Manichaean Texts Research Articles

Immortali fragranze. Realtà e immaginario del giardino nei testi manichei iranici

The present contribution deals with an inquiry about Iranian Manichaean texts (Middle Persian and Parthian) concerning the description of the garden and its symbolic values (of peace, rest, evergreen flowery, fragrance, immortality). The aim of the essay is to provide a sketch of Iranian Manichaean passages to improve the already mentioned hypothesis of a pre-Islamic influence on the Persian literature at the foundation of its imagery, which displays the motif of the garden as a characteristic mark of poetic inspiration to feature beauty, love, mystical feeling and desire for paradisiac condition.

Monnica’s Bishop and the “filius istarum lacrimarum” (conf. 3,21)

Abstract Augustine is known as “the son of tears.” This essay searches for the meaning of this expression. Based on conf. 3,21, first the background of the African bishop who spoke the winged words is analysed. Not only had he once been handed over to the Manichaeans as an oblate, but he had also become acquainted with their writings. Especially from this experience he gives his advice to Monnica: her son will come to the right insight legendo, i.e. by reading Manichaean texts. From Manichaean texts that recently have become known, some characteristic elements of conf. 3,21 and especially the expression “filius istarum lacrimarum” appear in a new light.

Solving the Mystery of Mowbed Kird-īr’s Journey to Heaven

In this research, the journey of mowbed Kird-īr to heaven will be investigated. Kird-īr was a great Sassanid priest who has mentioned the description of his ascension in two of his inscriptions. These two inscriptions are Naqsh-i Rostam (KNRm) and Sar Mashhad (KSM). According to the findings of this research, after examining all the events that happened in the ascension of Kird-īr, it was determined that this ascension was based on Mani’s religion. As it can be seen from the existing Manichaean texts, this ascension describes the events that happen to the soul of a righteous person after death in the Manichaean religion. According to the available documents, Kird-īr was the leader of Mazda-worshipper religion. He was from the royal family and from the Greater Khorasan, Wakhan region.

Eastern Sages in Roman Egypt

Scholars have long been curious about the transmission of religious and philosophical ideas across Eurasia in antiquity. It is well known that Mani named a number of important figures from “Eastern” religious traditions—such as Buddha and Zoroaster—among his list of prophetic forerunners in an effort to establish his own authority as a religious teacher. Recently published portions of the Dublin codex of the Manichaean Kephalaia provide an additional attestation of this prophetological paradigm in an even more amplified form, as it includes figures not previously attested. Textual analysis of this new testimonium invites us to reflect on how Mani and his early followers imagined their relationships to other religious traditions. It will be shown that, while Manichaean textual traditions were an important conduit of religious information across Eurasia, modern interpreters should be cautious about supposing that ancient readers of Manichaean texts made any meaningful association between the names of these prophetic forerunners and particular doctrines, which by then had been fully naturalized as “Manichaean” teachings.

Dastanandtuwān, Adjectives or Nouns? A Discussion about Their Grammatical Category and Meaning in Middle Persian

AbstractDespite the impressive research of scholars on Middle Persian grammatical problems, there are still many words in surviving texts that are shrouded in ambiguity. One of these words, whose pronunciation in the inscriptions we owe to the Manichaean texts, isdastan. In this article, first the few available instances of this word in Middle Persian inscriptions and Manichaean texts are mentioned, and scholars’ interpretations of its meaning and grammatical category are discussed. Then it is revisited through the analysis of another word,tuwān, with which it is paired in the Manichaean instance. After a review of prior scholarly interpretations of this latter word, it is argued that in Middle Persiantuwānis a noun, and that it became a modal verb during the process of its application to the possessive structure. Finally, it is asserted thatdastanalso is a noun, due to its conjoinment withtuwānin the Manichaean example.

Andrea Piras. “ ‘And you gathered me to your houses’. Gospel Quotations in Manichaean Texts: Adaptations and Remaking of Mt 25, 35–36 in the Šābuhragān”

Andrea Piras. “ ‘And you gathered me to your houses’. Gospel Quotations in Manichaean Texts: Adaptations and Remaking of Mt 25, 35–36 in the Šābuhragān”

The Power of the Written Word in Manichaeism

Abstract The prominent role books and the act of writing played in the life of the Manichaean Church distinguishes Manichaeism even among other “religions of the book.” This article tackles the question whether the primacy of writing was established by Mani himself or resulted from a development that occurred within the first generations of Mani’s followers. The analysis of the extant fragments of Mani’s own works and early Manichaean texts such as the work of Baraies preserved in the Cologne Mani Codex and the Kephalaia indicate that Mani’s superiority as a writing prophet and the ritual meaning of writing most likely were not part of Mani’s original teaching. Rather, they resulted from the efforts of Manichaean theologians who sought to demonstrate the exceptional status of Mani’s revelation and prophetic mission based on his writings. The Prologue to the Kephalaia of the Teacher played a significant role in this development and contributed extensively to the ritualization of writing in Manichaeism.

Buddhist Indian Loanwords in Sogdian and the Development of Sogdian Buddhism


 Buddhist Sogdian texts contain about 300 loanwords of Indian origin excluding the ones that are known also in Manichaean, secular, or Christian Sogdian texts. About sixty percent of these can easily be seen to be borrowed from Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit. A further twenty percent or so are not so easily recognized as from that source because they also reflect linguistic developments within Sogdian. Another twenty percent are from a Prakrit or show the intermediation of another language, such as Parthian (probably including pwty ‘Buddha’), Tocharian, or Chinese. About one percent has unclear sources. The Indian loanwords in Manichean, Christian and secular Sogdian texts, in contrast, are in the majority from a Middle Indian source. In Buddhist Sogdian, the narrative texts like the Vessantara Jātaka feature more of the less regular loan shapes, which suggests a different path of transmission and probably an earlier date. An appendix discusses the role of Buddism in Sogdiana from finds there: personal names reflect the divinity of the Buddha; a wooden plaque with a devotional scene was recently discovered in Panjakent; a seal from Kafir-kala depicts a Turkish noblewoman rather than a Boddhisatva. A study of place names indicates the presence of Vihāras (Nawbahār, Farxār) at the gates of several main cities in and around Sogdiana.

Manichaeism and the Revelation of the Magi: Syriac “Christianities” in Late Antique Mesopotamia

Abstract The recently published Syriac Revelation of the Magi has proven to be a remarkable addition to the corpus of early Christian apocryphal literature. This unique amplification of the traditional Nativity narrative recounts the Magi’s encounter with a “star-child” who leads them from their homeland in the far east to the birth of Jesus at Nazareth, where the polymorphic nature of Christ is revealed along with his message of universal salvation. Interestingly, the Revelation of the Magi contains several important points of contact with early Manichaean texts. This paper will examine what those shared motifs might tell us about the common milieu out of which both Manichaeism and the Revelation of the Magi might have emerged.

Buddhist and Indian Elements in the Onomastics of the Iranian Manichaean Texts

The use of names and terms of Indian origin bears witness to encounters of Iranian-speaking Manichaeans with Indian religious traditions and cultures, but the importance of an impact of Indian religions on Manichaeism is still subject of scholarly discussions. This paper focuses on Buddhist and Indian elements in Manichaean onomastics. Recent research in the context of the project *Iranisches Personennamenbuch* has provided, for the first time, a complete collection of proper names in the Iranian Manichaean texts from the Turfan region. The transmitted Iranian, hybrid, and non-Iranian names of Manichaean and non-Manichaean historical persons, literary, and mythological figures reflect the ethnic, religious, and multilingual diversity of the peoples along the Silk Roads. The results of this study enable us to analyse the various influences in Manichaean onomastics. Here this refers to proper names of Indian origin, loan-translations, Buddha and Bodhisattva names, names from the Buddhist tradition, and the like. This paper shall show which Indian names occur in Iranian Manichaean texts and how they have been adapted to the Manichaean context.

BUDDHIST SYMBOLIC ON MEDIEVAL TOREUTICS OF SOUTH SIBERIA

Introduction . The aim of this article is to provide a historical, sociological and cultural study of the origin and semantics of the ornament on a number of bronze, copper, and silver artifacts, originating from archaeological excavations or random finds in the territory of Southern Siberia. There are archaeological collections in South Siberia museums which contain decorative and applied arts made of metal, having a similar shape, functional purpose and decorated with relief ornament, the compositional center of which is the so-called “endless knot” or “knot of happiness”. This ornament in a somewhat complicated form is preserved in the decorative and applied art of some peoples (Tuvans, Buryats) of the Sayan-Altai region until the present times. The objective of this article is to reveal the semantics of this ornament based on the analysis of Buddhist and Manichaean texts and images. The direct subject of paleosociological reconstructions in this work are the migrations of medieval ethnic groups (Uigurs, Yenisei Kyrgyz) ‑ carriers of this religious and ideological ideas. These ideas, being fixed in the objects of material culture, are the object of scientific analysis. Methods . In the work applied historical-genetic, retrospective methods and the method of art history analysis. Analysis . With the involvement of additional archaeological and historical sources, the ethnocultural context of the spread of Buddhist and Manichean beliefs is set against the backdrop of the struggle of the medieval Kyrgyz and the Uygur kaganate. The syncretism of religious representations of the population of this region (elements of Buddhism, Manichaeism, and shamanism) is proved. Traced the links with the cultural centers of Central and South Asia and the Middle East. The hypothesis of the early (VIII‑IX centuries) penetration of elements of Buddhism in Southern Siberia is substantiated. Conclusion . It is proved that the Buddhist symbol “knot of happiness” was borrowed by the syncretic Manichaean religion professed by the Uygurs and Kyrgyz, and brought last to the Sayan-Altai region of Southern Siberia.

Did Mani Travel to Armenia?

This paper will present new evidence to resolve a long-standing problem in the biography of Mani, the founder of Manichaeism, who lived in Sasanian Iran during the third-century A.D. There are a number of important early references to Armenia in Manichaean texts. These include a Sogdian account of how Mār Gabryab brought the religion to Armenia and contains the earliest known literary reference to the name of the capital city of Erevan; and various notices of Mani’s own Letter to Armenia in Arabic, Middle Persian and Sogdian. But the principal focus for this paper is to resolve the question as to whether Mani himself travelled to Armenia in the early/mid 270s A.D. The account of his final travels, before his imprisonment and death under King Bahrām I in Gondēšāpūr, has been the subject of sustained debate since late antiquity. The early Christian polemical tradition represented by the Acts of Archelaus (ca. 330 A.D., extant in Latin, with parallels and elaborated traditions in Greek, Syriac etc.) placed him in the mysterious Castellum Arabionis near the border of the Roman Empire, and in the 19th-century it was common to locate this in Armenia. However, discoveries of primary Manichaean texts in Coptic and Middle Iranian languages in the 20th century turned attention to sites in Mesopotamia. This paper aims to reconcile these accounts and will utilise a newly-edited Coptic source to demonstrate that Mani did, indeed, travel to Sasanian Armenia in the company of a local nobleman named Baat.

Genesis as a Hidden Source of Manichaeism

There exists an entrenched notion, supported by both Christian and Manichaean texts, that Manicheans rejected the Old Testament as a product of Satan. However, scholars have noted the presence of loans from the Old Testament in Manichaean works. The Manichaean priest, Felix, in his dispute with St Augustine, documented in Augustine’s Contra Felicem Manicheum, cites Genesis 1:1-2 to demonstrate its agreement with Mani’s teachings. This and other examples show that the Manichaean attitude towards the Old Testament was more complicated than that of simple rejection. In this report, I review textual evidence from multiple Manichaean sources indicating that Jewish texts in general, and Genesis in particular, should be counted among the sources of Manichaeism. Furthermore, I address the question how this evidence could be reconciled with the long-standing view of the Manichaean rejection of the Old Testament.

Manichaean eschatology: a sketch of Gnostic-Christian thinking about the last things

ABSTRACTThe past decades saw the publication of new Manichaean texts such as the Greek Mani-Codex and new editions of pivotal eschatological texts such as the Coptic Sermon on the Great War and Mani’s Šābuhragān. In combination with previously discovered Manichaean texts and, for instance, polemics from the churhc fathers, these texts enable us to construct a new sketch of Manichaean eschatology. The present article aims at presenting some of these new insights, while stressing the particular fact that Manichaean eschatology, both according to Western and Eastern sources, awards the central position in the eschatological events to Jesus.

Book review: Uygur Manichaean Texts. Texts, Translations, Commentary. Volume ii: Liturgical Texts, written by Larry Clark Book review: Biblical and other Christian Sogdian texts from the Turfan Collection, written by Nicholas Sims-Williams a.o.

Book review: Uygur Manichaean Texts. Texts, Translations, Commentary. Volume ii: Liturgical Texts, written by Larry Clark Book review: Biblical and other Christian Sogdian texts from the Turfan Collection, written by Nicholas Sims-Williams a.o.

Augustine’s view of Manichaean almsgiving and almsgiving by the Manichaean community at Kellis

Taking its point of departure from Augustine’s criticism of Manichaean practices with food and drink that appear to disregard the New Testament injunction to give to the poor, or to those who are hungry and thirsty, this article investigates the probability that this was indeed Manichaean practice, by interrogating Manichaean texts and clues about Manichaean practice contained in the personal letters from 4th century CE Roman Kellis in Egypt. A further consideration of types of exclusive communities and their behaviour, or exclusive behaviour at various times from groups that are generally characterised as inclusive, leads to the proposal that Manichaean exclusivity was based firmly on an underlying theology and narrative myth of cosmic salvation that fixed an unalterable Manichaean community practice, carried out in a wide range of geographical locations and historical times.

The Sogdians: Prime Movers between Boundaries

This article provides a nuanced look at an eastern Iranian people whose contribution to both the material and ideological culture of the “Silk Road” is just beginning to come to light. The centrality of Sogdian involvement in trade with both China and India is evidenced from recently deciphered textual sources dating to the fourth and fifth centuries CE, respectively, and from the fact that Sogdian was a lingua franca of the merchant routes through Central Asia into China. Although Sogdian became the main language of dissemination of Buddhist, Manichaean, and Christian texts to the Chinese, both iconographic and textual evidence attest to the continuity of the indigenous Zoroastrian tradition in both Sogdiana and among the Sogdian communities from Turpan to Changan.

The ethnic and linguistic identity of the Parthians: A review of the evidence from Central Asia1

Herodotus lists the Parthians, along with the Chorasmians, the Sogdians and the Arians in the sixteenth satrapy of the Persian Empire at the time of Darius I. Although Parthava is mentioned several times in the Old Persian Achaemenian inscriptions, its exact, or even comparative, locality cannot be established from these owing to different orders of enumeration. From later Classical sources we can piece together a picture of this Iranian people, but evidence is also available from Manichaean texts discovered in Central Asia in the early part of the nineteenth century. The first positive identification of one of the languages in the texts as Parthian was made by Tedesco in 1921. Since then the term has usually been adopted by scholars working on this language. The justification for and implications of this identification from an ethnic and linguistic point of view are discussed in this article.

Manichaean Texts From the Roman Empire – Edited by Iain Gardner and Samuel N. C. Lieu

Manichaean Texts From the Roman Empire – Edited by Iain Gardner and Samuel N. C. Lieu

The Manichaean Body in Discipline and Ritual (review)

(ProQuest Information and Learning: Foreign text omitted.) Manichaean Body in Discipline and Ritual By Jason David BeDuhn (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 2000. Pp. xix, 354. $42.50.) Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the study of Manichaeism has been dominated by the study of genuine Manichaean texts discovered from Turfan (in Middle Iranian and Old Turkish), from Dunhuang (in Chinese and Old Turkish) in Central Asia, from Medinet Madi (in Coptic), and more recently from the Dakhleh Oasis (in Coptic, Greek, and Syriac) in Egypt. editing of these texts, some in languages very imperfectly known at the time of their discovery, and their translation and interpretation have inevitably come to occupy a high proportion of Manichaean scholarship. decipherment of the now famous Cologne Mani-Codex in the 1970's also opened a new and controversial direction of research, namely, the Judaeo-Christian roots of Manichaeism. Given the preoccupation of the majority of Manichaean scholars in these specialized activities, a new scholarly contribution to understanding some of the basic tenets of the religion is therefore both unique and timely. title of BeDuhn's work suggests a study of Manichaean anthropogenesis or asceticism or the Mani's equation of parts of the human body with those of the Zodiac in the Coptic Kephalaia. book certainly touches on these issues, but more importantly it is a thorough, and sometimes exhaustive, study of the place of the sacred meal for the Elect in Manichaean doctrine, especially in Eastern Manichaean texts. Manichaeans had an aversion for harvesting and cooking as both actions would damage the Light Particles held captive in plants and animals and the suffering of which is symbolized by the Cross of Light. To avoid starvation, the Hearers, namely, the second rank of the sect, were charged with dire injunctions to attend to the culinary needs of the Elect. Far from being an arrangement of necessity or even of hypocrisy, BeDuhn argues from an impressive survey of both genuine Manichaean texts (especially the Greek Cologne Mani-Codex and the so-called Monastery Scroll in Old Turkish) and writings of the more informative polemicists like Augustine in Roman North Africa and Lu Yu in South China that the meals eaten by the Elect played an important part in both the final liberation of the captive Light Particles and the maintenance of the moral standards of the sect. Earlier scholars like Henri-Charles Puech and Nils Arne Pedersen had drawn attention to the doctrinal importance of the meal in Manichaeism, but BeDuhn's work is the first comprehensive examination of the available evidence and the fullest exposition of the rationale of the rites. Manichaean ritual meal was, according to BeDuhn, an essential part of the religious life of a Manichaean community or cell. Conducted daily, the Hearers delivered their alms to the place of consumption and the table on which the food is placed is a ritual locale. In the author's own words ... Manichaeans participated in a templeless and altarless tradition. While other religious communities carried their offerings into temples, where their priests burned them on altars, the Manichaeans bore their ah-ns to the Elect, who cooked them in their own stomachs (pp. 164-165). Though the Manichaean cosmogony is highly complex and replete with a multitude of deities and demons, the Manichaeans were expert in reducing their main ethical teachings to The Three Seals, The Five Commandments (for the Elect), and The Ten Commandments (for the Hearers). Seal of the Mouth forbids an Elect from eating meat and drinking wine while the Seal of the Breast prevents fornication and marriage and therefore physical procreation which prolongs the captivity of Light, and the Seal of the Hands is the command to avoid injury to water, fire, trees, and living things and hence bans the procurement of food. Through observance of commands like these the Elect purify their bodies as instruments for the purification and liberation of Light. …