Manichaeism taught an elaborate cosmology describing the struggle between a good, spiritual world of light, and an evil, material world of darkness.

Manichaeism as a syncretistic form of oriental Christianity was quickly successful and spread far through the Aramaic-Syriac speaking regions, it thrived between the third and seventh centuries, and at its height was one of the most widespread religions in the world.

Manichaeism ( called 摩尼教, Monijiao ), an Iranic religion, entered China between the 6th century and the 8th century due to contacts between the Tang Dynasty and states of Central Asia, particularly Tokharistan.

# His studies at Carthage, his conversion to Manichaeism and continued indulgences in lust between 16 and 19.

The rigid adherents to the Synod of Dort accused them of Pelagianism, and even of Manichaeism, and the controversy between the parties was carried on with great zeal ; yet the whole question between them was only, whether the will of man is determined by the immediate action of God upon it, or by the intervention of a knowledge which God impresses on the mind.

This belief was in some ways similar to Gnostic Christian theology ; notably, both are dualistic, that is, they posit opposing gods, forces, or principles: one higher, spiritual, and " good ", and the other lower, material, and " evil " ( compare Manichaeism ), in contrast to the orthodox Christian view that " evil " has no independent existence, but is a privation or lack of " good ", a view shared by the eminent Jewish theologian Moses Maimonides.

They were of various religions / spiritual traditions including Buddhism ( along with Vajrayana & Bon ) Taoism, Confucianism, Judaism, Nestorianism and Manichaeism as well as wide array of texts on Philosophy, History, Geography, Medicine, Astronomy, Mathematics, Divination, Dictionaries, Music scores, Dance notations, Social documents and Literature ( Popular narratives, Folk songs, Classical poetry ).

Whether the dualism of the Paulicians, Bogomils, and Cathars and their belief that the world was created by a Satanic demiurge were due to influence from Manichaeism is impossible to determine.

This position was crucial in the Christian confrontation with Cynicism and some of the chief forms of Gnosticism, such as Manichaeism, which taught that man is by nature flawed and therefore not responsible for evil in himself or in the world.

In Manichaeism, the name Ohrmazd Bay (" god Ahura Mazda ") was used for the primal figure, the " original man " and emanation of the Father of Greatness ( in Manicheism called Zurvan ) through whom after he sacrificed himself to defend the world of light was consumed by the forces of darkness.

The tradition is now undergoing reevaluation by the anthropological and archaeological developments in the study of its root sources, namely, Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Greco-Roman world, Druidism and other pagan sources, as well as Abrahamic ( Judeo-Christian-Islamic ) esotericism such as Manichaeism, Sufism and Sikhism.

" In his early years he was heavily influenced by Manichaeism and afterward by the Neo-Platonism of Plotinus.

Zurvanism ( Zurvanite Zoroastrianism ), Manichaeism and Mandaeism, are representative of dualistic and monist philosophies since each has a supreme and transcendental First Principle from which the two equal-but-opposite entities then emanate.

Various sects of Christianity also spread throughout Iran, and Manichaeism developed from the two religions ; these were initially tolerated but later persecuted as the Romans followed the opposite route.

Central Asian and North Western Indian Buddhism weakened in the 6th century after the White Hun invasion, who followed their own religions such as Tengri, and Manichaeism.

* Manichaeism had two types of followers, the auditors, and the elect.

Manichaeism survived longer in the East than in the West, and it appears to have finally faded away after the 14th century in southern China, contemporary to the decline in China of the Church of the East – see Ming Dynasty.

An adherent of Manichaeism is called, especially in older sources a Manichee.

" Other than incorporating the symbols and doctrine of dominant religious traditions, Manichaeism also incorporated the symbols and deities of indigenous traditions, in particular the Hindu deity Ganesha into its fold, demonstrated by the image available in the article, Manichaean art and calligraphy by Hans-Joachim Klimkeit.

Also academics note that since much of what is known about Manichaeism comes from later 10th and 11th Century CE Islamic historians like Al-Biruni and especially the Shia Muslim Persian historian Ibn al-Nadim ( and his work Fihrist ); " Islamic authors ascribed to Mani the claim to be the Seal of the Prophets " This topic is discussed by an Israeli academic Guy G. Stroumsa

While Manichaeism was spreading, existing religions such as Christianity and Zoroastrianism were gaining social and political influence.

Although having fewer adherents, Manichaeism won the support of many high-ranking political figures.

Manichaeism continued to spread with extraordinary speed through both the east and west.

The spread and success of Manichaeism were seen as a threat to other religions, and it was widely persecuted in Hellenistic, Christian, Zoroastrian, Islamic, and Buddhist cultures.

Augustine of Hippo ( AD 354 – 430 ) converted to Christianity from Manichaeism, in the year 387.

According to his Confessions, after nine or ten years of adhering to the Manichaean faith as a member of the group of " hearers ", Augustine became a Christian and a potent adversary of Manichaeism ( which he expressed in writing against his Manichaean opponent Faustus of Mileve ), seeing their beliefs that knowledge was the key to salvation as too passive and not able to effect any change in one's life.

A 13th-century manuscript from Augustine's book VII of Confessions ( St. Augustine ) | Confessions criticizing Manichaeism.

How Manichaeism may have influenced Christianity continues to be debated.

Manichaeism may have influenced the Bogomils, Paulicians, and Cathars.

Regardless of its accuracy the charge of Manichaeism was levelled at them by contemporary orthodox opponents, who often tried to make contemporary heresies conform to those combatted by the church fathers.

Priscillian and his followers may also have been influenced by Manichaeism.

Manichaeism maintained a sporadic and intermittent existence in the west ( Mesopotamia, Africa, Spain, France, North Italy, the Balkans ) for a thousand years, and flourished for a time in the land of its birth ( Persia ) and even further east in Northern India, Western China, and Tibet.

In 797 ( or possibly 801 ), the Abbasid caliph of Baghdad, Harun al-Rashid, presented Charlemagne with an Asian Elephant named Abul-Abbas together with a " particularly elaborate example " of a water clock.

The 1983 Woody Allen film Zelig was an elaborate mix of real newsreel footage from the 1930s and fake footage mixed together with fake interviews with real actors playing themselves as well as actors playing roles to tell the story of the Allen character and presented as a documentary.

In Rudraṭa's Kavyalankara ( 5. 15 ), a Sanskrit work on Poetics, the pattern of a knight's tour on a half-board has been presented as an elaborate poetic figure (" citra-alaṅkāra ") called the " turagapadabandha " or ' arrangement in the steps of a horse.

Unable to sail to Italy during the winter, Titus celebrated elaborate games at Caesarea Maritima and Berytus, then travelled to Zeugma on the Euphrates, where he was presented with a crown by Vologases I of Parthia.

The following year, during Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, Whistler presented to the Queen, on the Society's behalf, an elaborate album including a lengthy written address and illustrations that he made.

This is presented as a dynastic marriage in early texts, but folklore preserves a more elaborate story, reminiscent the story of Zeus and Cronus from Greek mythology.

When an inspired document is presented to the World Conference by the president of the church, an elaborate review process takes place.

The refoundation is what lies behind an exceptionally elaborate charter for Pershore, dated 972, in which King Edgar is presented as granting new lands and privileges as well as confirming old ones, such as the one granted by Coenwulf.

In Tyrol the Passion Plays received elaborate cultivation ; at Bozen they were presented with great splendour and lasted seven days.

In 1818, the name Baphomet appeared in the essay by the Viennese Orientalist Joseph Freiherr von Hammer-Purgstall, Mysterium Baphometis revelatum, seu Fratres Militiæ Templi, qua Gnostici et quidem Ophiani, Apostasiæ, Idoloduliæ et Impuritatis convicti, per ipsa eorum Monumenta (" Discovery of the Mystery of Baphomet, by which the Knights Templars, like the Gnostics and Ophites, are convicted of Apostasy, of Idolatry and of moral Impurity, by their own Monuments "), which presented an elaborate pseudohistory constructed to discredit Templarist Masonry and, by extension, Freemasonry itself.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, it was presented with increasingly elaborate stage effects as the closing part of pantomimes.

These operas are presented in staged productions that range in style from those with elaborate traditional decors to others that feature modern conceptual designs.

Kathakali (, ) is a highly stylized classical Indian dance-drama noted for the attractive make-up of characters, elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune with the anchor playback music and complementary percussion.

Melito presented elaborate parallels between the Old Testament or Old Covenant, which he likened to the form or mold, and the New Testament or New Covenant, which he likened to the truth that broke the mold, in a series of Eklogai, six books of extracts from the Law and the Prophets presaging Christ and the Christian faith.

The undergraduate level project is presented through an elaborate written report and a presentation to the advisor, a board of faculty members and students.

* An elaborate fictionalized description of wootz steel manufacture is presented in Neal Stephenson's book The Confusion, part of Stephenson's three-volume work The Baroque Cycle.

An elaborate frame story presented in the prologue to the Latin text details how the manuscript of this work, written in Phoenician characters on tablets of limewood or tree bark, survived: it was said to have been enclosed in a leaden box and buried with its author, according to his wishes.

The name " Calumet " refers to the calumet, an elaborate pipe that served as a universal sign of peace among the Illiniwek, and which was presented to Pere Marquette in 1673.

One of his earliest papers (), which was presented to the French Academy of Sciences in 1829, formed the theme of an elaborate and eulogistic report by Cuvier in the following year.

These were elaborate live shows, similar to those presented at the Radio City Music Hall.

From 1959 to 1962, as part of an elaborate hoax by comedian Alan Abel, he pretended to be G. Clifford Prout, the quietly outraged president of the Society for Indecency to Naked Animals, who presented his point of view on talk shows.

In some ways, the presented work was resembled ballet-each piece was a full-company story with elaborate costumes, sets and lighting.

This work contains an elaborate account of the phenomena presented by the planet ; but although favorably received by astronomers, it had no great sale.

As the intermedio developed in the 16th century, it grew more and more elaborate, often becoming a " play within a play "; for example during a five-act play, an intermedio would consist of four parts, which might be presented as a four-part metaphor of time passing in the play.