We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
The Ssabians were a Middle Eastern community (or possibly two separate communities) mentioned in the Qur'an and early Islamic writings, and categorised variously as 'people of the book' or 'heathens'. They are documented almost exclusively in Arabic sources, and this rare 1856 book, published in German in St Petersburg, remains an invaluable reference work about them, and includes substantial extracts from the early sources. The book aroused the interest of the theosophists in the 1890s owing to its portrayal of a mysterious and secretive Syriac- or Aramaic-speaking pagan sect, accomplished in astronomy and medicine, that functioned as an intellectual intermediary between the Greek and Arabic worlds. Volume 2 introduces the main sources and presents selections from forty-five texts, with variant readings, German translations and detailed notes. They include a wide variety of genres, ranging from religion, philosophy, literature and autobiography to historical, geographical, legal and lexicographic works.
Loading metrics...
* Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.
Usage data cannot currently be displayed.