Abu Hilal al-Dayhuri

Abū Hilāl al-Dayhūri was a Manichaean leader. Of North African origin, he served as archegos, the traditional leader of the Manichaean sect seated in Seleucia-Ctesiphon some time during the mid-to-late eighth century.

Origins

al-Dayhūri hailed from North Africa, once a major center of Manichaean activity.^[1] He then travelled to present-day Iraq. It is unknown, however, whether he converted to Manichaeism after his arrival there or had originally been a Manichaean in Africa. As such, it is difficult to use him to gauge the health of Manichaeism in eighth-century North Africa.^[2] He may have been a Berber.^[1]

Significance

During the reign (754–775) of the second Abbasid caliph, Al-Mansur, al-Dayhūri attained the status of archegos, "the traditional seat of the supreme head of the Manichaean church" in Seleucia-Ctesiphon.^[3]

He is most important for temporarily resolving a major rift in the sect between the followers of two previous archegos, those of the orthodox-minded Miqlās (the "Miqlāsiyya") and those of the more compromising Mihr (the "Mihriyya").^[2]

References

1. Glassé, Cyril. The New Encyclopedia of Islam. Page 64. Rowman & Littlefield, 2008.
2. Lieu, Samuel N.C. Manichaeism in the Later Roman Empire and Medieval China: a Historical Survey. Pages 83, 164. Manchester University Press, 1985.
3. Gardner, Iain & Samuel N.C. Lieu (eds.) Manichaean Texts from the Roman Empire. Page 43. Cambridge University Press, 2004.