Mandaean ábécé

The Mandaic alphabet is used by Arabs professing Mandeism. They live in several villages near the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates, in a swampy area. In 1932, there were about 5 thousand people. Maybe they're all gone now. However, the doctrine of Mandeism used to be quite widespread. It is believed that it originated in Babylonia before our era.

It is not known exactly how the Mandaic alphabet appeared. It came from  Nabataean  10880–1089E or from  Aramaic  10840–1085F . The Mandaic people call their alphabet Abaga, which means „read the spell”. Previously, it was used mainly by priests.