Mandaic , or more specifically Classical Mandaic , is the liturgical language of Mandaeism and a South Eastern Aramaic variety in use by the Mandaean community, traditionally based in southern parts of Iraq and southwest Iran , for their religious books. Mandaic, or Classical Mandaic, is still used by Mandaean priests in liturgical rites. The modern descendant of Mandaic or Classical Mandaic, known as Neo-Mandaic or Modern Mandaic , is spoken by a small group of Mandaeans around Ahvaz and Khorramshahr in the southern Iranian Khuzestan province .
33-529: A rishama ( rišama ; riš-ama ), rishamma , or rishema ( Classical Mandaic : ࡓࡉࡔࡀࡌࡀ , lit. ''head/leader of the people''; Modern Mandaic : rišammā ; Arabic : ريش امّة ; Persian : ریشا اد اما ) is a religious patriarch in Mandaeism . It is the highest rank out of all the Mandaean clergical ranks. The next ranks are the ganzibra and tarmida priests (see Mandaean priest ). In Iraq,
66-560: A royal stele, is in fact part of the " Cuthean Legend of Naram-Sin ", not to be read as history, a copy of which found in the cuneiform library at Sultantepe , north of Harran . According to the Tanakh , Cuthah was one of the five Syrian and Mesopotamian cities from which Sargon II , King of Assyria , brought settlers to take the places of the exiled Israelites ( 2 Kings 17:24–30 ). II Kings relates that these settlers were attacked by lions , and interpreting this to mean that their worship
99-528: A spirit of brotherhood." Kutha Kutha , Cuthah , Cuth or Cutha ( Arabic : كُوثَا , Sumerian: Gû.du 8 .a , Akkadian: Kûtu ), modern Tell Ibrahim (also Tell Habl Ibrahlm) ( Arabic : تَلّ إِبْرَاهِيم ), is an archaeological site in Babil Governorate , Iraq . The site of Tell Uqair (possibly ancient Urum ) is just to the north. The city was occupied from the Old Akkadian period until
132-616: Is located to the west, in the hollow of the crescent. The two mounds, as is typical in the region, are separated by the dry bed of an ancient canal, probably the Shatt en-Nil but possibly the Irninna, in any case leading from the Euphrates. The first archaeologist to examine the site, in 1845, Henry Rawlinson , noted a brick of king Nebuchadrezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian Empire mentioning
165-567: Is made to identify himself as “one of the Nabateans from Lutha” (see Yaqut , Mu'jamIV: 488, s.v. Kutha). It goes without saying that the story is apocryphal, but it shows that among the Shiites there were people ready to identify themselves with the Nabateans. Thus it comes as no surprise that especially in the so-called ghulàt movements (extremist Shiites) a lot of material surfaces that is derivable from Mesopotamian sources (cf. Hämeen-Anttila 2001), and
198-686: Is pronounced rišammā . Classical Mandaic language Liturgical use of Mandaic or Classical Mandaic is found in Iran (particularly the southern portions of the country), in Baghdad , Iraq and in the diaspora (particularly in the United States , Sweden , Australia and Germany ). It is an Eastern Aramaic language notable for its abundant use of vowel letters ( mater lectionis with aleph , he only in final position, ‘ayin , waw , yud ) in writing, so-called plene spelling ( Mandaic alphabet ) and
231-413: Is the name of a country near Corduene . Ibn Sa'd in his Kitab Tabaqat Al-Kubra writes that the maternal grandfather of Abraham, Karbana, was the one who discovered the river Kutha. In The Last Pagans of Iraq: Ibn Waḥshiyya and His Nabatean Agriculture , Jaakko Hämeen-Anttila says: "One might also mention the rather surprising story, traced back to ' Ali , the first Imam of the Shiites, where he
264-689: The Drower Collection , Bodleian Library (Oxford), the Bibliothèque Nationale (Paris), the British Library (London), and in the households of various Mandaeans as religious texts . More specific written objects and of linguistic importance on account of their early transmission (5th–7th centuries CE) are the earthenware incantation bowls and Mandaic lead rolls ( amulets ) (3rd–7th centuries CE), including silver and gold specimens that were often unearthed in archaeological excavations in
297-520: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights . Mandaic: ". ࡊࡅࡋ ࡀࡍࡀࡔࡀ ࡌࡀࡅࡃࡀࡋࡇ ࡀࡎࡐࡀࡎࡉࡅࡕࡀ ࡅࡁࡊࡅࡔࡈࡂࡉࡀࡕࡀ ࡊࡅࡉ ࡄࡃࡀࡃࡉࡀ. ࡄࡀࡁ ࡌࡅࡄࡀ ࡅࡕࡉࡓࡀࡕࡀ ࡏࡃࡋࡀ ࡏࡉࡕ ࡓࡄࡅࡌ ࡅࡆࡁࡓ ࡁࡄࡃࡀࡃࡉࡀ " Transliteration: "kul ānāʃā māudālẖ āspāsiutā ubkuʃᵵgiātā kui hdādiā. hāb muhā utirātā ʿdlā ʿit rhum uzbr bhdādiā." English original: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in
330-557: The gods of the Emeslam and Cutha, I provided abundantly for the offerings of the great gods, I increased the regular offerings beyond the old offerings." Several governors are known from the time the city was under the control of Achaemenid Empire ruler Cyrus the Great during 539–530 BC. They are Nergal-tabni-usur, Nergal-sar-usur, and Nabu-kesir. According to the Diadochi Chronicle in
363-604: The Aramaic dialects attested in Late Antiquity, probably Mandaic. Neo-Mandaic preserves a Semitic "suffix" conjugation (or perfect) that is lost in other dialects. The phonology of Neo-Mandaic is divergent from other Eastern Neo-Aramaic dialects. Three dialects of Neo-Mandaic were native to Shushtar , Shah Vali , and Dezful in northern Khuzestan Province , Iran before the 1880s. During that time, Mandeans moved to Ahvaz and Khorramshahr to escape persecution. Khorramshahr had
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#1732852610320396-477: The Emeslam temple at Kutha. In the fragmentary Epic of Adad-shuma-usur , a Kassite dynasty ruler (c. 1200 BC), BM 34104+, he states: "He made glad his face, his dwelling, the shrine of [... ] A full month, the name he spoke, his crescent [...] He builds up the city street(s) with fill, the beginning of the festival he [...] The king came out of Borsippa and hea[ded] toward Cuthah [...] He entered E[mesl]am, in/with
429-528: The Hellenistic period. The city-god of Kutha was Meslamtaea , related to Nergal , and his temple there was named E-Meslam. Kutha lies on the right bank of the eastern branch of the Upper Euphrates river, north of Nippur and around 25 miles northeast of the ancient cite of Babylon . The site consists of two settlement mounds. The larger main mound is 0.75 miles long and crescent-shaped. A smaller mound
462-479: The Old Babylonian period was Ilum-nāsir. Sumu-la-El , a king of the 1st Babylonian Dynasty , rebuilt the city walls of Kutha. The city was later defeated by Hammurabi of Babylon in the 39th year of his reign with his year name reading "Year in which Hammu-rabi the king with the great power given to him by An and Enlil smote the totality of Cutha and the land of Subartu". The 40th year name of Hammurabi mentions
495-609: The Ur III empire, Shulgi , built the E-Meslam temple of Nergal at Kutha. He is not yet deified so it was early in his reign. "Sulgi, the mighty, king of Ur and of the four quarters, builder of E-meslam ("House, Warrior of the Netherworld"), temple of the god [N]ergal, his lo[rd], in [Kuth]a." During his reign a large palace was built at Tummal . Building materials came from as far away as Babylon, Kutha, and Adab. A ruler of Kutha early in
528-546: The amount of Iranian and Akkadian language influence on its lexicon, especially in the area of religious and mystical terminology. Mandaic is influenced by Jewish Palestinian Aramaic , Samaritan Aramaic , Hebrew , Greek , Latin , in addition to Akkadian and Parthian . Classical Mandaic belongs to the Southeastern group of Aramaic and is closely related to the Jewish Babylonian Aramaic dialect in
561-425: The city of Kutha (Ku-tu), though it is not known with certainty that it was in situ. He returned to visit the site a number of times. The site was also visited by George Smith in 1873 and by Edgar James Banks . Tell Ibrahim was excavated by Hormuzd Rassam in 1881, for four weeks. Little was discovered, mainly some Hebrew and Aramaic inscribed bowls and a few tablets. He found a neglected "mausoleum of Abraham" on
594-478: The current rishama is Sattar Jabbar Hilo . In Australia, Rishamas are Brikha Nasoraia and Salah Choheili The Mandaic term rišama is derived from the words riš 'head' and ama 'people'. Although the term for the Mandaean daily minor ablution is also spelled the same in written Classical Mandaic ( rišama ), the word for 'minor ablution' is pronounced in Modern Mandaic as rešāmā , while 'head priest'
627-505: The early Shiite strongholds were to a great extent in the area inhabited by Nabateans. "Yaqut also notes, "the identification of Kutha as the original home Shiah Muslims believe to be the Abrahamic roots of Islam. Yet the identification of Kutha, and by extension also Abraham, with the Nabateans is remarkable." Al-Tabari says in The History of Prophets and Kings that the prophet Ibrahim
660-881: The foundations of his city from danger, (the citizens of his city requested from Astar in Eanna, Enlil in Nippur, Dagan in Tuttul, Ninhursag in Kes, Ea in Eridu, Sin in Ur, Samas in Sippar, (and) Nergal in Kutha, that (Naram-Sin) be (made) the god of their city, and they built within Agade a temple (dedicated) to him. ..." A foundation tablet (found in Nineveh) records that the second ruler of
693-343: The four quarters together revolted against him, through the love which the goddess Astar showed him, he was victorious in nine battles in one in 1 year, and the kings whom they (the rebels[?]) had raised (against him), he captured. In view of the fact that he protected
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#1732852610320726-526: The great gods." The records of Neo-Assyrian ruler Ashurbanipal state that in 651 BC Šamaš-šuma-ukin captured Cuthah. Šamaš-šuma-ukin was the son of the Neo-Assyrian king Esarhaddon and the elder brother of Esarhaddon's successor Ashurbanipal. An inscription of Neo-Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 BC), found in a columnar form and as a prism at Babylon, mentions Kutha. "I established every day 8 sheep as regular offerings for Nergal (and) Las,
759-586: The ground he constantly cov[ers...] ...Cuthah [...] '[...]your [help], O Nergal, [...]'" In a related, much damaged, text, BM 45684, Adad-shuma-usur states "at night-[tim]e I arrived, the wall of Cuthah ... I spoke greeting, to Emesl[am]". On the Neo-Assyrian Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III (859–824 BC), Kutha is mentioned on line 82 ie "I marched to the great cities (and) made sacrifices in Babylon, Borsippa, (and) Cuthah,(and) presented offerings to
792-672: The last being a ligature. Its origin and development is still under debate. Graphemes appearing on incantation bowls and metal amulet rolls differ slightly from the late manuscript signs. Lexicographers of the Mandaic language include Theodor Nöldeke , Mark Lidzbarski , Ethel S. Drower , Rudolf Macúch , and Matthew Morgenstern . Neo-Mandaic represents the latest stage of the phonological and morphological development of Mandaic. Having developed in isolation from one another, most Neo-Aramaic dialects are mutually unintelligible and should therefore be considered separate languages. Determining
825-591: The major portions of the Babylonian Talmud , but less to the various dialects of Aramaic appearing in the incantation texts on unglazed ceramic bowls ( incantation bowls ) found mostly in central and south Iraq as well as the Khuzestan province of Iran . It is considered a sister language to the northeastern Aramaic dialect of Suret . This southeastern Aramaic dialect is transmitted through religious, liturgical, and esoteric texts, most of them stored today in
858-561: The most Neo-Mandaic speakers until the Iran–Iraq War caused many people to leave Iran. Ahvaz is the only community with a sizeable portion of Neo-Mandaic speakers in Iran as of 1993. The following table compares a few words in Old Mandaic with three Neo-Mandaic dialects. The Iraq dialect, documented by E. S. Drower , is now extinct. The following is a sample text in Mandaic of Article 1 of
891-506: The palace (i.e. the garrison). In that month forty talents of silver of... [...] In the month of Ab, because [he did not accomplish the] capture of citadel of Babylon .[...], Seleucus took flight and did not dam up Euphrates... [... ]" The literary composition "Legend of the King of Cuthah", a fragmentary inscription of the Akkadian literary genre called narû , written as if it were transcribed from
924-519: The regions of their historical living sites between Wasiṭ and Baṣra , and frequently in central Iraq , for example ( Bismaya , Kish , Khouabir, Kutha , Uruk , Nippur ), north and south of the confluences of the Euphrates and Tigris (Abu Shudhr, al-Qurnah ), and the adjacent province of Khuzistan ( Hamadan ). Mandaic is written in the Mandaic alphabet . It consists of 23 graphemes, with
957-534: The relationship between Neo-Aramaic dialects is difficult because of poor knowledge of the dialects themselves and their history. Although no direct descendants of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic survive today, most of the Neo-Aramaic dialects spoken today belong to the Eastern sub-family of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic and Mandaic, among them Neo-Mandaic that can be described with any certainty as the direct descendant of one of
990-557: The seventh year 7th year of seleucid ruler Alexander IV of Macedon , 311/310 BC, general Antigonus I Monophthalmus battled general Seleucus I Nicator after the latter revolted along with the temple administrator of Kutha. "He said thus [to? Seleu]cus, "in the 7th year of Antigonus assigned/appointed [... ] to Seleucus the General". In the month o the administrator of the Emeslam temple [in Cuthah] rebelled [ Seleucus, [but... ] he did not capture
1023-479: The small mound and had it cleaned by his workers. Recording a few more bricks of Nebuchadrezzar II, he indicated the possibility that they were not originally from the site. While no cuneiform texts have been found at the site aside from the few excavated by Rassam and held in the British Museum (BM 42261, BM 42494, BM 42264, BM 42275, BM 42379, and BM 42295), noting that some of those may actually have come from
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1056-477: The unlocated Tell Egraineh which Rassam also excavated in 1881, some have appeared for sale over the years, almost all from the Achaemenid period with three being from the Old Akkadian period and one from the Old Babylonian period. In a contemporary inscription of Naram-Sin of Akkad (c. 2200 BC), after a number of cities rebelled he deified himself, mentioning Kutha. "Naram-Sin, the mighty, king of Agade, when
1089-598: Was not acceptable to the deity of the land, they asked Sargon to send an Israelite priest, exiled in Assyria, to teach them, which he did. The result was a mixture of religions and peoples, the latter being known as " Cuthim " in Hebrew and as " Samaritans " to the Greeks . Josephus places Cuthah, which for him is the name of a river and of a district, in Persia , and Neubauer says that it
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