The cult of John the Baptist, the Messiah who was in some ways a rival to Jesus Christ, reaches its peak; John the Baptist will be executed by King Herod, who considered him a threat given his popularity in the Roman Empire; at that point, most of John the Baptist’s followers will recognize Jesus as the Messiah; but a small portion, the Mandaeans, will continue to venerate John the Baptist up to the present day (for example, in the north of what is now Iraq).
