Who are the Essenes as noted in the book, Thou Art That?

The Essenes are an ascetic community of Jews established to the north of the Dead Sea around the inflow of the Jordan River. They cut themselves off from the rest of Judaism during the Maccabean Revolt against Antiochus and efforts at Hellenization. John the Baptist is believed to be an Essene. In the mid-20th century, documents from this community are unearthed at Qumran, the "Dead Sea Scrolls." Among them is a writing that shows profound Zoroastrian influences, The Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness, dealing with Armageddon and the end of the world.