216–277 (preaching 242–247)

Mani and the rise of Manichaeism

Mani was born in 216 in Babylonia and grew up among the Jewish-Christian sect of the Elkesaites. After a series of "revelations," he created, between 242 and 247, his own "universal" religion. It combined Persian dualism with elements of Christianity and gnosticism.

Mani taught of an eternal struggle between the kingdoms of Light and Darkness. He also taught of liberating particles of light trapped in matter through the strict asceticism of the "Elect" – celibacy and vegetarianism. Ordinary believers faced milder requirements. He honored Buddha, Zoroaster and Jesus as earlier, incomplete revelations of the same Light.

Mani was a talented missionary who used poetry, music and illustrated books. He adapted his preaching to different religious settings, and his teaching spread quickly westward from Persia.

When the Zoroastrian state religion reasserted itself in Persia, Mani was imprisoned. He died in 277. Manichaeism continued to exist for centuries and later influenced the young Augustine.