Manichaeism

Manichaeism (/ˌmænɪˈkiːɪzəm/; in Persian: آئین مانی, romanized: Āʾīn-ī Mānī; Chinese: 摩尼教; pinyin: Móníjiào) is a former major world religion founded in the 3rd century CE by the Parthian prophet Mani (A.D. 216–274), in the Sasanian Empire.

Manichaeism taught an elaborate dualistic cosmology describing the struggle between a good spiritual world of light, and an evil material world of darkness. Through an ongoing process that takes place in human history, light is gradually removed from the world of matter and returned to the world of light, whence it came. Mani's teaching was intended to "combine", succeed, and surpass the teachings of Platonism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Marcionism, Hellenistic and Rabbinic Judaism, Gnostic movements, Ancient Greek religion, Babylonian and other Mesopotamian religions, and mystery cults. It reveres Mani as the final prophet after Zoroaster, the Buddha, and Jesus.

Manichaeism was quickly successful and spread far through Aramaic-speaking regions. It thrived between the third and seventh centuries, and at its height was one of the most widespread religions in the world. Manichaean churches and scriptures existed as far east as China and as far west as the Roman Empire. Before the spread of Islam, it was briefly the main rival to early Christianity in the competition to replace classical polytheism. Under the Roman Dominate, Manichaeism was persecuted by the Roman state and was eventually stamped out in the Roman Empire.

Manichaeism survived longer in the east than it did in the west. The religion was present in West Asia into the Abbasid Caliphate period in the 10th century. It was also present in China despite increasingly strict proscriptions under the Tang dynasty and was the official religion of the Uyghur Khaganate until its collapse in 830. It experienced a resurgence under the Mongol Yuan dynasty during the 13th and 14th centuries but was subsequently banned by the Chinese emperors, and Manichaeism there became subsumed into Buddhism and Taoism. Some historic Manichaean sites still exist in China, including the temple of Cao'an in Jinjiang, Fujian, and the religion may have influenced later movements in Europe, including Paulicianism, Bogomilism, and Catharism.

While most of Manichaeism's original writings have been lost, numerous translations and fragmentary texts have survived.

The spelling Manichaeism is a hypercorrection of Manichaism, which derives from Koine Greek Μανιχαϊσμός Manikhaïsmós via Latin Manichaismus. The Greek word is built on Μανιχαῖος Manikhaîos ('Manichaeus'), one of the names of Mani in Greek sources.

In English, an adherent of Manichaeism is called a Manichaean, Manichean, or Manichee.

Mani was an Iranian born in 216 CE in or near Ctesiphon (now al-Mada'in, Iraq) in the Parthian Empire. According to the Cologne Mani-Codex, Mani's parents were members of the Jewish Christian Gnostic sect known as the Elcesaites.