Author: Chwolsohn, D[aniel A.] [also: Chwolson, Chol'son, Khvolson or Khvol'son].
Title: Die Ssabier und der Ssabismus.
Description: [St. Petersburg, 1856]. Reprint Amsterdam, Oriental Press, 1965. 2 vols. XXI,825, 8,XXXII, 920 pp. Orig. publisher's uniform hardcovers (gilt lettered green cloth). Complete set of the photomechanical reprint of the edition: St. Petersburg, Buchdruckerei der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1856. - Band I: Die Entwickelung der Begriffe Ssabier und Ssabismus und die Geschichte der harrànischen Ssabier oder der Syro-hellenistischen Heiden im no¨rdlichen Mesopotamien und in Bagda^d zur Zeit des Chalifats; Band II: Orientalische Quellen zur Geschichte der Ssabier und des Ssabismus. - - Daniel Abramovich Chwolson or Chwolsohn or Khvolson (December 3, 1819 [O.S. November 21]) - March 23, 1911 [O.S. March 12]) was a Russian-Jewish orientalist. This work, the two-volume Die Ssabier und der Ssabismus (Sabians and Sabianism), Chwolson's first work, was issued in 1856 by the Imperial Academy at its own expense. It established the authority of its author in the field of Oriental research. - - This publication remains the most comprehensive study of the Ssabian communities of the Middle East during the early Islamic period. The Ssabians' beliefs and rituals were shrouded in mystery but their astronomers and physicians were highly regarded throughout the region. This book introduces their culture, and contains many source texts with translations.

Keywords: Ethnography Asia Syria Turkey Theology Etnografie Azië Syrië Turkije Theologie