The Mandaean Rivers Scroll

(Diwan Nahrawata)

This book features detailed analysis of an ancient secret scroll from the Middle
East known as the Rivers Scroll, or Diwan Nahrawata, providing valuable insight
into the Gnostic Mandaean religion. This important scroll offers a window of
understanding into the Mandaean tradition, with its intricate worldview, ritual life,
mysticism and esoteric qualities, as well as intriguing art. The text of the Rivers
Scroll and its artistic symbolism have never before been properly analyzed and
interpreted, and the significance of the document has been lost in scholarship. This
study includes key segments translated into English for the first time and gives
the scroll the worthy place it deserves in the history of the Mandaean tradition. It
will be of interest to scholars of Gnosticism, religious studies, archaeology and
Semitic languages.

Brikha H. S. Nasoraia is Professor of Comparative Semitics, Literature and

Studies in Religion. He holds professorial positions in Artuklu University, Turkey,
and at the University of Sydney, Australia. He is an archaeologist (with more
than 17 years of fieldwork experience) and a philosopher of religion, mind, art
and language. He is also the President of the International Mandaean Naṣoraean
Supreme Council and Naṣoraean Mandaean Association.
Gnostica
Series Editors
Garry Trompf
University of Sydney, Australia
Jason BeDuhn
Northern Arizona University, USA
Jay Johnston
University of Sydney, Australia

Editorial Board
Iain Gardner (Sydney), Wouter Hanegraaff (Amsterdam),
Jean-Pierre Mahé (Paris), Milad Milani (Western Sydney),
Raoul Mortley (Bond) and Brikha Nasoraia (Artuklu, Mardin)

Gnostica publishes the latest scholarship on esoteric movements, including the

Gnostic, Hermetic, Manichaean, Theosophical and related traditions. Contributions
also include critical editions of texts, historical case studies, critical analyses, cross-
cultural comparisons and state-of-the-art surveys.

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Ritual Embodiment in Modern Western Magic

Becoming The Magician
Damon Zacharias Lycourinos

The Words of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas

The Genesis of a Wisdom Tradition
David W. Kim

The Valentinian Temple

Visions, Revelations, and the Nag Hammadi Apocalypse of Paul
Matthew Twigg

The Mandaean Rivers Scroll (Diwan Nahrawata)

An Analysis
Brikha H. S. Nasoraia

For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/religion/

series/GNOSTICA
The Mandaean Rivers Scroll
(Diwan Nahrawata)
An Analysis

Brikha H. S. Nasoraia
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2023 Brikha H. S. Nasoraia
The right of Brikha H. S. Nasoraia to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
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Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
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ISBN: 978-0-367-33544-1 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-032-30914-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-33545-8 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9780367335458

Typeset in Times New Roman

by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Figure 0.1 For Nadia and Ania, Two Wonderful Women
Source: Author’s Photographs

For my brother Professor Brikha H. S. Nasoraia

at Hasenkeyf, 20 Nov 2012
Tigris
Tigris! Torrent of four thousand years,
Millions, men of war sucking at your strength,
Living in holes at your side,
Agape as you broke bridges, sent ferrymen adrift!
How many armies sought to cross you here,
How muezzins lived and died, call’d to prayer;
Yet you seemed aloof to all their striving,
Your ripples looked indifferent to their stares,
Their drinking, marching, gravities.
But you are quivering today because my guardian angel is here,
Whose stolen hours were once spent whole on your banks,
Your lilting upon the evening air gives thanks;
And settling the sun quietly in your silver depths
You reassure gently that wisdom lasts;
While struggles fill countless books, behold,
You are the Rivers Scroll.
Teach me and roll on
Before they damn you,
Denying yet another source;
For I myself have nearly run my course
Garry Trompf
The Three Wishes

From light’s place, I left,    from you, everlasting abode!

From the place I left,    I was joined by an excellency from Life.
The excellency who joined me from Life’s house    held a staff of living water in his hand.
The staff he held in his hand    was entirely leafy from end to end.
He gave me some of its leaves,    my sick heart found recovery.
Once again, he gave me some of it,    and the books became full.
For the third time, he gave me some of it,    and he fixed my eyes in my head.
Within my head, he fixed my eyes,    and I saw my father and knew him.
I saw my father, I saw him,    and I gave him three requests.
I asked him for a great heart,    which can be carried by the big and the little.
I asked him for calmness,    in which there is no rebellion.
I asked him for a level path,    to rise to light’s place in peace.
The triumphant Life speaks,    and the man who went here triumphs!
Draša d-Yahia (the Book of John = JB) Sect. no. 46
C.G. Häberl, and J. McGrath (ed. And trans.),
The Mandaean Book of John: Critical Edition, Translation,
and Commentary, Berlin, 2019, pp. 215–216
Contents

Transliteration, Transcription and Signs Tableviii

List of Figuresx
List of Appendixxi
Prefacexii
Acknowledgementsxiv
List of Abbreviationsxvi

Introducing the Rivers Scroll 1

1 The Mandaeans: Their Writings and Art 8

2 Prolegomena to the Study of the Rivers Scroll 24

3 Negotiating the Text and Illustrations of DN88

4 The Special Characteristics of DN in Perspective 107

5 Conclusion 132

Bibliography141
Appendix: The Scroll163
Index175
Transliteration, Transcription
and Signs Table

Mandaic Letter Transliteration Transcription

a a, ā, Ā
b b or w (limited cases as: v or/and f )

g g or gh (= Ar. ‫)غ‬

d D or dh (= Ar. ‫)ذ‬

h h (= Ar. ‫ه‬, limited cases as: Ar. ‫)ح‬

u, w u, w, o (u-, eu-, wǝ-, we)

z z

H i (3sg.)

ṭ ṭ (= Ar. ‫)ط‬

i or Y i, e, y, ǝ

k or kh k or kh (= Ar. ‫)خ‬

l l

m m

n n

s s

’ e, I (e.g., ’Ngirta, transc. as: Engerthā; Gabr’il, transc.

as: Gabriel)
[But it will be omitted from the transcription if the
letter U comes after it, as in ’ Utra, transc. as: Othrā]
 Transliteration and Transcription Table ix

Mandaic Letter Transliteration Transcription

p p or f

ṣ ṣ (= Ar. ‫)ص‬

q q

r r

š or sh š or sh (= Ar. ‫)ش‬

t t or th (= Ar. ‫)ث‬

d- d-, d, ed-, ǝd-, da, de, di (= Ar. ‫دي‬, ‫َد‬, ‫إد‬, ‫)د‬

a a, ā, Ā

@ or * (sign in the Mandaic texts for full-stop or new paragraph or

section or prayer or missing text).
S—A (sign in the Mandaic texts for end of prayer or paragraph or
section).
*It should be noted that our transcription system will cover the ‘soft’ articulation or pronunciation of
the six Mandaic consonant ‘Beghadh-Kephath’ letters (b, g, d, k, p, t), as shown in the above table.
This is to assist in preserving the precise and correct forms of both ancient and modern pronunciation
of these letters, which is very confusing for many scholars and Mandaeans.
*The ‘transliteration and transcription’ of the Mandaic words are based on my ongoing project:
‘The Ancient and Modern Mandaic Language: Transliteration, Pronunciation, Transcription,
Translation, Definition, Meaning, Antonyms, Synonyms, Examples (English-Arabic-Mandaic).’ They
are largely drawn from my recent book: The Mandaean Gnostic Religion: Worship Practice and Deep
Thought (Studies of World Religions 3) (Delhi, 2021).
*Most of the ‘transliteration’ of the Mandaic words will be in bold type [esp. in first use], while the
‘transcription’ generally would be italicized [esp. in first use]. However, the direct quotations usually
should retain their original usage.
Figures

0.1 For Nadia and Ania, Two Wonderful Women v

2.1 Map of Ancient Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent 25
2.2 From left to right: Two Sacred Illustrated Images of Hibil-Ziwa
and an Image of the Relief of Yarhibol 35
2.3 Ancient Babylonian ‘World Map’ on a Clay Tablet, 6th Century BCE 37
2.4 Two Sacred Illustrations Showing the Cosmic Wellspring (Aina)
of Yardna Associated with the Cosmic Tree(s) (e.g., Sindirka,
in the First Figure) 57
2.5 Sacred Illustrated Image of Mara d-Rabuta (Lord of Greatness) 63
2.6 The Journey of the Soul and Cosmic Ships. From left to
right: Two Illustrated Images of the Ship of Light and the
Ship of Šamaš with Cosmic Beings; Early Twentieth Century
Contemporary Illustration of: (A) Šamaš and His Ship, with
Crew of Ten ’Utras (B) Light Symbols of the Drabša (Banner
of Enlightenment), Including Aina (the Eye/Source of Light,
Wheels of Light), the Letters ‘A’ and ‘Š’ (C) Drabša64
2.7 From left to right: Two Important Sacred Illustrated Images of
the Cosmos and (Pre-existence) Creations 66
3.1 Ten Images of Sacred Waters, Rivers, Wellsprings, Drabšas
(Banners) and Mandaean Baptism. From left to right: Images
of Aina and Yardna; Images of Drabša, Yardna and Ainas
(Wellsprings); Image of Abatur Sitting on His Throne,
Surrounded by Yardna of the Living Water (from DA); Three
Images of Radiant Euphrates (Parallel with Yardna) Flowing
Into the Earthly Rivers, Channels, Wellsprings, Mountains,
Nations and Cities (Including Jerusalem and the Jewish
Temple); A Modern Design of Drabša and Aina With Yardna,
Ginza Rba and a Dove, Used in a Logo; Two Pictures of a
Real Drabša, One Planted by the Baptismal Pool (Aina) and
One Close to the River (Yardna); Oil Painting of Drabša with
Ginza Rba and Nasoraia 94
3.2 Four Sacred Images of Aina, Sindirka and Drabša95
Appendix

Table I 163
Table II 164
Table III 165
Table IV 166
Table V 167
Table VI 168
Table VII 169
Table VIII 170
Table IX 171
Table X 172
Table XI 173
Table XII 174
Preface

This study provides a critical and detailed analysis of the text of the secret
Mandaean-Naṣoraean illustrated scroll, Diwān Nahrawāthā: Diwan Nahrawata
(The Rivers Scroll). The scroll is one of the most important Mandaean-
Naṣoraean secret scrolls of the Middle East; until fairly recently, it has remained
hidden in the possession of Naṣoraeans and high priests, the custodians of deep
wisdom among the Mandaeans. The scroll retains important esoteric, mystical
and Gnostic themes that shed new light on the nature of Mandaean cosmogeny,
mysticism and worldview. The precise interpretation of these secret themes has
remained undeveloped in the previous translation by the German professor Kurt
Rudolph, and so up to this point we have lacked a critical study of the scroll’s
contents and its meanings. The main aim of this study is to investigate afresh
and shed renewed light upon neglected aspects of the scroll. Moreover, this
work will offer the first published critical evaluation and analysis of esoteric
and mystical Mandaean-Naṣoraean art. Central to the findings of this research
are several unprecedented insights about the Gnostic Mandaean religion and its
vital interconnection with other religious traditions, especially those of Sumer,
Babylonia, the Jews and the Christians, but also Buddhism, Hinduism and
Sufism.
What is distinctive about the scroll Diwān Nahrawāthā (DN ) is a grandly depicted
‘rivers system,’ which is interpreted in this present work to be as a macrocosmic
‘mapping’ of the process of creation, revealing a functional relationship between the
higher realms and forces and the terrestrial and microcosmic spheres. Taking this
approach allows for an effective analysis of DN as an unexpectedly many-faceted
text. It enables a better understanding of several Mandaean esoteric formulations
that explain the role of powerful angelic and spiritual forces, particularly Mārā
ed-Rabuthā (Mara d-Rabuta, Lord of Greatness) and Hibel Ziwā (Hibil Ziwa,
Mandaeism’s Gabriel figure), and helps readers to appreciate Mandaean art
more adequately within the context of the Middle East, especially the Fertile
Crescent and the Gulf. Because DN requires a stage-by-stage introduction to its
complexities, this volume provides an introductory assessment before continuing
detailed manuscriptal research in the future, in order to finish a very much needed
fine-tuned English translation and critical commentary for both the text and its
 Preface xiii
art. A full translation and critical edition are very large tasks, and to achieve a
definitive production remains an ongoing project (with Macquarie University) at
this time—this will be the goal of a different and bigger book. Besides, I feel more
comfortable and more responsible to my community if I release esoteric insights
slowly but steadily.
Brikha H. S. Nasoraia
Acknowledgements

First, I would like to express my deep indebtedness to the Senior Editor for
Gnostica, Emeritus Professor Garry W. Trompf, for including this volume in
the Series and for helping to prepare it for publication. The following work was
initially presented as my fourth doctoral dissertation, which he also helped to
supervise, though it was completed for the Department of Ancient History at
Macquarie University, under the kind direction of Dr Gunner Mikkelsen.
I thank the Mandaean Spiritual Council and the International Mandaean
Naṣoraean Supreme Council for permitting the use of images used in this book.
I also give my appreciation to Yahya Sam, who kindly sent me a scanned copy
and permitted the use of Manuscript C of the text Diwan Nahrawata (DN,
Ms C) that was much clearer than the one I possessed. My thanks also go to the
Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford (Bodleian Digital Library Systems and
Services/Oriental Photographic Services) for permitting the use of Mandaean
images. We consulted images of various copies of Mandaic scrolls, including
Diwan Nahrawata (DN, Ms C = Ms A [DC 7], Ms B [Baghdad]), many of which
were previously reproduced by K. Rudolph, in Der mandäische ‘Diwan der
Flüsse’ (Abhandlungen der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaft zu Leipzig
70, 1), Berlin, Akademie Verlag, 1982 (containing the Facsimiles of two DN
Scrolls); and (partly) in Mandaeism (Iconography of Religions, Section 21),
Leiden, 1978.
For help and encouragement in the later stages of this production, I especially
thank my very dear friend Dr Milad Milani, Western Sydney University, and
also Professor Ali Faraj, Università di Milano-Bicocca and Assistant Professor
Abdulhalim Abdullah, Artuklu University. My thanks also to Ehab Salem and
Zyad Shneshel for their effort in improving the quality of some images.
I am so thankful for the support of my wife Nadia and our children (Youshaman,
Abathur-Kushta and Mana-Anana)—my immediate family—and my extended
family for their continual encouragement throughout this academic journey.
I acknowledge the kind attentions of the International Mandaean Naṣoraean
Supreme Council and the Naṣoraean Mandaean Association, and the support from
the three universities involved in my research—the Mardin Artuklu University,
Turkey, and Macquarie and Sydney Universities in Australia.
 Acknowledgements xv
I wish to dedicate this volume to the beautiful and kind soul, Ania Szafjanska,
companion to my best brother and friend Professor Garry Trompf, and to my
dearest Nadia, sweet mother to my enlightened children, the ‘Sons of Light’ and
Life, who are working very hard to promote the love, purity, harmony and peace
borne to the world by Hayyi Rebbi (Hiia Rbia, The Great Living One).
Brikha H.S. Nasoraia
Sydney, 2017
Abbreviations

AF F. Rosenthal, Die Aramäistische Forschung seit Th. Nöldeke’s

Veröffentlichungen, Leiden, 1939.
AM Aspar Malwašia, trans. E.S. Drower as The Book of the Zodiac
(Oriental Translation Fund 36), London, 1949.
ANET J.B. Pritchard (ed.), Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the
Old Testament, Princeton, N.J., 1969.
AOSTS American Oriental Society Translation Series.
ARR Alma Rišaia Rba, trans. E.S. Drower as A Pair of Naṣoraean
Commentaries (Two Priestly Documents). The Great ‘First
World’ and the Lesser ‘First World,’ Leiden, 1963.
ARZ Alma Rišaia Zuta, trans. E.S. Drower as A Pair of Naṣoraean
Commentaries (Two Priestly Documents). The Great ‘First
World’ and the Lesser ‘First World,’ Leiden, 1963.
Asuta B.H.S. Nasoraia and E.F. Crangle, ‘The Asuta Wish Adam Kasia
and the Dynamics of Healing in Mandaean Contemplative
Praxis,’ ARAM Periodical 22 (2010): 349–390.
ATŠ Alf Trisar Šuialia, trans. E.S. Drower as The Thousand and
Twelve Questions (Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften
zu Berlin, Institut für Orientforschung, Veröffentlichung 32),
Berlin, 1960.
BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research.
CCPM J.J. Buckley, ‘The Colophons in the Canonical Prayerbook of the
Mandaeans,’ JNES 51 (1992): 33–49.
CMPB B.H.S. Nasoraia (= Saed), ‘Christian and Mandaean Perspectives
on Baptism,’ VIII Symposium Syriacum, The University of
Sydney, 2000, The Journal of Eastern Christian Studies (eds. R.
Ebied and H. Teule), 56, 1–4 (2004): 319–347.
CP Qulastā: Qulasta (The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans).
Also for The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans (trans. E.S.
Drower), Leiden, 1959. [The Qulastā is also edited in two vols.
No. 1: M. Al-Mubaraki, B. Nasoraia (as Saeed, Rbai H.), and B.
Mubaraki (eds.), Qulasta—The Mandaean Liturgical Prayer Book:
Book 1, Sidra d-Nišmata (Book of Souls), Sydney, 1998. No. 2:
 Abbreviations xvii
M. Al-Mubaraki, B. Nasoraia (as Saeed, Rbai H.), and B. Mubaraki
(eds.), Qulasta—The Mandaean Liturgical Prayer Book: Book
2,’Niania (The Responses) & Qabin (Marriage), Sydney, 1999].
CSD R. Payne Smith, A Compendious Syriac Dictionary (ed. J. Payne-
Smith [Mrs. Margoliouth]), Oxford, 1957.
DA Diwan Abatur, trans. E.S. Drower as Diwan Abatur or Progress
Through the Purgatories Text with Translation, Notes and
Appendices (Studi e Testi 151), Vatican City, 1950.
DC Drower Collection, the Bodleian Library, Oxford.
DM’L Diwan Malkuta’Laita, trans. J.J. Buckley, The Scroll of Exalted
Kingship: Diwan Malkuta’Laita II (American Oriental Society
Translation Series 3), New Haven, 1993.
MHZ Diwan Maṣbuta d-Hibil Ziwa, trans. E.S. Drower, The Haran
Gawaita and the Baptism of Hibil-Ziwa (Studi e Testi 176),
Vatican City, 1953.
MT Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible.
DN Diwān Nahrawāthā: Diwan Nahrawata, trans. K. Rudolph, Der
mandäische ‘Diwan der Flüsse’ (Abhandlungen der Sächsischen
Akademie der Wissenschaft zu Leipzig 70, 1), Berlin, Akademie
Verlag, 1982 (the abbreviation for this translation will be:
Rudolph, DF, see what follows).
DQRDK Diwan Qadaha Rba d-Dmuth Kušṭa, trans. B.H.S. Nasoraia, as
‘A Critical Edition, with Translation and Analytical Study of
Diuan Qadaha Rba d-Dmuth Kušṭa (The Scroll of Great Creation
of the Image/Likeness of Truth)’ (Doctoral dissert., University of
Sydney), Sydney, 2005.
DRA Diwan Razia d-Abahata (unpublished, work in progress by this
author).
DTP Diwan Tapsir Pagra trans. E.S. Drower as The Thousand and
Twelve Questions (Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften
zu Berlin, Institut für Orientforschung, Veröffentlichung 32),
Berlin, 1960.
DZRK Diwan Zahrun Raza Kasia, (= DC 27).
EMC B.H.S. Nasoraia, ‘The Esoteric and Mystical Concepts of the
Mandaean Naṣoraean Illustrated Scroll: Diwan Qadaha Rba
d-Dmuth Kušṭa (the Scroll of the Great Creation of the Image/
Likeness of the Truth)’ (Doctoral dissert., University of Sydney),
Sydney, 2010.
ER Encyclopaedia of Religion, ed. M. Eliade.
ERE Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, ed. J. Hastings.
Ginza M. Lidzbarski, Ginzá. Der Schatz oder das grosse Buch der
Mandäer, übersetzt und erklärt, Göttingen, 1925.
Gnosis W. Foerster, Gnosis: A Selection of Gnostic Texts (trans. and
ed. by R. McL. Wilson) vol. 2: Coptic and Mandaean Sources,
Oxford, 1974.
xviii Abbreviations
GR Ginzā/Genzā Rabbā: Ginza Rba (edited in H. Petermann,
Thesaurus sive liber magnus vulgo ‘Liber Adami’ appellatus opus
Mandaeorum summi ponderis, tom. 1, 2, Leipzig, 1867. The GR
is divided into Ginzā Yaminā: Ginza Yamina ‘Right Ginza’ and
Ginzā ǝ-Smālā: Ginza Smala ‘Left Ginza’ (hereafter GY and GS,
respectively; see what follows). trans. M. Lidzbarski, Ginzá. Der
Schatz oder das grosse Buch der Mandäer, übersetzt und erklärt,
Göttingen, 1925. [Also edited and printed (in a computing font,
for the first time) in M. Al-Mubaraki, B. Nasoraia (as Saeed,
Rbai H.), and B. Mubaraki, Ginza Rabba—The Great Treasure,
Sydney, 1998].
[Also note that GR was first published by M. Norberg (in
Syriac) as Codex Nazaraeus, Liber Adami appellatus, London,
1815–1816, in 3 vols.].
GS Ginzā ǝ-Smālā: Ginza Smala ‘Left Ginza’ (edited in H.
Petermann, Thesaurus sive liber magnus vulgo ‘Liber Adami’
appellatus opus Mandaeorum summi ponderis, vol. 1, 2,
Leipzig, 1867), trans. M. Lidzbarski, Ginzá. Der Schatz oder
das grosse Buch der Mandäer, übersetzt und erklärt, Göttingen,
1925, pp. 423–596.
GSS J.J. Buckley, The Great Stem of Souls: Reconstructing Mandaean
History, NJ, 2005 (corrected second printing, 2006).
GY Ginzā Yaminā: Ginza Yamina ‘Right Ginza,’ (edited in H.
Petermann, Thesaurus sive liber magnus vulgo ‘Liber Adami’
appellatus opus Mandaeorum summi ponderis, tom. 1, 2,
Leipzig, 1867), trans. M. Lidzbarski, Ginzá. Der Schatz oder
das grosse Buch der Mandäer, übersetzt und erklärt, Göttingen,
1925, pp. 5–419.
HCMM R. Macuch, Handbook of Classical and Modern Mandaic,
Berlin, 1965.
HG Diwan Haran Gawaita, trans. E.S. Drower, The Haran Gawaita
and the Baptism of Hibil-Ziwa (Studi e Testi, 176), Vatican City,
1953.
HJ The Hibbert Journal.
HR History of Religions.
HTS Harvard Theological Studies.
HUCA Hebrew Union College Annual.
INEAS Institute of Near Eastern and African Studies.
IOS Israel Oriental Studies.
JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society.
JB Draša d-Yahia, trans. M. Lidzbarski, Das Johannesbuch der
Mandäer, Giessen, 1915.
JMS Journal of Mandaean Studies.
JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies.
JNT Journal for the New Testament.
 Abbreviations xix
JRAS Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.
JRH Journal of Religious History.
JSS Journal of Semitic Studies.
JThS Journal of Theological Studies.
KL Ş. Gündüz, The Knowledge of Life: The Origins and Early
History of the Mandaeans and Their Relation to the Sabians of
the Qur’an and to the Harranians (Journal of Semitic Studies
Supplement 3), Oxford, 1994.
Living Water M. Franzmann, ‘Living Water: Mediating Element in Mandaean
Myth and Ritual,’ Numen 36 (1989): 156–172.
LQR London Quarterly Review.
M J.J. Buckley, The Mandaeans: Ancient Texts and Modern People,
Oxford, 2002.
Macrohistory B.H.S. Nasoraia and G.W. Trompf, ‘Mandaean Macrohistory,’
ARAM Periodical 22 (2010): 391–425.
MA G.W. Trompf, ‘Macrohistory and Acculturation: Between Myth
and History in Modern Melanesian Adjustments and Ancient
Gnosticism,’ Comparative Studies in Society and History 31, 4
(1989): 375–403.
MB E. Segelberg, Maṣbūtā: Studies in the Ritual of the Mandaean
Baptism, Uppsala, 1958.
MD E. S. Drower and R. Macuch, A Mandaic Dictionary, Oxford,
1963.
MG T. Nöldeke, Mandäische Grammatik, Halle, 1875 (repr. 1975).
MII E.S. Drower, The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran: Their Cults,
Customs, Magic, Legends and Folklore, Oxford, 1937.
[also in Ar. as: Al-Sabi’a al-Mandā ‘iyyūn, trans. N. Badawi
and G. Rumi, Baghdad, 1969].
ML Parts of the Qulastā: Qulasta (The Canonical Prayerbook of
the Mandaeans), trans. M. Lidzbarski, Mandäische Liturgien,
mitgeteilt, übersetzt und erklärt, Berlin, 1920.
MLG E.F. Lupieri, The Mandaeans: The Last Gnostics (trans. Charles
Hindley), Grand Rapids, Mich., 2002 (Italian original, 1993).
MR W. Brandt, Die mandäische Religion, Leipzig, 1889.
Naṣiruta B.H.S. Nasoraia (as Saed, Nasoraia H.), ‘Naṣiruta: Deep
Knowledge and Extraordinary Priestcraft Mandaean Religion.’
In: Esotericism and the Control of Knowledge (ed. E.F. Crangle)
(Sydney Studies in Religion 5), Sydney, 2004, pp. 306–360.
NHC The Nag Hammadi Codices.
OMTS R. Macuch, ‘The Origins of the Mandaeans and Their Script,’
JSS 16 (1971): 174–192.
PNC A Pair of Naṣoraean Commentaries (Two Priestly documents).
The Great ‘First World’ and the Lesser ‘First World’ (trans. E.S.
Drower), Leiden, 1963.
PRGS Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society.
xx Abbreviations
Qolasta J. Euting, Qolasta: oder Gesänge und Lehren von der Taufe und
dem Ausgang der Seele, Stuttgart, 1867.
RA Revue Asiatique.
Reflecting G.W. Trompf and B.H.S. Nasoraia, ‘Reflecting on the Rivers
Scroll,’ ARAM Periodical 22 (2010): 61–86.
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