The Co-formation of the Manichaean and Zoroastrian Religions in Third-Century Iran

Abstract

The assumption that an already established Zoroastrian religion served as the source for terms, concepts, and themes, which Mani and Manichaeans appropriated and altered, is due for reassessment. Building on the work of P. O. Skjaervø, this study argues that (1) Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism arose together, side by side, in the third century (2) against the background of older Iranian religious cultural traditions, (3) each fitting those antecedent cultural artifacts into different systems of interpretation and application.