Mani (in Persian: مانی, Syriac: ܡܐܢܝ, Latin: Manes) (c. 216–276 AD) was the founder of Manichaeism, an ancient gnostic religion that was once widespread but is now extinct. Mani was born of Iranian (Parthian) parentage in Assuristan, located in modern-day Iraq, which was a part of the Persian Empire during Mani's life. Mani may have been of Persian parentage.
Mani's father, Fatik or Pattig, was from Hamadan, in present day Iran, and his mother, M...
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Mani (in Persian: مانی, Syriac: ܡܐܢܝ, Latin: Manes) (c. 216–276 AD) was the founder of Manichaeism, an ancient gnostic religion that was once widespread but is now extinct. Mani was born of Iranian (Parthian) parentage in Assuristan, located in modern-day Iraq, which was a part of the Persian Empire during Mani's life. Mani may have been of Persian parentage.
Mani's father, Fatik or Pattig, was from Hamadan, in present day Iran, and his mother, Maryam, was of the family of the Kamsaragan, who claimed kinship with the Parthian royal house, but the names of his father and mother are both Syriac.
Although Mani's original writings have been lost, portions were preserved in Egyptian Coptic and in later Chinese Manichaean writings.
Mani's native languages are thought to have been Middle Persian and Syriac. Mani first encountered religion in his early youth while living with a Jewish Christian ascetic group known as the Elkasites.
According to biographical accounts by al-Biruni, preserved in...
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