Abū Hilāl al-Dayhūri was aManichaean leader. OfNorth African origin, he served asarchegos, the traditional leader of the Manichaean sect seated inSeleucia-Ctesiphon some time during the mid-to-late eighth century.
al-Dayhūri hailed from North Africa, once a major center of Manichaean activity.[1] He then travelled to present-dayIraq. 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 aBerber.[1]
During the reign (754–775) of the secondAbbasid 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]
