Nicolas Siouffi

Nicolas Siouffi (1829 (Damascus) – 1901 (Baabda)^[1]) was a Syrian Christian,^[2][3][4] and later French citizen and vice-consul at Mosul, remembered for his study of Mandaeism. He is known for works such as Études sur les Soubbas ou les Sabéens.^[5]

Mandaeans were known locally in Arabic as Ṣubba, which Siouffi identified with the Sabians, a People of the Book in the Quran.^[6] Siouffi claimed to have identified 4000 Sabians in the Mandaean population. This was well received by the theosophist G. R. S. Mead,^[7] but received highly critical reviews from scholars^[which?], accusing Siouffi of ignorance and his teacher of dishonesty.^[8][9]