Today, we have the first of two dev diaries for RICE’s next flavor pack coming with the Khans of the Steppe DLC –
Manicheism: The Religion of Light. This update focuses on Manicheism, which has the dubious honor of being the only world religion that has gone extinct.
Before I start, I want to give a shout-out to two mods that already add Manichean flavor; they are, and will continue to be, compatible with RICE, so check them out if you haven’t already:
- Eclipsed Crown: Adds a 724 start date with flavor decisions, events, struggles, and more, including Manichean and Uyghur flavor.
- Manichean Tweaks: From the same creator of the Baptism of Rus mod, this mod improves Manicheism and the Uyghurs.
Now, let’s move onto the dev diary, which will cover general Manichean flavor!
Credits to Ethnicities and Portraits Expanded (EPE) and Community Flavor Pack (CFP) for some of the character assets featured in the screenshots.
The Yamag/Archegos
The in-game Manichean faith has, firstly, received an uplift in several ways, such as changes to the Manichean head of faith, called
Yamag in CK3 but also known as the Archegos.
First, the Yamag’s history is now more accurate and will exist in 867 and 1066. It’ll include all historically attested holders, starting with the first leader and founder of Manicheism –
Mani himself. As an aside, I’ve made Mani a member of his own house in the Arsacid Dynasty, i.e. the Parthian dynasty of Persia, which exists in 867 through the Houses of Pahlavuni (in Armenia) and Karen (around the Caspian). Manichean sources claimed both Mani’s parents were from separate branches of the Arsacids; though this is hard to verify, it’s not implausible.
The last indisputable Archegos was in the 8th century, but the office is attested for at least a couple centuries after that, so the Archegos in 867 is fictitious. The in-game Archegos in 1066 however is a certain
Ayraman Puhr, a Manichean Church leader in the early 11th century in Uyghur-ruled Turfan who, according to Yukata Yoshida, a Japanese Iranologist, may have been one of the last Archegos of the declining Manichean community in Central Asia.
Other Religious Tweaks
Previously, RICE added a Purification doctrine for Dualist faiths; there is now a new option within that category,
Liberation of Light as Purification, which is only available to Manicheans at game start. It unlocks various Manichean features I’ll discuss later below.
Besides the new doctrine and the changes to the Yamag, Manicheism has also received the following changes:
- The Yamag’s capital is in Babylon in 867 and Turfan in 1066, as historically, the Archegos fled from Babylon to Samarkand in the early 900s, and then later likely moved to Turfan less than a century later.
- Witchcraft is criminal instead of accepted. Mani preached against sorcery and those who practiced magic, associating it with the evil World of Matter and Darkness.
- Clerical Marriage is disallowed. Sexual abstinence was a strict regulation placed on the Manichean Elect, or clergy.
- Manicheism’s Esotericism tenet has been replaced with Monasticism. Although early Manicheism probably did not have a monastic tradition, it developed one especially in Central and East Asia, perhaps under Buddhist influence.
- There is slightly more Manichean counties in the Uyghur regions in 1066, as the Uyghur Manichean community still attested in the 11th century.
867 Decisions and Flavor
By the 867 start date, Manicheism was starting to decline due to the collapse of the Uyghur Khaganate (the only major power that adopted Manicheism as a state religion) and persecutions in the Tang and Abbasid Empires.
If you play in 867, you’ll have a chance to play a role in furthering the decline of Manicheism – as happened historically – or reverse it. As a non-Manichean ruler of Babylon (in the county of Kufa in-game), you can take the decision to
Persecute Zindiqs in Mesopotamia for some gold, piety, and legitimacy. This will move the Yamag to Samarkand.
Sometime after this happens, if there is no Manichean presence in Sogdiana, an event will trigger forcing the Yamag to move to the county of Toksun, in Turfan.
Meanwhile, powerful Uyghur rulers in the Tarim Basin and Turfan can take the decision to
Influence the Future of Uyghur Manicheism. The Uyghurs gradually converted from Manicheism to Buddhism in the 10th and 11th centuries; a possible, though likely not sole, reason for this was the perceived corruption, greed, and luxurious lifestyle of Manichean monks.
The decision offers three options on how to address people’s dissatisfaction with the Manichean clergy. You can
support the Elect, declaring that the accusations are blasphemous, and that as the ruler of a powerful Uyghur rump state, you’ll advocate for them in these dark times. You can also
reform the Manichean Church to crack down on such corruption. Lastly, you can
abandon Manicheism for another faith, as happened historically.
Each option places a different county modifier in the Tarim Basin and parts of the eastern steppes (where the Uyghurs were once dominant) for 100 years, representing the reaction from local Manicheans towards your actions. You’ll also get a special doctrine with bonuses or maluses that’ll stick with Manicheism and any faiths diverged from it for the rest of the game. All of this simulates how Manicheism adapts to these new developments.
Abandoning Manicheism is different from the other two as it lets you convert to another faith: for 100 years, Uyghur rulers in the region can take a decision to
Convert Away from Manicheism, which gives bonuses for converting away from the faith. The ruler who took the decision to abandon Manicheism even gets to do the decision for free.
AI rulers are likely, but not guaranteed, to take this decision; and, after the period of decline is over, it’s still possible for there to be a Manichean revival.
Saving Manicheism
If Manicheism manages to make a comeback, and a Manichean ruler manages to come to Mesopotamia (the original heartland of Manicheism) whether through conquest or conversion, you can take the decision to
Revive Mani’s Teachings in Mesopotamia.
The decision moves the Yamagate back to Babylon if it isn’t there, and spawns a Yamag if the Yamagate currently has no holder. As a “hidden” bonus, the decision also enables an event later on where a Manichean ruler in Mesopotamia recovers the
Sealstone of Mani artifact.
We have some records of relics of Mani preserved by the Manicheans for centuries in Mesopotamia. Some of them were burnt by the Abbasids during periods of persecution. The sealstone of Mani, however, might be the only relic of Mani that has survived. It resurfaced mysteriously in the late 19th century, and has been identified by scholars as possibly owned by Mani himself – a rare and amazing piece of history, undoubtedly.
Confessions
Several decisions and activities have been added to make the experience of playing a Manichean more flavorful. Note that technically most of these features are tied to the Liberation of Light doctrine mentioned earlier, not Manicheism per se, so it's possible to create a new Dualist faith with access to these if you'd like.
Every year, you can take a decision to
Perform Weekly Confession of Sins. It lets you lose a bit of stress and gain piety. You also have a very, very small chance of having a sinful or bad trait replaced with a virtuous or good one. This decision represents a requirement for Manichean laypeople to perform a ceremony to confess their sins every Monday.
Bema Festival
The biggest confession ceremony, and the most important event of the Manichean calendar, is the
Bema Festival, represented in-game as an activity. This event commemorated the execution of Mani by the Sassanids; after a period of fasting, Manicheans would then partake in a grand confession ceremony, where Mani was believed to come down to absolve worshippers of their sins for that year.
The Bema Festival has two activity options. One concerns how much
Fruit Alms you will give the Manichean Elect, or clergy, as part of the ceremony. Manicheans believed that plants had the highest concentration of Light or Soul, and consuming them, especially by the Elect, who were supposed to be pure and virtuous, would free the light from the evil world of matter, especially during a holy ceremony like this.
The other activity option is
Length of Fast. Although laypeople had to fast before the Bema Festival, the actual length of this fast seems to be inconsistent, ranging anywhere from a day to a month. Perhaps this reflects variation depending on region and time period. The longer you fast, the more piety you get, but you’ll also get more stress and a higher risk for a health malus.
Additionally, like the simpler Confession decision, there is a chance that you’ll lose a negative or sinful trait and have it replaced with its positive counterpart during the Activity. You can increase this through different ways, such as having the
Confession Intent. The other two intents, Purification and Spiritual Guidance, also have various other effects.
Manichean Manuscripts
Lastly, there is a decision to
Commission a Manichean Manuscript. This decision lets you choose between several kinds of manuscript artifacts, including:
- Seven Treatises: canonical scriptures of Manicheism
- Shabuhragan: a summary of Manichean teachings written by Mani to the Persian Emperor Shapur I
- Arzhang: the Book of Pictures, drawn by Mani himself to illustrate his teachings to the illiterate
- Kephalaia: religious literature not in the main Manichean canon, many focused on Mani’s life, akin to Islamic hadith
- Hymn Books
- Confessional Texts
- Parables and Tales
- Other Religions’ Texts: Mani said one of his followers' duties was to collect the revealed texts of other faiths to adapt and add them to the great wisdom of Mani.
You can even opt to write the book yourself, if you have a high level of learning, as doing so was considered especially pious even for laypeople.
The Manicheans had a special reverence for books. Mani, the Prophet of Manicheism, argued that a flaw in older religions was that people wrote down their doctrines after their founders died, so their teachings became corrupted. He actively encouraged his disciples to write down his words while he was alive and to disseminate his teachings through books and pictures (for those who couldn't read), to ensure his teachings would remain pure. By the medieval period, even the Manicheans’ religious enemies praised the beauty of their books.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading if you've made it this far!
Manicheism is unfairly maligned in historical sources, and even in modern pop history, as nothing more than a plagiaristic heresy of Christianity, Zoroastrianism, or Buddhism. Yet it was a religion with its unique blend of ideas; at one point it was found from France to China, only to suffer a decline from which it never recovered during the CK3 period. It is my hope that this update will shine some light on this fascinating religion.
In the next dev diary which will hopefully be out in a week or so, I’ll cover new historical and bookmarked characters, new content for the Tarim Basin in general, flavor for Chinese Manicheism (which survived long after Manicheism died out elsewhere and developed special characteristics), other QOL and important changes for RICE, and much more.
For those interested, I’ll also provide my usual list of sources in my next dev diary.
