Manichaeism

=== 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]].]]