Skip to content
TrackPodcasts
educationSep 29, 20251:00:30pending

The Sabians of Harran: A Lost Religion

About this episode

Who were the mysterious Sabians of Harran? This forgotten group of ancient star-worshippers left behind one of history’s most fascinating mysteries. We look at the contemporary sources to (try to) find out what these ancient peoples actually believed and practiced.


Find me and my music here:

https://linktr.ee/filipholm


Support Let's Talk Religion on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/letstalkreligion

Or through a one-time donation:

https://paypal.me/talkreligiondonate


Also check out the Let's Talk Religion Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0ih4sqtWv0wRIhS6HFgerb?si=95b07d83d0254b


Sources/Recommended Reading:


Dodge, Bayard (translated by) (1970). "The Fihrist of al-Nadim: A Tenth Century Survey of Muslim Culture". Columbia University Press.


Gunduz, Sinasi (1994). "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". Oxford University Press.


Hjärpe, Jan (1972). "Analyse critique des traditions arabes sur les Sabéens Harraniens". Doctoral thesis. University of Uppsala.


Moses Maimonides - "The Guide for the Perplexed - A New Translation". Translated with commentary by Lenn E. Goodman & Philip I. Lieberman.

Stanford University Press.


Tardieu, Michel (1986). "Sabiens coraniques et Sabiens' de Harran'. Journal Asiatique 274, 1-44.


Tardieu, Michel (1987). "Les calandriers en usage a Harran d'aprés les sources arabes et le commentaire de Simplicius a la physique d'Aristotle". In Ilsetraut Hadot, ed., "Simplicius: Sa vie, son aevre, sa survie. Acted du colloque international de Paris (28 Sept.-1 Oct. 1985)". Berlin, de Gruyter, 40-57).


Van Bladel, Kevin (2009). "The Arabic Hermes: From Pagan Sage to Prophet of Science". OUP USA.


Van Bladel, Kevin (2017). "From Sasanian Mandaeans to Sabians of the Marshes". Brill.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get every episode summarized

Each time Let's Talk Religion publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.

Email me new episodes

Free for 3 shows. No card needed.

Hosts & guests

No transcript yet

This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.

The Sabians of Harran: A Lost Religion

Let's Talk Religion

0:00
1:00:30

More episodes

More from Let's Talk Religion

View all episodes →