Nicolas Siouffi (1829 (

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

) – 1901 ( Baabda)) was a Syrian Christian, and later French citizen and vice-consul at

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

, remembered for his study of Mandaeism. He is known for works such as ''Études sur les Soubbas ou les Sabéens''. Mandaeans were known locally in Arabic as ''Ṣubba'', which Siouffi identified with the Sabians, a People of the Book 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 ...

. Siouffi claimed to have identified 4000 Sabians in the Mandaean population. This was well received by the theosophist G. R. S. Mead, but received highly critical reviews from scholars, accusing Siouffi of ignorance and his teacher of dishonesty.

References

Syrian Christians Iraqi Christians Religion in Iraq 1829 births 1901 deaths People from Damascus Scholars of Mandaeism {{iraq-stub