The Classical WorldIdeas & Belief Mani founds Manichaeism c. 240 CENotable The prophet Mani in Sasanian Persia preaches a dualist religion of light and darkness. Manichaeism spread from the Roman Empire to China. ▲ MattersSaveShareTrace roots Longest chain: The Big Bang → First stars ignite → Supernovae seed heavy elements → The Sun forms → Earth forms → First oceans → First life → Photosynthesis evolves → Great Oxidation Event → Complex cells (eukaryotes) → Multicellular life → First animals → Cambrian Explosion → First vertebrates → Jawed fish → Fish walk onto land → The amniotic egg → The Great Dying → Dinosaurs appear → Asteroid ends the dinosaurs → Early primates → Apes split from monkeys → Human line splits from chimpanzees → Walking upright → First stone tools → Genus Homo appears → Homo erectus → Control of fire → Habitual fire and cooking → Homo sapiens appears → Complex language → Natufian villages → Oldest known bread → Agriculture begins → Irrigation → Uruk and the first cities → Cylinder seals → Writing (cuneiform) → Akkadian Empire → Neo-Assyrian Empire → Persian Empire founded → Sasanian Empire → Mani founds Manichaeism Community notesLoading notes… Learn more ranked by votesBookSamuel N. C. LieuManichaeism in the Later Roman Empire and Medieval China ↗Editor's pickVideoSearch on YouTubeManichaeism history explained ↗Editor's pick