A living reference atlas

Atlas of Religious and Esoteric Lineages

Five thousand religious, mystical, Indigenous and esoteric lineages from around the world — what they are, where they came from, and where to read more.

Source-linked and transparently qualified. Editorial standards and correction criteria are public.

Created and maintained by Ayara and Kyle Jonathan B@KJB_and_AYARA

Entries: 5,000
Candidate geography relations: 7,326
Candidate country vocabulary: 162

Explore the index

Search five thousand distinct lineages

Entry data: effective Atlas view
Geography: candidate layer pending adjudication

17 lineages in the selected candidate country

Page 1 of 1

Atlas 0113Closed ethnoreligion

Yazidi religious tradition and Tawûsê Melek devotion

Christian Mysticism Religious tradition

Public geography: Armenia, Iraq, Syria, Türkiye
Period / origin: medieval formation–present
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesArmenia, Iraq, Syria +1

View full record

Atlas 0530Open / public

Syriac Christian Mystical Tradition

Christian Mysticism Lineage / school

Public geography: Syria
Period / origin: late antiquity–present
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesSyria

View full record

Atlas 0550Community-bound / restricted

Alawite Religious Tradition

Islamic Mysticism & Esotericism Religious tradition

Public geography: Lebanon, Syria, Türkiye
Period / origin: 9th century–present
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesLebanon, Syria, Türkiye

View full record

Atlas 0759Scholarly / historical only

Roman cult of Jupiter Dolichenus

Historical Religions & Mystery Cults Historical religion / cult

Public geography: Syria
Period / origin: 1st–3rd centuries CE
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesSyria

View full record

Atlas 0760Scholarly / historical only

Cult of Atargatis at Hierapolis

Historical Religions & Mystery Cults Historical religion / cult

Public geography: Syria
Period / origin: Hellenistic–Roman periods
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesSyria

View full record

Atlas 0820Scholarly / historical only

Messalian (Euchite) Ascetic Movement

Christian Mysticism Historical religion / cult

Public geography: Syria
Period / origin: 4th–6th centuries; later heresiological reception
Evidence status: Classification contested

Candidate countriesSyria

View full record

Atlas 0832Community-bound / restricted

Nizārī Ismaili Esoteric Tradition

Islamic Mysticism & Esotericism Religious tradition

Public geography: Iran, Syria
Period / origin: 1094–present
Evidence status: Related-entry source

Candidate countriesIran, Syria

View full record

Atlas 1026Scholarly / historical only

Ugaritic religious tradition

Historical Religions & Mystery Cults Religious tradition

Public geography: Syria
Period / origin: Late Bronze Age, especially 14th–12th centuries BCE
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesSyria

View full record

Atlas 1028Scholarly / historical only

Palmyrene religious tradition

Historical Religions & Mystery Cults Religious tradition

Public geography: Syria
Period / origin: First millennium BCE antecedents–3rd century CE
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesSyria

View full record

Atlas 2111Scholarly / historical only

Zayniyya Sufi order

Islamic Mysticism & Esotericism Lineage / school

Public geography: Egypt, Syria
Period / origin: Founded in the 15th century
Evidence status: Cluster-level source

Candidate countriesEgypt, Syria

View full record

Atlas 4055Scholarly / historical only

Cult of Ishkur-Adad

Historical Religions & Mystery Cults Historical religion / cult

Public geography: Syria
Period / origin: 3rd–1st millennia BCE
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesSyria

View full record

Atlas 4146Initiatory

Sa’diyya Sufi order

Islamic Mysticism & Esotericism Lineage / school

Public geography: Syria
Period / origin: late medieval period–present
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesSyria

View full record

Atlas 4158Community-bound / restricted

Dawsa ceremony of the Sa’diyya

Islamic Mysticism & Esotericism Rite / ceremony

Public geography: Syria
Period / origin: Ottoman period–late 19th century restrictions
Evidence status: Related-entry source

Candidate countriesSyria

View full record

Atlas 4528Scholarly / historical only

Iamblichus's On the Mysteries

Western Esotericism & Initiatory Textual corpus / teaching

Public geography: Syria
Period / origin: Early fourth century CE
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesSyria

View full record

Atlas 4540Institution-specific

Temple of Bel at Palmyra

Historical Religions & Mystery Cults Sacred site / complex

Public geography: Syria
Period / origin: Dedicated in 32 CE; used and transformed through late antiquity
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesSyria

View full record

Atlas 4546Scholarly / historical only

Dura-Europos Mithraeum

Historical Religions & Mystery Cults Sacred site / complex

Public geography: Syria
Period / origin: Second to third centuries CE
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesSyria

View full record

Atlas 4625Institution-specific

Deir Mar Musa al-Habashi and al-Khalil community

Christian Mysticism Sacred site / complex

Public geography: Syria
Period / origin: Medieval monastery; community refounded 1991/1992–present
Evidence status: Directly cited

Candidate countriesSyria

View full record