Mani (prophet)
3rd century prophet and founder of Manichaeism
Mani (; c. April AD 216 – 2 March AD 274 or 26 February AD 277) was an Iranian prophet and the founder of Manichaeism, a religion most prevalent in late antiquity.
Mani was born in or near Ctesiphon (south of modern Baghdad) in Mesopotamia, at the time part of the Parthian Empire. Seven of his major works were written in Syriac, and the eighth, dedicated to the Sasanian emperor Shapur I, was written in Middle Persian. He died shortly after being imprisoned by Bahram I in Gundeshapur.
Etymology
The exact meaning of the name, or rather title, of "Mani" remains unsolved. It may have derived from Babylonian-Aramaic Mânâ [luminescence]. Mandaeans used the term mânâ rabba, which means "Enlightened Lord/King". Ancient Greek interpretations were skeuos (σκεῦος, "vessel, instrument") and homilia (ὁμιλία, "intercourse, company, communion, instruction").
The same slightly contemptuous "a certain" (Manes quidam) also appears in Hegemonius' Acta Archelai (4th century), however, Hegemonius contributes a detailed description of Mani's looks. Mani’s names became the object of uplifting transformation (Greek, Coptic Mannichaios, Latin Mannichaeus, i.e., Mannam fundens, "pouring out Manna").
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q203922. VIAF identifies the subject as 56618185. The Library of Congress control number is n79065286. 3 of 10 selected statements include explicit references; 4 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Mani (prophet)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.