Mandaeans

The Mandaeans are members of a minor Abrahamic religion that dates back at least to the turn of the seventh century BSE. Mandaeanism is a gnostic religion whose origins are contemporary with that of Christianity. The Mandaeans believe that John the Baptist was granted a true revelation by God, but that Jesus corrupted his teachings. The Mandaeans claim descent from Noah's son Aram.

According to their own sources, the Mandaeans fled Jerusalem after its destruction around 700 BSE and finally settled in southern Mesopotamia. After the collapse of Muslim rule in Yemen after the death of Muhammed in 90 BSE, the Yemenis adopted Mandaeanism. In the early centuries of the Standard Era Yemeni sailors and merchants spread Mandaeanism to East Africa and India.