The Great Stem of Souls: Reconstructing Mandaean History

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Mandaean priests, representatives of a religious heritage that can be traced back to Late Antique Mesopotamia, still copy their ancient literature by hand. The Great Stem of Souls is a study of the colophons -postscripts at the end of each text - that are appended to most Mandaean documents. A study of the contents of the colophons provides a framework for reconstructing Mandaean history.