Manichean priests, writing at their desk, with panel inscription in Sogdian. Manuscript from Khocho, Tarim Basin.

Manichaeism (in Modern Persian آیین مانی Āyin e Māni; Chinese: 摩尼教) was one of the major dualistic religions, originating in Sassanid Persia. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (585x863, 108 KB)Manicheans. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (585x863, 108 KB)Manicheans. ... The Sogdian language is a Middle Iranian language spoken in Sogdiana (Zarafshan River Valley) in the modern day republics of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (chief cities: Samarkand, Panjikent, Ferghana). ... Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim Basin. ... Persian (فارسی), also known as Farsi (local name), Parsi (older local name, but still used by some speakers), Tajik (a Central Asian dialect) or Dari (an Afghan dialect), is a language spoken in Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Empire (Persian: Sasanian) is the name used for the fourth Iranian dynasty, and the second Persian Empire (226 - 651). ...

Although most of the original writings of the founding prophet Mani (Syriac, ܡܐܢܝ, c. 210–276 CE have been lost, numerous translations and fragmentary texts have survived. At its height, Manichaeism was one of the most widespread religions in the world, with Manichaean churches and scriptures being found as far east as China, and as far west as the Roman empire. Although its last organized form appears to have died out before the 16th century in southern China, a modern revival has been attempted under the name of Neo-Manichaeism. For other senses of this word, see Prophet (disambiguation). ... Mani (in Persian: مانی, Syriac: ) was born of Iranian (Parthian) parentage in Babylon, Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) which was a part of Persian Empire about 210-276 CE. He was a religious preacher and the founder of Manichaeism, an ancient Persian gnostic religion that was once prolific but is now extinct. ... Syriac is an Eastern Aramaic language that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. ... Neo-Manichaeism is a contemporary attempt to revive the ancient faith of Manichaeism. ...

The original six sacred books of Manichaeism, composed in Syriac Aramaic, were soon translated into other languages to aid in the spread of the religion. As they spread to the east, the writings of the religion passed through Middle Persian, Parthian, Sogdian, and ultimately Uyghur Turkish and Chinese translations. As they spread to the west, they were translated into Greek, Coptic, and Latin. The spread and success of Manichaeism was seen as a threat to other religions, and it was widely persecuted by Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and later, Islam. Syriac is an Eastern Aramaic language that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. ... Pahlavi is a term that refers: (1) to a script used in Iran derived from the Aramaic script, and (2) more broadly, to Middle Persian, the Middle Iranian language written in this script. ... Parthia[1] (Middle Persian: اشکانیان Ashkâniân) was a civilization situated in the northeast of modern Iran, but at its height covering all of Iran proper, as well as regions of the modern countries of Armenia, Iraq, Georgia, eastern Turkey, eastern Syria, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, the Persian Gulf... The Sogdians were an ancient people of Central Asia, who inhabited the region known to the West as Sogdiana. ... Uyghur (‎/Uyghurche//, or ‎/Uyghur tili//)[1] is a Turkic language spoken by the Uyghur people in Xinjiang (also called East Turkestan or Uyghurstan), formerly also “Sinkiang” and “Chinese Turkestan,” a Central Asian region administered by China. ... The Coptic language is a direct descendant of the ancient Egyptian language which was once written in Egyptian hieroglyphic, hieratic, and demotic scripts. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ...

Origins

Mani lived approximately 210–276 CE and resided in Babylon, which at the time was one of the many provinces of the Persian Empire. The primary language of Babylon at that time was Eastern Middle Aramaic, which included three main dialects: Judeo-Aramaic (the language of the Talmud), Mandaean Aramaic (the language of the Mandaean religion), and Syriac Aramaic - which was the language of Mani, as well as of the Assyrian Christians. Mani is a Persian name and, found as it is in all three Aramaic dialects, fairly common among its speakers. Mani composed seven writings, six of which were written in Syriac Aramaic. The seventh, the Shabuhragan, was written by Mani in Middle Persian and dedicated to the contemporary King of Sassanid Persia, Shapur I, who was a strong supporter of Manichaeism and encouraged its spread throughout his empire. Mani also created a distinctive version of the Syriac script - Manichaean script - which was used in all of the Manichaean works written within the Persian Empire, whether they were in Syriac or Middle Persian, and also for most of the works written within the Uyghur Empire, which also included eastern Iranian languages and Uygur Turkish. For other uses, see Babylon (disambiguation). ... Aramaic is a group of Semitic languages with a 3,000-year history. ... Talmudic Aramaic literally refers to the Aramaic language as found in the Talmud. ... The first page of the Talmud, in the standard Vilna edition. ... The Mandaic language is the liturgical language of the Mandaean religion; a vernacular form is still spoken by a small community in Iran around Ahwaz. ... Religions Mandaeism Scriptures Ginza Rba, Qolusta Languages Mandaic, Arabic, Aramaic Mandaeism or Mandaeanism is a monotheistic religion with a strongly dualistic worldview. ... Syriac is an Eastern Aramaic language that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. ... The Assyrian Church of the East is a Christian denominational body that traces its origins to the See of Babylon, said to be founded by Saint Thomas the Apostle. ... This article is about the Persian people, an ethnic group found mainly in Iran. ... The Shabuhragan was a sacred writing of the Manichaean religion, written by the founder Mani (c. ... Pahlavi is a term that refers: (1) to a script used in Iran derived from the Aramaic script, and (2) more broadly, to Middle Persian, the Middle Iranian language written in this script. ... After Islamic Conquest  Modern SSR = Soviet Socialist Republic Afghanistan  Azerbaijan  Bahrain  Iran  Iraq  Tajikistan  Uzbekistan  This box:      The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Dynasty (Persian: []) is the name used for the fourth Iranian dynasty, and the second Persian Empire (226–651). ... A coin of Shapur I. Shapur I, son of Ardashir I (226–241), was King of Persia from 241 to 272. ... The Manichaean script is a variant of the Syriac script designed to record the Middle Persian language. ... Map of the Uyghur Empire and areas under its dominion at its height, c. ...

One of the tenets of Manichaeism was that it presented the complete version of teachings only revealed partially by teachers such as Zoroaster, Buddha, and Jesus. Accordingly, as Manichaeism passed through time, location, and language, it adapted new religious deities from the surrounding religions into the Manichaean scriptures. So, while the original Aramaic texts already contained stories of Jesus, as they moved eastward and were translated into Iranian languages, the names of the Manichaean deities (or angels) were often transformed into the names of Zoroastrian yazatas. Thus Abbā dəRabbūṯā ("The Father of Greatness" - the highest Manichaean deity of Light), in Middle Persian texts might either be translated literally as pīd ī wuzurgīh, or substituted for by the name of the deity Zurwān. Likewise, the Manichaean primal figure Nāšā Qaḏmāyā "The Original Man" was rendered "Ohrmazd Bay", after the Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda. This development continued to Manichaeism's ultimate meeting with Chinese Buddhism, where, for example, the original Aramaic "karia" (the "call" from the world of Light to those seeking rescue from the world of Darkness), becomes identified in the Chinese scriptures with Guan Yin (觀音, literally, "hearing sounds [of the world]", the Bodhisattva of Compassion in Chinese Buddhism). Zoroaster (Greek Ζωροάστρης, ZōroastrÄ“s) or Zarathustra (Avestan: ZaraθuÅ¡tra), also referred to as Zartosht (Persian: ), was an ancient Iranian prophet and religious poet. ... Siddhartha and Gautama redirect here. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Zoroastrianism was adapted from an earlier, polytheistic faith by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) in Persia very roughly around 1000 BC (although, in the absence of written records, some scholars estimates are as late as 600 BC). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Zoroastrian angelology. ... Pahlavi is a term that refers: (1) to a script used in Iran derived from the Aramaic script, and (2) more broadly, to Middle Persian, the Middle Iranian language written in this script. ... Zurvan is the name of the first principle (creator deity) in several different religious systems: In Zurvanism (Zurvanite Zoroastrianism) as Zurwān, derived from the Avestan language word for Time. In Manichaeism, where Zurvan is the Middle Persian name that Mani used in his Shapurgan to signify his Father of... Ahura Mazda () is the Avestan language name for a divinity exalted by Zoroaster as the one uncreated Creator, hence God. ... Seated Buddha, from the Chinese Tang Dynasty, Hebei province, ca. ... For the Chen Dynasty empress whose Buddhist nun name was Guanyin, see Empress Shen Wuhua. ... Lands Bhutan â€¢ China â€¢ Korea Japan â€¢ Tibet â€¢ Vietnam Taiwan â€¢ Mongolia Doctrine Bodhisattva â€¢ Bodhicitta Karuna â€¢ Prajna Sunyata â€¢ Buddha Nature Trikaya â€¢ Eternal Buddha Scriptures Prajnaparamita Sutra Avatamsaka Sutra Lotus Sutra Nirvana Sutra VimalakÄ«rti Sutra Lankavatara Sutra History 4th Buddhist Council Silk Road â€¢ Nagarjuna Asanga â€¢ Vasubandhu Bodhidharma      A statue of a Bodhisattva, Akasagarbha. ...

The original six Syriac writings are not preserved, although we have their Syriac names, as well as fragments and quotations from them. A lengthy quotation, brought by the Syrian Nestorian Christian, Theodor bar-Khonai, in the 8th century, shows clearly that in the original Syriac Aramaic writings of Mani there was absolutely no influence of Iranian or Zoroastrian terms. The terms for the Manichaean deities in the original Syriac writings are purely in Aramaic. The adaptation of Manichaeism to the Zoroastrian religion, however, appears to have begun in Mani's lifetime, with his writing of the Middle Persian Shabuhragan, his book dedicated to the King Shapuhr. In it, we find mention of Zoroastrian deities such as Ohrmazd, Ahriman, and Az. Manichaeism is often presented as a Persian religion, mostly due to the vast number of Middle Persian, Parthian, and Soghdian (as well as Turkish) texts discovered by German researchers near Turfan, in the Xinjiang (Chinese Turkestan) province of China, during the early 1900s. Looking at the phenomenon of Manichaeism from the point of view of its origins, however, it is no more accurate to say that Manichaeism is a Persian or Iranian religion than it is to say that Talmudic Judaism or Babylonian Mandaeism (which were also written in Aramaic in Babylon in roughly the 3rd century CE) are Iranian religions. The term Nestorianism is eponymous, even though the person who lent his name to it always denied the associated belief. ... Zoroastrianism was adapted from an earlier, polytheistic faith by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) in Persia very roughly around 1000 BC (although, in the absence of written records, some scholars estimates are as late as 600 BC). ... The Shabuhragan was a sacred writing of the Manichaean religion, written by the founder Mani (c. ... position in China Street of Turfan View of the Flaming mountains Emin minaret, Turfan Turfan (Uyghur: تۇرپان; Uyghur latin: Turpan; Modern Chinese 吐魯番, Pinyin: Tǔlǔfán; ) is an oasis city in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... For the county in Shanxi province, see Xinjiang County. ...

Mani was likely influenced by Mandaeanism and began preaching at an early age. According to biographical accounts preserved by Ibn al-Nadim and the Persian polymath al-Biruni, Mani received a revelation as a youth from a spirit, whom he would later call his Twin, his Syzygos, his Double, his Protective Angel or 'Divine Self'. This 'spirit' allegedly taught him divine truths which developed into the Manichaean religion. His 'divine' Twin or true Self brought Mani to Self-realization and as such he becomes a 'gnosticus', someone with divine knowledge and a liberating insight into things. He claimed to be the 'Paraclete of the Truth', as promised in the New Testament: the Last Prophet and Seal of the Prophets that finalized a succession of men guided by God and included figures such as Zoroaster, Hermes, Plato, Buddha, and Jesus. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Mandaeism. ... Ibn al-Nadim (Abu al-Faraj Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Muhammad ibn Ishaq), (died September 17, 995 or 998) was an muslim scholar (of either Arab or Persian origin) and bibliographer and the author of the Kitab al-Fihrist. ... A statue of Biruni adorns the southwest entrance of Laleh Park in Tehran. ... Categories: Substubs ... Look up Paraclete in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about the Christian scriptures. ... The term Last Prophet is used in religious contexts to refer to the last person through whom God speaks, after which there is to be no other. ... Seal of the Prophets (ar. ... Zoroaster (Greek Ζωροάστρης, Zōroastrēs) or Zarathustra (Avestan: Zaraθuštra), also referred to as Zartosht (Persian: ), was an ancient Iranian prophet and religious poet. ... For other uses, see Hermes (disambiguation). ... PLATO was one of the first generalized Computer assisted instruction systems, originally built by the University of Illinois (U of I) and later taken over by Control Data Corporation (CDC), who provided the machines it ran on. ... Media:Example. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ...

Another source of Mani's scriptures, was a section of the original Aramaic "Book of Enoch", entitled the "Book of Giants". This book was quoted directly, and expanded on by Mani, to become one of the original six Syriac writings of the Manichaean Church. Besides brief references by non-Manichaean authors through the centuries, we had no original sources of "The Book of Giants" (which is actually part six of the "Book of Enoch"). Then, with the discovery in the twentieth century of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Judaean Desert, and of the Manichaean writings of the Uyghur Manichaean kingdom in Turfan, we came into possession of some scattered fragments of both the original Aramaic "Book of Giants" (which were analyzed and published by J. T. Milik in 1976), and of the Manichaean version of the same name (analyzed and published by W.B. Henning in 1943). Henning writes there: To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Ogias the Giant, also known as the Book of Giants is one of the books from the New Testament apocrypha which concerned the Old Testament. ... The Dead Sea Scrolls comprise roughly 900 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves in and around the Wadi Qumran (near the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea) in the West Bank. ... For the language spoken by this ethnic group, see Uyghur language. ... position in China Street of Turfan View of the Flaming mountains Emin minaret, Turfan Turfan (Uyghur: تۇرپان; Uyghur latin: Turpan; Modern Chinese 吐魯番, Pinyin: Tǔlǔfán; ) is an oasis city in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

It is noteworthy that Mani, who was brought up and spent most of his life in a province of the Persian empire, and whose mother belonged to a famous Parthian family, did not make any use of the Iranian mythological tradition. There can no longer be any doubt that the Iranian names of Sām, Narīmān, etc., that appear in the Persian and Sogdian versions of the Book of the Giants, did not figure in the original edition, written by Mani in the Syriac language.

From a careful reading of the Book of Enoch and Book of Giants, alongside the description of the Manichaean myth, it becomes clear that the "Great King of Glory" of the Manichaean myth (this is a being that sits as a guard to the world of light at the seventh of ten heavens in the Manichaean myth, see Henning, A Sogdian Fragment of the Manichaean Cosmogony, BSOAS, 1948), is identical with the King of Glory sitting on the heavenly throne in the Book of Enoch. In the Aramaic book of Enoch, in the Qumran writings in general, and in the original Syriac section of Manichaean scriptures quoted by Theodor bar-Khonai, he is called "malka raba de-ikara" (the great king of glory).

While Manichaeism was spreading, the large existing religious groups such as Christianity and Zoroastrianism were gaining social and political influence. Although having fewer adherents than either group, Manichaeism won the support of many high-ranking political figures. With the aid of the Persian Empire, Mani initiated missionary excursions. After failing to win the favor of the next generation, and having the disapproval of the Zoroastrian clergy, Mani is reported to have died in prison awaiting execution by the Persian Emperor Bahram I. The date of his death is fixed at 276–277 CE Zoroastrianism is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra, Zartosht). ... After Islamic Conquest  Modern SSR = Soviet Socialist Republic Afghanistan  Azerbaijan  Bahrain  Iran  Iraq  Tajikistan  Uzbekistan  This box:      The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Dynasty (Persian: []) is the name used for the fourth Iranian dynasty, and the second Persian Empire (226–651). ... Bahram I, was king of Persia (AD 274-277). ...

In Egypt a minuscule codex was found and became known via antique dealers in Cairo. It was purchased by the University of Cologne in 1969, and two of its scientists Henrichs and Koenen produced the first edition of this ancient manuscript known since as the Cologne Mani-Codex, which they published in four articles in the Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. The content of the small papyrus manuscript contained a Greek text describing the life of Mani. From this recent discovery, we know much more about the man who founded one of the most influential world religions of the past. First page of the Codex Argenteus A codex (Latin for block of wood, book; plural codices) is a handwritten book, in general, one produced from Late Antiquity through the Middle Ages. ... Nickname: Egypt: Site of Cairo (top center) Coordinates: , Government  - Governor Dr. Abdul Azim Wazir Area  - City 214 km²  (82. ... The University of Cologne (German Universität zu Köln) is one of the oldest universities in Europe and, with over 44. ... Scroll Concerning Origin of His Body ~ From The Cologne Manuscript . . . little by little . ... For other uses, see Papyrus (disambiguation). ...

Theology

The most striking principle of Manichaean theology is its dualism. Mani postulated two natures that existed from the beginning: light and darkness. The realm of light lived in peace, while the realm of darkness was in constant conflict with itself. The universe is the temporary result of an attack from the realm of darkness on the realm of light, and was created by the Living Spirit, an emanation of the light realm, out of the mixture of light and darkness. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

A key belief in Manichaeism is that there is no omnipotent good power. This claim addresses a theoretical part of the problem of evil by denying the infinite perfection of God and postulating the two equal and opposite powers mentioned previously. The human person is seen as a battleground for these powers: the good part is the soul (which is composed of light) and the bad part is the body (composed of dark earth). The soul defines the person and is incorruptible, but it is under the domination of a foreign power, which addressed the practical part of The Problem of Evil. Humans are said to be able to be saved from this power (matter) if they come to know who they are and identify themselves with their soul. In the philosophy of religion and theology, the problem of evil is the problem of reconciling the existence of evil or suffering in the world with the existence of a god. ... For other uses, see Soul (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Body (disambiguation). ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ...

Following Mani's travels to the Kushan Empire (several religious paintings in Bamiyan are attributed to him) at the beginning of his proselytizing career, various Buddhist influences seem to have permeated Manichaeism: Boundary of the Kushan empire, c. ... Bamyan is a town in central Afghanistan, the capital of Bamyan Province. ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by...

Buddhist influences were significant in the formation of Mani's religious thought. The transmigration of souls became a Manichaean belief, and the quadripartite structure of the Manichaean community, divided between male and female monks (the "elect") and lay followers (the "hearers") who supported them, appears to be based on that of the Buddhist sangha. (Richard Foltz, Religions of the Silk Road)

In some Gnostic writings of the Death of Mani, Mani attains Parinirvana. The word "Buddha" is frequently used in Manichean writings of later centuries according to the same work. Sangha (संघ saṃgha) is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as association or assembly or community. It is commonly used in several senses to refer to Buddhist or Jain groups. ... Gnosticism is a blanket term for various religions and sects most prominent in the first few centuries A.D. General characteristics The word gnosticism comes from the Greek word for knowledge, gnosis (γνῶσις), referring to the idea that there is special, hidden mysticism (esoteric knowledge... The death of the Buddha, or Mahaparinirvana, Gandhara 2-3rd century. ...

Other Indian religions might have influenced Manicheasm. In the 4th century, Ephraim criticized Mani for adopting "the Lie" from India, promoting "two powers which were against each other". Ephrem the Syrian (Syriac: , ;Greek: ; Latin: Ephraem Syrus; 306–373) was a deacon, prolific Syriac language hymn writer and theologian of the 4th century. ...

In the story of the Death of Mani (according to the Gnostic Bible by Willis Barnstone, here is one of many authenticating references proving the centrality of Buddhism in Mani's formulation of Gnosticism): Image:Buddhasunset crop. ...

It was a day of pain

and a time of sorrow

when the messenger of light

entered death

when he entered complete Nirvana"

Also, in the Great Song of Mani (13th–14th century) Mani is many times referred to as Buddha Mani. This article is about the Buddhist concept. ... Media:Example. ... Mani may refer to: Mani Peninsula in Greece Maní, Yucatán, a small city in Yucatán, Mexico Mani, Evros, a town in the northeastern part of the Evros Prefecture in Greece Mani (prophet), a third-century Persian prophet, the founder of the dualistic Manichaean religion, which borrowed eclectically from...

In China Manichaean theology featured structural repetitions of images of woken light liberated from darkness^{[citation needed]}: the Son of God was woken from demonic imprisonment by the Holy Spirit and escaped its darkness; conversion to Manicheanism was depicted both as an awakening and an illumination; and in death the converted spirit would escape the darkness of the body. Converts were only guaranteed salvation if they could continue this repetition and convert another in turn.^{[citation needed]}

The Manichaean cosmogony

From its inception, one of the striking features of Manichaeism is that it presents an elaborate description of the conflict between the spiritual world of light and the material world of darkness. The beings of the world of darkness all have names, and the beings they attack in the world of light also have names. There are numerous sources for the details of the Manichaean myth (see "Sources for Manichaeism", below). We do have two portions of Manichaean scriptures, however, that are probably as close as we will ever come to the original Manichaean writings in their original languages. These are the Syriac-Aramaic quotation by the Nestorian Christian Theodor bar-Konai, in his Syriac "Book of Sects" (8th century), and the Middle Persian sections of Mani's Shabuhragan discovered at Turfan (a summary of Mani's teachings prepared for Shapur I; published in BSOAS, 1979). It is very likely that these two sections are the original Syriac and Middle Persian written by Mani himself. The term Nestorianism is eponymous, even though the person who lent his name to it always denied the associated belief. ... (7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. ... The Shabuhragan was a sacred writing of the Manichaean religion, written by the founder Mani (c. ... position in China Street of Turfan View of the Flaming mountains Emin minaret, Turfan Turfan (Uyghur: تۇرپان; Uyghur latin: Turpan; Modern Chinese 吐魯番, Pinyin: TÇ”lÇ”fán; ) is an oasis city in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... A coin of Shapur I. Shapur I, son of Ardashir I (226–241), was King of Persia from 241 to 272. ...

From these alone we can derive a short example of the detailed nature of the Manichaean vision: At one point, the God of Light sends a representative Nāšā Qaḏmāyā ("original man", in Aramaic), to battle with the attacking powers of Darkness, which include the Demon of Greed. The original man is armed with five different shields of light, which he loses to the forces of darkness in the ensuing battle. A call is then issued from the world of Light to the Original Man ("call" thus becomes a Manichaean deity), and an answer ("answer" becoming another Manichaean deity) returns from the Original Man to the world of Light. The myth continues with many details of how light is captured into the world of matter, and eventually liberated by entrapping some great demons and causing them to become sexually aroused by "Twelve Virgins of Light", and expelling, against their will, the light from within their bodies. The light, though, is again entrapped in the world of darkness and matter, and the myth continues, eventually arriving to the creation of living beings in the material world, Adam and Eve, and Jesus appearing at the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden.

The complete Manichaean story of the creation and purpose of the universe, from beginning to end, has been reconstructed from numerous original Manichaean sources, and can be read about in the works in the bibliography and in the external links (below).

Sources for Manichaeism

Until discoveries in the 1900s of original sources, the only sources we had for Manichaeism were descriptions and quotations from non-Manichaean authors, either Christian, Muslim, or Zoroastrian. While these writers were often criticizing Manichaeism, they also brought many quotations directly from Manichaean scriptures. Thus we have always had quotations and descriptions in Greek and Arabic, as well as the long quotations in Latin by Saint Augustine, and the extremely important quotation in Syriac by Theodor bar-Khonai.

Then, in the early 1900s, German scholars excavated at the ancient site of the Manichaean Uyghur Kingdom near Turfan, in Chinese Turkestan (destroyed around 1300 CE ). While most of the writings they uncovered were in very bad shape, there were still hundreds of pages of Manichaean scriptures, written in three Persian languages - Middle Persian, Parthian, and Sogdian, as well as in old Turkish. These writings were taken back to Germany, and were analyzed and published at the Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften in Berlin. While the vast majority of these writings were written in a version of the Syriac script known as Manichaean script, the German researchers, perhaps for lack of suitable fonts, published most of the writings using Hebrew letters (which could easily be substituted for the 22 Syriac letters). Perhaps the most comprehensive of these publications was Manichaeische Dogmatik aus chinesischen und iranischen Texten (Manichaean Dogma from Chinese and Iranian texts), by Waldschmidt and Lentz, published in Berlin in 1933. More than any other research work published before or since, this work printed, and then discussed, the original key Manichaean texts in the original scripts, and consists chiefly of sections from Chinese texts, and Middle Persian and Parthian texts transcribed with Hebrew letters. (It is interesting to note that after the Nazi party attained power in Germany, while the Manichaean writings continued to be published during the remainder of the 1930s, the publishers no longer used Hebrew letters, but instead transliterated the texts into Latin letters.) The Prussian Academy of Sciences (German: ) was an academy established in Berlin on July 11, 1700. ... The Manichaean script is a variant of the Syriac script designed to record the Middle Persian language. ...

Additionally, in the early 1900s, German researchers in Egypt found a large body of Manichaean works in Coptic. Though damaged as well, many complete pages survived and were also published in Berlin before World War II. Unfortunately, some of these Coptic Manichaean writings were destroyed during the war.

After the success of the German researchers, French scholars went into China and discovered perhaps the most complete set of Manichaean writings ever, written in Chinese. These three Chinese writings are today kept in London, Paris, and Beijing. The original studies and analyses of these writings, along with their translations, originally appeared in French, English, and German, before and after World War II. The complete Chinese texts themselves were originally published in Tokyo, Japan in 1927, in the Taisho Tripitaka, volume 54. While in the last 30 years or so they have been republished in both Germany (with a complete translation into German, alongside the 1927 Japanese edition) and China, the Japanese publication still remains the standard reference for the Chinese texts.

In the latter part of the 20th century another Manichaean work, written in Greek and describing the life of Mani, was discovered.

Manichaean sacred books

There were seven (or according to other lists, eight) books originally written by Mani, which contained the teachings of the religion. Only scattered fragments and translations of the originals remain.

Originally written in Syriac

• The Evangelion: Quotations from the first chapter were brought in Arabic by al-Nadim, who lived in Baghdad at a time when there were still Manichaeans living there, in his book the "Fihrist" (written in 938), a catalog of all written books known to him.
• The Treasure of Life
• The Treatise
• Secrets
• The Book of Giants: Original fragments were discovered at Qumran (pre-Manichaean) and Turfan.
• Epistles: Augustine brings quotations, in Latin, from Mani's Fundamental Epistle in some of his anti-Manichaean works.
• Psalms and Prayers. A Coptic Manichaean Psalter, discovered in Egypt in the early 1900s, was edited and published by Charles Allberry from Manichaean manuscripts in the Chester Beatty collection and in the Berlin Academy, 1938-9.

Gospel of Mani - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Ibn al-Nadim (Abu al-Faraj Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Muhammad ibn Ishaq), (died September 17, 995 or 998) was an muslim scholar (of either Arab or Persian origin) and bibliographer and the author of the Kitab al-Fihrist. ... Ogias the Giant, also known as the Book of Giants is one of the books from the New Testament apocrypha which concerned the Old Testament. ... Qumran (Hebrew:חירבת קומראן Khirbet Qumran) is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea in Israel. ... position in China Street of Turfan View of the Flaming mountains Emin minaret, Turfan Turfan (Uyghur: تۇرپان; Uyghur latin: Turpan; Modern Chinese 吐魯番, Pinyin: Tǔlǔfán; ) is an oasis city in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Fundamental Epistle, or Epistle of Foundation, (Latin: Epistola Fundamenti), was one of the sacred writings of the Manichaean religion, written by the founder Mani (c. ... The Coptic language is a direct descendant of the ancient Egyptian language which was once written in Egyptian hieroglyphic, hieratic, and demotic scripts. ... Charles Robert Cecil Augustine Allberry (9 November 1911 – 3 April 1943) was an English Egyptologist and Coptic scholar. ... P. Chester Beatty I, (P45) folio 13-14, containing portion of the Gospel of Luke The Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri or simply the Chester Beatty Papyri are a group of early papyrus manuscripts of biblical texts. ...

Originally written in Middle Persian

• The Shabuhragan, dedicated to Shapur I: Original Middle Persian fragments were discovered at Turfan, quotations were brought in Arabic by al-Biruni.

The Shabuhragan was a sacred writing of the Manichaean religion, written by the founder Mani (c. ... A coin of Shapur I. Shapur I, son of Ardashir I (226–241), was King of Persia from 241 to 272. ... position in China Street of Turfan View of the Flaming mountains Emin minaret, Turfan Turfan (Uyghur: تۇرپان; Uyghur latin: Turpan; Modern Chinese 吐魯番, Pinyin: Tǔlǔfán; ) is an oasis city in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... A statue of Biruni adorns the southwest entrance of Laleh Park in Tehran. ...

Other books

• The Ardahang, the "Picture Book". In Iranian tradition, this was one of Mani's holy books which became remembered in later Persian history, and was also called Aržang, a Parthian word meaning "Worthy", and was beautified with paintings. Therefore Iranians gave him the title of "The Painter".
• The Kephalaia, "Discourses"

The Arzhang is the holy book of Manichaeism, written and illustrated by its prophet Mani. ... The Iranian languages are a part of the Indo-European language family with estimated 150-200 million native speakers. ...

Non-Manichaean works preserved by the Manichaean Church

• The Acts of Thomas

The early 3rd century text called Acts of Thomas is arguably the most Gnostic of the New Testament apocrypha, portraying Christ as the Heavenly Redeemer, independent of and beyond creation, who can free souls from the darkness of the world. ...

Later works

In later centuries, as Manichaeism passed through eastern Persian speaking lands and arrived to the Uyghur Empire, and ultimately the Uyghur kingdom of Turfan (destroyed around 1335), there were also long hymn cycles and prayers composed in Middle Persian and Parthian. A translation of one of these produced the Manichaean Chinese Hymnscroll (the 下部贊), which we have today in its entirety (see the external links section). Map of the Uyghur Empire and areas under its dominion at its height, c. ... position in China Street of Turfan View of the Flaming mountains Emin minaret, Turfan Turfan (Uyghur: تۇرپان; Uyghur latin: Turpan; Modern Chinese 吐魯番, Pinyin: TÇ”lÇ”fán; ) is an oasis city in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

Expansion

The spread of Manichaeism (300– CE 500). Map reference: World History Atlas, Dorling Kindersly.

Manichaeism spread with extraordinary rapidity throughout both the east and west. It reached Rome through the apostle Psattiq by CE 280, who was also in Egypt in 244 and 251. The faith was flourishing in the Fayum area of Egypt in 290 CE. Manichaean monasteries existed in Rome in 312 A.D.during the time of the Christian Pope Miltiades. By 354 CE,Hilary of Poitiers wrote that the Manichaean faith was a significant force in southern France. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1628x881, 170 KB)The spread of Manichaeism (300-500 CE). ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1628x881, 170 KB)The spread of Manichaeism (300-500 CE). ... Al Fayyum is one of the governorates of Egypt located in the centre of the country. ... Miltiades, or Melchiades (other forms of the name being Meltiades, Melciades, Milciades, and Miltides) was Pope from July 10, 310 or 311 to January 10 or 11, 314. ... Hilarius or Hilary (c. ...

The Manichaean faith was also widely persecuted. Mani was martyred by the Persian religious establishment in 277 CE, which ironically helped to spread the sect widely. In 291, persecution arose in the Persian empire with the murder of the apostle Sisin by Bahram II, and the slaughtering of many Manichaeans. In 296 CE, Diocletian decreed against the Manichaeans: "We order that their organizers and leaders be subject to the final penalties and condemned to the fire with their abominable scriptures.", resulting in numerous martyrs in Egypt and North Africa. In 381 CE Christians requested Theodosius I to strip Manichaeans of their civil rights. He issued a decree of death for Manichaean monks in 382 CE For other uses, see Martyr (disambiguation). ... Bahram II, king of Persia (277_294), son of Bahram I. During his reign the emperor Carus attacked the Persians and conquered Ctesiphon (283), but died by the plague. ... Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus (c. ... An engraving depicting what Theodosius may have looked like, ca. ...

The faith maintained a sporadic and intermittent existence in the west (Mesopotamia, Africa, Spain, France, North Italy, the Balkans) for a thousand years, and flourished for a time in the land of its birth (Persia) and even further east in Northern India, Western China, and Tibet. While it has long been thought that Manichaeism arrived in China only at the end of the 7th century, a recent archaeological discovery demonstrated that it was already known there in the second half of the sixth century.^{[citation needed]} The religion was adopted by the Uyghur ruler Bugug Khan (759–780 A.D.), and it remained state religion for about a century before the collapse of the Uyghur empire. In the east it spread along trade routes as far as Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty in China. In the 9th century, it is reported that the Muslim Caliph Ma'mun tolerated a community of Manichaeans. Mesopotamia was a cradle of civilization geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article is about historical/cultural Tibet. ... For the language spoken by this ethnic group, see Uyghur language. ... Map of the Uyghur Empire and areas under its dominion at its height, c. ... For other uses, see Changan (disambiguation). ... For the band, see Tang Dynasty (band). ... For main article see: Caliphate The Caliph (pronounced khaleef in Arabic) is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the leader of the Islamic Ummah, or global Islamic nation. ...

In the Song and Yuan dynasties of China remnants of Manichaeanism continued to leave a legacy contributing to the variety of religious thought represented by sects like the Red Turbans. Northern Song in 1111 AD Capital Kaifeng (960–1127) Linan (1127–1276) Language(s) Chinese Religion Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism Government Monarchy Emperor  - 960-976 Emperor Taizu  - 1126–1127 Emperor Qinzong  - 1127–1162 Emperor Gaozong  - 1278–1279 Emperor Bing History  - Zhao Kuangyin taking over the throne of the Later Zhou... Capital Dadu Language(s) Mongolian Chinese Government Monarchy Emperor  - 1260-1294 Kublai Khan  - 1333-1370 (Cont. ... The Red Turban Rebellion (Chinese: ) was an uprising by the White Lotus Chinese that targeted the ruling Yuan Dynasty. ...

Influence on Christianity

Early 3rd-4th century Christian writers such as Hippolytus and Epiphanius write about a Scythianus, who visited India around 50 CE from where he brought "the doctrine of the Two Principles". According to these writers, Scythianus' pupil Terebinthus presented himself as a "Buddha" ("He called himself a Buddas", writings of Cyril of Jerusalem). Terebinthus went to Palestine and Judaea where he met the Apostles "becoming known and condemned", and ultimately settled in Babylon, where he transmitted his teachings to Mani, thereby creating the foundation of Manicheism. Statue of Hippolytus, 3rd century. ... Epiphanius (ca 310–20 – 403) was a Church Father, a heresiologist who was a strong defender of orthodoxy, known for tracking down deviant teachings (heresies) wherever they could be traced, during the troubled era in the Christian Church following the Council of Nicaea. ... According to 3rd-4th century writers such as Hippolytus and Epiphanius, Scythianus was an Alexandrian who visited India around 50 CE. Scythianus apparently lived on the border between Palestine and Arabia, and was active in trade between the Red Sea ports and India. ... Terebinthus (also Terebinthus of Turbo ) was the pupil of Scythianus, during the 1st-2nd century CE, according to the early Christian writer Cyril of Jerusalem. ... Cyril of Jerusalem was a distinguished theologian of the early Church ( 315 - 386). ... This article is about the geographical area known as Palestine. ... Desert hills in southern Judea, looking east from the town of Arad Judea or Judaea (יהודה Praise, Standard Hebrew Yəhuda, Tiberian Hebrew Yəhûḏāh) is a term used for the mountainous southern part of historic Palestine, an area now divided... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      For other... For other uses, see Babylon (disambiguation). ... Mani (in Persian: مانی, Syriac: ) was born of Iranian (Parthian) parentage in Babylon, Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) which was a part of Persian Empire about 210-276 CE. He was a religious preacher and the founder of Manichaeism, an ancient Persian gnostic religion that was once prolific but is now extinct. ... Manichaeism was one of the major ancient religions. ...

St. Augustine was originally a Manichaean.

The Manichaeans made every effort to include all known religious traditions in their faith. As a result, they preserved many apocryphal Christian works, such as the Acts of Thomas, that otherwise would have been lost. Mani was eager to describe himself as a "disciple of Jesus Christ", but the early Christian church rejected him as a heretic. Mani declared himself, and was also referred to as, the Paraclete: a Biblical title, meaning "comforter" or "helper", which the Orthodox Tradition understood as referring to God in the person of the Holy Spirit. Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 1072 KB)Tiffany stained-glass window of St. ... Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 1072 KB)Tiffany stained-glass window of St. ... “Augustinus” redirects here. ... Apocrypha (from the Greek word , meaning those having been hidden away[1]) are texts of uncertain authenticity or writings where the authorship is questioned. ... The early 3rd century text called Acts of Thomas is arguably the most Gnostic of the New Testament apocrypha, portraying Christ as the Heavenly Redeemer, independent of and beyond creation, who can free souls from the darkness of the world. ... Heresy, as a blanket term, describes a practice or belief that is labeled as unorthodox. ... Look up Paraclete in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      In mainstream Christianity, the...

A 13th-century manuscript from Augustine's book VII of Confessions criticizing Manichaeism.

When Christians first encountered Manichaeism, it seemed to them to be a heresy, as it had originated in a heavily Gnostic area of the Persian empire. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE)converted to Christianity from Manichaeism, in the year 387. This was shortly after the time that the Roman Emperor Theodosius I, prompted by Catholics, had issued a decree of death for Manichaeans (in 382 CE)and shortly before he declared Christianity to be the only legitimate religion for the Roman Empire (in 391). According to the Confessions of St. Augustine, after eight or nine years of adhering to the Manichaean faith (as a member of the Manichaean group of "hearers"), Augustine became a Christian and a potent adversary of Manichaeism, seeing their beliefs that knowledge was the key to salvation as being too passive and not being able to effect any change in one's life.[1] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The word Confessions has several meanings: Confessions is a series of books composed by St. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Persia redirects here. ... “Augustinus” redirects here. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... An engraving depicting what Theodosius may have looked like, ca. ... The word Confessions has several meanings: Confessions is a series of books composed by St. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ...

"I still thought that it is not we who sin but some other nature that sins within us. It flattered my pride to think that I incurred no guilt and, when I did wrong, not to confess it... I preferred to excuse myself and blame this unknown thing which was in me but was not part of me. The truth, of course, was that it was all my own self, and my own impiety had divided me against myself. My sin was all the more incurable because I did not think myself a sinner". (Confessions, Book V, Section 10)

Until the 20th century, most of the Western world's concept of Manichaeism came through Augustine's polemics against it after his conversion to Christianity, which included long theological debates with Manichaeans, which were completely recorded in writing. It is speculated by some modern scholars (Alfred Adam, for example), that Manichaean ways of thinking had an influence on the development of some of Augustine's ideas, such as the nature of good and evil, the idea of hell, the separation of groups into elect, hearers, and sinners, the hostility to the flesh and sexual activity, and so on.

The extent of influence that the Manichaeans actually had on Christianity is still being debated. It has been suggested that the Bogomils, Paulicians, and the Cathars were deeply influenced by Manichaeism. However, the Bogomils and Cathars, in particular, left few records of their rituals or doctrines, and the link between them and Manichaeans is tenuous. Regardless of its historical accuracy the charge of Manichaeism was levelled at them by contemporary orthodox opponents, who often tried to fit contemporary heresies with those combatted by the church fathers. The Paulicians, Bogomils, and Cathars were certainly dualists and felt that the world was the work of a demiurge of Satanic origin (Cross), but whether this was due to influence from Manichaeism or another strand of Gnosticism is impossible to determine. Only a minority of Cathars held that the evil god (or principle) was as powerful as the good god (also called a principle) as Mani did, a belief also known as absolute dualism. In the case of the Cathars, it seems they adopted the Manichaean principles of church organization, but none of its religious cosmology. Priscillian and his followers apparently tried to absorb what they thought was the valuable part of Manichaeaism into Christianity. For the Slavic name Bogomil - see here Bogomilism (Bulgarian: ) is the Gnostic dualistic sect, the synthesis of Armenian Paulicianism and the Bulgarian Slavonic Church reform movement, which emerged in Bulgaria between 927 and 970 and spread into Byzantine Empire, Serbia, Bosnia, Italy and France. ... Paulicianism was a Gnostic and Manichaean Christian sect that florished between 650 and 872 in Anatolia, outgoing from Armenia and the Eastern Themes of the Byzantine Empire. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Catharism. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Demiurge, The Craftsman or Creator, in some belief systems, is the deity responsible for the creation of the physical universe. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Religious cosmologies are ways of explaining the history and evolution of the universe based, at least in part, on the acceptance of principles that cannot be justified by accepted scientific arguments (those are otherwise generally considered via physical cosmology). ... Priscillian of Avila (died 385) was a Spanish theologian and the founder of a party which advocated strong asceticism. ...

References

This article or section includes a list of references or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. You can improve this article by introducing more precise citations.

• (1938) in Allberry Charles R. C.: Manichaean Manuscripts in the Chester Beatty Collection: Vol II, part II: A Manichaean Psalm Book. Stuttgart: W. Kohlammer. 
• Beatty, Alfred Chester (1938). in Charles Allberry: A Manichean Psalm-Book, Part II. 
• Beausobre, de, Isaac (1734–1739). Histoire critique de Manichée et du Manichéisme. 
• BeDuhn, Jason David. The Manichaean Body: in discipline and ritual. ISBN 0-8018-7107-7. 
• Cross, F. L.; E. A. Livingstone (1974). The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church.. 
• Favre, Francois (2005-05-05). "Mani, the Gift of Light" in Renova symposium. {{{booktitle}}}. 
• Foltz, Richard C.. Religions of the Silk Road. New York: St Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-23338-8. 
• Gardner, Iain; Samuel N. C. Lieu. Manichaean Texts from the Roman Empire. ISBN 0-521-56822-6. 
• Giversen, Soren (1988). The Manichaean Coptic Papyri in The Chester Beatty Library Vol. III: Psalm Book part I., Facsimile, Geneva: Patrick Crammer.  (Cahiers D'Orientalism XVI) 1988a
• Giversen, Soren (1988). The Manichaean Coptic Papyri in The Chester Beatty Library Vol. IV: Psalm Book part II., Facsimile, Geneva: Patrick Crammer.  (Cahiers D'Orientalism XVI) 1988b
• Gulácsi, Zsuszanna (2001). Manichaean art in Berlin Collections.  (Original Manichaean manuscripts found since 1902 in China, Egypt, Turkestan to be seen in the Museum of Indian Art in Berlin.)
• Heinrichs, Albert; Ludwig Koenen, Ein griechischer Mani-Kodex, 1970 (ed.) Der Kölner Mani-Codex ( P. Colon. Inv. nr. 4780), 1975–1982.
• Legge, Francis [1914] (1964). Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity, From 330 B.C. to 330 A.D. (reprinted in two volumes bound as one), New York: University Books. LC Catalog 64-24125. 
• Lieu, Samuel (1992). Manichaeism in the later Roman Empire and medieval China.. Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr. 
• Mani (216–276/7) and his 'biography': the Codex Manichaicus Coloniensis (CMC):
• Melchert, Norman (2002). The Great Conversation: A Historical Introduction to Philosophy. McGraw Hill. ISBN 0-19-517510-7. 
• Runciman, Steven [1947] (1982). The Medieval Manichee: a study of the Christian dualist heresy. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-28926-2. 
• Welburn, Andrew. Mani, the Angel and the Column of Glory. ISBN 0-86315-274-0. 
• Wurst, Gregor (July 2001). "Die Bema-Psalmen". Journal of Near Eastern Studies 60 (.3): 203-204. 

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Charles Robert Cecil Augustine Allberry (9 November 1911 – 3 April 1943) was an English Egyptologist and Coptic scholar. ... Isaac de Beausobre (March 8, 1659 - June 5, 1738), French Protestant divine, was born at Niort. ...

See also

• Mandaeanism
• Zoroastrianism
• Zurvanism
• Mazdakism
• Yazdanism
• Gnosticism
• Neo-Manichaeism
• Indo-Iranian religion
• Indo-European religion

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Mandaeism. ... Zoroastrianism is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra, Zartosht). ... Zurvan is the Persian god of infinite time, space and fate. ... Mazdak was a proto-socialist Persian philosopher who gained influence under the reign of the Sassanian king Kavadh I. He was hanged and his followers were massacred by Khosrau I, Kavadhs son. ... Yazdânism or Cult of Angels (also Yazdâni or Yazdanism) is a modern term for the monotheistic, though universalist, religion that was practiced by most Kurds up to the Islamization during the sixteenth century. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Neo-Manichaeism is a contemporary attempt to revive the ancient faith of Manichaeism. ... The ancient Indo-Iranians were the founders of Persia and of Indian Vedic culture. ... Proto-Indo-European Indo-European studies The existence of similarities among the gods and religious practices of the Indo-European peoples suggests that whatever population they actually formed had some form of polytheistic religion. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Manicheans

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ...

Outside articles

• Manichaeism Religions & Beliefs in Ancient Iran (CAIS)
• Catholic Encyclopedia - Manichæism public domain, published 1917.
• International Association of Manichaean Studies
• The Book of the Giants by W.B. Henning, 1943
• Religions of Iran: Manichaeism by I.J.S. Taraporewala
• Manichaeism

Manichaean sources in English translation

• Manichaean Writings
• A summary of the Manichaean creation myth
• Manicheism. Excellent bibliography and selection of Manichaean source texts in PDF format.

Manichaean sources in their original languages

• The Original Chinese Manichaean Scriptures Online: 摩尼教殘經一 ("incomplete sutra one of Manichaeism")& 摩尼光佛教法儀略("The Mani Bright Buddha teaching plan") & 下部贊("The Lower part chant") (Chinese).
• Photos of the Entire Koeln Mani-Kodex (Greek).
• Photos of the Original Middle Persian Manichaean Writings/Fragments Discovered at Turfan (The index of this German site can be searched for additional manichaean material, including photos of the original Chinese manichaean writings)

Secondary Manichaean sources in their original languages

• Augustine's Contra Epistolam Manichaei (Latin)
• St. Augustine Against the Fundamental Epistle of Manichaeus

Manichaean revival movements

• Order of Nazorean Essenes