The Knowledge of Life: The Origins and Early History of the Mandaeans and Their Relations to the Sabians of the Qur'an and to the Harranians

Description

This third volume in the new series of supplements to the Journal of Semitic Studies is a survey of the historical and religious problems involved in the interconnection between the Sabians of the Qur'an, the Mandeans of southern Iraq, and the "Sabians" of Harran in northern Mesopotamia. It offers an important examination of traditional assertions by some that the Mandaeans and by others that the Harranians should be recognized as the "Sabians" of the Qur'an, the people granted protected status in Islamic law. Contents Page Preface v Abbrevations vi Chapter I: INTRODUCTION 1 l .The Mandaean/Sabian community in Iraq, its cult and rites 1 2 . History of research and the problem of origins 3 Chapter II: THE SABI ANS ACCORDING TO ISLAMIC SOURCES 15 1. The problem of the Sabians in the Islamic sources 16 2. The Sabians in the Qur’an 17 3. The Sabians according to early Muslim scholars before 832-33 A.D. (the date of death of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma’mun) 22 4. The Sabians according to later Muslim scholars after the caliph al-Ma’mun 29 5. Conclusion 51 Chapter III: THE MANDAEAN SOURCES 55 1. Date of the Mandaean writings 55 2. The origin and history of the Mandaeans according to their own tradition 62 Chapter IV: VARIOUS FOREIGN ELEMENTS IN MANDAEISM AND THE WESTERN CONNECTIONS OF THE MANDAEANS 74 1. Ancient Mesopotamian and Iranian elements 74 2. Western elements 83 3. Some characteristics of the Mandaean tradition which reflect the western connection of the Mandaeans 109 Chapter V: EASTERN SOURCES FOR THE MANDAEANS AND THE PROBLEM OF THEIR EARLY APPEARANCE IN MESOPOTAMIA 120 1. Iranian evidence 120 2. Manichaean evidence 1 22 3. Medieval Syriac and Arabic sources 124 Chapter VI: CULTS AND BELIEFS OF THE H ARRANIANS 125 1. The history of Harran from the second millennium B.C. to its destruction by the Mongols 126 2. The religion of the Harranians 134 Chapter VII: A COMPARISON OF MANDAEISM WITH HARRANIAN RELIGION 192 1. Some characteristic features of Harranian religion which do not appear in that of the Mandaeans 192 2. Some characteristics of Mandeism which do notappear in Hairanian religion 214 3. Elements which are treated differently in Harranian and Mandaean religion 221 Chapter VIII: CONCLUSION 233 Selected Bibliography 237 Index 251