or Manes or Manichaeus
born April 14, 216, southern Babylonia
died 274?, Gundeshapur
Persian founder of Manichaeism .
He had his first vision of an angel in his boyhood, and when he was 24 the angel reappeared and called him to preach a new religion. He traveled to India and made converts there. The Persian king Shapur I permitted him to preach in the Persian empire, but, during the reign of Bahram I, Mani was attacked by Zoroastrian priests. After a 26-day trial he was sentenced to prison, where he died.