Manichaeism

== History ==
=== Life of Mani ===
{{main|Mani (prophet)}}
[[File:Manicheans.jpg|thumb|Manichaean priests, writing at their desks. Eighth or ninth century manuscript from [[Gaochang]], [[Tarim Basin]], China.]]
[[File:Birth of Mani.jpg|thumb|[[Yuan dynasty|Yuan Chinese]] silk painting ''Mani's Birth''.]]

Mani was an [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]]<ref>Mary Boyce, ''Zoroastrians: their religious beliefs and practices'', Routledge, 2001. p. 111: "He was Iranian, of noble Parthian blood&nbsp;..."</ref><ref>Warwick Ball, ''Rome in the East: the transformation of an empire'', Routledge, 2001. p. 437: "Manichaeism was a syncretic religion, proclaimed by the Iranian Prophet Mani&nbsp;...</ref>{{efn|name=IranicaManiFounderManichaeism}} born in 216  CE in or near [[Seleucia]]-[[Ctesiphon]] (now [[al-Mada'in]], Iraq) in the [[Parthian Empire]]. According to the ''[[Cologne Mani-Codex]]'',<ref name="Mani-Kodex">L. Koenen and C. Römer, eds., ''Der Kölner Mani-Kodex. Über das Werden seines Leibes. Kritische Edition'', (Abhandlung der Reinisch-Westfälischen Akademie der Wissenschaften: Papyrologica Coloniensia '''14''') (Opladen, Germany) 1988.</ref> Mani's parents were members of the [[Jewish Christian]] [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] [[sect]] known as the [[Elcesaites]].<ref name="Sundermann-2009a">{{Cite web |last=Sundermann |first=Werner |date=2009-07-20 |title=MANI |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/mani-founder-manicheism |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |publisher=Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref>

Mani composed seven works; six of which were written in the [[Aramaic|late-Aramaic]] [[Syriac language]]. The seventh, the ''[[Shabuhragan]]'',<ref name="Shabuhragan">Middle Persian Sources: D. N. MacKenzie, ''Mani's Šābuhragān'', pt. 1 (text and translation), BSOAS 42/3, 1979, pp. 500–34, pt. 2 (glossary and plates), BSOAS 43/2, 1980, pp. 288–310.</ref> was written by Mani in [[Middle Persian]] and presented by him to [[List of monarchs of the Sasanian Empire|Sasanian emperor]] [[Shapur I]]. Although there is no proof Shapur I was a Manichaean, he tolerated the spread of Manichaeism and refrained from persecuting it within his empire's boundaries.<ref>Welburn (1998), pp. 67–68</ref>

According to one tradition, Mani invented the unique version of the Syriac script known as the [[Manichaean alphabet]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tardieu|first=Michel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e9wk7DQRoPoC&q=Manichaean+alphabet&pg=PA33|title=Manichaeism|date=2008|publisher=University of Illinois Press|isbn=978-0-252-03278-3|language=en}}</ref> that was used in all of the Manichaean works written within the [[Sasanian Empire]], whether they were in Syriac or [[Middle Persian]], as well as most of the works written within the [[Uyghur Khaganate]]. The primary language of [[Babylon]] (and the administrative and cultural language of the Empire) at that time was [[Middle Aramaic|Eastern Middle Aramaic]], which included three main dialects: [[Jewish Babylonian Aramaic]] (the language of the [[Babylonian Talmud]]), [[Mandaic language|Mandaean]] (the language of [[Mandaeism]]), and Syriac, which was the language of Mani as well as the [[Syriac Christianity|Syriac Christians]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Joosten|first=Jan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RrLe3e6Hx-QC&q=Syriac++Church|title=The Syriac Language of the Peshitta and Old Syriac Versions of Matthew: Syntactic Structure, Inner-Syriac Developments and Translation Technique|date=1996|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-10036-7|language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Shahname - Mani death (cropped).jpg|thumb|A 14th-century illustration of the execution of [[Mani (prophet)|Mani]]]]
While Manichaeism was spreading, existing religions such as [[Zoroastrianism]] were still popular and [[Christianity]] was gaining social and political influence. Although having fewer adherents, Manichaeism won the support of many high-ranking political figures. With the assistance of the Sasanian Empire, Mani began missionary expeditions. After failing to win the favour of the next generation of Persian royalty and incurring the disapproval of the Zoroastrian clergy, Mani is reported to have died in prison awaiting execution by Persian emperor [[Bahram I]]. The date of his death is estimated at 276–277 CE.

=== Influences ===
{{See also|Chinese Manichaeism|Docetism}}
[[File:Sermon on Mani's Teaching of Salvation. Cathayan Manichaean silk painting, 13th-century.jpg|thumb|''[[Sermon on Mani's Teaching of Salvation]]'', 13th-century Chinese Manichaean silk painting.]]
Mani believed that the teachings of Buddha, Zoroaster,<ref name="Harari-2015">{{Cite book |last=Harari |first=Yuval Noah |title=Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind |publisher=Penguin Random House UK |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-09-959008-8 |location=London |page=247 |translator-last=Harari |translator-first=Yuval Noah |oclc=910498369 |author-link=Yuval Noah Harari |translator-last2=Purcell |translator-first2=John |translator-last3=Watzman |translator-first3=Haim |translator-link=Yuval Noah Harari |translator-link3=Haim Watzman}}</ref> and Jesus were incomplete, and that his revelations were for the [[Universalism|entire world]], calling his teachings the "Religion of Light". Manichaean writings indicate that Mani received revelations when he was twelve years old and again when he was 24, and over this period he grew dissatisfied with the [[Elcesaites]], the [[Jewish Christian]] [[Gnostic]] sect he was born into.<ref name="Reeves1996">{{cite book|first=John C. |last=Reeves |title=Heralds of That Good Realm: Syro-Mesopotamian Gnosis and Jewish Traditions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ewM1xTuRQaoC&pg=PA6 |access-date=27 August 2012 |year=1996 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|BRILL]] |isbn=978-90-04-10459-4 |pages=6–}}</ref> Some researchers also point to an important [[Jainism|Jain]] influence on Mani as extreme degrees of [[Asceticism|asceticism]] and some specific features of Jain doctrine made the influence of [[Mahāvīra (mathematician)|Mahāvīra's]] religious community more plausible than even the Buddha.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Jainism – Posadha |date=2017 |encyclopedia=Buddhism and Jainism |series=Encyclopedia of Indian Religions |page=585 |location=Dordrecht |publisher=Springer Netherlands|doi=10.1007/978-94-024-0852-2_100387 |isbn=978-94-024-0851-5 }}</ref>

Mani wore colorful clothing abnormal for the time that reminded some Romans of a stereotypical Persian [[magus]] or [[warlord]], earning him ire from the [[Greco-Roman world]] because of it.<ref name="Coyle2009">{{cite book |author=Coyle |first=John Kevin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wnFz3tI0qOwC&pg=PR13 |title=Manichaeism and Its Legacy |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-90-04-17574-7 |location=Leiden, The Netherlands |page=7 |access-date=27 August 2012}}</ref>

Mani taught how the soul of a righteous individual returns to [[Paradise]] upon dying, but "the soul of the person who persisted in things of the flesh – fornication, procreation, possessions, cultivation, harvesting, eating of meat, drinking of wine – is condemned to rebirth in a succession of bodies."<ref name="EB-2023">{{Cite web |title=Manichaeism |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Manichaeism |access-date=2023-02-21 |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |language=en}}</ref>

Mani began preaching at an early age and was possibly influenced by contemporary Babylonian-Aramaic movements such as [[Mandaeism]], Aramaic translations of [[Jewish eschatology|Jewish apocalyptic]] works similar to those found at [[Qumran]] (e.g., the [[Book of Enoch]] literature), and by the Syriac [[Dualism in cosmology|dualist]]-Gnostic writer [[Bardaisan]] (who lived a generation before Mani). With the discovery of the Mani-Codex, it also became clear that he was raised in the Jewish Christian sect of the Elcasaites and possibly influenced by their writings.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

According to biographies 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" ({{lang-arc|[[wikt:תאומא|תאומא]]}} {{ipa|tɑʔwmɑ}}, from which is also derived the Greek name of [[Thomas the Apostle]], ''Didymus; ''the "twin"),  ''Syzygos'' ({{lang-grc-koi|[[wikt:σύζυγος|σύζυγος]]}} "spouse, partner", in the ''[[Cologne Mani-Codex]]''), "Double," "Protective Angel," or "Divine Self." This spirit taught him wisdom that he then developed into a religion. It was his "Twin" who brought Mani to [[self-realization]]. Mani claimed to be the ''[[Paraclete]] of the Truth'' promised by Jesus in the New Testament.<ref>{{cite book |title=Mani and Augustine |first=Johannes |last=van Oort |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden, the Netherlands |date=2020 |chapter=The Paraclete Mani as the Apostle of Jesus Christ and the Origins of a New Church }}</ref>

[[File:Jesus as a Manichaean Prophet, 13th century.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.75|''[[Manichaean Painting of the Buddha Jesus]]'' depicts Jesus Christ as a Manichaean prophet. The figure can be identified as a representation of Jesus Christ by the small gold cross that sits on the red [[lotus throne]] in His left hand.]]
[[Jesus in Manichaeism|Manichaeism's views on Jesus]] are described by historians:
{{poemquote|Jesus in Manichaeism possessed three separate identities: 
(1) Jesus the Luminous, 
(2) Jesus the [[Messiah]] and 
(3) Jesus ''patibilis'' (the suffering Jesus).

(1) As Jesus the Luminous&nbsp;... his primary role was as supreme revealer and guide and it was he who woke Adam from his slumber and revealed to him the divine origins of his soul and its painful captivity by the body and mixture with matter.

(2) Jesus the Messiah was a historical being who was the prophet of the Jews and the forerunner of Mani. However, the Manichaeans believed he was wholly divine, and that he never experienced human birth, as the physical realities surrounding the notions of his conception and his birth filled the Manichaeans with horror. However, the Christian doctrine of virgin birth was also regarded as obscene. Since Jesus the Messiah was the light of the world, where was this light, they reasoned, when Jesus was in the womb of the Virgin? Jesus the Messiah, they believed, was truly born only at his baptism, as it was on that occasion that the Father openly acknowledged his sonship. The suffering, death and resurrection of this Jesus were in appearance only as they had no salvific value but were an exemplum of the suffering and eventual deliverance of the human soul and a prefiguration of Mani's own martyrdom.

(3) The pain suffered by the imprisoned Light-Particles in the whole of the visible universe, on the other hand, was real and immanent. This was symbolized by the mystic placing of the Cross whereby the wounds of the passion of our souls are set forth. On this mystical Cross of Light was suspended the Suffering Jesus (Jesus patibilis) who was the life and salvation of Man. This ''mystica crucifixio'' was present in every tree, herb, fruit, vegetable and even stones and the soil. This constant and universal suffering of the captive soul is exquisitely expressed in one of the Coptic Manichaean psalms.<ref name="SNC Lieu">{{cite book | author = Samuel N. C. Lieu | date = 1992 | title = Manichaeism in the Later Roman Empire and Medieval China | publisher = J.C.B. Mohr | pages = 161– | isbn = 978-3-16-145820-0 | oclc = 1100183055 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hmNPz9teHqUC&pg=PA161}}</ref>}}

[[Augustine of Hippo]] also noted that Mani declared himself to be an "apostle of Jesus Christ".<ref>{{cite book | editor = Boniface Ramsey | author = Saint Augustine | date = 2006 | title = The Manichean Debate, Volume 1; Volume 19 | publisher = New City Press | pages = 315– | isbn = 978-1-56548-247-0 | oclc = 552327717 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=57nFeeC3GKoC&pg=PA315}}</ref> Manichaean tradition is also noted to have claimed that Mani was the reincarnation of religious figures from previous eras such as the Buddha, [[Krishna]], and Zoroaster in addition to Jesus himself.

Academics note that much of what is known about Manichaeism comes from later 10th- and 11th-century [[Muslims|Muslim]] historians like [[al-Biruni]] and [[Ibn al-Nadim|ibn al-Nadim]] in his ''[[al-Fihrist]]''; the latter "ascribed to Mani the claim to be the Seal of the Prophets."<ref name="Sundermann-EIranica-2012">{{iranica|eschatology-ii}}</ref> However, given the Islamic milieu of [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]] and Persia at the time, it stands to reason that Manichaens would regularly assert in their evangelism that Mani, not [[Muhammad]], was the "Seal of the Prophets".<ref>{{cite book|last=Stroumsa |first=Guy G. |title=The Making of the Abrahamic Religions in Late Antiquity |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2015 |location=Oxford |page=95}}</ref> In reality, for Mani the metaphorical expression "Seal of Prophets" is not a reference to his finality in a long succession of prophets as it is used in Islam, but rather as final to his followers (who testify or attest to his message as a "seal").<ref>C. Colpe, "Das Siegel der Propheten: historische Beziehungen zwischen Judentum, Judenchristentum, Heidentum und frühem Islam", ''Arbeiten zur neutestamentlichen Theologie und Zeitgeschichte'', 3 (Berlin: Institut Kirche und Judentum, 1990), 227–243.</ref><ref>G. G. Stroumsa, ''The Making of the Abrahamic Religions in Late Antiquity'', Oxford Studies in the Abrahamic Religions (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015), 68.</ref>

[[File:ManichaeanElectaeKocho10thCentury.jpg|thumb|10th century Manichaean Electae in [[Gaochang]] (Khocho), China.]]
Other sources of Mani's scripture were the Aramaic originals of the [[Book of Enoch]], [[2 Enoch]], and an otherwise unknown section of the Book of Enoch entitled ''[[The Book of Giants]]''. The latter was quoted directly and expanded upon by Mani, and became one of the original six Syriac writings of the Manichaean Church. Beside brief references by non-Manichaean authors through the centuries, no original sources of ''The Book of Giants'' (which is actually part six of the Book of Enoch) were available until the 20th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/1Q24-1?locale=en_US |title=The Dead Sea Scrolls – 1Q Enoch, Book of Giants |website=The Dead Sea Scrolls – 1Q Enoch, Book of Giants |language=en |access-date=7 October 2019}}</ref>

Scattered fragments of both the original Aramaic Book of Giants (which were analyzed and published by [[Józef Milik]] in 1976)<ref>J. T. Milik, ed. and trans., ''The Books of Enoch: Aramaic Fragments of Qumran Cave 4'', Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976.</ref> and the Manichaean version of the same name (analyzed and published by [[Walter Bruno Henning]] in 1943)<ref name="Henning">In: Henning, W. B., ''The Book of Giants'', BSOAS, Vol. XI, Part 1, 1943, pp. 52–74.</ref> were discovered along with the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]] in the [[Judaean Desert|Judaean desert]] in the 20th century and the Manichaean writings of the [[Uyghurs|Uyghur]] Manichaean kingdom in [[Turpan]]. Henning wrote in his analysis of them:

{{blockquote|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]], [[Nariman (Shahnameh)|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.<ref name="Henning"/>}}

By comparing the cosmology of the books of Enoch to the Book of Giants, as well as the description of the Manichaean myth, scholars have observed that the Manichaean cosmology can be described as being based, in part, on the description of the cosmology developed in detail within the Enochic literature.<ref>Reeves, John C. ''Jewish Lore in Manichaean Cosmogony: Studies in the Book of Giants Traditions'' (1992)</ref> This literature describes the being that the prophets saw in their ascent to [[Heaven]] as a king who sits on a throne at the [[Seven heavens|highest]] of the heavens. In the Manichaean description, this being, the "Great King of Honor", becomes a deity who guards the entrance to the World of Light placed at the seventh of ten heavens.<ref>See Henning, ''A Sogdian Fragment of the Manichaean Cosmogony'', BSOAS, 1948</ref> In the Aramaic Book of Enoch, the Qumran writings, overall, and in the original Syriac section of Manichaean scriptures quoted by [[Theodore bar Konai]],<ref name="Konai"/> he is called ''malkā rabbā d-iqārā'' ("the Great King of Honor").{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

Mani was also influenced by writings of the gnostic Bardaisan (154–222 CE), who, like Mani, wrote in Syriac and presented a dualistic interpretation of the world in terms of light and darkness in combination with elements from Christianity.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ephraim |first1=Saint |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2JolCgAAQBAJ&q=Bardaisan&pg=PT250 |title=Of Mani, Marcion, and Bardaisan |last2=Press |first2=Aeterna |publisher=Aeterna Press |language=en}}</ref>

Mani was heavily inspired by Iranian Zoroastrian theology.<ref name="Harari-2015" />

[[File:Akshobya in His Eastern Paradise with Cross of Light.jpg|thumb|[[Akshobhya]] in the [[abhirati]] with the Cross of Light, a symbol of Manichaeism.]]
Noting Mani's travels to the [[Kushan Empire]] (several religious paintings in [[Bamyan]] are attributed to him) at the beginning of his proselytizing career, [[Richard Foltz]] postulates Buddhist influences in Manichaeism:

{{blockquote|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]].<ref>[[Richard Foltz]], ''Religions of the Silk Road'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2nd edition, 2010, p. 71 {{ISBN|978-0-230-62125-1}}</ref>}}

The [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] monk [[Lokaksema (Buddhist monk)|Lokakṣema]] began translating [[Pure Land Buddhism|Pure Land Buddhist]] texts into Chinese in the century prior to Mani arriving there, and the Chinese texts of Manichaeism are full of uniquely Buddhist terms taken directly from these Chinese Pure Land scriptures, including the term "[[pure land]]" ({{zh|c=淨土|p=jìngtǔ}}) itself.<ref>Peter Bryder, ''The Chinese Transformation of Manichaeism: A Study of Chinese Manichaean Terminology'', 1985.</ref> However, the central object of veneration in Pure Land Buddhism, [[Amitābha]], the Buddha of Infinite Light, does not appear in [[Chinese Manichaeism]], and seems to have been replaced by another deity.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lieu |first=Samuel N. C. | author-link=Samuel N. C. Lieu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yl2DteLY8jcC&q=Buddha+replaced |title=Manichaeism in Central Asia and China |date=1998 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|BRILL]] |isbn=978-90-04-10405-1 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Spread ===
====Roman Empire====
[[File:Spread of Manicheanism.png|alt=|thumb|350px|A map of the spread of Manichaeism (300–500). ''World History Atlas'', Dorling Kindersly.]]
Manichaeism reached Rome through the apostle Psattiq by 280, who was also in [[Egypt]] in 244 and 251. It was flourishing in the [[Faiyum]] in 290.

Manichaean monasteries existed in Rome in 312 during the time of [[Pope Miltiades]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Lieu |first=Samuel N. C. | author-link=Samuel N. C. Lieu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O_vnAAAAIAAJ&q=Miltiades |title=Manichaeism in the Later Roman Empire and Medieval China: A Historical Survey |date=1985 |publisher=[[Manchester University Press]] |isbn=978-0-7190-1088-0 |language=en}}</ref>

In 291, persecution arose in the Sasanian Empire with the murder of the apostle Sisin by Emperor [[Bahram II]] and the slaughter of many Manichaeans. Then, in 302, the first official reaction and legislation against Manichaeism from the Roman state was issued under [[Diocletian]]. In an official edict called the ''De Maleficiis et Manichaeis'' compiled in the ''Collatio Legum Mosaicarum et Romanarum'' and addressed to the [[proconsul of Africa]], Diocletian wrote:
{{blockquote|We have heard that the Manichaeans [...] have set up new and hitherto unheard-of sects in opposition to the older creeds so that they might cast out the doctrines vouchsafed to us in the past by the divine favour for the benefit of their own depraved doctrine. They have sprung forth very recently like new and unexpected monstrosities among the race of the Persians – a nation still hostile to us – and have made their way into our empire, where they are committing many outrages, disturbing the tranquility of our people and even inflicting grave damage to the civic communities. We have cause to fear that with the passage of time they will endeavour, as usually happens, to infect the modest and tranquil of an innocent nature with the damnable customs and perverse laws of the Persians as with the poison of a malignant (serpent) ... We order that the authors and leaders of these sects be subjected to severe punishment, and, together with their abominable writings, burnt in the flames. We direct their followers, if they continue recalcitrant, shall suffer capital punishment, and their goods be forfeited to the imperial treasury. And if those who have gone over to that hitherto unheard-of, scandalous and wholly infamous creed, or to that of the Persians, are persons who hold public office, or are of any rank or of superior social status, you will see to it that their estates are confiscated and the offenders sent to the (quarry) at [[Khirbat Faynan|Phaeno]] or the mines at [[Proconnesus (city)|Proconnesus]]. And in order that this plague of iniquity shall be completely extirpated from this our most happy age, let your devotion hasten to carry out our orders and commands.<ref>Iain Gardner and [[Samuel N. C. Lieu]], eds., Manichaean Texts from the Roman Empire (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), 117–18.</ref>}}

By 354, [[Hilary of Poitiers]] wrote that Manichaeism was a significant force in [[Roman Gaul]]. In 381, Christians requested [[Theodosius I]] to strip Manichaeans of their [[civil rights]]. Starting in 382, the emperor issued a series of edicts to suppress Manichaeism and punish its followers.<ref>[[Samuel N. C. Lieu|Lieu, Samuel]] (1992) ''Manichaeism in the Later Roman Empire and Medieval China'' 2d edition, pp. 145–148</ref>

[[File:Tiffany Window of St Augustine - Lightner Museum.jpg|thumb|[[Augustine of Hippo]] was once a Manichaean.]]
[[Augustine of Hippo]] (354–430) converted to Christianity from Manichaeism in the year 387. This was shortly after the Roman emperor [[Theodosius I]] had issued a decree of death for all Manichaean monks in 382 and shortly before he declared Christianity to be the only legitimate religion for the Roman Empire in 391. Due to the heavy persecution, the religion almost disappeared from western Europe in the fifth century and from the eastern portion of the empire in the sixth century.<ref name="Wendy"/>

According to his ''[[Confessions (Augustine)|Confessions]]'', after nine or ten years of adhering to the Manichaean faith as a member of the group of "hearers", [[Augustine of Hippo]] became a Christian and a potent adversary of Manichaeism (which he expressed in writing against his Manichaean opponent [[Faustus of Mileve]]), seeing their beliefs that knowledge was the key to salvation as too passive and not able to effect any change in one's life.<ref>{{cite web |title=St. Augustine of Hippo |url=http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=418 |access-date=2012-08-18 |website=Catholic.org |publisher=Catholic Online}}</ref>
{{blockquote|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&nbsp;... 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.<ref>''Confessions'', Book V, Section 10.</ref>}}
Some modern scholars have suggested that Manichaean ways of thinking influenced 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, and the hostility to the flesh and sexual activity, and his dualistic theology.<ref>A. Adam, ''Das Fortwirken des Manichäismus bei Augustin''. In: ZKG (69) 1958, S. 1–25.</ref>

[[File:Augustine Confessiones.jpg|thumb|A 13th-century manuscript from Augustine's book VII of ''[[Confessions (Augustine)|Confessions]]'' criticizing Manichaeism.]]

====Central Asia====
[[File:Amitâbha in His Western Paradise with Indians, Tibetians and Central Asians, Symbols - Sun and Cross.jpg|thumb|[[Amitābha]] in his [[Western Paradise]] with [[Indian people|Indians]], [[Tibetan people|Tibetans]], and [[Central Asian peoples|Central Asians]], with two symbols of Manichaeism: Sun and Cross.]]
Some [[Sogdia]]ns in Central Asia believed in the religion.<ref>[http://222.87.106.4:90/~kjqk/xbmzyj/xbmz2002/0204pdf/020405.pdf 从信仰摩尼教看漠北回纥]{{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tanghistory.net/data/articles/d02/618.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807002634/http://www.tanghistory.net/data/articles/d02/618.html|title=关于回鹘摩尼教史的几个问题|archive-date=7 August 2007}}</ref> [[Uyghur Khaganate|Uyghur khagan]] Boku Tekin (759–780) converted to the religion in 763 after a three-day discussion with its preachers,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bbs.sjtu.edu.cn/bbsanc,path,%2Fgroups%2FGROUP_5%2Fhistory%2FD4DE4789F%2FDA817325D%2FM.1026347406.A.html |title=九姓回鹘爱登里罗汨没蜜施合毗伽可汗圣文神武碑 |publisher=Bbs.sjtu.edu.cn |access-date=2014-02-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224091643/http://bbs.sjtu.edu.cn/bbsanc,path,%2Fgroups%2FGROUP_5%2Fhistory%2FD4DE4789F%2FDA817325D%2FM.1026347406.A.html |archive-date=24 December 2013 }}</ref><ref>TM276 [http://mehmetolmez.org/Yuklemeler_Downloads/Eski Uygurca_Alttuerkisch_Qedimi Uygurche/TT 2.pdf Türkische Turfan-Texte. ~]{{dead link|date=September 2016|bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> the Babylonian headquarters sent high rank clerics to Uyghur, and Manichaeism remained the state religion for about a century before the collapse of the Uyghur Khaganate in 840.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

====China====
{{Main|Chinese Manichaeism}}
In the east it spread along trade routes as far as [[Chang'an]], the capital of [[Tang dynasty|Tang China]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KMQeAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA309 |title=Encyclopedia of China: History and Culture |first=Dorothy |last=Perkins |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2013 |page=309 |isbn=978-1-135-93562-7}}</ref><ref name="S.N.C.L.">{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Yl2DteLY8jcC&pg=PA129|title= Manachaeism in Central Asia and China|author= [[Samuel N. C. Lieu]]|publisher= [[Brill Publishers]]|year= 1998|isbn= 978-90-04-10405-1|pages= 115, 129, 130}}</ref>

After the Tang dynasty, some Manichaean groups participated in [[peasant movement]]s. The religion was used by many rebel leaders to mobilise followers. In [[Song dynasty|Song]] and [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]] China, remnants of Manichaeism continued to leave a legacy contributing to sects such as the [[Red Turban Rebellions|Red Turbans]]. During the Song dynasty, the Manichaeans were derogatorily referred by the Chinese as ''Chīcài shìmó'' ({{zh|c=吃菜事魔}}, meaning that they "abstain from meat and worship demons").<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=BZ8WAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA228|title= Pre-Modern East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Volume I: To 1800|author= Patricia Ebrey, Anne Walthall|publisher= [[Cengage]]|year= 2013|page= 228|isbn= 978-1-285-54623-0}}</ref><ref name="Xisha2011">{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Knui-SpO4GQC&pg=PA55|title= Popular Religion and Shamanism|author= Xisha Ma, Huiying Meng|publisher= [[Brill Publishers]]|year= 2011|pages= 56, 57, 99|isbn= 978-90-04-17455-9}}</ref>

An account in ''Fozu Tongji'', an important historiography of Buddhism in China compiled by Buddhist scholars during 1258–1269, says that the Manichaeans worshipped the "White Buddha" and their leader wore a violet headgear, while the followers wore white costumes. Many Manichaeans took part in rebellions against the Song government and were eventually quelled. After that, all governments were suppressive against Manichaeism and its followers and the religion was banned in [[Ming dynasty|Ming China]] in 1370.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=BZ8WAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA228|title= Pre-Modern East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Volume I: To 1800|author= Patricia Ebrey, Anne Walthall|publisher= [[Cengage]]|year= 2013|page= 228|isbn= 978-1-285-54623-0}}</ref><ref name="Xisha2011"/> While it had long been thought that Manichaeism arrived in China only at the end of the seventh century, a recent archaeological discovery demonstrated that it was already known there in the second half of the 6th century.<ref name="La Vaissiere">Étienne de la Vaissière, "Mani en Chine au VIe siècle", ''Journal asiatique'', 293–1 (2005): 357–378.</ref>

The nomadic [[Uyghur Khaganate]] lasted for less than a century (744- 840) in the southern Siberian steppe, with the fortified city of [[Ordu-Baliq]] on the Upper [[Orkhon River]] as its capital.<ref name="CA, ABC-CLIO">{{cite book |last1=Hajianfard |first1=Ramin |title=Boku Tekin and the Uyghur Conversion to Manichaeism (763) |date=2016 |publisher=CA, ABC-CLIO |location=Santa Barbara |isbn=978-1-61069-566-4 |id={{ISBN|978-1-61069-566-4}} |pages=409, 411}}</ref> Before the end of the year (763), Manichaeism was declared the official religion of the Uyghur state. Boku Tekin banned all the shamanistic rituals that had previously been in use.  It is likely that his decision was accepted by his subjects. That much results from a report that the proclamation of Manichaeism as the state religion was met with enthusiasm in Ordu-Baliq. In an inscription in which the Kaghan speaks for himself, he promised to the Manichaen high priests (the "Elect") that if they would give orders, he would promptly follow them and respond to their requests. A fragmentary manuscript found in the [[Turpan|Turfan Oasis]] gives Boku Tekin the title of ''zahag-i Mani'' ("Emanation of Mani" or "Descendant of Mani"), a title of majestic prestige among the Manichaeans of Central Asia.

Nonetheless, and despite the apparently willing conversion of the Uyghurs to Manichaeanism, traces and signs of the previous shamanistic practices persisted. For instance, in 765, only two years after the official conversion, during a military campaign in China, the Uyghur troops called forth magicians to perform a number of specific rituals. Manichaean Uyghurs continued to treat with great respect a sacred forest in [[Otuken]].<ref name="CA, ABC-CLIO"/> The conversion to Manichaeism led to an explosion of manuscript production in the Tarim Basin and Gansu (the region between the Tibetan and the Huangtu plateaus), which lasted well into the early 11th century. In 840 the Uyghur Khaghanate collapsed under the attacks of the [[Yenisei Kyrgyz]], and the new Uyghur state of [[Qocho]] was established with a capital in the city of [[Gaochang|Qocho]].

[[Al-Jahiz]] (776–868 or 869) believed that the peaceful lifestyle that Manicheism brought to the Uyghurs was responsible for their later lack of military skills, and eventual decline. This, however, is contradicted by the political and military consequences of the conversion. After the migration of the Uyghurs to Turfan in ninth century, the nobility maintained Manichaean beliefs for a while, before converting to Buddhism. Traces of Manicheism among the Uyghurs in Turfan maybe detected in fragments of Uyghur Manichaean manuscripts. In fact, Manicheism continued to rival the influence of Buddhism among the Uyghurs until the 13th century. It was the [[Mongols]] that gave the final blow to the Manichaeism among the Uyghurs.<ref name="CA, ABC-CLIO"/>

====Tibet====
Manichaeism spread to Tibet during the [[Tibetan Empire]]. There was a serious attempt made to introduce the religion to the Tibetans as the text ''Criteria of the Authentic Scriptures'' (a text attributed to Tibetan Emperor [[Trisong Detsen]]) makes a great effort to attack Manichaeism by stating that Mani was a heretic who engaged in [[religious syncretism]] into a deviating and inauthentic form.<ref>{{cite book|title=Sources of Tibetan Tradition |last1=Schaeffer |first1=Kurtis |last2=Kapstein |first2=Matthew |last3=Tuttle |first3=Gray |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-231-13599-3 |location=New York |pages=95, 96}}</ref>

====Iran====
Manichaeans in Iran tried to assimilate their religion along with [[Islam]] in the Muslim [[caliphate]]s.<ref name="Andrew">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nae0AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA73 |title=The Islamic World |first=Andrew |last=Rippin |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-136-80343-7 |page=73 |author-link=Andrew Rippin}}</ref> Relatively little is known about the religion during the first century of Islamic rule. During the early caliphates, Manichaeism attracted many followers. It had a significant appeal among the Muslim society, especially among the elites. A part of Manichaeism that specifically appealed to the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanians]] was the names of the Manichaean gods. The names Mani had assigned to the gods of his religion show identification with those of the Zoroastrian pantheon, even though some divine beings he incorporates are non-Iranian. For example, Jesus, Adam or Eve were, respectively, given the names Xradesahr, Gehmurd or Murdiyanag. Because of these familiar names, Manichaeism did not feel completely foreign to the Zoroastrians.<ref name="Hutter-1993">{{Cite journal |last=Hutter |first=Manfred |date=1993 |title=Manichaeism in the Early Sasanian Empire |journal=Numen |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=2–15 |doi=10.2307/3270395 |jstor=3270395 |issn=0029-5973|doi-access=free }}</ref> Due to the appeal of its teachings, many Sasanians adopted the ideas of its theology and some even became dualists.

Not only were the citizens of the Sasanian Empire intrigued by Manichaeism, but so was the ruler at the time of its introduction, [[Shapur I|Sabuhr l]]. As the [[Denkard]] states, Sabuhr, the first [[King of Kings|king of kings]], was very well known for gaining and seeking knowledge of any kind. Because of this knowledge, Mani knew that Sabuhr would lend an ear to his teachings and accept him. Mani had specifically stated, while introducing his teachings to Sabuhr, that his religion should be seen as a reform of [[Zoroaster|Zarathrusta's]] ancient teachings.<ref name="Hutter-1993" /> This was of great fascination to the king, as it perfectly fit Sabuhr's dream of creating a large empire that incorporated all people and their different creeds. Thus, Manichaeism became popular and flourished throughout the Sasanian Empire for thirty years. An apologia for Manichaeism ascribed to [[ibn al-Muqaffa']] defended its phantasmagorical cosmogony and attacked the [[fideism]] of Islam and other monotheistic religions. The Manichaeans had sufficient structure to have a head of their community.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/formationofislam0000berk |url-access=registration |title=The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East |first=Jonathan Porter |last=Berkey |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2003 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/formationofislam0000berk/page/99 99], 100 |isbn=978-0-521-58813-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1ajwK7ejowwC&pg=PT86 |title=The Middle East |first=Bernard |last=Lewis |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4391-9000-5 |author-link=Bernard Lewis}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IenWAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA50 |title=State and Government in Medieval Islam |first=Ann K. S. |last=Lambton |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2013 |pages=50, 51 |isbn=978-1-136-60521-5}}</ref>

Tolerance towards Manichaeism decreased after the death of Sabuhr I. His son, [[Ahura Mazda|Ohrmazd]], who became king, still allowed for Manichaeism in the empire, but he also greatly trusted the Zoroastrian priest, Kirdir. After Ohrmazd's short reign, his oldest brother, [[Bahram I|Wahram I]], became king. Wahram I held Kirdir in high esteem as well, and he also held much different religious ideals than Ohrmazd, and his father, Sabuhr I. Due to influence from Kirdir, Zoroastrianism was strengthened throughout the empire, which in turn caused Manichaeism to be diminished and weakened. Wahram sentenced Mani to prison, and he died there.<ref name="Hutter-1993" />

====Arab world====
Under the eighth-century [[Abbasid Caliphate]], Arabic {{lang|ar|zindīq}} and the adjectival term {{lang|ar|zandaqa}} could denote many different things, though it seems primarily (or at least initially) to have signified a follower of Manichaeism, however its true meaning is not known.<ref name="Zaman1997">{{citation|last=Zaman |first=Muhammad Qasim |title=Religion and Politics Under the Early 'Abbasids: The Emergence of the Proto-Sunni Elite |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0xkpdl6UVOwC&pg=PA64 |year=1997 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |pages=63–65 |isbn=978-90-04-10678-9}}</ref> In the ninth century, it is reported that Caliph [[al-Ma'mun]] tolerated a community of Manichaeans.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2501/is_n2_v16/ai_16502939/pg_5/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711053736/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2501/is_n2_v16/ai_16502939/pg_5/ |archive-date=11 July 2012 |work=Arab Studies Quarterly |first=Mahmood |last=Ibrahim |title=Religious inquisition as social policy: the persecution of the 'Zanadiqa' in the early Abbasid Caliphate |year=1994}}</ref>

During the early Abbasid period, the Manichaeans underwent persecution. The third Abbasid caliph, [[al-Mahdi]], persecuted the Manichaeans, establishing an inquisition against dualists who if being found guilty of heresy refused to renounce their beliefs, were executed. Their persecution was finally ended in 780s by [[Harun al-Rashid]].<ref name="Christine">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aPgGBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA88 |title=Medieval Heresies |first=Christine Caldwell |last=Ames |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2015 |page= 88 |isbn=978-1-107-02336-9}}</ref><ref>Irfan Shahîd, ''Byzantium and the Arabs in the fourth century'', 1984, p. 425.</ref> During the reign of the Caliph [[al-Muqtadir]], many Manichaeans fled from [[Mesopotamia]] to [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]] from fear of persecution and the base of the religion was later shifted to [[Samarkand]].<ref name="Wendy"/><ref name="Jacques"/>

==== Bactria ====
The first indications and signs of Manichaeism in Bactria were actually during Mani's lifetime. While he never physically traveled there, he did send a disciple, by the name of Mar Ammo, to spread his word. Mani "called (upon) Mar Ammo, the teacher, who knew the Parthian language and script, and was well acquainted with lords and ladies and with many nobles in those places..."<ref>{{Cite book |title=Gnosis on the Silk Road: Gnostic texts from Central Asia |date=1993 |publisher=HarperSanFrancisco |first=Hans-Joachim |last=Klimkeit |isbn=0-06-064586-5 |edition=1st |location=San Francisco|oclc=28067600}}</ref>

Mar Ammo indeed did travel to the old Parthian lands of eastern Iran, which bordered Bactria. A translation of Persian texts state the following from the perspective of Mar Ammo: "They had arrived at the watch post of Kushān (Bactria), then the spirit of the border of the eastern province appeared in the shape of a girl, and he (the spirit) asked me 'Ammo what do you intend? From where have you come?' I said, 'I am a believer, a disciple of Mani, the Apostle.' That spirit said 'I do not receive you. Return from where you have come.'"

Despite the initial rejection Mar Ammo faced, we are told in these same Persian texts that Mani's spirit appeared to Mar Ammo in a spirit form and requested him to persevere and read the chapter, "The Collecting of the Gates" from ''The Treasure of the Living''. Once he did this, spirit returned, converted, and said, "I am Bag Ard, the frontier guard of the Eastern Province. When I receive you, then the gate of the whole East will be opened in front of you." It seemed that this "border spirit" was a reference to the local Eastern Iranian goddess, Ard-oxsho, who was incredibly prevalent in Bactria.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Scott |first=David |title=Manichaeism in Bactria: Political Patterns & East-West Paradigms |date=2007 |journal=Journal of Asian History |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=107–130 |jstor=41933456 |issn=0021-910X}}</ref>[[File:Manichaean Diagram of the Universe (Detail 12).jpg|thumb|The four primary prophets of Manichaeism in the ''[[Manichaean Diagram of the Universe]]'', from left to right: [[Mani (prophet)|Mani]], [[Zarathustra in Manichaeism|Zoroaster]], [[The Buddha in Manichaeism|Buddha]] and [[Jesus in Manichaeism|Jesus]].]]

=== Syncretism and translation ===
Manichaeism claimed to present the complete version of teachings that were corrupted and misinterpreted by the followers of its predecessors [[Adam]], [[Abraham]], [[Noah]],<ref name="Turner-1993" /> Zoroaster, the Buddha, and Jesus.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Carrasco |first1=David |title=Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions |last2=Warmind |first2=Morten |last3=Hawley |first3=John Stratton |last4=Reynolds |first4=Frank |last5=Giarardot |first5=Norman |last6=Neusner |first6=Jacob |last7=Pelikan |first7=Jaroslav |last8=Campo |first8=Juan |last9=Penner |first9=Hans |publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]] |editor=[[Wendy Doniger]] |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-87779-044-0 |location=United States |page=689 |language=en |author-link=David Carrasco |author-link4=Frank Reynolds (academic) |author-link6=Jacob Neusner |author-link7=Jaroslav Pelikan}}</ref> Accordingly, as it spread, it adapted new deities from other religions into forms it could use for its scriptures. Its original [[Eastern Middle Aramaic]] texts already contained stories of Jesus.

When 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 [[yazata]]s. Thus ''Abbā ḏəRabbūṯā'' ("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 with the name of the deity ''[[Zurvan|Zurwān]]''.

Similarly, the Manichaean primal figure [[Adam Kadmon#In Manichaeism|''Nāšā Qaḏmāyā'']] "The Original Man" was rendered ''Ohrmazd Bay'' after the Zoroastrian god [[Ahura Mazda|Ohrmazd]]. This process continued in Manichaeism's meeting with [[Chinese Buddhism]], where, for example, the original Aramaic {{lang|arc|קריא}} ''qaryā'' (the "call" from the World of Light to those seeking rescue from the World of Darkness) is identified in the Chinese-language scriptures with [[Guanyin]] ({{script|Hant|觀音}} or [[Avalokiteśvara]] in Sanskrit, literally, "watching/perceiving sounds [of the world]", the [[bodhisattva]] of Compassion).{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

Manichaeism influenced some writing and traditions of [[proto-orthodox Christianity|proto-orthodox]] and other forms of Christianity, as well as doing the same for branches of [[Zoroastrianism]], [[Judaism]], [[Buddhism]], and [[Islam]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hopkins |first=Keith |title=A World Full of Gods: The Strange Triumph of Christianity |date=July 2001 |publisher=[[Plume (publisher)|Plume]] |isbn=0-452-28261-6 |location=New York |page=245 |oclc=47286228}}</ref>

=== Persecution and suppression ===
{{See also|Manichaean schisms}}
Manichaeism was repressed by the [[Sasanian Empire]].<ref name="Andrew"/> In 291, persecution arose in the Persian empire with the murder of the apostle Sisin by [[Bahram II]], and the slaughter of many Manichaeans. In 296, the Roman emperor [[Diocletian]] decreed all the Manichaean leaders to be burnt alive along with the Manichaean scriptures and many Manichaeans in Europe and North Africa were killed. It was not until 372 with [[Valentinian I]] and [[Valens]] that Manichaeism was legislated against again.<ref>{{cite book|last=Coyle |first=J.K. |title=Manichaeism and its Legacy |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |date=2009 |page=19}}</ref>

[[Theodosius I]] issued a decree of death for all Manichaean monks in 382 AD.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/faithsacrosstime0001melt |url-access=registration |title=Faiths Across Time: 5000 years of Religious History |first=J. Gordon |last=Melton |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |year=2014 |page=[https://archive.org/details/faithsacrosstime0001melt/page/361 361] |isbn=978-1-61069-026-3}}</ref> The religion was vigorously attacked and persecuted by both the [[Catholic Church|Christian Church]] and the Roman state, and the religion almost disappeared from western Europe in the fifth century and from the eastern portion of the empire in the sixth century.<ref name="Wendy">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780877790440 |url-access=registration |title=Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions |first=Wendy |last=Doniger |publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]] |year=1999 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780877790440/page/689 689], 690 |isbn=978-90-6831-002-3 |author-link=Wendy Doniger}}</ref>

[[File:Conversion of Bögü Qaghan (759-780 CE) to Manicheism in 762 (detailed of Bögü Qaghan in a suit of armour, kneeling to a Manichean high priest).jpg|thumb|Conversion of [[Bögü Qaghan]], third Khagan of the [[Uyghur Khaganate]], to [[Manicheism]] in 762: detail of Bögü Qaghan in a suit of armour, kneeling to a Manichean high priest. 8th century Manichean manuscript ([[Leaf from a Manichaean book MIK III 4979|MIK III 4979]]).<ref name="RX577-578">{{cite book |last1=Rong |first1=Xinjian |title=The Silk Road and Cultural Exchanges between East and West |date=24 October 2022 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-51259-7 |pages=577–578 |language=en |chapter=Gaochang in the Second Half of the 5th Century and Its Relations with the Rouran Qaghanate and the Kingdoms of the Western Regions|doi=10.1163/9789004512597_006 }}</ref>]]
In 732, [[Emperor Xuanzong of Tang]] banned any Chinese from converting to the religion, saying it was a heretic religion that was confusing people by claiming to be Buddhism. However, the foreigners who followed the religion were allowed to practice it without punishment.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cO7g4WBBK9YC&pg=PA182 |title=Silk and Religion: An Exploration of Material Life and the Thought of People, AD 600–1200, Parts 600–1200 |first=Xinru |last=Liu |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1997 |page=182 |isbn=978-0-19-564452-4}}</ref> After the fall of the Uyghur Khaganate in 840, which was the chief patron of Manichaeism (which was also the state religion of the Khaganate) in China, all Manichaean temples in China except in the two capitals and [[Taiyuan]] were closed down and never reopened since these temples were viewed as a symbol of foreign arrogance by the Chinese (see [[Cao'an]]). Even those that were allowed to remain open did not for long.<ref name="S.N.C.L."/>

The Manichaean temples were attacked by Chinese people who burned the images and idols of these temples. Manichaean priests were ordered to wear [[hanfu]] instead of their traditional clothing, which was viewed as un-Chinese. In 843, [[Emperor Wuzong of Tang]] gave the order to kill all Manichaean clerics as part of the [[Huichang persecution of Buddhism]], and over half died. They were made to look like Buddhists by the authorities, their heads were shaved, they were made to dress like [[bhikkhu|Buddhist monks]] and then killed.<ref name="S.N.C.L."/>

Although the religion was mostly forbidden and its followers persecuted thereafter in China, it survives within syncretic sects throughout Fujian in a form of [[Chinese Manichaeism]] also called Mingjiao.<ref name="Li-2004" /><ref name="Chen-2004" /> Under the [[Song dynasty]], its followers were derogatorily referred to with the [[chengyu]] {{lang|zh|吃菜祀魔}} ({{zh|p=chī cài sì mó}}) "vegetarian demon-worshippers".

Many Manichaeans took part in rebellions against the Song dynasty. They were quelled by Song China and were suppressed and persecuted by all successive governments before the Mongol [[Yuan dynasty]]. In 1370, the religion was banned through an edict of the [[Ming dynasty]], whose [[Hongwu Emperor]] had a personal dislike for the religion.<ref name="S.N.C.L."/><ref name="Xisha2011"/><ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/manichaeisminlat00lieu |url-access=registration |title= Manichaeism in the Later Roman Empire and Medieval China: A Historical Survey |first=Samuel N. C. |last=Lieu | author-link=Samuel N. C. Lieu|publisher=[[Manchester University Press]] |year=1985 |page=[https://archive.org/details/manichaeisminlat00lieu/page/261 261] |isbn=978-0-7190-1088-0}}</ref> Its core teaching influences many religious sects in China, including the [[White Lotus]] movement.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wLshRPD8lpsC&q=White+Lotus+movement.+manichaeism&pg=PA124 |title=The White Lotus Teachings in Chinese Religious History |last=ter Haar |first=B. J. |date=1999 |publisher=[[University of Hawaii Press]] |isbn=978-0-8248-2218-7 |language=en}}</ref>

According to [[Wendy Doniger]], Manichaeism may have continued to exist in the modern-[[East Turkestan]] region until the [[Mongol conquest of the Qara Khitai|Mongol conquest in the 13th century]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780877790440 |url-access=registration |title=Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions |first=Wendy |last=Doniger |publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]] |year=1999 |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780877790440/page/690 690] |isbn=978-90-6831-002-3 |author-link=Wendy Doniger}}</ref>

Manicheans also suffered persecution for some time under the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad. In 780, the third Abbasid Caliph, [[al-Mahdi]], started a campaign of inquisition against those who were "dualist heretics" or "Manichaeans" called the ''zindīq''. He appointed a "master of the heretics" ({{lang-ar|صاحب الزنادقة}} {{lang|ar-latn|ṣāhib al-zanādiqa}}), an official whose task was to pursue and investigate suspected dualists, who were then examined by the Caliph. Those found guilty who refused to abjure their beliefs were executed.<ref name="Christine"/>

This persecution continued under his successor, Caliph [[al-Hadi]], and continued for some time during reign of [[Harun al-Rashid]], who finally abolished it and ended it.<ref name="Christine"/> During the reign of the 18th Abbasid Caliph [[al-Muqtadir]], many Manichaeans fled from [[Mesopotamia]] to [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]] from fear of persecution by him and about 500 of them assembled in [[Samarkand]]. The base of the religion was later shifted to this city, which became their new Patriarchate.<ref name="Wendy"/><ref name="Jacques">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YdUUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA658 |title=Papers in Honor of Professor Mary Boyce |first1=Jacques |last1=Duchesne-Guillemin |first2=Pierre |last2=Lecoq |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |year=1985 |page=658 |isbn=978-90-6831-002-3}}</ref>

Manichaean pamphlets were still in circulation in Greek in 9th-century [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] Constantinople, as the patriarch [[Photios I of Constantinople|Photios]] summarizes and discusses one that he has read by Agapius in his ''[[Bibliotheca (Photius)|Bibliotheca]]''.

=== Later movements associated with Manichaeism ===
During the Middle Ages, several movements emerged that were collectively described as "Manichaean" by the Catholic Church, and persecuted as Christian heresies through the establishment of the [[Medieval Inquisition|Inquisition]] in 1184.<ref>[[Guy Stroumsa|Stroumsa, Gedaliahu G.]], "Anti-Cathar Polemics and the Liber de duobus principiis", in B. Lewis and F. Niewöhner, eds., ''Religionsgespräche im Mittelalter'' (Wolfenbütteler Mittelalter-Studien, 4; Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1992), 169–183, p. 170</ref> They included the [[Cathar]] churches of Western Europe. Other groups sometimes referred to as "neo-Manichaean" were the [[Paulicianism|Paulician]] movement, which arose in Armenia,<ref name="Fortescue-1911">Fortescue, Adrian (1 February 1911). "[https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11583b.htm Paulicians]". ''[[The Catholic Encyclopedia]]''. Vol. 9. New York: The Encyclopedia Press, Inc.</ref> and the [[Bogomilism|Bogomils]] in Bulgaria and Serbia.<ref name="Runciman"/> An example of this usage can be found in the published edition of the Latin Cathar text, the ''Liber de duobus principiis'' (''Book of the Two Principles''), which was described as "Neo-Manichaean" by its publishers.<ref>Dondaine, Antoine. O. P. ''Un traite neo-manicheen du XIIIe siecle: Le Liber de duobus principiis, suivi d'un fragment de rituel Cathare'' (Rome: Institutum Historicum Fratrum Praedicatorum, 1939)</ref> As there is no presence of Manichaean mythology or church terminology in the writings of these groups, there has been some dispute among historians as to whether these groups were descendants of Manichaeism.<ref>Weber, Nicholas (1 March 1907). "[https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01267e.htm Albigenses]". ''[[The Catholic Encyclopedia]]''. Vol. 1. New York: The Encyclopedia Press, Inc.</ref>

Manichaeism could have influenced the Bogomils, Paulicians, and Cathars. However, these groups left few records, and the link between them and Manichaeans is tenuous. Regardless of its accuracy, the charge of Manichaeism was leveled at them by contemporary orthodox opponents, who often tried to make contemporary heresies conform to those combatted by the church fathers.<ref name="Runciman"/>

Whether the [[Dualistic cosmology|dualism]] of the Paulicians, Bogomils, and Cathars and their belief that the world was created by a Satanic [[demiurge]] were due to influence from Manichaeism is impossible to determine. The Cathars apparently adopted the Manichaean principles of church organization. [[Priscillian]] and his followers may also have been influenced by Manichaeism. The Manichaeans preserved many [[apocrypha]]l Christian works, such as the [[Acts of Thomas]], that would otherwise have been lost.<ref name="Runciman">Runciman, Steven, ''The Medieval Manichee: a study of the Christian dualist heresy''. Cambridge University Press, 1947.</ref>

==== Legacy in present-day ====
Some sites are preserved in [[Xinjiang]], [[Zhejiang]], and [[Fujian]] in [[China]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jnsy.com.cn/old/show.asp?id=150 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130825155322/http://www.jnsy.com.cn/old/show.asp?id=150 |script-title=zh:明教在温州的最后遗存 – 温州社会研究所 |trans-title=The Last Remains of Mingjiao in Wenzhou – Wenzhou Institute of Social Research |language=zh |date=25 August 2013 |archive-date=25 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://cxsz.cixi.gov.cn/art/2012/10/8/art_46137_948467.html |script-title=zh:崇寿宫记 |website=Cxsz.cixi.gov.cn |date=8 October 2012 |access-date=14 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513222832/http://cxsz.cixi.gov.cn/art/2012/10/8/art_46137_948467.html |archive-date=13 May 2013 }}</ref> The [[Cao'an]] temple is the most widely known, and best preserved Manichaean building,<ref name="SNC Lieu" />{{rp|256–257}} though it later became associated with [[Buddhism]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mq.edu.au/research/centres_and_groups/ancient_cultures_research_centre/research/cultural_ex_silkroad/zayton/ |title=Manichaean and (Nestorian) Christian Remains in Zayton (Quanzhou, South China) ARC DP0557098 |publisher=Mq.edu.au |access-date=27 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808000234/http://www.mq.edu.au/research/centres_and_groups/ancient_cultures_research_centre/research/cultural_ex_silkroad/zayton |archive-date=8 August 2014}}</ref> Other temples in China, solely associated with Manichaeism also exist, such as the [[Cangnan Stele|Xuanzhen Temple]] noted for its stele.

[[Chinese Manichaeism|Chinese Manichaeans]] continue to practice the faith, mainly in Fujian and Zhejiang.<ref name="Li-2004" /><ref name="Chen-2004" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=钱库竟有明教遗址-选真寺，就在… |url=https://www.sohu.com/a/165729040_361562 |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=sohu.com}}</ref> Some platforms on the [[internet]] and social media are trying to spread some of its teachings. Some people are registered in these electronic sources, and some scholars and students in the field of religious studies and the arts continue to study Manichaeism.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hajianfard |first1=Ramin |title=Mani and the Foundation of Manichaeism: Great Events in Religion: An Encyclopedia of Pivotal Events in Religion History |date=2016 |publisher=CA, ABC-CLIO |location=Santa Barbara |isbn=978-1-61069-566-4 |id={{ISBN|978-1-61069-566-4}} <!--DUPLICATE |pages= 188–193--> |page=193}}</ref>