the worshipper is anointed with holy

sesame oil Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. The oil is one of the earliest-known crop-based oils. Worldwide mass modern production is limited due to the inefficient manual harvesting process required to extract the oil. ...

and partakes in a communion of sacramental bread and water. The ascent of the soul ceremony, called the ''

masiqta The masiqta () is a mass or ritual practiced in the Mandaean religion in order to help guide the soul ('' nišimta'') towards the World of Light in Mandaean cosmology. They are typically performed as funerary rites for Mandaeans who have just di ...

'', can take various forms, but usually involves a ritual meal in memory of the dead. The ceremony is believed to help the souls of the departed on their journey through purgatory to the

World of Light In Mandaeism, the World of Light or Lightworld () is the primeval, transcendental world from which Tibil and the World of Darkness emerged. Description *The Great Life ('' Hayyi Rabbi'' or Supreme God/ Monad) is the ruler of the World of Ligh ...

. Other rituals for purification include the ''

Rishama A rishama (''rišama''; ''riš-ama''), rishamma, or rishema (; ; ; ) is a religious patriarch in Mandaeism. It is the highest rank out of all the Mandaean clergical ranks. The next ranks are the ''ganzibra'' and ''tarmida'' priests (see Mandaean ...

'' and the ''

Tamasha Tamasha () is a traditional form of Marathi theatre, often with singing and dancing, widely performed by local or travelling theatre groups within the state of Maharashtra, India."Tamasha", in James R. Brandon and Martin Banham (eds), ''The Cambr ...

'' which, unlike ''Masbuta'', can be performed without a priest. The ''Rishama'' (signing) is performed before prayers and involves washing the face and limbs while reciting specific prayers. It is performed daily, before sunrise, with hair covered and after

defecation Defecation (or defaecation) follows digestion and is the necessary biological process by which organisms eliminate a solid, semisolid, or liquid metabolic waste, waste material known as feces (or faeces) from the digestive tract via the anus o ...

or before religious ceremonies (see

wudu ''Wuduʾ'' ( ) is the Islamic procedure for cleansing parts of the body, a type of ritual purification, or ablution. The steps of wudu are washing the hands, rinsing the mouth and nose, washing the face, then the forearms, then wiping the head, ...

). The ''Tamasha'' is a triple immersion in the river without a requirement for a priest. It is performed by women after menstruation or childbirth, men and women after sexual activity or nocturnal emission, touching a

corpse A cadaver, often known as a corpse, is a dead human body. Cadavers are used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue to repair a defect in a li ...

or any other type of defilement (see

tevilah In Judaism, ritual washing, or ablution, takes two main forms. ''Tevilah'' () is a full body immersion in a mikveh, and ''netilat yadayim'' is the washing of the hands with a cup (see Handwashing in Judaism). References to ritual washing are ...

). Ritual purification also applies to fruits, vegetables, pots, pans, utensils, animals for consumption and ceremonial garments ( rasta). Purification for a dying person is also performed. It includes bathing involving a threefold sprinkling of river water over the person from head to feet. File:مندى ديانة الصابئة المندائية في بغداد 01.jpg, link=, Mandaean Beth Manda (Mashkhanna) in Baghdad, 2024 File:مندى ديانة الصابئة المندائية في بغداد 23.jpg, link=, Door entrance to the Mashkhanna, written in

and Arabic. Transalation: ࡁࡔࡅࡌࡀࡉࡄࡅࡍ ࡖࡄࡉࡉࡀ ࡓࡁࡉࡀ = "in their name, the great living one" and on the doors, following: ࡊࡅࡔࡈࡀ ࡀࡎࡉࡍࡊࡅࡍ = "truth be upon you" File:مندى ديانة الصابئة المندائية في بغداد 21.jpg, Inside the Mashkhanna A Mandaean's grave must be in the north–south direction so that if the dead Mandaean were stood upright, they would face north. Similarly,

Essene The Essenes (; Hebrew: , ''ʾĪssīyīm''; Greek: Ἐσσηνοί, Ἐσσαῖοι, or Ὀσσαῖοι, ''Essenoi, Essaioi, Ossaioi'') or Essenians were a mystic Jewish sect during the Second Temple period that flourished from the 2nd centu ...

graves are also oriented north–south. Mandaeans must face north during prayers, which are performed three times a day. Daily prayer in Mandaeism is called ''

brakha Daily prayer in Mandaeism, called brakha in Mandaic (cognate with Hebrew ''berakhah'' and Arabic ''barakah'') or occasionally ''birukta'' (''birukhta''), consists of set prayers that are recited three times per day. Mandaeans stand facing nort ...

''.

Zidqa In Mandaeism, zidqa () refers to alms or almsgiving.Drower, Ethel Stefana. 1937. ''The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran''. Oxford At The Clarendon Press. Mandaean priests receive regular financial contributions from laypeople, since priesthood is typic ...

(almsgiving) is also practiced in Mandaeism, with Mandaean laypeople regularly offering alms to priests. A '' mandī'' () (''beth manda'') or ''mashkhanna'' is a place of worship for followers of Mandaeism. A ' must be built beside a river in order to perform

maṣbuta Maṣbuta (; pronounced ''maṣwottā'' in Neo-Mandaic) is the ritual of immersion in water in the Mandaean religion. Overview Mandaeans revere John the Baptist and practice frequent baptism (''masbuta'') as ritual purification, not of initia ...

(baptism) because water is an essential element in the Mandaean faith. Modern 's sometimes have a bath inside a building instead. Each mandi is adorned with a ''

drabsha The drabshaDrower, Ethel Stefana (1937). ''The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran''. Oxford at the Clarendon Press. (; Modern Mandaic: ''drafšā'') or darfash () is the symbol of the Mandaean faith. It is typically translated as 'banner'. Etymology T ...

'', which is a banner in the shape of a cross, made of olive wood half covered with a piece of white pure silk cloth and seven branches of myrtle. The ''drabsha'' is not identified with the Christian cross. Instead, the four arms of the ''drabsha'' symbolize the four corners of the universe, while the pure silk cloth represents the Light of God. The seven branches of myrtle represent the seven days of creation. Mandaeans believe in marriage (''

qabin The qabin () is the Mandaeism, Mandaean wedding ritual. Mandaean weddings are typically held for several days. Traditionally, weddings must be officiated by a Mandaean priest and can only be performed for ethnic Mandaeans, although this has prov ...

'') and procreation, placing a high priority upon family life and in the importance of leading an ethical and moral lifestyle.

Polygyny Polygyny () is a form of polygamy entailing the marriage of a man to several women. The term polygyny is from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); . Incidence Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any other continent. Some scholar ...

is accepted, though it is uncommon. They are

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

and

egalitarian Egalitarianism (; also equalitarianism) is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds on the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all h ...

, with the earliest attested Mandaean scribe being a woman,

Shlama Beth Qidra Shlama beth Qidra (Šlama, daughter of Qidra, ), also known as Shalma beth Qidra, was a female Mandaean priest and scribe who was active around 200 AD. Her name is found in the colophons of Left Ginza manuscripts, which do not bear the name of ...

, who copied the ''Left Ginza'' sometime in the second century CE. There is evidence for women priests, especially in the pre-Islamic era. They believe the creator created the human body complete, so no part of it should be removed or cut off, hence

circumcision Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...

is considered bodily mutilation for Mandaeans and therefore forbidden. Mandaeans abstain from strong drink and most

red meat In gastronomy, red meat is commonly red when raw (and a dark color after it is cooked), in contrast to white meat, which is pale in color before (and after) cooking. In culinary terms, only flesh from mammals or fowl (not fish) is classified ...

, however meat consumed by Mandaeans must be slaughtered according to the proper rituals. The approach to the slaughter of animals for consumption is always apologetic. On some days, they refrain from eating meat. Fasting in Mandaeism is called '' sauma''. Mandaeans have an oral tradition that some were originally vegetarian.

Priests

There is a strict division between Mandaean laity and the priests. According to

(''The Secret Adam'', p. ix): There are three grades of priesthood in Mandaeism: the '' tarmidia'' () "disciples" (Neo-Mandaic ''tarmidānā''), the ''

ganzibria A ganzibra (singular form in , plural form in , literally 'treasurer' in Mandaic; ) is a high priest in Mandaeism. Tarmidas, or junior priests, rank below the ganzibras.Drower, E. S. 1960. ''The Secret Adam: A Study of Nasoraean Gnosis''. Oxford: ...

'' () "treasurers" (from Old Persian ''ganza-bara'' "id.", Neo-Mandaic ''ganzeḇrānā'') and the '' rišama'' () "leader of the people". ''Ganzeḇrā'', a title which appears first in a religious context in the Aramaic ritual texts from

Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...

(), and which may be related to the ''kamnaskires'' (Elamite ''kapnuskir'' "treasurer"), title of the rulers of

Elymais Elymais or Elamais (Ἐλυμαΐς, Hellenic form of the more ancient name, Elam) was an autonomous state of the 2nd century BC to the early 3rd century AD, frequently a vassal under Parthian control. It was located at the head of the Persian ...

(modern

Khuzestan Khuzestan province () is one of the 31 Provinces of Iran. Located in the southwest of the country, the province borders Iraq and the Persian Gulf, covering an area of . Its capital is the city of Ahvaz. Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's ...

) during the Hellenistic age. Traditionally, any ''ganzeḇrā'' who baptizes seven or more ''ganzeḇrānā'' may qualify for the office of ''rišama''. The current ''rišama'' of the Mandaean community in Iraq is

Sattar Jabbar Hilo Rishama Sattar Jabbar Hilow al-Zahrooni (; also known as His Holiness Ganzevra Sattar Jabbar Hilo al-Zahrony; born 1956, Al-Kahla, Maysan Governorate, Iraq) is the patriarch and international head of the Mandaean religion. He is currently bas ...

al-Zahrony. In Australia, the Mandaean ''rišama'' is Salah Chohaili.
His Holiness Ganzevra Sattar Jabbar Hilo al-Zahrony, the worldwide head of The Sabian Mandeans, is a member of the Interfaith Network of the Global Imams Council. The contemporary priesthood can trace its immediate origins to the first half of the nineteenth century. In 1831, an outbreak of

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

Shushtar Shushtar () is a city in the Central District of Shushtar County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Shushtar is an ancient fortress city, approximately from Ahvaz, the centre of the province ...

devastated the region and eliminated most, if not all, of the Mandaean religious authorities there. Two of the surviving acolytes (''šgandia''),

Yahia Bihram Yahya Bihram (also spelled Yahia Bihram; ) was a 19th-century Mandaean priest. Although initially a learned layman (''yalufa''), he became known for reviving the Mandaean priesthood after a cholera epidemic had killed all living Mandaean priests ...

and

Ram Zihrun Ram Zihrun () was a 19th-century Mandaean priest. Although initially a learned layman (''yalufa''), he became known for reviving the Mandaean priesthood together with his cousin Yahya Bihram after a cholera epidemic had killed all living Mandaean ...

, reestablished the priesthood in Suq al-Shuyukh on the basis of their own training and the texts that were available to them. In 2009, there were two dozen Mandaean priests in the world. However, according to the Mandaean Society in America, the number of priests has been growing in recent years.

Scholarship

According to

Edmondo Lupieri Edmondo F. Lupieri (born 10 November 1950 in Turin) is an Italian New Testament scholar. He is an alumnus of the University of Pisa, where he earned the Laurea in Classical Studies with the distinction of ''summa cum laude'', and of the Scuola Nor ...

, as stated in his article in ''

Encyclopædia Iranica ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English-language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times. Scope The ''Encyc ...

'', "The possible historical connection with

, as seen in the newly translated Mandaean texts, convinced many (notably R. Bultmann) that it was possible, through the Mandaean traditions, to shed some new light on the history of John and on the

origins of Christianity Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and bey ...

. This brought around a revival of the otherwise almost fully abandoned idea of their origins in Israel. As the archeological discovery of Mandaean

and lead amulets proved a pre-Islamic Mandaean presence in the southern Mesopotamia, scholars were obliged to hypothesize otherwise unknown persecutions by Jews or by Christians to explain the reason for Mandaeans' departure from Israel." Lupieri believes Mandaeism is a post-Christian southern Mesopotamian Gnostic off-shoot and claims that

Zazai d-Gawazta Zazai of Gawazta (Zazai ḏ-Gawazta, ; also Zazai ḏ-Gawazta bar Hawa, or Zazai of Gawazta, son of Naṭar) was a 3rd-century Mandaean priest. He is listed as the first copyist in the colophons of many Mandaean texts. Zazai of Gawazta is ment ...

to be the founder of Mandaeism in the second century. Jorunn J. Buckley refutes this by confirming scribes that predate Zazai who copied the

. In addition to Edmondo Lupieri, Christa Müller-Kessler argues against the Israelite origin theory of the Mandaeans claiming that the Mandaeans are Mesopotamian.

Edwin Yamauchi Edwin Masao Yamauchi (born 1937 in Hilo, Hawaii) is a Japanese-American historian, (Protestant) Christian apologist, editor and academic. He is Professor Emeritus of History at Miami University, where he taught from 1969 until 2005. He is marri ...

believes Mandaeism's origin lies in the

Transjordan Transjordan may refer to: * Transjordan (region), an area to the east of the Jordan River * Oultrejordain, a Crusader lordship (1118–1187), also called Transjordan * Emirate of Transjordan, British protectorate (1921–1946) * Hashemite Kingdom o ...

, where a group of 'non-Jews' migrated to Mesopotamia and combined their Gnostic beliefs with indigenous Mesopotamian beliefs at the end of the second century CE. Kevin van Bladel claims that Mandaeism originated no earlier than fifth century Sassanid Mesopotamia, a thesis which has been criticized by

James F. McGrath James Frank McGrath is an American scholar of religion. He is the Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University. He is known for his work on Early Christianity, Mandaeism, criticism of the Christ myth t ...

, a Mandaean priest and scholar, accepts a two-origin theory in which he considers the contemporary Mandaeans to have descended from both a line of Mandaeans who had originated from the Jordan valley of Israel, as well as another group of Mandaeans (or Gnostics) who were indigenous to southern Mesopotamia. Thus, the historical merging of the two groups gave rise to the Mandaeans of today. Scholars specializing in Mandaeism such as

Kurt Rudolph Kurt Rudolph (3 April 1929
University of Leipzig – 13 May 2020) was a German researcher of < ...

, Ethel S. Drower,

Eric Segelberg Eric Segelberg (20 December 1920 – 17 October 2001) was a Swedish theologian, professor, and a priest of the Lutheran Church of Sweden. Early life and education Segelberg was born in Nyköping, Sweden. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1944 ...

Charles G. Häberl Charles G. Häberl (born June 22, 1976 in New Jersey, United States) is an American linguist, religious studies scholar, and professor. He is currently Professor of African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian Languages and Literatures (AMESALL) and ...

, and

Şinasi Gündüz Şinasi Gündüz (born 1960, Hekimhan) is a Turkish historian of religion and professor at Istanbul University. His interests include Gnosticism, Mandaeism, Christianity, comparative religious studies, and interreligious relationships. Early li ...

argue for an Israelite origin. The majority of these scholars believe that the Mandaeans likely have a historical connection with John the Baptist's inner circle of disciples.R. Macuch, "Anfänge der Mandäer. Versuch eines geschichtliches Bildes bis zur früh-islamischen Zeit", chap. 6 of F. Altheim and R. Stiehl, ''Die Araber in der alten Welt II: Bis zur Reichstrennung'', Berlin, 1965. Charles Häberl, who is also a linguist specializing in

, finds Jewish Aramaic,

Samaritan Aramaic Samaritan Aramaic was the dialect of Aramaic used by the Samaritans in their sacred and scholarly literature. This should not be confused with Samaritan Hebrew, the language of the Samaritan Pentateuch. Samaritan Aramaic ceased to be a spoke ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

influence on Mandaic and accepts Mandaeans having a "shared Israelite history with Jews". In addition, scholars such as

Richard August Reitzenstein Richard August Reitzenstein (2 April 1861, in Breslau – 23 March 1931, in Göttingen) was a German classical philologist and scholar of Ancient Greek religion, hermetism and Gnosticism. He is described by Kurt Rudolph as “one of the most stimu ...

Rudolf Bultmann Rudolf Karl Bultmann (; ; 20 August 1884 – 30 July 1976) was a German Lutheran theologian and professor of the New Testament at the University of Marburg. He was one of the major figures of early 20th-century biblical studies. A prominent c ...

G. R. S. Mead George Robert Stow Mead (22 March 1863 in London – 28 September 1933 in London) was an English historian, writer, editor, translator, and an influential member of the Theosophical Society, as well as the founder of the Quest Society. His work ...

, Samuel Zinner, Richard Thomas, J. C. Reeves,

Gilles Quispel Gilles Quispel (30 May 1916 – 2 March 2006) was a Dutch theologian and historian of Christianity and Gnosticism. He was professor of early Christian history at Utrecht University. Early life and education Born in Rotterdam, he was the son of ...

, and K. Beyer also argue for a Judea/Palestine or Jordan Valley origin for the Mandaeans. Scholars such as

Kurt Rudolph Kurt Rudolph (3 April 1929
University of Leipzig – 13 May 2020) was a German researcher of < ...

and Ethel S. Drower and

connect the Mandaeans with the Nasaraeans described by Epiphanius, a group within the

according to

Joseph Lightfoot Joseph Barber Lightfoot (13 April 1828 – 21 December 1889), known as J. B. Lightfoot, was an English theologian and Bishop of Durham. Life Lightfoot was born in Liverpool, where his father John Jackson Lightfoot was an accountant. His m ...

. Epiphanius says (29:6) that they existed before Christ. That is questioned by some, but others accept the pre-Christian origin of the Nasaraeans.

Relations with other groups

Elkesaites

The Elkesaites were a Judeo-Christian baptismal sect that originated in the Transjordan and were active between 100 and 400 CE. The members of this sect, like the Mandaeans, performed frequent baptisms for purification and had a Gnostic disposition. The sect is named after its leader ''Elkesai''. The Church Father Epiphanius (writing in the fourth century CE) seems to make a distinction between two main groups within the Essenes: "Of those that came before his lxai (Elkesai), an Ossaean prophettime and during it, the Ossaeans and the Nasaraeans." Epiphanius describes the Ossaeans as following:

Essenes

The

were a mystic

sect A sect is a subgroup of a religion, religious, politics, political, or philosophy, philosophical belief system, typically emerging as an offshoot of a larger organization. Originally, the term referred specifically to religious groups that had s ...

during the

Second Temple period The Second Temple period or post-exilic period in Jewish history denotes the approximately 600 years (516 BCE – 70 CE) during which the Second Temple stood in the city of Jerusalem. It began with the return to Zion and subsequent reconstructio ...

that flourished from the second century BCE to the first century CE. Early Mandaean religious concepts and terminologies recur in the

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls, also called the Qumran Caves Scrolls, are a set of List of Hebrew Bible manuscripts, ancient Jewish manuscripts from the Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE). They were discovered over a period of ten years, between ...

, and '' Yardena'' (Jordan) has been the name of every baptismal water in Mandaeism. ''Mara d-Rabuta'' (

: "Lord of Greatness", one of the names for

) is found in the

Genesis Apocryphon The Genesis Apocryphon (1Q20), also called the Tales of the Patriarchs or the Apocalypse of Lamech and labeled 1QapGen, is one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1946 by Bedouin shepherds in Cave 1 near Qumran, a small settlemen ...

II, 4. An early Mandaean self-appellation is ''bhiria zidqa'', meaning 'elect of righteousness' or 'the chosen righteous', a term found in the

Book of Enoch The Book of Enoch (also 1 Enoch; Hebrew language, Hebrew: סֵפֶר חֲנוֹךְ, ''Sēfer Ḥănōḵ''; , ) is an Second Temple Judaism, ancient Jewish Apocalyptic literature, apocalyptic religious text, ascribed by tradition to the Patriar ...

and

II, 4. As Nasoraeans, Mandaeans believe that they constitute the true congregation of ''bnia nhura'', meaning 'Sons of Light', a term used by the Essenes. Mandaean scripture affirms that the Mandaeans descend directly from

's original Nasoraean Mandaean disciples in Jerusalem and there are numerous similarities between John's movement and the Essenes. Similar to the Essenes, it is forbidden for a Mandaean to reveal the names of the angels to a gentile. Essene graves are oriented north–south and a Mandaean's grave must also be in the north–south direction so that if the dead Mandaean were stood upright, they would face north. Mandaeans have an oral tradition that some were originally vegetarian and also similar to the Essenes, they are

s. The ''bit manda'' (

beth manda A mandi, mashkhanna ( ), or beth manda (''beit manda'', , 'house of knowledge'; also ''bimanda''), is a Mandaean building that serves as a community center and place of worship. A mandi is traditionally built on the banks of a yardna, or flowi ...

) is described as ''biniana rba ḏ-šrara'' ("the Great building of Truth") and ''bit tušlima'' ("house of Perfection") in

Mandaean texts This article contains a list of Mandaic manuscripts, which are almost entirely Mandaeism, Mandaean religious texts written in Classical Mandaic language, Mandaic. Well-known Mandaean texts include the ''Ginza Rabba'' (also known as the ''Sidra ...

such as the ''

'', ''

'', and the ''

''. The only known literary parallels are in Essene texts from

Qumran Qumran (; ; ') is an archaeological site in the West Bank managed by Israel's Qumran National Park. It is located on a dry marl plateau about from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, about south of the historic city of Jericho, and adjac ...

such as the ''

Community Rule The ''Community Rule'' (), which is designated 1QS and was previously referred to as the ''Manual of Discipline'', is one of the first scrolls to be discovered near the ruins of Qumran, the scrolls found in the eleven caves between 1947 and 1954 ...

'', which has similar phrases such as the "house of Perfection and Truth in Israel" (''Community Rule'' 1QS VIII 9) and "house of Truth in Israel."

Bana'im

Bana'im Bana'im were a minor Jewish sect and an offshoot of the Essenes during the second century in Palestine. Other minor sects of Judaism include Hypsistarians, Hemerobaptists and the Maghāriya The Magharians (, 'people of the caves') or Maghāri ...

were a minor Jewish sect and an offshoot of the

during the second century in Israel. The Bana'im put heavy emphasis on the cleanliness of clothing since they believed that garments cannot even have a small mudstain before dipping in purifying water. There exists considerable debate around their activities in Israel and the meaning of the name, some believe that they would put heavy emphasis on the study of the creation of the world, while some believe that the Bana'im were an Essene order employed with the ax and shovel. Other scholars instead have suggested that the name of the Bana'im is derived from the Greek word for "bath". In this case the sect would be similar to the

Hemerobaptists Hemerobaptists (Greek: 'day bathers') were a Jewish sect mentioned by some early Christian writers. They were known for their daily ritual baptisms for purification, distinct from mainstream Jewish practices of ritual immersion. They are consid ...

or ''Tovelei Shaḥarit''.

Hemerobaptists

(Heb. ''Tovelei Shaḥarit''; 'Morning Bathers') were an ancient religious sect that practiced daily baptism. They were likely a division of the Essenes. In the ''Clementine Homilies'' (ii. 23), John the Baptist and his disciples are mentioned as Hemerobaptists. The Mandaeans have been associated with the Hemerobaptists on account of both practicing frequent baptism and Mandaeans believing they are disciples of John.

Maghāriya

Maghāriya The Magharians (, 'people of the caves') or Maghāriya were, according to Jacob Qirqisani, a Judaism, Jewish sect founded in the 1st century BC, 1st century BCE. The group apparently earned its name because it stored its books in caves, including ...

were a minor Jewish sect that appeared in the first century BCE, their special practice was the keeping of all their literature in caves in the surrounding hills of Israel. They made their own commentaries on the Bible and the law. The Maghāriya believed that God is too sublime to mingle with matter, thus they did not believe that God directly created the world, but that an angel, which represents God created the earth which is similar to the Mandaean demiurgic

. Some scholars have identified the Maghāriya with the Essenes or the

Therapeutae The Therapeutae were a religious sect which existed in Alexandria and other parts of the ancient Greek world. The primary source concerning the Therapeutae is the ''De vita contemplativa'' ("The Contemplative Life"), traditionally ascribed to the ...

Nasaraeans

see

Ossaeans

see

Elkesaites The Elcesaites, Elkasaites, Elkesaites or Elchasaites were an ancient Jewish Christian sect in Lower Mesopotamia, then the province of Asoristan in the Sasanian Empire that was active between 100 and 400 CE. The members of this sect, which origin ...

Kabbalah

Nathaniel Deutsch Nathaniel Deutsch is a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he holds the Baumgarten Endowed Chair in Jewish Studies. He is also the Director of the Center for Jewish Studies and the Director of the Humanities Institute. Ca ...

writes: R.J. Zwi Werblowsky suggests Mandaeism has more commonality with Kabbalah than with

Merkabah mysticism Merkabah () or Merkavah mysticism (lit. Chariot mysticism) is a school of early Jewish mysticism (), centered on visions such as those found in Ezekiel 1 or in the hekhalot literature ("palaces" literature), concerning stories of ascents to ...

such as cosmogony and sexual imagery.

, and

Alma Rišaia Rba '' Alma Rišaia Rba'' or ''Diwan Alma Rišaia Rabbā'' (, "The Great Supreme World" or "The Great First World") is a Mandaean religious text. The text is used for Mandaean priestly initiation ceremonies. It is written as a scroll and has numerou ...

link the alphabet with the creation of the world, a concept found in

Sefer Yetzirah ''Sefer Yetzirah'' ( ''Sēp̄er Yəṣīrā'', ''Book of Formation'', or ''Book of Creation'') is a work of Jewish mysticism. Early commentaries, such as the ''Kuzari'', treated it as a treatise on mathematical and linguistic theory, as opposed t ...

and the

Bahir ''Bahir'' or ''Sefer HaBahir'' (, ; "Book of Clarity" or "Book of Illumination") is an anonymous mystical work, attributed to a 1st-century rabbinic sage Nehunya ben HaKanah (a contemporary of Yochanan ben Zakai) because it begins with the wor ...

. Mandaean names for

s have been found in Jewish magical texts.

appears to be inscribed inside a Jewish magic bowl in a corrupted form as "Abiṭur".

is found in

Sefer HaRazim ''Sefer HaRazim'' (; "Book of Secrets") is a Jewish magical text supposedly given to Noah by the angel Raziel, and passed down throughout Biblical history until it ended up in the possession of Solomon, for whom it was a great source of his wisd ...

listed among other angels who stand on the ninth step of the second firmament.

Manichaeans

According to the ''

Fihrist The () (''The Book Catalogue'') is a compendium of the knowledge and literature of tenth-century Islam compiled by Ibn al-Nadim (d. 998). It references approx. 10,000 books and 2,000 authors.''The Biographical Dictionary of the Society for the ...

'' of

ibn al-Nadim Abū al-Faraj Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq an-Nadīm (), also Ibn Abī Yaʿqūb Isḥāq ibn Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq al-Warrāq, and commonly known by the '' nasab'' (patronymic) Ibn an-Nadīm (; died 17 September 995 or 998), was an important Muslim ...

, the Mesopotamian prophet

Mani Mani may refer to: People * Mani (name), (), a given name and surname (including a list of people with the name) ** Mani (prophet) (c. 216–274), a 3rd century Iranian prophet who founded Manichaeism ** Mani (musician) (born 1962), an English ...

, the founder of

Manichaeism Manichaeism (; in ; ) is an endangered former major world religion currently only practiced in China around Cao'an,R. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''. SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 found ...

, was brought up within the

Elkesaite The Elcesaites, Elkasaites, Elkesaites or Elchasaites were an ancient Jewish Christian sect in Lower Mesopotamia, then the province of Asoristan in the Sasanian Empire that was active between 100 and 400 CE. The members of this sect, which origina ...

(''Elcesaite'' or ''Elchasaite'') sect, this being confirmed more recently by the

Cologne Mani Codex The Cologne Mani-Codex (Codex Manichaicus Coloniensis) is a tiny parchment codex, dated on paleographical evidence to the fifth century AD, found near Asyut (the ancient Lycopolis) in Egypt. Measuring 4.5 × 3.8 cm, the codex is the smallest ancie ...

. None of the Manichaean scriptures has survived in its entirety, and it seems that the remaining fragments have not been compared to the ''Ginza Rabba''. Mani later left the Elkasaites to found his own religion. In a comparative analysis, the Swedish Egyptologist

Torgny Säve-Söderbergh Torgny Säve-Söderbergh (born 29 June 1914 in Lund; died 21 May 1998 in Uppsala) was a Swedish writer, translator, and professor of Egyptology at Uppsala University from 1950 to 1980. He was the younger brother of paleontologist Gunnar Säve-S� ...

indicated that Mani's

Psalms of Thomas The ''Psalms of Thomas'' (more correctly ''Psalms of Thom'') are a set of third-century psalms found appended to the end of a Coptic Manichaean psalm book, which was in turn part of the Medinet Madi library excavated in 1929. The psalms were orig ...

was closely related to Mandaean texts. According to

, "some of the most ancient Manichaean psalms, the Coptic Psalms of Thomas, were paraphrases and even word-for-word translations of Mandaic originals; prosody and phrase offering proof that the Manichaean was the borrower and not vice-versa." An extensive discussion of the relationships between Mandaeism and Manichaeism can be found in Băncilă (2018).

Samaritan Baptist sects

According to Magris, Samaritan Baptist sects were an offshoot of

. One offshoot was in turn headed by Dositheus,

Simon Magus Simon Magus (Greek Σίμων ὁ μάγος, Latin: Simon Magus), also known as Simon the Sorcerer or Simon the Magician, was a religious figure whose confrontation with Peter is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. The act of simony, or payi ...

, and

Menander Menander (; ; c. 342/341 – c. 290 BC) was a Greek scriptwriter and the best-known representative of Athenian Ancient Greek comedy, New Comedy. He wrote 108 comedies and took the prize at the Lenaia festival eight times. His record at the Cit ...

. It was in this milieu that the idea emerged that the world was created by ignorant angels. Their baptismal ritual removed the consequences of sin, and led to a regeneration by which natural death, which was caused by these angels, was overcome. The Samaritan leaders were viewed as "the embodiment of God's power, spirit, or wisdom, and as the redeemer and revealer of 'true knowledge. The

Simonians The Simonians were a Gnostic sect of the 2nd century which regarded Simon Magus as its founder and traced its doctrines, known as Simonianism, back to him. The sect flourished in Syria, in various districts of Asia Minor and at Rome. In the 3rd ce ...

were centered on Simon Magus, the magician baptised by Philip and rebuked by Peter in Acts 8, who became in early Christianity the archetypal false teacher. The ascription by Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and others of a connection between schools in their time and the individual in Acts 8 may be as legendary as the stories attached to him in various apocryphal books. Justin Martyr identifies Menander of Antioch as Simon Magus' pupil. According to Hippolytus, Simonianism is an earlier form of

Valentinianism Valentinianism was one of the major Gnostic Christian movements. Founded by Valentinus ( CE – CE) in the 2nd century, its influence spread widely, not just within the Roman Empire but also from northwest Africa to Egypt through to Asia Minor ...

Sethians

Kurt Rudolph Kurt Rudolph (3 April 1929
University of Leipzig – 13 May 2020) was a German researcher of < ...

has observed many parallels between Mandaean texts and Sethian Gnostic texts from the

Nag Hammadi library The Nag Hammadi library (also known as the Chenoboskion Manuscripts and the Gnostic Gospels) is a collection of early Christian and Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. Thirteen leather-bound papyrus c ...

Birger A. Pearson Birger A. Pearson (September 17, 1934 – April 16, 2025) was an American scholar and professor studying early Christianity and Gnosticism. He held the positions of Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Bar ...

also compares the "

Five Seals In Sethianism, Sethian Gnostic texts, the Five Seals are typically described as a baptismal rite involving a series of five full immersions in holy running or "living water," symbolizing spiritual ascension to the divine realm. The Five Seals are ...

" of Sethianism, which he believes is a reference to quintuple ritual immersion in water, to Mandaean

masbuta Maṣbuta (; pronounced ''maṣwottā'' in Neo-Mandaic) is the ritual of immersion in water in the Mandaean religion. Overview Mandaeans revere John the Baptist and practice frequent baptism (''masbuta'') as ritual purification, not of initia ...

. According to Buckley (2010), "Sethian Gnostic literature ... is related, perhaps as a younger sibling, to Mandaean baptism ideology."

Valentinians

A Mandaean baptismal formula was adopted by Valentinian Gnostics in Rome and Alexandria in the second century CE.

Demographics

It is estimated that there between 60,000 and 100,000

worldwide. Their proportion in their native lands has collapsed because of the Iraq War, with most of the community relocating to nearby Iran, Syria, and Jordan. There are approximately 2,500 Mandaeans in

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

. In 2011,

Al Arabiya Arabiya (, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is a Saudi state-owned international Arabic news television channel. It is based in Riyadh and is a subsidiary of MBC Group. The channel is a flagship of the media c ...

put the number of hidden and unaccounted for Iranian Mandaeans in Iran as high as 60,000. According to a 2009 article in ''

The Holland Sentinel ''The Holland Sentinel'' is a newspaper published six days a week in Holland, Michigan, United States, founded in 1896. It is published by Gannett. The newspaper covers most of Ottawa County, including Holland, Beechwood and Zeeland, as wel ...

'', the Mandaean community in Iran has also been dwindling, numbering between 5,000 and, at most, 10,000 people. Many Mandaeans have formed diaspora communities outside the Middle East in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, United States,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, UK and especially

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, where around 10,000 now reside, mainly around

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, representing 15% of the total world Mandaean population. Approximately 1,000 Iranian Mandaeans have emigrated to the United States, since the US State Department in 2002 granted them protective refugee status, which was also later accorded to Iraqi Mandaeans in 2007. A community estimated at 2,500 members live in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

, where they began settling in 2008. Most emigrated from Iraq. Mandaeism does not allow conversion, and the religious status of Mandaeans who marry outside the faith and their children is disputed.

Notes

References

Bibliography

Primary sources

* * * * * * * * * (

open access Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which nominally copyrightable publications are delivered to readers free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 de ...

version of text and translation, taken from )

Secondary sources

* * * * * * * * (reprint: Piscataway:

Gorgias Press Gorgias Press is a US-based independent academic publisher specializing in the history and religion of the Middle East and the larger pre-modern world. History Founded in 2001 by Christine and George Kiraz, the press is based in Piscataway, N ...

, 2002) * * * * * * * * (reprint of ''Thesaurus s. Liber Magni'') * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** Review: * * *

Tertiary sources

* * * * *

External links

Mandaean Association Union
nbsp;– The Mandaean Association Union is an international federation which strives for unification of Mandaeans around the globe. Information in English and Arabic.
BBC: Iraq chaos threatens ancient faith

BBC: Mandaeans – a threatened religion
* Shahāb Mirzā'i
''Ablution of Mandaeans''
(''Ghosl-e Sābe'in'' – غسل صابئين), in Persian, ''Jadid Online'', 18 December 2008

(showing Iranian Mandaeans performing ablution on the banks of the

river in

Ahvaz Ahvaz (; ) is a city in the Central District of Ahvaz County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is home to Persians, Arabs and other groups such as Qashqai and Kurds. Languages spok ...

): (4 min 25 sec)
The Worlds of Mandaean Priests

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

Mandaean scriptures

Mandaean scriptures
''Qolastā'' and ''Haran Gawaitha'' texts and fragments (note that the book titled ''Ginza Rabba'' is not the ''Ginza Rabba'' but is instead ''Qolastā'', "The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans" as translated by E.S Drower).
The Ginza Rabba
(1925 German translation by Mark Lidzbarski) at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

* The John-Book (

Draša D-Iahia In Mandaeism, the Book of John () is a Mandaean holy book in Mandaic Aramaic which Mandaeans attribute to their prophet John the Baptist. The book contains accounts of John's life and miracles, as well as a number of polemical conversations w ...

) – complete text i
Mandaic
an
German translation
(1905) by Mark Lidzbarski at the

Mandaic liturgies
– Mandaic text (in Hebrew transliteration) and German translation (1925) by Mark Lidzbarski at the

Mandaean scriptures
at the Mandaean Network's site

Books about Mandaeism available online

Extracts from E. S. Drower, ''Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran,''
Leiden, 1962
''The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran''
by Lady Drower, 1937 – the entire book {{Authority control Abrahamic religions Ancient Semitic religions Gnostic religions and sects Judean-Israelite Gnostic sects Mandaeans Monotheistic religions Religion in Iran Religion in Iraq Religion in the Sasanian Empire

Etymology

Origins

History

Beliefs

Principal beliefs

Fundamental tenets

Cosmology

Chief prophets

Scriptures and literature

Worship and rituals

Priests

Scholarship

Relations with other groups

Elkesaites

Essenes

Bana'im

Hemerobaptists

Maghāriya

Nasaraeans

Ossaeans

Kabbalah

Manichaeans

Samaritan Baptist sects

Sethians

Valentinians

Demographics

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

Primary sources

Secondary sources

Tertiary sources

External links

Mandaean scriptures

Books about Mandaeism available online