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