Manichaeism

=== 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.