Prophetological Dynamics in Manichaeism and Early Islam (Vlad Manciu)
This project investigates how concepts of prophecy were constructed, negotiated, and transmitted across Late Antique religious environments, with particular attention to Manichaeism and the formative period of Islam. Rather than treating “prophecy” as a fixed theological category, the study approaches prophetology as a dynamic and relational discourse shaped by polemic, adaptation, and interreligious contact.
Drawing primarily on Manichaean primary sources (in Coptic, Middle Persian, and other fragmentary traditions) alongside early Arabic materials, the project analyzes how Manichaeism and Islam positioned prophets within each of their respective trans-religious, evolving chains of revelation. Special attention is given to strategies of legitimation—such as claims to finality, continuity, or restoration—and to practices of theological and linguistic readaptation.
By situating these developments within the broader context of Late Antiquity, the project aims to demonstrate that early Islamic prophetology did not emerge in isolation but participated in a shared discursive field, where categories of prophecy, revelation, and authority were actively reconfigured. The study thus contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the history of ideas linking Manichaeism and early Islam, and to broader methodological discussions on linguistic interaction and the building of universalist religions.
