Prolegomena to a History of Islamicate Manichaeism

Focusing on the historical significance of Manichaeism, this work presents an annotated anthology of primary sources that trace the religion's origins in third-century Mesopotamia and its expansion across the Roman and Sasanian empires. Despite facing violent suppression, Manichaeism persisted in secret across the Near East, Central Asia, and China until the seventeenth century. The book translates and evaluates key testimonies in Arabic, Persian, Syriac, and Hebrew to illuminate the cultural impact of what is often regarded as the first 'world religion'.