Manichaeism

==== 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]].]]