RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIESBy the end of the Sasanian period, paganism in Iraq was charac-
terized by sacrifice, magic, and astrology. The ancient native deities
survived and were venerated mainly because of their association with
the planets in astrology and with imported Hellenistic and Iranian
gods. But even among pagans, the old gods were being relegated to
the position of demons. This was probably due to the influence of
gnosticism, which emphasized the harmful aspect of the planets in
astral paganism. Conditions in the early seventh century are sum-
marized by Jal:ti~, who tells how Musaylima toured the marketplaces
of Ubulla, Anbar, and Hira, where Arabs and Persians met to buy and
sell their goods. In these places he learned magic, sleight of hand, and
the tricks of astrologers, of false prophets, of the keepers of idol
temples, of soothsayers who practiced ornithomancy and geomancy,
of fortunetellers, of magicians, and of those who claimed to be inspired
by jinn (Ar.).46
But pagan temple institutions had been destroyed except for local
or secret shrines, and pagans were joining the organized faiths of the
new order in increasing numbers. Magians opposed the pagan cult,
broke idols, expelled the devs, and converted their shrines into fire
templesY Magians were also hostile to sorcery, which they identified
with demon worship and linked with J udaism as a source of corruption
in the world.^48 They regarded sorcery by a wife as grounds for di-
vorce,49 and executed sorcerers such as the Jewish magician Hurnim
bar Lilith.50 Jews were more receptive to magic but hostile to idolatry.
The consequences for paganism in Jewish districts seem to be reflected
in a Talmudic story about Abraham. He had been imprisoned at Kutha
by his father or by Nimrod for abandoning idolatry (Rashi explains
that he broke the idols) and was thrown into a fiery furnace by Nimrod;
but the angel Gabriel wanted to make the furnace cold.^51 The version
abou~ 660 (Thomas of Margha, Governors, I, 84; 11, 185-86). When 'Abdullah ibn
al-l;Iarith ibn Nawfal was governor of Basra early in 685, he is said to have taught an
edifying story in the masjid about the intrigues of Qariin (Korah) against Moses and
how the earth swallowed him, his companions, and his palace (Tabari, Ta'rlkh, I, 524-
26).
46 Pellat, jai}i:{:, p. 162.
47 Boyce, "Sacred Fires," p. 64; de Menasce, "Feux et Fondations," pp. 25-26, 31;
Tirmidhi, "Zoroastrians and their fire temples in Iran and adjoining countries from the
9th to the 14th centuries," le 24 (1950),278-79.
48 De Menasce, Denkart,pp. 178-79, 204-5, 297-98.
49 Dhabhar, Rivayat, p. 527; Tha'alibi, Ghurar, pp. 260-61.
50 Boyee, Tansar, p. 48; Rodkinson, Talmud, XIII, "Baba Bathra," 200.
51 Rodkinson, Talmud, XIII, "Baba Bathra," 200.