The Mandaeans are a very closed community. Many of them consider John the Baptist to be the founder of their church. They are often regarded as almost Christians by Jews, Muslims, and Christians, even though their teachings are both similar and different at the same time. Among their ecclesiastical texts, the "Book of the Dead," Diwan Abatur, plays an exceptional role. Works of spiritual literature referred to as books of the dead are known from various cultures. The most famous are two: the Egyptian and the Tibetan, while others have remained relatively unknown outside the academic community, including Diwan Abatur. This edition aims to present this remarkable text in the most comprehensible form possible, which should be aided by its very first comparison with the Egyptian Book of the Dead and basic information about the Mandaean church.
