Manichaeism was a major religious movement founded in the 3rd century CE by the Persian prophet Mani. It combined elements of Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Buddhism, promoting a dualistic worldview that saw the universe as a battleground between the forces of light (good) and darkness (evil). Mani taught that human souls were fragments of light trapped in the material world, and salvation could be achieved through spiritual knowledge and ascetic living. Although once widespread across the Roman and Persian empires, Manichaeism gradually declined due to persecution and was largely extinct by the late Middle Ages.