Mani (in
Persian ????,
Syriac ????) (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.
[citation needed]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.[citation needed] Mani was an exceptionally gifted child. Mani first encountered religion in his early youth while living with a Jewish ascetic group known as the Elkasites.[1]
