Mandaeism

Mandaeism or Mandaeanism ( Mandaʻiūtā ; Mandāʼīyah / Mandāʾiyyah ) is a gnostic religion (Aramaic manda means "knowledge," as does Greek gnosis ) with a strongly dualistic worldview. Its adherents, the Mandaeans , revere Adam , Abel , Seth , Enosh , Noah , Shem , Aram and especially John the Baptist , but reject Abraham , Moses and Jesus of Nazareth . According to most scholars, Mandaeans migrated from the Southern Levant to Mesopotamia in the first centuries CE, and are of pre-Arab and pre-Islamic origin. They are Semites and speak a dialect of Eastern Aramaic known as Mandaic . They may well be related to the "Nabateans of Iraq" who were pagan, Aramaic-speaking indigenous pre-Arab and pre-Islamic inhabitants of southern Iraq. Mandaeans appear to have settled in northern Mesopotamia, but the religion has been practised primarily around the lower Karun , Euphrates and Tigris and the rivers that surround the Shatt-al-Arab waterway, part of southern Iraq and Khuzestan Province in Iran . There are thought to be between 60,000 and 70,000 Mandaeans worldwide. Until the 2003 Iraq war, almost all of them lived in Iraq. Many Mandaean Iraqis have since fled their country (as have many other Iraqis) 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 Muslim extremists. By 2007, the population of Mandaeans in Iraq had fallen to approximately 5,000. Most Mandaean Iraqis have sought refuge in Iran , with fellow Mandaeans there. Others have moved to northern Iraq. There has been a much smaller influx into Syria and Jordan, with smaller populations in Sweden, Australia, the United States and other Western countries. The Mandaeans have remained separate and intensely private—reports of them and of their religion have come primarily from outsiders, particularly from the Orientalist Julius Heinrich Petermann , Nicolas Siouffi (a Yazidi) and Lady Drower . An Anglican vicar, Rev. Peter Owen-Jones , included a short segment on a Mandaean group in Sydney, Australia, in his BBC series, Around the World in 80 Faiths . Because of the strong dualism in Mandaeism ... The Light and the Dark: Dualism in ancient Iran, India, and China Petrus Franciscus Maria Fontaine - 1990 "Although it shows Jewish and Christian influences, Mandaeism was hostile to Judaism and Christianity. Mandaeans spoke an East-Aramaic language in which 'manda' means 'knowledge'; this already is sufficient proof of the connection of Mandaeism with the Gnosis... The last pagans of Iraq : Ibn Wahshiyya and his Nabatean agriculture .

Mandaeism or Mandaeanism ( , Mandāʾīyah ), also known as Sabaeanism ( , Ṣābiʾīyah ), is a monotheistic and gnostic religion with a strongly dualistic cosmology . Its adherents, the Mandaeans , revere Adam , Abel , Seth , Enos , Noah , Shem , Aram , and especially John the Baptist . The Mandaeans have been counted among the Semites and speak a dialect of Eastern Aramaic known as Mandaic . The name 'Mandaean' is said to come from the Aramaic manda meaning "knowledge", as does Greek gnosis . Within the Middle East, but outside of their community, the Mandaeans are more commonly known as the Ṣubba (singular: Ṣubbī ) or Sabians . The term Ṣubba is derived from the Aramaic root related to baptism , the neo-Mandaic is Ṣabi . Occasionally, Mandaeans are called "Christians of Saint John". In the Quran , the "Sabians" ( , aṣ-Ṣābiʾūn ) are mentioned three times alongside Jews and Christians. Most critical scholars today believe this term refers to the Manichaeans/Elkaisaites, an Abrahamic religious group that followed Jesus and was unrelated to the gnostic Mandaeans (who rejected Jesus). Confusion of the two occurs primarily among non-Arabic speakers, to whom the Quranic word aṣ-Ṣābiʾūn (from the root ص ب أ) seems similar to the word Ṣubba (from the root ص ب ب). According to most scholars, Mandaeaism originated sometime in the first three centuries CE, in either southwestern Mesopotamia or the Syro-Palestinian area. However, some scholars take the view that Mandaeanism is older and dates from pre-Christian times. The religion has been practised primarily around the lower Karun , Euphrates and Tigris and the rivers that surround the Shatt-al-Arab waterway, part of southern Iraq and Khuzestan Province in Iran. There are thought to be between 60,000 and 70,000 Mandaeans worldwide. Until the Iraq War , 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 Muslim 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 , an Orientalist as well as from Nicolas Siouffi , a Syrian Christian who was the French vice-consul in Mosul in 1887, and British cultural anthropologist Lady E. There is an early if highly prejudiced account by the French traveller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier from the 1650s. In some texts, however, it is said that Anoš and Manda ḏHayyē appeared in Usa together with Jesus Christ (Mšiha), and exposed him as a lying prophet. This tradition can be explained by an anti-Christian concept, which is also found in Mandaeism, but, according to several scholars, it contains scarcely any traditions of historical events. Because of the strong dualism in Mandaeism, between body and soul, great attention is paid to the "deliverance" of the soul The Light and the Dark: Dualism in ancient Iran, India, and China Petrus Danker John Williams – 1990 "Although it shows Jewish and Christian influences, Mandaeism was hostile to Judaism and Christianity. Mandaeans spoke an East-Aramaic language in which 'manda' means 'knowledge'; this already is sufficient proof of the connection of Mandaeism with the Gnosis... "Friar of Ignatius of Jesus (Carlo Leonelli) and the First "Scholarly" Book on Mandaeaism (1652)". ARAM Periodical . 16 (Mandaeans and Manichaeans): 25– 46. Etudes mithriaques 1978 p545 Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin "The conviction of the leading Mandaean scholars – E. Gnosis: A Selection of Gnostic texts . The Mandaeans: The Last Gnostics . Siouffi was a Syrian Christian who, having received a European education, entered the French diplomatic corps. The Neo-Mandaic Dialect of Khorramshahr . In 1873, the French vice-consul in Mosul, a Syrian Christian by the name of Nicholas Siouffi, sought Mandaean informants in Baghdad without success.

Gnostic religion Not to be confused with Mazdaism or Manichaeism . You may need rendering support to display the uncommon Unicode characters in this article correctly. Mandaic incantation bowl from Southern Mesopotamia c. 200–600 CE – Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada Mandaeism ( Classical Mandaic : ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀࡉࡉࡀ ‎ mandaiia ; ), sometimes also known as Nasoraeanism or Sabianism , is a Gnostic , monotheistic and ethnic religion . Its adherents, the Mandaeans , revere Adam , Abel , Seth , Enos , Noah , Shem , Aram , and especially John the 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 language known as Mandaic . The name 'Mandaean' comes from the Aramaic manda , meaning knowledge. Within the Middle East, but outside their community, the Mandaeans are more commonly known as the صُبَّة Ṣubba (singular: Ṣubbī ), or as Sabians ( الصابئة , al-Ṣābiʾa ). The term Ṣubba is derived from an Aramaic root related to baptism . The term Sabians derives from the mysterious religious group mentioned three times in the Quran . The name of this unidentified group, which is implied in the Quran to belong to the ' People of the Book ' ( ahl al-kitāb ), was historically claimed by the Mandaeans as well as by several other religious groups in order to gain legal protection ( dhimma ) as offered by Islamic law . Occasionally, Mandaeans are also called "Christians of Saint John". According to Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley and other scholars who specialize in Mandaeism, Mandaeans originated about two thousand years ago in the Palestine region and subsequently moved east due to persecution. Others claim a southwestern Mesopotamia origin. However, some scholars take the view that Mandaeism is older and dates back to pre-Christian times. Mandaeans assert that their religion predates Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as a monotheistic faith. Mandaeans believe that they are the direct descendants of Shem, Noah's son, in Mesopotamia and they also believe that they are the direct descendants of John the Baptist's original Nasoraean Mandaean disciples in Jerusalem. The core doctrine of the faith is known as Nāṣerutā (also spelled Nașirutha and meaning Nasoraean gnosis or divine wisdom) (Nasoraeanism or Nazorenism) with the adherents called nāṣorāyi ( Nasoraeans or Nazorenes). These Nasoraeans are divided into tarmidutā (priesthood) and mandāyutā (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 Nāṣerutā . Followers of Mandaeism are called Mandaeans, but can also be called Nasoraeans (Nazorenes), Gnostics (utilizing the Greek word gnosis for knowledge) or Sabians. The religion has primarily been practiced around the lower Karun , Euphrates and Tigris , and the rivers that surround the Shatt al-Arab waterway, part of southern Iraq and Khuzestan province in Iran. Worldwide, there are believed to be between 60,000 and 70,000 Mandaeans. Until the Iraq War , 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 , an Orientalist ; as well as from Nicolas Siouffi , a Syrian Christian who was the French vice-consul in Mosul in 1887, and British cultural anthropologist Lady E. There is an early if highly prejudiced account by the French traveller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier from the 1650s. The Worlds of Mandaean Priests . Dualism in ancient Iran, India and China . "Friar of Ignatius of Jesus (Carlo Leonelli) and the First "Scholarly" Book on Mandaeaism (1652)". ARAM Periodical . 16 (Mandaeans and Manichaeans): 25– 46. The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran . The Haran Gawaita and the Baptism of Hibil-Ziwa . Häberl & McGrath 2019 Deutsch, Nathaniel (6 October 2007). The New York Times . Gnosis: A Selection of Gnostic texts . The Mandaeans: The Last Gnostics . The Six Voyages of John Baptista Tavernier . There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).

Gnostic religion Not to be confused with Mazdaism or Manichaeism . You may need rendering support to display the uncommon Unicode characters in this article correctly. Mandaic incantation bowl from Southern Mesopotamia c. 200–600 CE – Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada Mandaeism ( Classical Mandaic : ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀࡉࡅࡕࡀ ‎ mandaiuta ), sometimes also known as Nasoraeanism or Sabianism , is a Gnostic , monotheistic and ethnic religion with Greek , Iranian , and Jewish influences. Its adherents, the Mandaeans , revere Adam , Abel , Seth , Enos , Noah , Shem , Aram , and especially John the 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 language known as Mandaic . The name 'Mandaean' comes from the Aramaic manda , meaning knowledge. Within the Middle East, but outside their community, the Mandaeans are more commonly known as the صُبَّة Ṣubba (singular: Ṣubbī ), or as Sabians ( الصابئة , al-Ṣābiʾa ). The term Ṣubba is derived from an Aramaic root related to baptism . The term Sabians derives from the mysterious religious group mentioned three times in the Quran . The name of this unidentified group, which is implied in the Quran to belong to the " People of the Book " ( ahl al-kitāb ), was historically claimed by the Mandaeans as well as by several other religious groups in order to gain legal protection ( dhimma ) as offered by Islamic law . 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 to be a false prophet . The core doctrine of the faith is known as Nāṣerutā (also spelled Nașirutha and meaning Nasoraean gnosis or divine wisdom) (Nasoraeanism or Nazorenism) with the adherents called nāṣorāyi ( Nasoraeans or Nazorenes). These Nasoraeans are divided into tarmidutā (priesthood) and mandāyutā (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 Nāṣerutā . Followers of Mandaeism are called Mandaeans, but can also be called Nasoraeans (Nazorenes), Gnostics (utilizing the Greek word gnosis for knowledge) or Sabians. The religion has primarily been practiced around the lower Karun , Euphrates and Tigris , and the rivers that surround the Shatt al-Arab waterway, part of southern Iraq and Khuzestan province in Iran. As of 2007 , there are believed to be between 60,000 and 70,000 Mandaeans worldwide. Until the Iraq War , 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 , an Orientalist ; as well as from Nicolas Siouffi , a Syrian Christian who was the French vice-consul in Mosul in 1887, and British cultural anthropologist Lady E. There is an early if highly prejudiced account by the French traveller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier from the 1650s. And sixty thousand Nasoraeans abandoned the Sign of the Seven and entered the Median Hills, a place where we were free from domination by all other races. The Worlds of Mandaean Priests . [Wilhelm] Brandt maintains that the oldest layer of Mandaean tradition is pre-Christian. He designates it "polytheistic material,'" which is nourished above all from "semitic nature religion" (to which he also accords baptismal and water rites) and "Chaldaean philosophy." Gnostic, Greek, Persian, and Jewish conceptions were added and assimilated to it. [...] A newer trend of Mandaean theology was first capable of bringing about a reformation by attaching itself to Persian models; this is the school of the so-called "teaching of the king of light" (Lichtkonigslehre), as Brandt has named it. [...] Both of the central principles of Mandeism, Light and Life, attached themselves to Iranian and Semitic conceptions. Dualism in ancient Iran, India and China . "Friar of Ignatius of Jesus (Carlo Leonelli) and the First "Scholarly" Book on Mandaeaism (1652)". ARAM Periodical . 16 (Mandaeans and Manichaeans): 25– 46. When they were first discovered by Europeans in the 17th century, and it was found that they were neither Catholics nor Protestants but that they made much of baptism and honoured John the Baptist, they were called Christians of St John, in the belief that they were a direct survival of the Baptist's disciples. Further research, however, made it quite clear that they were not Christians or Jews at all, in any ordinary sense of the word. They regard 'Jesus Messiah' as a false prophet, and 'the Holy Spirit' as a female demon, and they denounce the Jews and all their ways. The New York Times . Gnosis: A Selection of Gnostic texts . The Six Voyages of John Baptista Tavernier . There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).