History

The Nasoraean Mandaeans, who were followers of John the Baptist, moved from Palstine to Median in the first century CE, according to the Mandaean book the Haran Gawaita. Their persecution in Jerusalem was cited as the justification for this. Before settling in the southern Mesopotamian regions of the Marshlands (modern-day Iraq), the emigrants first traveled to Haran (perhaps Harran in modern-day Turkey), or Hauran, and then the Median hills in Iran.

Origin

According to a notion first put forth by Ignatius of Jesus in the 17th century, the Mandaeans began in the Palestine region and later migrated east to the Mesopotamian marshlands. The origin is heavily researched to determine where the Mandaean come from and the place they initially originated. Notwithstanding the possible notable exception of Edwin M. Yamauchi and many other scholars from other subjects, the majority of New Testament scholars rejected the Palestinian origin concept by the time of World War II. Other historians, like Kurt Rudolph, believe that the exodus from Palestine to southern Iraq took place around the third century CE rather than the first century CE as claimed by Rudolf Macch in the 1960s.

A Mandaean priest and scholar named Prof. Brikha Nasoraia accepts the two-origin theory, according to which the modern Mandaeans are descended from both a line of Mandaeans who were native to southern Mesopotamia and another group of Mandaeans (or Gnostics) who were native to the Jordan valley of Palestine. Thus, the modern Mandaeans are a result of the historical fusion of the two tribes.

Beliefs

Mandaeism, as the religion of the Mandaean people, is based on a set of religious beliefs and doctrines. The amount of Mandaean literature is quite large, and covers topics such as eschatology, the knowledge of God, and the afterlife.

What is Mandaeism (Classical Mandaic: mandaiia; Arabic: المندائيّة al-Mandāʾiyya), sometimes also known as Nasoraeanism or Sabianism, is a Gnostic, monotheistic and ethnic religion. Its believers, 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.

Majority of 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.