Ram Zihrun () was a 19th-century

Mandaean priest A Mandaean priest or ''Tarmida'' () refers to an ordained religious leader in Mandaeism. Overview All priests must undergo lengthy ordination ceremonies, beginning with tarmida initiation. Mandaean religious leaders and copyists of religious text ...

. Although initially a learned layman (''yalufa''), he became known for reviving the Mandaean priesthood together with his cousin

Yahya Bihram Yahya Bihram (also spelled Yahia Bihram; ) was a 19th-century Mandaean priest. Although initially a learned layman (''yalufa''), he became known for reviving the Mandaean priesthood after a cholera epidemic had killed all living Mandaean priest ...

after a

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

epidemic had killed all living Mandaean priests in 1831. He is mentioned in the colophons of various

Mandaean manuscripts This article contains a list of Mandaic manuscripts, which are almost entirely Mandaean religious texts written in Classical Mandaic. Well-known Mandaean texts include the ''Ginza Rabba'' (also known as the ''Sidra Rabbā''), the ''Mandaean B ...

. Ram Zihrun was also informally known by Mandaeans as Sheikh Abdullah.

Early life

Ram Zihrun was born sometime during the 18th century as the son of the Mandaean priest Sam Bihram (), and belonged to the ‘Aziz and Kupašia ( Khaffagi) families.

Mandaean priesthood revival

Ram Zihrun and his younger cousin

were two ''

šganda In Mandaeism, a shganda (''šganda''; ), shkanda (), or ashganda (''ʔšganda'')Drower, E. S. 1960. ''The Secret Adam: A Study of Nasoraean Gnosis''. Oxford: Clarendon Press. is a ritual assistant who helps priests with ritual duties. In the Man ...

s'' (priest assistants) who were the surviving sons of deceased priests during the aftermath of the 1831 cholera epidemic. Together, the two of them went on to revive the Mandaean priesthood by initiating each other as ''

tarmida A tarmida (singular form in , plural form in ; ; ) is a junior Mandaean priest, priest in Mandaeism. Ganzibras, or head priests, rank above tarmidas.Drower, E. S. 1960. ''The Secret Adam: A Study of Nasoraean Gnosis''. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ...

'' (junior priests), and later as ''

ganzibra A ganzibra (singular form in , plural form in , literally 'treasurer' in Mandaic; ) is a high priest in Mandaeism. Tarmidas, or junior priests, rank below the ganzibras.Drower, E. S. 1960. ''The Secret Adam: A Study of Nasoraean Gnosis''. Oxfor ...

'' (high priests), in Suq eš-Šuyuk, Iraq. As a result, Mandaean manuscripts mention Yahya Bihram as the son of Ram Zihrun, since the priestly initiators of priests and scribes are typically listed as "fathers" in Mandaean spiritual genealogical lineages, rather than their biological fathers. At Suq eš-Šuyuk, they also initiated 13 other ''yalufa'' (learned Mandaeans) as priests. Afterwards, Ram Zihrun served as a ''

'' in the towns of

Shushtar Shushtar () is a city in the Central District of Shushtar County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Shushtar is an ancient fortress city, approximately from Ahvaz, the centre of the province ...

and

Dezful Dezful (; pronounced ) is a city in the Central District of Dezful County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. History Dezful is one of the oldest cities in the Khuzestan province. According to ...

Khuzestan Khuzestan province () is one of the 31 Provinces of Iran. Located in the southwest of the country, the province borders Iraq and the Persian Gulf, covering an area of . Its capital is the city of Ahvaz. Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's ...

. Ram Zihrun died sometime in the mid or late 1800s.

Family

Ram Zihrun's wife Bibia Mudalal, who was Yahya Bihram's sister, survived the 1831 cholera epidemic. Her father came from the Kamisia and Riš Draz families. She was a scribe who copied the Ginza Rabba and also a priest who was likely initiated before the 1831 cholera epidemic. Bibia Mudalal was also the grandmother of Sheikh Negm (or Sheikh Nejm), who copied many manuscripts for E. S. Drower. Sheikh Negm was born in Huwaiza, Iran in 1892, lived in

Khorramshahr Khorramshahr (; ) is a city in the Central District of Khorramshahr County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. It is also known in Arabic by the local ethnically Arab population as Al-Muhamma ...

during his early youth, and moved to

Qal'at Saleh The town of Qal'at Saleh () is the district centre of Qal'at Saleh District, Maysan Governorate, southern Iraq. It is located along the road that links Basra to Amarah, a mere 40 km away. Qalat Saleh’s nearest towns are the district centre ...

, Iraq in 1914. Ram Zihrun was also the grandfather of Sheikh Abdullah Khaffagi (or Abdullah Khaffaji) in

Ahvaz Ahvaz (; ) is a city in the Central District of Ahvaz County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is home to Persians, Arabs and other groups such as Qashqai and Kurds. Languages spok ...

Work as scribe

Ram Zihrun personally copied a few of the Mandaic manuscripts that are currently held in the

Drower Collection This article contains a list of Mandaic manuscripts, which are almost entirely Mandaean religious texts written in Classical Mandaic. Well-known Mandaean texts include the ''Ginza Rabba'' (also known as the ''Sidra Rabbā''), the ''Mandaean B ...

(abbreviated ''DC''), a collection of Mandaic manuscripts collected by E. S. Drower during the early 1900s. These include the DC 7 ('' Scroll of the Rivers''), 9 (''

Haran Gawaita The ''Haran Gawaita'' ( Mandaic: , meaning "Inner Harran" or "Inner Hauran"; Modern Mandaic: ''(Diwān) Harrān Gawāythā'') also known as the ''Scroll of Great Revelation'', is a Mandaean text which recounts the history of the Mandaeans as ...

''), and 22 (''

Ginza Rabba The Ginza Rabba (), Ginza Rba, or Sidra Rabba (), and formerly the Codex Nasaraeus, is the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism. The Ginza Rabba is composed of two parts: the Right Ginza (GR) and the Left Ginza (GL). T ...

'') manuscripts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zihrun, Ram Mandaean priests 18th-century births 19th-century deaths People from Dhi Qar Province Iraqi Mandaeans Iraqi scribes Mandaean scribes Khaffagi family Ginza Rabba People from Khuzestan province People of Qajar Iran 19th-century people from Ottoman Iraq Mandaic-speaking people Ganzibras

Early life

Mandaean priesthood revival

Family

Work as scribe

See also

References