The book by the German historian and religious scholar Geo Videigrsia is dedicated to one of the most influential dualistic religions in the world, founded by the prophet Mani (216–276 AD). Mani is one of the most mysterious and mythologized figures in world history. He was born in Mesopotamia, preached in Persia, where he died a martyr. Despite the intellectual sophistication and complexity of the religious dogmas of Manichaeism, the teachings of the great prophet Mani became widespread and in some countries became an influential rival to Christianity. Manichaeism spread in the West to Rome, where, despite persecution from the Christian Church, it existed until the end of the 6th century, in the East it reached China, and in the state of the Turkic-Uyghurs it temporarily acquired the status of an official religion.