Unlike other religious minorities such as Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians, Mandaeans have no protection from persecution whatsoever, similar to Baháʼís in Iran.

[32][33] In Muslim countries, Mandaeans are sometimes also called Sabians (Arabic: الصابئة al-Ṣābiʾa), a Quranic epithet historically claimed by several religious groups (see also below).

Early religious concepts and terminologies recur in the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Yardena (Jordan) has been the name of every baptismal water in Mandaeism.

[51] Phonetic, grammatical, and lexicographic elements traceable to Akkadian strongly suggest that the origins of Mandaic and its speakers, the Mandaeans, are deeply rooted in Mesopotamia.

Russell adds, "He [Rishama Sattar Jabbar Hilo] traced its history back to Babylon, though he said it might have some connection to the Jews of Jerusalem.

Their ancestors fled from the Jordan Valley about 2000 years ago and ultimately settled along the lower reaches of the Tigris, Euphrates and Karun Rivers in what is now Iraq and Iran.

[64]: 4  The situation changed by the ascension of Bahram I in 273, who under the influence of the zealous Zoroastrian high priest Kartir persecuted all non-Zoroastrian religions.

Consequently, the Muslim caliph provided them acknowledgement as People of the Book (ahl al-kitāb, adherents of religions recognized as guided by previous revelations).

[64]: 5  Yaqut al-Hamawi describes Tib as a town inhabited by 'Nabatean' (i.e. Aramaic speaking) 'Sabians' (see below) who consider themselves to be descendants of Seth.

[67] Early contact with Europeans came about in the mid-16th century, when Portuguese missionaries encountered Mandaeans in Southern Iraq and controversially designated them "Christians of St. John".

[64]: 6 Following the First World War, the Mandaeans were still largely living in rural areas in the lower parts of British protected Iraq and Iran.

In Iraq, Mandaeans were renowned goldsmiths and silversmiths, particularly in Baghdad, where they operated shops in Al-Nahr Street, Shorjah, Qishla, Rusafa, Al-Karimat, Al-Azramli, and Al-Fahhama on the Al-Karkh side.

The Mandaeans of Iran lived chiefly in Ahvaz, Iranian Khuzestan, but have moved as a result of the Iran–Iraq War to other cities such as Tehran, Karaj and Shiraz.

[71] The Mandaeans, who were traditionally considered as People of the Book (members of a protected religion under Islamic rule), lost this status after the Iranian Revolution.

[79] Since the invasion Mandaeans, like other Iraqi ethno-religious minorities (such as Assyrians, Armenians, Yazidi, Roma and Shabaks), have been subjected to violence, including murders, kidnappings, rapes, evictions, and forced conversions.

[14] Mandaeans in the past were renowned silver and gold smiths, blacksmiths and boatbuilders, even before the Abbasid Caliphate when they gained fame as intellectuals in the cultural and scientific fields.

Other than the main cities of Ahvaz and Khorramshahr, Mandaean communities also existed in towns such as Chogha Zanbil in Shush County, Shushtar, and Abadan,[64] as well as Mahshahr, Shadegan, Behbahan, and Susangerd (Khafajiyeh).

This law and other gozinesh provisions make access to employment, education, and a range of other areas conditional upon a rigorous ideological screening, the principal prerequisite for which is devotion to the tenets of Islam.

[116] The Sabian Mandaean Association of Australia has purchased land by the banks of the Nepean River at Wallacia, New South Wales in order to build a new mandi.

[117] Sweden became a popular destination because a Mandaean community existed there before the war and the Swedish government has a liberal asylum policy toward Iraqis.

In 2007, The New York Times ran an op-ed piece in which Swarthmore professor Nathaniel Deutsch called for the Bush administration to take immediate action to preserve the community.

[124] Mandaeans are a closed ethno-religious community, practicing Mandaeism, which is a monotheistic, Gnostic, and ethnic religion[64]: 4 [125][126] (Aramaic manda means "knowledge," and is conceptually related to the Greek term gnosis.

[126] In relation to the body–mind dualism coined by Descartes, Mandaeans consider the body, and all material, worldly things, to have come from the dark, while the soul (sometimes referred to as the mind) is a product of the lightworld.

It is believed that an innumerable number of uthras (angels or guardians),[64]: 8  manifested from the light, surround and perform acts of worship to praise and honor God.

[132] The Mandaeans believe these malevolent rulers created demonic offspring who consider themselves the owners of the seven planets and twelve zodiac constellations.

Sbahi, who is known more as a secretary of the Iraqi Communist Party, acknowledges that Mandaeism may have been affected by religions in Mesopotamia and the Dead Sea region.

[41]: 55 Scholars specializing in Mandaeism such as Kurt Rudolph, Mark Lidzbarski, Rudolf Macúch, Ethel S. Drower, Eric Segelberg, James F. McGrath, Charles G. Häberl, Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley, and Şinasi Gündüz argue for an Israelite origin.

"[156] Barbara Thiering questions the dating of the Dead Sea Scrolls and suggests that the Teacher of Righteousness (leader of the Essenes) was John the Baptist.

[165] The Haran Gawaita uses the name Nasoraeans for the Mandaeans arriving from Jerusalem meaning guardians or possessors of secret rites and knowledge.

[44] Scholars such as Kurt Rudolph, Rudolf Macúch, Mark Lidzbarski and Ethel S. Drower connect the Mandaeans with the Nasaraeans described by Epiphanius, a group within the Essenes according to Joseph Lightfoot.