Mani (c.216-276 CE); of Iranian origin; was the prophet and the founder of Manichaeism; a gnostic religion of Late Antiquity which was once widespread but is now extinct. Mani was born in or near Seleucia-Ctesiphon in Asuristan (Assyria); at the time still part of the Parthian Empire.

Six of his major works were written in Syriac Aramaic and the seventh; dedicated to the king of the empire; Shapur I; was written in Middle Persian. He died in Gundeshapur; under the Sassanid Empire. Pictures From History