Mani proclaims Manichaeism in the Sasanian Empire

Date

c. 240 CE

Category

Religion & ideology

Region

Persia (Sasanian Empire)

Era

Classical Antiquity

Significance

Around 240-241 CE the Parthian-Iranian prophet Mani (216-274 CE) began publicly proclaiming a new universal religion in the Sasanian Empire of Persia.

Manichaeism taught a stark cosmic dualism between the realms of Light and Darkness and offered salvation through knowledge that would liberate the particles of light trapped in the material world. Mani presented himself as the final prophet in a succession that included Zoroaster, the Buddha, and Jesus, deliberately synthesising elements of Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Buddhism, and Gnosticism into a single faith with its own scriptures and elaborate church organisation. Initially favoured at the court of Shapur I, Mani was later imprisoned and died under Bahram I after opposition from the Zoroastrian priesthood. Despite persecution, Manichaeism spread remarkably widely, reaching the Roman world, North Africa (where it briefly attracted Augustine), Central Asia, and ultimately China, where it survived for centuries. It became one of late antiquity's most influential and geographically extensive religions before fading.

Empires active in c. 240 CE

• Roman Empire
  27 BCE – 476 CE
• Kingdom of Funan
  50 CE – 550 CE
• Sassanid Empire
  224 CE – 651 CE
• Kushan Empire
  30 CE – 375 CE
• Teotihuacan
  100 BCE – 750 CE
• Zapotec State of Monte Albán
  500 BCE – 800 CE

Related religion & ideology events

• Judah ha-Nasi Codifies the Mishnah
  c. 200 CE
• Battle of the Milvian Bridge and the Edict of Milan
  28 October 312 – 313 CE
• First Council of Nicaea convenes
  325 CE
• Nagarjuna Founds the Madhyamaka School and Systematises Mahayana Philosophy
  c. 150 CE
• Codification of the Caste System in the Manusmriti (Laws of Manu)
  c. 100 CE
• Edict of Thessalonica makes Nicene Christianity the state religion
  27 February 380 CE

Further reading

A Little History of Religion

The wider story

A Little History of Religion

Richard Holloway

Accessible sweep of humanity's faiths and belief systems from prehistory to the present.

Get it on Amazon →

As an Amazon Associate, Human Saga earns from qualifying purchases.