title: Manichaeism

text: Mani taught how the soul of the righteous returns to Paradise whereas the soul of the person who persisted in things of the flesh – fornication, procreation, possessions, cultivation, harvesting, eating of meat, drinking of wine – is condemned to rebirth in a succession of bodies.


title: Manichaeism

text: Mani began preaching at an early age and was possibly influenced by contemporary Babylonian-Aramaic movements such as Mandaeism, and Aramaic translations of Jewish apocalyptic writings similar to those found at Qumran (such as the book of Enoch literature), and by the Syriac dualist-gnostic writer Bardaisan (who lived a generation before Mani). With the discovery of the Mani-Codex, it also became clear that he was raised in a Jewish-Christian baptism sect, the Elcesaites, and was possibly influenced by their writings, as well.


title: Manichaeism

text: According to biographies preserved by Ibn al-Nadim and the Persian polymath al-Biruni, he received a revelation as a youth from a spirit, whom he would later call his Twin ( , from which is also derived the name of the Thomas the Apostle, the "twin"), his "Syzygos" ( "spouse, partner", in the "Cologne Mani-Codex"), his Double, his Protective Angel or Divine Self. It taught him truths that he developed into a religion. His divine Twin or true Self brought Mani to self-realization. He claimed to be the "Paraclete of the Truth", as promised by Jesus in the New Testament.


title: Manichaeism

text: Augustine of Hippo also noted that Mani declared himself to be an "apostle of Jesus Christ". Manichaean tradition is also noted to have claimed that Mani was the reincarnation of different religious figures such as Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, and Jesus.


title: Manichaeism

text: Academics also note that much of what is known about Manichaeism comes from later 10th- and 11th-century Muslim historians like Al-Biruni and especially ibn al-Nadim (and his "Fihrist"), who "ascribed to Mani the claim to be the Seal of the Prophets." However, given the Islamic milieu of Arabia and Persia at the time, it stands to reason that Manichaens would regularly assert in their evangelism that Mani, not Muhammad, was the "Seal of the Prophets". In reality, for Mani the metaphorical expression "Seal of Prophets" is not a reference to his finality in a long succession of prophets, as it is in Islam, but, rather to his followers, who testify or attest his message, as a seal does.


title: Manichaeism

text: Another source of Mani's scriptures was original Aramaic writings relating to the "Book of Enoch" literature (see the Book of Enoch and the Second Book of Enoch), as well as an otherwise unknown section of the Book of Enoch called "The Book of Giants". This book was quoted directly, and expanded on by Mani, becoming one of the original six Syriac writings of the Manichaean Church. Besides brief references by non-Manichaean authors through the centuries, no original sources of "The Book of Giants" (which is actually part six of the Book of Enoch) were available until the 20th century.


title: Manichaeism

text: Scattered fragments of both the original Aramaic "Book of Giants" (which were analyzed and published by Józef Milik in 1976) and of the Manichaean version of the same name (analyzed and published by Walter Bruno Henning in 1943) were found with the discovery in the twentieth century of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Judaean Desert and the Manichaean writings of the Uyghur Manichaean kingdom in Turpan. Henning wrote in his analysis of them:


title: Manichaeism

text: By comparing the cosmology in the Book of Enoch literature and the Book of Giants, alongside the description of the Manichaean myth, scholars have observed that the Manichaean cosmology can be described as being based, in part, on the description of the cosmology developed in detail in the Book of Enoch literature. This literature describes the being that the prophets saw in their ascent to heaven, as a king who sits on a throne at the highest of the heavens. In the Manichaean description, this being, the "Great King of Honor", becomes a deity who guards the entrance to the world of light, placed at the seventh of ten heavens. In the Aramaic Book of Enoch, in the Qumran writings in general, and in the original Syriac section of Manichaean scriptures quoted by Theodore bar Konai, he is called "malka raba de-ikara" (the Great King of Honor).


title: Manichaeism

text: Mani was also influenced by writings of the Assyrian gnostic Bardaisan (154–222), who, like Mani, wrote in Syriac, and presented a dualistic interpretation of the world in terms of light and darkness, in combination with elements from Christianity.


title: Manichaeism

text: Noting Mani's travels to the Kushan Empire (several religious paintings in Bamyan are attributed to him) at the beginning of his proselytizing career, Richard Foltz postulates Buddhist influences in Manichaeism:


title: Manichaeism

text: The Kushan monk Lokakṣema began translating Pure Land Buddhist texts into Chinese in the century prior to Mani arriving there, and the Chinese texts of Manichaeism are full of uniquely Buddhist terms taken directly from these Chinese Pure Land scriptures, including the term "pure land" (淨土 Jìngtǔ) itself. However, the central object of veneration in Pure Land Buddhism, Amitābha, the Buddha of Infinite Light, does not appear in Chinese Manichaeism, and seems to have been replaced by another deity.


title: Manichaeism

text: Manichaeism reached Rome through the apostle Psattiq by 280, who was also in Egypt in 244 and 251. It was flourishing in the Faiyum in 290.


title: Manichaeism

text: In 291, persecution arose in the Sasanian Empire with the murder of the apostle Sisin by Emperor Bahram II and the slaughter of many Manichaeans. Then, in 302, the first official reaction and legislation against Manichaeism from the Roman state to Manichaeism was issued under Diocletian. In an official edict called the "De Maleficiis et Manichaeis" compiled in the "Collatio Legum Mosaicarum et Romanarum" and addressed to the proconsul of Africa, Diocletian wrote


title: Manichaeism

text: We have heard that the Manichaeans [...] have set up new and hitherto unheard-of sects in opposition to the older creeds so that they might cast out the doctrines vouchsafed to us in the past by the divine favour for the benefit of their own depraved doctrine. They have sprung forth very recently like new and unexpected monstrosities among the race of the Persians – a nation still hostile to us – and have made their way into our empire, where they are committing many outrages, disturbing the tranquility of our people and even inflicting grave damage to the civic communities. We have cause to fear that with the passage of time they will endeavour, as usually happens, to infect the modest and tranquil of an innocent nature with the damnable customs and perverse laws of the Persians as with the poison of a malignant (serpent) ... We order that the authors and leaders of these sects be subjected to severe punishment, and, together with their abominable writings, burnt in the flames. We direct their followers, if they continue recalcitrant, shall suffer capital punishment, and their goods be forfeited to the imperial treasury. And if those who have gone over to that hitherto unheard-of, scandalous and wholly infamous creed, or to that of the Persians, are persons who hold public office, or are of any rank or of superior social status, you will see to it that their estates are confiscated and the offenders sent to the (quarry) at Phaeno or the mines at Proconnesus. And in order that this plague of iniquity shall be completely extirpated from this our most happy age, let your devotion hasten to carry out our orders and commands.


title: Manichaeism

text: By 354, Hilary of Poitiers wrote that Manichaeism was a significant force in Roman Gaul. In 381, Christians requested Theodosius I to strip Manichaeans of their civil rights. Starting in 382, the emperor issued a series of edicts to suppress Manichaeism and punish its followers.


title: Manichaeism

text: Augustine of Hippo (354–430) converted to Christianity from Manichaeism in the year 387. This was shortly after the Roman emperor Theodosius I had issued a decree of death for all Manichaean monks in 382 and shortly before he declared Christianity to be the only legitimate religion for the Roman Empire in 391. Due to the heavy persecution, the religion almost disappeared from western Europe in the fifth century and from the eastern portion of the empire in the sixth century.


title: Manichaeism

text: According to his "Confessions", after nine or ten years of adhering to the Manichaean faith as a member of the group of "hearers", Augustine became a Christian and a potent adversary of Manichaeism (which he expressed in writing against his Manichaean opponent Faustus of Mileve), seeing their beliefs that knowledge was the key to salvation as too passive and not able to effect any change in one's life.


title: Manichaeism

text: Some modern scholars have suggested that Manichaean ways of thinking influenced the development of some of Augustine's ideas, such as the nature of good and evil, the idea of hell, the separation of groups into elect, hearers, and sinners, and the hostility to the flesh and sexual activity, and his dualistic theology.


title: Manichaeism

text: Some Sogdians in Central Asia believed in the religion. Uyghur khagan Boku Tekin (759–780) converted to the religion in 763 after a three-day discussion with its preachers, the Babylonian headquarters sent high rank clerics to Uyghur, and Manichaeism remained the state religion for about a century before the collapse of the Uyghur Khaganate in 840.


title: Manichaeism

text: After the Tang Dynasty, some Manichaean groups participated in peasant movements. The religion was used by many rebel leaders to mobilise followers. In the Song and Yuan dynasties of China remnants of Manichaeism continued to leave a legacy contributing to sects such as the Red Turbans. During the Song Dynasty, the Manichaeans were derogatorily referred by the Chinese as "chicai simo" (meaning that they "abstain from meat and worship demons").


title: Manichaeism

text: An account in "Fozu Tongji", an important historiography of Buddhism in China compiled by Buddhist scholars during 1258–1269, says that the Manichaeans worshipped the "white Buddha" and their leader wore a violet headgear, while the followers wore white costumes. Many Manichaeans took part in rebellions against the Song government and were eventually quelled. After that, all governments were suppressive against Manichaeism and its followers and the religion was banned by the Ming Dynasty in 1370. While it had long been thought that Manichaeism arrived in China only at the end of the seventh century, a recent archaeological discovery demonstrated that it was already known there in the second half of the 6th century.


title: Manichaeism

text: Manichaeism spread to Tibet during the Tibetan Empire. There was likely a serious attempt to introduce the religion to the Tibetans as the text "Criteria of the Authentic Scriptures" (a text attributed to Tibetan Emperor Trisong Detsen) makes a great effort to attack Manichaeism by stating that Mani was a heretic who took ideas from all faiths and blended them together into a deviating and inauthentic form.


title: Manichaeism

text: Manichaeans in Iran tried to assimilate their religion along with Islam in the Muslim caliphates. Relatively little is known about the religion during the first century of Islamic rule. During the early caliphates, Manichaeism attracted many followers. It had a significant appeal among the Muslim society, especially among the elites. Due to the appeal of its teachings, many Muslims adopted the ideas of its theology and some even became dualists. An apologia for Manichaeism ascribed to ibn al-Muqaffa' defended its phantasmagorical cosmogony and attacked the fideism of Islam and other monotheistic religions. The Manichaeans had sufficient structure to have a head of their community.


title: Manichaeism

text: Under the eighth-century Abbasid Caliphate, Arabic and the adjectival term could denote many different things, though it seems primarily (or at least initially) to have signified a follower of Manichaeism, however its true meaning is not known. In the ninth century, it is reported that Caliph al-Ma'mun tolerated a community of Manichaeans.


title: Manichaeism

text: During the early Abbasid period, the Manichaeans underwent persecution. The third Abbasid caliph, al-Mahdi, persecuted the Manichaeans, establishing an inquisition against dualists who if being found guilty of heresy refused to renounce their beliefs, were executed. Their persecution was finally ended in 780s by Harun al-Rashid. During the reign of the Caliph al-Muqtadir, many Manichaeans fled from Mesopotamia to Khorasan from fear of persecution and the base of the religion was later shifted to Samarkand.


title: Manichaeism

text: Manichaeism claimed to present the complete version of teachings that were corrupted and misinterpreted by the followers of its predecessors Adam, Zoroaster, Buddha and Jesus. Accordingly, as it spread, it adapted new deities from other religions into forms it could use for its scriptures. Its original Aramaic texts already contained stories of Jesus.


title: Manichaeism

text: When they moved eastward and were translated into Iranian languages, the names of the Manichaean deities (or angels) were often transformed into the names of Zoroastrian yazatas. Thus "Abbā dəRabbūṯā" ("The Father of Greatness", the highest Manichaean deity of Light), in Middle Persian texts might either be translated literally as "pīd ī wuzurgīh", or substituted with the name of the deity "Zurwān".


title: Manichaeism

text: Similarly, the Manichaean primal figure "Nāšā Qaḏmāyā" "The Original Man" was rendered "Ohrmazd Bay", after the Zoroastrian god Ohrmazd. This process continued in Manichaeism's meeting with Chinese Buddhism, where, for example, the original Aramaic "qaryā" (the "call" from the World of Light to those seeking rescue from the World of Darkness), becomes identified in the Chinese scriptures with Guanyin ( or Avalokiteśvara in Sanskrit, literally, "watching/perceiving sounds [of the world]", the bodhisattva of Compassion).


title: Manichaeism

text: Manichaeism was repressed by the Sasanian Empire. In 291, persecution arose in the Persian empire with the murder of the apostle Sisin by Bahram II, and the slaughter of many Manichaeans. In 296, the Roman emperor Diocletian decreed all the Manichaean leaders to be burnt alive along with the Manichaean scriptures and many Manichaeans in Europe and North Africa were killed. It was not until 372 with Valentinian I and Valens that Manichaeism was legislated against again.


title: Manichaeism

text: Theodosius I issued a decree of death for all Manichaean monks in 382 AD. The religion was vigorously attacked and persecuted by both the Christian Church and the Roman state, and the religion almost disappeared from western Europe in the fifth century and from the eastern portion of the empire in the sixth century.


title: Manichaeism

text: In 732, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang banned any Chinese from converting to the religion, saying it was a heretic religion that was confusing people by claiming to be Buddhism. However, the foreigners who followed the religion were allowed to practice it without punishment. After the fall of the Uyghur Khaganate in 840, which was the chief patron of Manichaeism (which was also the state religion of the Khaganate) in China, all Manichaean temples in China except in the two capitals and Taiyuan were closed down and never reopened since these temples were viewed as a symbol of foreign arrogance by the Chinese (see Cao'an). Even those that were allowed to remain open did not for long.


title: Manichaeism

text: The Manichaean temples were attacked by Chinese people who burned the images and idols of these temples. Manichaean priests were ordered to wear hanfu instead of their traditional clothing, which was viewed as un-Chinese. In 843, Emperor Wuzong of Tang gave the order to kill all Manichaean clerics as part of his Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution, and over half died. They were made to look like Buddhists by the authorities, their heads were shaved, they were made to dress like Buddhist monks and then killed.


title: Manichaeism

text: Although the religion was mostly forbidden and its followers persecuted thereafter in China, it survives within syncretic sects throughout Fujian in a form of Chinese Manichaeism also called Mingjiao. Under the Song dynasty, its followers were derogatorily referred to with the chengyu () "vegetarian demon-worshippers".


title: Manichaeism

text: Many Manichaeans took part in rebellions against the Song dynasty. They were quelled by Song China and were suppressed and persecuted by all successive governments before the Mongol Yuan dynasty. In 1370, the religion was banned through an edict of the Ming dynasty, whose Hongwu Emperor had a personal dislike for the religion. Its core teaching influences many religious sects in China, including the White Lotus movement.


title: Manichaeism

text: According to Wendy Doniger, Manichaeism may have continued to exist in the modern-East Turkestan region until the Mongol conquest in the 13th century.


title: Manichaeism

text: Manicheans also suffered persecution for some time under the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad. In 780, the third Abbasid Caliph, al-Mahdi, started a campaign of inquisition against those who were "dualist heretics" or "Manichaeans" called the "zindīq". He appointed a "master of the heretics" ( ), an official whose task was to pursue and investigate suspected dualists, who were then examined by the Caliph. Those found guilty who refused to abjure their beliefs were executed.


title: Manichaeism

text: This persecution continued under his successor, Caliph al-Hadi, and continued for some time during reign of Harun al-Rashid, who finally abolished it and ended it. During the reign of the 18th Abbasid Caliph al-Muqtadir, many Manichaeans fled from Mesopotamia to Khorasan from fear of persecution by him and about 500 of them assembled in Samarkand. The base of the religion was later shifted to this city, which became their new Patriarchate.


title: Manichaeism

text: Manichaean pamphlets were still in circulation in Greek in 9th-century Byzantine Constantinople, as the patriarch Photios summarizes and discusses one that he has read by Agapius in his "Bibliotheca".


title: Manichaeism

text: During the Middle Ages, several movements emerged that were collectively described as "Manichaean" by the Catholic Church, and persecuted as Christian heresies through the establishment of the Inquisition in 1184. They included the Cathar churches of Western Europe. Other groups sometimes referred to as "neo-Manichaean" were the Paulician movement, which arose in Armenia, and the Bogomils in Bulgaria. An example of this usage can be found in the published edition of the Latin Cathar text, the "Liber de duobus principiis" ("Book of the Two Principles"), which was described as "Neo-Manichaean" by its publishers. As there is no presence of Manichaean mythology or church terminology in the writings of these groups, there has been some dispute among historians as to whether these groups were descendants of Manichaeism.


title: Manichaeism

text: Manichaeism could have influenced the Bogomils, Paulicians, and Cathars. However, these groups left few records, and the link between them and Manichaeans is tenuous. Regardless of its accuracy, the charge of Manichaeism was leveled at them by contemporary orthodox opponents, who often tried to make contemporary heresies conform to those combatted by the church fathers.


title: Manichaeism

text: Whether the dualism of the Paulicians, Bogomils, and Cathars and their belief that the world was created by a Satanic demiurge were due to influence from Manichaeism is impossible to determine. The Cathars apparently adopted the Manichaean principles of church organization. Priscillian and his followers may also have been influenced by Manichaeism. The Manichaeans preserved many apocryphal Christian works, such as the Acts of Thomas, that would otherwise have been lost.


title: Manichaeism

text: Some sites are preserved in Xinjiang and Fujian in China. The Cao'an temple is the most widely known, and best preserved Manichaean building, though it later became associated with Buddhism.


title: Manichaeism

text: Mani's teaching dealt with the origin of evil, by addressing a theoretical part of the problem of evil by denying the omnipotence of God and postulating two opposite powers. Manichaean theology taught a dualistic view of good and evil. A key belief in Manichaeism is that the powerful, though not omnipotent good power (God), was opposed by the eternal evil power (devil). Humanity, the world, and the soul are seen as the by-product of the battle between God's proxy, Primal Man, and the devil.


title: Manichaeism

text: The human person is seen as a battle-ground for these powers: the soul defines the person, but it is under the influence of both light and dark. This contention plays out over the world as well as the human body—neither the Earth nor the flesh were seen as intrinsically evil, but rather possessed portions of both light and dark. Natural phenomena (such as rain) were seen as the physical manifestation of this spiritual contention. Therefore, the Manichaean view explained the existence of evil by positing a flawed creation in the formation of which God took no part and which constituted rather the product of a battle by the devil against God.


title: Manichaeism

text: Manichaeism presented an elaborate description of the conflict between the spiritual world of light and the material world of darkness. The beings of both the world of darkness and the world of light have names. There are numerous sources for the details of the Manichaean belief. There are two portions of Manichaean scriptures that are probably the closest thing to the original Manichaean writings in their original languages that will ever be available. These are the Syriac-Aramaic quotation by the Nestorian Christian Theodore bar Konai, in his Syriac "Book of Scholia" ("Ketba de-Skolion"z, 8th century), and the Middle Persian sections of Mani's Shabuhragan discovered at Turpan (a summary of Mani's teachings prepared for Shapur I).


title: Manichaeism

text: From these and other sources, it is possible to derive an almost complete description of the detailed Manichaean vision (a complete list of Manichaean deities is outlined below). According to Mani, the unfolding of the universe takes place with three "creations":


title: Manichaeism

text: Beginning with the time of its creation by Mani, the Manichaean religion had a detailed description of deities and events that took place within the Manichaean scheme of the universe. In every language and region that Manichaeism spread to, these same deities reappear, whether it is in the original Syriac quoted by Theodore bar Konai, or the Latin terminology given by Saint Augustine from Mani's "Epistola Fundamenti", or the Persian and Chinese translations found as Manichaeism spread eastward. While the original Syriac retained the original description that Mani created, the transformation of the deities through other languages and cultures produced incarnations of the deities not implied in the original Syriac writings. Chinese translations were especially syncretic, borrowing and adapting terminology common in Chinese Buddhism.


title: Manichaeism

text: The Manichaean Church was divided into the Elect, who had taken upon themselves the vows of Manichaeism, and the Hearers, those who had not, but still participated in the Church. The Elect were forbidden to consume alcohol and meat, as well as to harvest crops or prepare food, due to Mani's claim that harvesting was a form of murder against plants. The Hearers would therefore commit the sin of preparing food, and would provide it to the Elect, who would in turn pray for the Hearers and cleanse them of these sins.


title: Manichaeism

text: The terms for these divisions were already common since the days of early Christianity, however, it had a different meaning in Christianity. In Chinese writings, the Middle Persian and Parthian terms are transcribed phonetically (instead of being translated into Chinese). These were recorded by Augustine of Hippo.


title: Manichaeism

text: Evidently from Manichaean sources, Manichaeans observed daily prayers, either four for the "hearers" or seven for the "elects". The sources differ about the exact time of prayer. The "Fihrist" by al-Nadim, points them after noon, mid-afternoon, just after sunset and at nightfall. Al-Biruni places the prayers at dawn, sunrise, noon, and nightfall. The elect additionally pray at mid-afternoon, half an hour after nightfall and at midnight. Al-Nadim's account of daily prayers is probably adjusted to coincide with the public prayers for the Muslims, while Al-Birunis report may reflect an older tradition unaffected by Islam.


title: Manichaeism

text: When Al-Nadim's account of daily prayers had been the only detailed source available, there was a concern, that these practises had been only adapted by Muslims during the Abbasid Caliphate. However, it is clear that the Arabic text provided by Al-Nadim corresponds with the descriptions of Egyptian texts from the fourth Century.


title: Manichaeism

text: Every prayer started with an ablution with water or, if water was not available, with other substances comparable to ablution in Islam and consisted of several blessings to the apostles and spirits. The prayer consisted of prostrating oneself to the ground and rising again twelve times during every prayer. During day, Manichaeans turned towards the sun and during night towards the moon. If the moon is not visible at night, they turned towards north.


title: Manichaeism

text: Evident from Faustus of Mileve, Celestial bodies are not the subject of worship themselves, but are "ships" carrying the light particles of the world to the supreme god, who can not be seen, since he exists beyond time and space, and also the dwelling places for emanations of the supreme deity, such as Jesus the Splendour. According to the writings of Augustine of Hippo, ten prayers were performed, the first devoted to the Father of Greatness, and the following to lesser deities, spirits and angels and finally towards the elect, in order to be freed from rebirth and pain and to attain peace in the realm of light. Comparable, in the Uighur confession, four prayers are directed to the supreme God ("Äzrua"), the God of the Sun and the Moon, and fivefold God and the buddhas.


title: Manichaeism

text: Mani wrote seven books, which contained the teachings of the religion. Only scattered fragments and translations of the originals remain, most having been discovered in Egypt and Turkistan during the 20th century."


title: Manichaeism

text: The original six Syriac writings are not preserved, although their Syriac names have been. There are also fragments and quotations from them. A long quotation, preserved by the eighth-century Nestorian Christian author Theodore Bar Konai, shows that in the original Syriac Aramaic writings of Mani there was no influence of Iranian or Zoroastrian terms. The terms for the Manichaean deities in the original Syriac writings are in Aramaic. The adaptation of Manichaeism to the Zoroastrian religion appears to have begun in Mani's lifetime however, with his writing of the Middle Persian "Shabuhragan", his book dedicated to the Sasanian emperor, Shapur I.


title: Manichaeism

text: In it, there are mentions of Zoroastrian divinities such as Ahura Mazda, Angra Mainyu, and Āz. Manichaeism is often presented as a Persian religion, mostly due to the vast number of Middle Persian, Parthian, and Sogdian (as well as Turkish) texts discovered by German researchers near Turpan in what is now Xinjiang, China, during the early 1900s. However, from the vantage point of its original Syriac descriptions (as quoted by Theodore Bar Khonai and outlined above), Manichaeism may be better described as a unique phenomenon of Aramaic Babylonia, occurring in proximity to two other new Aramaic religious phenomena, Talmudic Judaism and Mandaeism, which also appeared in Babylonia in roughly the third century.


title: Manichaeism

text: The original, but now lost, six sacred books of Manichaeism were composed in Syriac Aramaic, and translated into other languages to help spread the religion. As they spread to the east, the Manichaean writings passed through Middle Persian, Parthian, Sogdian, Tocharian, and ultimately Uyghur and Chinese translations. As they spread to the west, they were translated into Greek, Coptic, and Latin.


title: Manichaeism

text: Henning describes how this translation process evolved and influenced the Manichaeans of Central Asia:


title: Manichaeism

text: In later centuries, as Manichaeism passed through eastern Persian-speaking lands and arrived at the Uyghur Khaganate (回鶻帝國), and eventually the Uyghur kingdom of Turpan (destroyed around 1335), Middle Persian and Parthian prayers ("āfrīwan" or "āfurišn") and the Parthian hymn-cycles (the "Huwīdagmān" and "Angad Rōšnan" created by Mar Ammo) were added to the Manichaean writings. A translation of a collection of these produced the "Manichaean Chinese Hymnscroll" (, which Lieu translates as "Hymns for the Lower Section [i.e. the Hearers] of the Manichaean Religion").


title: Manichaeism

text: In addition to containing hymns attributed to Mani, it contains prayers attributed to Mani's earliest disciples, including Mār Zaku, Mār Ammo and Mār Sīsin. Another Chinese work is a complete translation of the "Sermon of the Light Nous", presented as a discussion between Mani and his disciple Adda.


title: Manichaeism

text: Until discoveries in the 1900s of original sources, the only sources for Manichaeism were descriptions and quotations from non-Manichaean authors, either Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, or Zoroastrian ones. While often criticizing Manichaeism, they also quoted directly from Manichaean scriptures. This enabled Isaac de Beausobre, writing in the 18th century, to create a comprehensive work on Manichaeism, relying solely on anti-Manichaean sources. Thus quotations and descriptions in Greek and Arabic have long been known to scholars, as have the long quotations in Latin by Saint Augustine, and the extremely important quotation in Syriac by Theodore Bar Konai.


title: Manichaeism

text: An example of how inaccurate some of these accounts could be can be seen in the account of the origins of Manichaeism contained in the "Acta Archelai". This was a Greek anti-Manichaean work written before 348, most well known in its Latin version, which was regarded as an accurate account of Manichaeism until refuted by Isaac de Beausobre in the 18th century:


title: Manichaeism

text: In the time of the Apostles there lived a man named Scythianus, who is described as coming "from Scythia", and also as being "a Saracen by race" ("ex genere Saracenorum"). He settled in Egypt, where he became acquainted with "the wisdom of the Egyptians", and invented the religious system that was afterwards known as Manichaeism. Finally he emigrated to Palestine, and, when he died, his writings passed into the hands of his sole disciple, a certain Terebinthus. The latter betook himself to Babylonia, assumed the name of Budda, and endeavoured to propagate his master's teaching. But he, like Scythianus, gained only one disciple, who was an old woman. After a while he died, in consequence of a fall from the roof of a house, and the books that he had inherited from Scythianus became the property of the old woman, who, on her death, bequeathed them to a young man named Corbicius, who had been her slave. Corbicius thereupon changed his name to Manes, studied the writings of Scythianus, and began to teach the doctrines that they contained, with many additions of his own. He gained three disciples, named Thomas, Addas, and Hermas. About this time the son of the Persian king fell ill, and Manes undertook to cure him; the prince, however, died, whereupon Manes was thrown into prison. He succeeded in escaping, but eventually fell into the hands of the king, by whose order he was flayed, and his corpse was hung up at the city gate.


title: Manichaeism

text: According to Hegemonius' portrayal of Mani, the evil demiurge who created the world was the Jewish Jehovah. Hegemonius reports that Mani said,


title: Manichaeism

text: In the early 1900s, original Manichaean writings started to come to light when German scholars led by Albert Grünwedel, and then by Albert von Le Coq, began excavating at Gaochang, the ancient site of the Manichaean Uyghur Kingdom near Turpan, in Chinese Turkestan (destroyed around AD 1300). While most of the writings they uncovered were in very poor condition, there were still hundreds of pages of Manichaean scriptures, written in three Iranian languages (Middle Persian, Parthian, and Sogdian) and old Uyghur. These writings were taken back to Germany and were analyzed and published at the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin, by Le Coq and others, such as Friedrich W. K. Müller and Walter Bruno Henning. While the vast majority of these writings were written in a version of the Syriac script known as Manichaean script, the German researchers, perhaps for lack of suitable fonts, published most of them using the Hebrew alphabet (which could easily be substituted for the 22 Syriac letters).


title: Manichaeism

text: Perhaps the most comprehensive of these publications was ("Manichaean Dogma from Chinese and Iranian texts"), by Ernst Waldschmidt and Wolfgang Lentz, published in Berlin in 1933. More than any other research work published before or since, this work printed, and then discussed, the original key Manichaean texts in the original scripts, and consists chiefly of sections from Chinese texts, and Middle Persian and Parthian texts transcribed with the Hebrew alphabet. After the Nazi Party gained power in Germany, the Manichaean writings continued to be published during the 1930s, but the publishers no longer used Hebrew letters, instead transliterating the texts into Latin letters.


title: Manichaeism

text: Additionally, in 1930, German researchers in Egypt found a large body of Manichaean works in Coptic. Though these were also damaged, hundreds of complete pages survived and, beginning in 1933, were analyzed and published in Berlin before World War II, by German scholars such as Hans Jakob Polotsky. Some of these Coptic Manichaean writings were lost during the war.


title: Manichaeism

text: After the success of the German researchers, French scholars visited China and discovered what is perhaps the most complete set of Manichaean writings, written in Chinese. These three Chinese writings, all found at the Mogao Caves among the Dunhuang manuscripts, and all written before the 9th century, are today kept in London, Paris, and Beijing. Some of the scholars involved with their initial discovery and publication were Édouard Chavannes, Paul Pelliot, and Aurel Stein. The original studies and analyses of these writings, along with their translations, first appeared in French, English, and German, before and after World War II. The complete Chinese texts themselves were first published in Tokyo, Japan in 1927, in the Taishō Tripiṭaka, volume 54. While in the last thirty years or so they have been republished in both Germany (with a complete translation into German, alongside the 1927 Japanese edition), and China, the Japanese publication remains the standard reference for the Chinese texts.


title: Manichaeism

text: In Egypt, a small codex was found and became known through antique dealers in Cairo. It was purchased by the University of Cologne in 1969. Two of its scientists, Henrichs and Koenen, produced the first edition known since as the Cologne Mani-Codex, which was published in four articles in the . The ancient papyrus manuscript contained a Greek text describing the life of Mani. Thanks to this discovery, much more is known about the man who founded one of the most influential world religions of the past.


title: Manichaeism

text: The terms "Manichaean" and "Manichaeism" are sometimes used figuratively as a synonym of the more general term "dualist" with respect to a philosophy, outlook, or world-view. The terms are often used to suggest that the world-view in question simplistically reduces the world to a struggle between good and evil. For example, Zbigniew Brzezinski used the phrase "Manichaean paranoia" in reference to U.S. President George W. Bush's world-view (in "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart", 14 March 2007); Brzezinski elaborated that he meant "the notion that he [Bush] is leading the forces of good against the 'Axis of evil.'" Author and journalist Glenn Greenwald followed up on the theme in describing Bush in his book "A Tragic Legacy" (2007).


title: Manichaeism

text: The term is frequently used by critics to describe the attitudes and foreign policies of the United States and its leaders.


title: Manichaeism

text: Philosopher Frantz Fanon frequently invoked the concept of Manicheanism in his discussions of violence between colonizers and the colonized.


title: Manichaeism

text: In "My Secret History", author Paul Theroux's protagonist defines the word Manichaean for the protagonist's son as "seeing that good and evil are mingled." Before explaining the word to his son, the protagonist mentions Joseph Conrad's short story "The Secret Sharer" at least twice in the book, the plot of which also examines the idea of the duality of good and evil.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Alexander Mikhailovich Ovechkin (; born 17 September 1985) is a Russian professional ice hockey left winger and captain of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Ovi" (alternatively spelled "Ovie") and "the Great Eight" in reference to his jersey number, Ovechkin is widely regarded as one of the greatest goal scorers of all time. Ovechkin holds many records for scoring goals, including for scoring the most power play goals, more goals in away games than any other player, more goals than any other left winger, and the most goals with the same team in NHL history. He is the third NHL player, behind Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky, to score 800 goals in the regular season.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin began his professional career with Dynamo Moscow of the Russian Superleague in 2001, playing there for four seasons and returning briefly during the 2012–13 NHL lockout. A highly touted prospect, Ovechkin was selected by the Capitals first overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. In the 2005–06 season, Ovechkin's first with the Capitals, he scored 52 goals and 54 assists to lead all rookies in points, capturing the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year and finishing third overall in league scoring.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin has won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL's leading goal scorer, an NHL-record nine times, first doing so in 2007–08, when his 65 goals and 112 points also earned him the Art Ross Trophy for most points scored. He has scored 50 goals in a season nine times, tying Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky for the most 50-goal seasons in NHL history, and is currently third all-time for career goals. He has won the Hart Memorial Trophy for most valuable player three times (in 2008, 2009, and 2013), and the Lester B. Pearson Award/Ted Lindsay Award for best player as voted on by the National Hockey League Players' Association three times (2008, 2009, 2010). In 2018, Ovechkin won the Stanley Cup for the first time, and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for most valuable player in the 2018 playoffs. He has also been named to the NHL first All-Star team eight times, and the second All-Star team four times. In 2017, Ovechkin was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players of all time.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Internationally, Ovechkin has represented Russia in multiple tournaments. His first IIHF tournament was the 2002 World U18 Championship. The following year he made his debut at the World Junior Championship, helping Russia win the gold medal. He played two more years at the World Juniors, as well as once more at the World U18 Championships. Ovechkin's first senior tournament was the 2004 World Championship, and he also played in the World Cup that year. Ovechkin has also played for Russia at the Winter Olympics in 2006, 2010, and 2014. Overall, Ovechkin has represented Russia at thirteen World Championships and three Olympics in his career, winning the World Championship three times.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin was born on 17 September 1985 in Moscow, the son of Soviet athletes. His mother, Tatyana Ovechkina, is a two-time Olympic gold medalist (1976, 1980) and world champion (1975) in basketball. His father, Mikhail, was a football player. He has two older brothers, Sergei and Mikhail. His mother sensed her youngest son was destined for "sporting greatness". "From birth, it was obvious," she said. "In a child, it's clear immediately. He was very active and walking and curious." He was two years old when he first picked up a hockey stick. Whenever a hockey game came on television he would drop whatever he was doing, refusing to allow his parents to change the channel.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: In early childhood, he moved with his family to a tall high-rise building surrounded by a "crumbling neighborhood" on the outskirts of Moscow. There he attended public school #596, infamous for military discipline and a "tyrannical" principal, completing eight and a half grades before starting at Dynamo Moscow's sports school. While he saw his friends "getting high and getting dead," Ovechkin was attending daily training sessions morning and night. "You dive into sport with your head and arms and legs, and there's no time for anything else," he said of this early training.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Whenever his parents were no longer able to get young Alex to hockey events, his elder brother Sergei stepped up, making sure his little brother got where he needed to go. When Ovechkin was 10, his brother Sergei died of a blood clot following a car accident. Ovechkin had a youth hockey game the next day, which his parents insisted he play in. Ovechkin credits his elder brother Sergei for introducing him to, and encouraging him to pursue hockey. When he scores, Alex will often kiss his glove and point to the sky in a salute to his brother.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: He made a name for himself in the Dynamo Moscow system when at 11 he scored 56 goals, breaking Pavel Bure's record of 53. Meanwhile, Ovechkin dreamed of playing in the NHL, keeping the cards of star players stashed in his room, especially those of his idol, Mario Lemieux. "It's the best hockey there is," Ovechkin would say of the NHL.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin began playing in the Russian Super League (RSL) in Dynamo Moscow at the age of 16. Making his professional debut in the 2001–02 season, he scored four points in 21 games. He would spend three seasons there prior to being drafted by the NHL, and he would rack up 36 goals and 32 assists in 152 career games.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: The following off-season, Ovechkin was selected first overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals. He had been projected as the first overall pick for nearly two years and had earned comparisons to Mario Lemieux. He was so highly regarded that the Florida Panthers attempted to draft him in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft in the ninth round, even though his birthday was two days after the cut-off (15 September 1985). Rick Dudley, the general manager of the Panthers, claimed the pick was legitimate, claiming that Ovechkin was old enough with leap years taken into consideration.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Ovechkin remained with Dynamo for one more season. He recorded 27 points in 37 games in 2004–05, while missing nearly two months of play because of a shoulder injury sustained in the gold medal game against Canada in the 2005 World Junior Championships. In the playoffs, he helped Dynamo win the RSL title.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: With the threat of the lockout canceling another NHL season, Ovechkin signed a contract with rival Russian team Avangard Omsk. In order to maintain his eligibility for the NHL in the event that the lockout ended, the contract contained an out clause with a 20 July 2005, deadline. Although a new NHL collective bargaining agreement (CBA) had not yet been reached between players and owners, Ovechkin decided to opt out and signed with the Capitals on 5 August 2005. The deal was a three-year, entry-level contract worth the rookie maximum of $984,200 per season with performance-based bonuses to inflate his annual salary to as much as $3.9 million.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Two days after signing, the lockout ended with a new CBA. Ovechkin played his first game with the Capitals on 5 October 2005, scoring two goals against goalie Pascal Leclaire in a 3–2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. On 13 January 2006, in Anaheim, Ovechkin scored his first career hat trick against Jean-Sébastien Giguère of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to help Washington win the game. Three days later, on 16 January, he scored a goal that veteran hockey reporter Bill Clement called "one of the greatest goals of all time." Knocked down by Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Paul Mara and sliding on his back facing away from the net, Ovechkin was able to hook the puck with one hand on his stick and slide it into the net past goalie Brian Boucher for his second goal of the night. It became referred to as "The Goal." Auston Matthews, a future Toronto Maple Leafs first overall selection, was in attendance during the game; he said in an interview during the 2016–17 season that it was the best goal he ever saw live. On 1 February, Ovechkin was named NHL Rookie of the Month for January 2006 as well as being named Offensive Player of the Month, becoming only the third player in NHL history to earn both honors simultaneously.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin finished the 2005–06 season leading all NHL rookies in goals, points, power play goals and shots. He finished third overall in the NHL in scoring with 106 points and tied for third in goals with 52. His 425 shots led the league, set an NHL rookie record, and was the fourth-highest total in NHL history. Ovechkin's point total was the second-best in Washington Capitals history and his goals total tied for third in franchise history. He was also named to the NHL first All-Star team, the first rookie to receive the honor in 15 years. After the season ended, Ovechkin received the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL's best rookie.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: He was also a finalist in his rookie season for the Lester B. Pearson Award. EA Sports made him one of the cover athletes for "NHL 07". The following season, Ovechkin appeared in his first NHL All-Star Game in Dallas on 24 January 2007. He completed his second NHL season with 46 goals and 92 points.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Playing in the final season of his rookie contract, in 2007–08, Ovechkin signed a 13-year contract extension worth $124 million with the Capitals on 10 January 2008. The contract, which averages $9.5 million per year, was the richest in NHL history. Working without an agent, Ovechkin negotiated with Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and former general manager George McPhee.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Late in the season, on 3 March 2008, Ovechkin notched his 50th, 51st and 52nd goals of the campaign for his fourth career NHL hat trick and to hit the 50-goal mark for the second time in his career. Later that month, on 21 March, Ovechkin scored his 59th and 60th goals of the season against the Atlanta Thrashers, becoming the first NHL player to score 60 goals in a season since Mario Lemieux and Jaromír Jágr in 1995–96 and 19th player overall. Four days later, on 25 March, Ovechkin scored his 61st goal of the season to break the Washington Capitals' team record for goals in a single season previously held by Dennis Maruk. He also went on to break Luc Robitaille's record for most goals by a left winger in one season on 3 April, by scoring two goals for his 64th and 65th of the season. He also became the first NHL player to score at least 40 even-strength goals in one season since Pavel Bure in 1999–2000.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Leading the league in scoring with 65 goals and 112 points, Ovechkin captured both the Art Ross Trophy and the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy in 2007–08. It was the first time in 41 seasons that a left-winger led the NHL in points since Bobby Hull led the league with 97 points in 1965–66.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin helped lead a rejuvenated Capitals team back to the Stanley Cup playoffs with a stronger supporting cast that included countryman Alexander Semin, rookie center Nicklas Bäckström and defenseman Mike Green. He scored the game-winning goal in his NHL playoff debut with less than five minutes left in game 1 against the Philadelphia Flyers. He scored nine points in seven games against the Flyers as the Capitals were eliminated in the opening round.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: In the off-season, Ovechkin was awarded the Lester B. Pearson Award as the most outstanding player voted by the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) and the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's MVP, becoming the first player in the history of the NHL to win four major regular season awards, including the Art Ross and Rocket Richard trophies. Ovechkin was also awarded his third consecutive Kharlamov Trophy, named after Soviet hockey star Valeri Kharlamov and presented by "Sovetsky Sport" newspaper, as the best Russian NHL player as voted by other Russian NHL players.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: In late October of the 2008–09 season, Ovechkin returned home to Moscow to visit his ailing grandfather, missing only the second game of his career up to that point, snapping a consecutive streak of 203 games played. On 5 February 2009, Ovechkin scored his 200th goal, against the Los Angeles Kings, becoming only the fourth player in the NHL to reach the milestone in four seasons, joining Wayne Gretzky, Mike Bossy and Mario Lemieux. On 19 March, he scored his 50th goal of the season, becoming the first Washington Capitals player to reach the 50-goal mark three times. He finished the campaign with 56 goals to capture his second consecutive Rocket Richard Trophy, joining Jarome Iginla and Pavel Bure as the third player to win the award twice and the second player after Bure (2000 and 2001) to win the award in back-to-back seasons. With 110 points, he finished as runner-up to countryman Evgeni Malkin for the Art Ross.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin and the Capitals repeated as division champions en route to meeting the New York Rangers in the opening round. After advancing to the second round in seven games, Ovechkin notched his first NHL playoff hat trick on 4 May, in game 2 against the Pittsburgh Penguins to help Washington to a 4–3 win. The Capitals were eventually defeated by Pittsburgh, the eventual Stanley Cup champions, in seven games. Ovechkin finished the 2009 playoffs with a postseason career-high 21 points in 14 games. He went on to win the Hart and Pearson trophies for the second consecutive year, becoming the seventeenth player to win the Hart multiple times.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Just over a month into the 2009–10 season, Ovechkin suffered an upper-body injury during a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on 1 November 2009, after a collision with opposing forward Raffi Torres. After returning, Ovechkin was suspended by the NHL on 1 December for two games (one for the action, and one for a second game misconduct penalty during the season) for a knee-on-knee hit to Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Tim Gleason during a game the previous day. Both Gleason and Ovechkin had to be helped off the ice, although Gleason later returned during the game, while Ovechkin did not. Ovechkin was assessed a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct at the time. Capitals Coach Bruce Boudreau commented that Ovechkin's style of play was at times "reckless." The suspension was Ovechkin's first of his career, causing him to forfeit $98,844.16 in salary.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: On 5 January 2010, Ovechkin was named captain of the Washington Capitals after previous captain Chris Clark was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets. He became the first European, second-youngest and 14th overall captain in team history. On 5 February, at a game against the New York Rangers, Ovechkin, with his second goal and third point of the game, reached the 500-point milestone of his NHL career. He is the fifth player to achieve the milestone in only five seasons, reaching it in 373 career games. On 14 March, at a game against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center, Ovechkin sent 'Hawks defenseman Brian Campbell into the boards after Campbell had dumped the puck to the blue line. Ovechkin was called for boarding, receiving a five-minute major and a game misconduct, and was suspended for two games (for a third game misconduct of the season, a two-game suspension is automatic). Campbell suffered a fractured clavicle and fractured rib, and was expected to be out seven-to-eight weeks.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin won the 2009–10 Ted Lindsay Award, becoming only the second player in NHL history to win the award in three consecutive years. He also led the NHL in goals per game and points per game for three straight seasons, from 2008 to 2010. Ovechkin is the Capitals' all-time leader in goals.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: In 2009–10 Ovechkin surpassed the mark of Hall of Fame goaltender Bill Durnan (first four seasons from 1943–44 through 1946–47) and became the first player in NHL history voted a First Team All-Star in each of his first five seasons.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: In 2011, Ovechkin and the Capitals took part in the New Year's Day NHL Winter Classic, facing the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ovechkin did not score any points, but the Capitals won 3–1. On 8 March 2011, in a 5–0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers, Ovechkin recorded his 600th career point. On 5 April, Ovechkin scored his 300th career goal, becoming the sixth-youngest and seventh-fastest player to do so.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: On 23 January 2012, Ovechkin received a three-game suspension for a hit on Zbyněk Michálek of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The following day, Ovechkin announced he would not attend the 2012 NHL All-Star Game due to the suspension.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: During the NHL lockout in the first half of the shortened 2012–13 season, Ovechkin went to play in the KHL and re-joined Dynamo Moscow with his teammate Nicklas Bäckström. In 31 games for the team, Ovechkin scored 19 goals and 40 points. At the end of the season, the Dynamo would go on to win the Gagarin Cup, albeit after the NHL lockout concluded and Ovechkin and Backstrom returned to North America. However, Ovechkin still received a championship ring from the team.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: In the remainder lockout-shortened 2012–13 NHL season, Ovechkin led the NHL in goal-scoring with 32, earning him his third Rocket Richard Trophy. He combined his 32 goals with 24 assists, giving him 56 points, good for third-most points in the NHL. He was also awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy for the third time in his career. Ovechkin only scored two points in a first-round exit of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs against the New York Rangers, during which he played with a hairline fracture in his foot. After the 2013 season, Ovechkin made history by being named to both the First and Second NHL All-Star teams. He had switched to playing right wing that entire season so was voted to the first All-Star team's right wing, but because some voters were not aware of the change, voted for him at his traditional left wing position, therefore also landing him left wing on the second All-Star team.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: On 20 December 2013, in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Ovechkin scored his 400th career goal. He became the sixth-fastest player to ever reach that mark, getting it in 634 games, one less than Pavel Bure.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: At the conclusion of the 2013–14 season, Ovechkin had the strange distinction of winning the Rocket Richard Trophy, scoring 51 goals, while going −35, one of the NHL's worst, in the plus-minus statistic. However, the Capitals missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006–07.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: On 4 November 2014, in a game against the Calgary Flames, Ovechkin recorded his 826th point, a franchise record, surpassing Peter Bondra, who previously held the record with 825 points. However, the Flames won the game 4–3 in overtime. On 31 March 2015, in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Ovechkin scored his 50th goal of the year and became the sixth player in NHL history to have six 50-goal seasons, joining Guy Lafleur, Mike Bossy, Wayne Gretzky, Marcel Dionne and Mario Lemieux. On 2 April, Ovechkin scored his 51st and 52nd goals of the season in a 5–4 shootout win against the Montreal Canadiens, surpassing Bondra as the franchise leader in goals scored. It was also his 15th multi-goal game of the season, none of which were hat-tricks.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: During the 2015–16 season, in the second period of a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ovechkin scored his eighth goal of the season to tie Sergei Fedorov's tally for the most goals among Russian born players, with 483. On 19 November 2015, Ovechkin scored his ninth goal of the season in a 3–2 loss to the Dallas Stars; that goal broke Fedorov's record. On 10 January 2016, Ovechkin scored his 500th and 501st goals in a 7–1 victory over the Ottawa Senators, becoming the 43rd player to reach the 500-goal plateau, and the fifth-fastest player to do so, as well as the first Russian. On 9 April, Ovechkin scored his 50th goal of the season and became the third player in NHL history to have seven or more 50-goal seasons.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: During the 2015–16 season, Ovechkin, for the first time in his career, did not lead the Washington Capitals in points, although he still led the team in goals with 50, and finished second on the team in points with 71, behind fellow countryman Evgeny Kuznetsov, who finished with 77. In the second round of the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Washington Capitals lost the series to the Pittsburgh Penguins in game 6 after a 4–3 overtime defeat.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: On 11 January 2017, Ovechkin scored his 1,000th career point, becoming the 37th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 points with only one team.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: As the "face of the Capitals" for over a decade, Ovechkin had taken "the lion's share of the blame" for the team's failing record postseason, which had included three straight exits during the second round, two of them dealt by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The loss to the Penguins in the 2017 playoffs was particularly devastating to the Capitals. And while Crosby had won three Stanley Cups with the Penguins, Ovechkin was being considered the greatest hockey player never to have won one, with his main nemesis being largely to blame. Advancing age, consideration of his legacy, and the desire to beat Crosby's Penguins in the postseason combined to change Ovechkin's approach to hockey in the 2017–18 season and beyond. After engaging in a more intense pre-season fitness training than usual, focusing more on speed work and condition, Ovechkin returned to training camp in Washington two weeks early and predicted: "We're not gonna be fucking suck this year ." He then scored seven times in the team's first two games, performing a hat trick in both games.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin broke many NHL and Capitals' records during the 2017–18 season. On 7 October 2017, he became the first player in 100 years with back-to-back hat-tricks to start the season. As well, on 25 November, Ovechkin passed Bondra as the team's all-time leader in hat-tricks with his 20th of his career. On 21 October, in a game against the Detroit Red Wings, Ovechkin surpassed Jaromír Jágr for most regular season overtime goals with the 20th of his career.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: On 12 March 2018, Ovechkin scored his 600th career goal, making him the 20th player to do so, and the fourth to do so in less than 1,000 games. On 1 April 2018 Ovechkin would play against the Pittsburgh Penguins in his 1,000th regular season NHL game, becoming the first Capitals player to play 1,000 games and the 54th NHL player to do so with the same franchise. At the conclusion of the regular season, Ovechkin was awarded the Rocket Richard trophy for the seventh time in his career. He became the second player, tied with Bobby Hull, to win the NHL's goal scoring title seven times.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: During the 2018 playoffs, Ovechkin scored 15 goals and 27 points in 24 games and averaging 20:44 of ice time per game. That year the Capitals would once again meet their longtime rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, in the Eastern Conference semifinals; headed by Sidney Crosby, Ovechkin's main rival for greatest player of his generation, the Penguins had been victorious in nine of their previous 10 encounters with the Capitals. The Capitals broke the trend, however, with Ovechkin assisting Evgeny Kuznetsov's game six overtime goal to clinch his first Eastern Conference finals appearance in 13 seasons with the Capitals.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: The Capitals reached the Stanley Cup Finals, the second time they had done so (they previously did in 1998), and defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in five games to win the Stanley Cup. Ovechkin won the Conn Smythe trophy, awarded to the most valuable player for his team in the playoffs.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: On 6 December 2018, Ovechkin became the fastest player in NHL history and ninth overall to take 5,000 shots on goal, reaching that mark in 1,031 career games. Marcel Dionne, the previous holder of the record, required 184 more games. He scored the 21st hat-trick of his NHL career in a 6–2 win over Detroit Red Wings on 11 December, passing Pavel Bure for most by a Russian-born player in league history. Ovechkin had a career-best 14 game point streak during the season, which included back-to-back hat tricks. Ovechkin was named a captain for the 2019 National Hockey League All-Star Game, but announced that he was choosing to skip the game to rest, forcing him to serve an automatic one game suspension as a result. Ovechkin would be named captain again the next year, and again chose to skip the game to rest, and would serve another one game suspension. On 22 February 2020, Ovechkin scored his 700th career goal in the third period of a 3–2 loss against the New Jersey Devils, making him the eighth player in NHL history to accomplish the feat. The season ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so Ovechkin and Bruins' forward David Pastrňák were named co-winners of the Rocket Richard Trophy, with each having 48 goals at the time.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin signed a five-year, $47.5 million contract extension with the Capitals on 27 July 2021. He scored his 28th career hat trick, tying Marcel Dionne and Bobby Hull for sixth most in NHL history, on 26 November 2021. On 31 December, Ovechkin scored his 275th power play goal, breaking Dave Andreychuk's all-time record. On 16 March 2022, Ovechkin scored his 767th career NHL goal, moving him into third place for goals scored all-time in the NHL, passing Jaromír Jágr; he achieved the feat in 477 fewer games than Jagr, yet had also taken 400 more shots on goal.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: On 20 April 2022, Ovechkin scored his 50th goal of the season for the ninth time in his career, tying Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky for having the most 50-goal seasons in NHL history. At 36 years and 215 days of age, he is the oldest player to score 50 goals in a season; the previous oldest was Johnny Bucyk, doing so at the age of 35 years and 308 days. On 5 November, Ovechkin scored his 787th goal with the Washington Capitals setting a new NHL record for most goals with one team, a record previously held by Gordie Howe. He set another NHL best on 29 November, surpassing Gretzky for most road goals with 403, after scoring two goals against the Canucks. Ovechkin became the third player in NHL history to score 800 regular season goals, behind Howe and Gretzky, by scoring a hat trick against the Chicago Blackhawks on 13 December. It was his 29th hat trick in the NHL, giving him the sixth most hat tricks by any player in the league's history.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin is widely considered one of the greatest goal scorers in NHL history, with what some consider a real chance at overtaking Wayne Gretzky in total career goals (894). He is famous for his deadly one-timer, which he typically fires from the left faceoff circle, an area known as his "office." Former teammate Brooks Orpik said of his one-timer, "You know it's going there, and you still can't stop him." Ovechkin proves "the exception rather than the rule when it comes to success" on one-timers, which "can be very difficult to pull off," involving as they do "taking a hard pass and timing a shot perfectly, when the puck may be rolling or on end, while also aiming at a small net, particularly from far distances."


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin has been awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy honoring the most valuable player in the league three times (2008, 2009, 2013). Ovechkin's most enduring nickname is "The Great 8."


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin's ability to shoot heavily as a power forward has been well documented. After clinching the hardest shot title at the 2018 NHL All-Star game skills competition with a 98.8 mph first attempt, he became the only player in the 2018 All Star game to break the century mark, surpassing 100 mph on his second shot, stepping "up to plate and delivered a blistering 101.3 MPH blast."


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: In an October 2018 game against the Canucks, after Vancouver had pulled their goalie, Ovechkin passed the puck to teammate T. J. Oshie rather than score the easy hat trick for himself. "[Oshie asked] 'Why you pass me the puck?'" Ovechkin said. "But he was so wide open and I try to give him pass. Save mine for next time."


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: The Capitals' morning skate ritually begins with captain Ovechkin "sprinting around the rink, a solo lap to the sound of sticks tapping from his teammates." Once he's made it all the way around, the rest of the team jumps onto the ice to join him. Ovechkin is known as a durable player, losing little time to injuries. After being struck on the foot by a teammate's wrist shot during a 2006 game in Vancouver, he "crumpled to the ice and had to be helped to the locker room." Exhibiting no ill effects in practice the next day, Ovechkin famously told reporters, "I'm okay; Russian machine never breaks."


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Late in the 2008–09 season, Ovechkin garnered some criticism over his exuberant after-goal celebrations. On 28 February 2009, during a segment of "Hockey Night in Canada"'s Coach's Corner, Canadian hockey analyst Don Cherry likened Ovechkin's celebrations of jumping into the boards and his teammates to that of soccer players, concluding that this was not the Canadian way and advising Canadian kids to ignore Ovechkin's example. Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau came to Ovechkin's defense, stating Cherry "doesn't know Alex like we know Alex", and Ovechkin himself stated that he "doesn't care" about Cherry. The next notable incident happened on 19 March 2009, in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. After scoring his 50th goal of the season, Ovechkin put his stick on the ice, pretending to warm his hands over it because it was "hot." The incident sparked an immediate response from Tampa Bay coach Rick Tocchet, who said that "[Ovechkin] went down a notch in my books." Boudreau had also stated that he would discuss the incident with Ovechkin, and teammate Mike Green, despite being the first to celebrate with Ovechkin afterwards, commented that he did not wish to join in the pre-meditated celebration. Ovechkin himself was unapologetic, and said about Don Cherry in particular, "He's going to be pissed off for sure...I love it!".


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: After using and endorsing CCM equipment for most of his career, Ovechkin made the move to Bauer Hockey in August 2011 following a decline in his point production in the 2010–11 season. He continued to use Bauer equipment until the 2017 season, when he switched back to CCM. Ovechkin currently uses the Ribcor Trigger stick and Super Tacks AS1 skates.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: At the age of 16, Ovechkin played at the 2002 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, where he scored two hat tricks, one against Switzerland and one against the United States, and an assist.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: At the age of 17, when he was selected by Russian coach Viktor Tikhonov to play in the Česká Pojišťovna Cup EuroTour tournament, Ovechkin became the youngest skater ever to play for the Russian national team. In that tournament, he also became the youngest player ever to score for the national team. He also was selected to play at the 2002 IIHF World U18 Championships, in which he amassed 14 goals and four assists in eight games, leading Russia to a silver medal. Ovechkin now shares the single tournament goals record with Cole Caufield, who scored as many in seven games at the 2019 IIHF World U18 Championships.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: At the age of 18, Ovechkin was named captain of the junior Russian national team. Russia finished fifth in the tournament. In 2003, the team would go on to win a gold medal in the World Junior Championships.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: At the age of 19, Ovechkin was named to the Russian national team for the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, making him the youngest player to play in the tournament.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Also at 19, Ovechkin was named captain of the junior team in the 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. The tournament, lasting from 25 December 2004 to 4 January 2005, was Ovechkin's third and last. At the conclusion of the tournament, he had collected seven goals, tied for the tournament lead. His team received the silver medal after losing the gold medal game to Canada on 4 January, and Ovechkin was named the Best Forward of the tournament as well as selected to the tournament All-Star team. In 2005, Ovechkin played in his first IIHF men's World Championships. He scored five goals and three assists, landing eighth in the top scorers list and sharing third place in goal scoring.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: In 2006, Ovechkin played in his first Winter Olympic Games. Although Russia came away from the games without a medal, Ovechkin scored five goals in the tournament, including the game-winner against Canada's Martin Brodeur, eliminating Canada from the tournament. Ovechkin was the only player not on the Swedish (gold medal winners) or Finnish (silver medal winners) teams to be named to the all-tournament team.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: At the 2006 IIHF World Championships, Ovechkin scored six goals and three assists (nine points) in seven games before Russia lost 4–3 to the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals. For his efforts, Ovechkin was one of six players selected to the Media All-Star team.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: At the 2008 IIHF World Championships, Ovechkin helped lead Russia to the gold medal by finishing with 12 points (six goals, six assists) in nine games. He was selected to the Media All-Star team for the second time in five tournament appearances.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: In the 2010 Winter Olympics, Ovechkin and Team Russia were one of the favorites to win the Gold Medal. Despite high expectations, Russia lost to Canada 7–3 in the quarterfinals. Ovechkin finished with two goals and two assists in Russia's four games.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: After being eliminated in the first round of the NHL playoffs, Ovechkin joined Russia for the 2010 IIHF World Championships along with many other Russian stars, such as Evgeni Malkin, Pavel Datsyuk and Ilya Kovalchuk. Despite being heavily favored to win the tournament, Russia lost to the Czech Republic in the finals.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin also joined the Russian team for the 2011 IIHF World Championships after the Capitals were eliminated from the NHL playoffs. He played in five games for the Russian team, but did not manage to score any points, the first time he failed to score any points in a World Championship tournament.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin played in Russia's last three games of the 2012 IIHF World Championships. He recorded two goals and two assists as Russia won the tournament.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin also represented Russia in 2013 IIHF World Championships. He joined the national team after the Capitals were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2013. Russia had already advanced to the first playoff round where they faced the U.S. The Americans defeated Russia 8–3, eliminating them from the tournament.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: In the 2014 Winter Olympics, Ovechkin represented Russia under enormous pressure as the tournament was hosted on home ice in Sochi. Russia lost to arch-rivals Finland 3–1 in the quarter-final round.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin participated in the 2014 IIHF World Championships where Russia won gold. After the tournament, he asked Vladimir Putin to reward the Russian hockey team on an equal basis with the 2014 Olympic champions. That was criticized as the World Championship was considered insignificant compared to Olympic gold, which Russia had failed to win earlier that year in Sochi. He also joined the Russian team late in the 2015 IIHF World Championships, where Russia won the silver medal.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin was the cover athlete of 2K Sports hockey simulation video game "NHL 2K10", as well as the cover athlete of EA Sports' "NHL 07 and NHL 21". On 11 June 2008, Ovechkin launched his own line of designer streetwear with CCM. On 6 July 2009, Ovechkin was named an ambassador for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. In late 2009, he was named "GQ"'s 48th most powerful person in Washington, D.C.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: During the 2010–11 season, Ovechkin was featured in one of ESPN's "This is SportsCenter" commercials, in which he laughed off a question by ESPN personality Steve Levy accusing him of being a Russian spy before being pulled upward by a line through an open ceiling tile by countryman and then-Capitals teammate Semyon Varlamov.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin is a dedicated car enthusiast, owning many fine automobiles, such as a Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series and a custom Mercedes S63 AMG. At the 2015 NHL All-Star Game, Ovechkin lobbied Honda for a new car, and brought an element of fun silliness to the "draft" where he was chosen third to last; the last two players selected, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Filip Forsberg, each received a new car, but Ovechkin would not give up. When Honda representatives asked his agent why he wanted a car so badly, they were told that he planned to donate it to the American Special Hockey Association, and at the end of the event, he was handed the keys to a new Honda Accord. That Accord was auctioned off, and the proceeds used to benefit the charity Ovechkin highlighted and brought attention to with his antics.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Following the Capitals' 2018 Stanley Cup victory, Ovechkin participated in a number of memorable celebrations, including an incident where he and teammates T. J. Oshie, Braden Holtby, Lars Eller and Tom Wilson swam in the fountains at the Georgetown waterfront with the Cup. The summer after the championship was dubbed by the Washington media as "The Summer of Ovi."


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin has appeared in three films: "Zaytsev, zhgi! Istoriya shoumena" (2010) as an actor, and "NHL: Just Like Me" (2008) and "Boys to the Bigs" (2008) as himself.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin is a keen football fan and an avid supporter of Liverpool F.C. He is also an investor in the Washington Spirit, a professional team in the National Women's Soccer League. In 2022, he signed a one-game contract with FC Dynamo Moscow, the club his father played for, in a friendly against FC Amkal Moscow. He wore the number 3 jersey in honor of his father, who wore the number when he played football for the club. Ovechkin scored a goal in the match.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: In 2017, Ovechkin said: "I have a good relationship with Russians and with Americans. So, I'm neutral." In November 2017, Ovechkin started a movement called PutinTeam in support of Russian President Vladimir Putin during the 2018 Russian presidential election. Asked whether it was political, Ovechkin described his actions as a show of support for Russia, "I just support my country, you know? That's where I'm from, my parents live there, all my friends. Like every human from different countries, they support their president. It's not about political stuff." Of his participation in PutinTeam, Ovechkin also said:


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: PutinTeam was first announced in a 2 November 2017 post on Ovechkin’s Instagram account, which has over one million followers. On 23 November, Ovechkin announced on his Instagram that the group's official website had been launched. On the soft launch of the site, visitors were encouraged to sign up for the team, track related news, participate in contests and attend and organize events. Ovechkin has claimed that the idea for PutinTeam was all his and that the group is non-political in its nature. Vedomosti, a Russian financial newspaper, reported that Kremlin sources have said that IMA-Consulting were behind the creation of the organization. A Kremlin-supported public-relations firm, IMA-Consulting reportedly holds a $600,000 contract to promote the 2018 Russian presidential elections. The Kremlin spoke in support of the movement after its announcement. According to "The Washington Post", Ovechkin has a personal relationship with Putin. Ovechkin has a personal phone number for Putin, who is a big hockey fan, and received a gift from Putin at his 2016 wedding. Ovechkin said that he and Putin don't have much in common: "We talk about hockey and all that stuff. That's it."


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: On 25 February 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ovechkin called for peace without mentioning Russia or Ukraine directly. In May 2022, he reiterated his support for Putin, as well as retaining the Russian president on his Instagram profile photo.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin was reportedly involved in a feud with Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin, who was drafted second behind Ovechkin in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Though the two were reported to be good friends when they roomed together during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, this friendship quickly soured.<ref name="Ovechkin/Malkin Feud"></ref> The feud may have started in August 2007 when Ovechkin supposedly punched Malkin's Russian agent, Gennady Ushakov, at a Moscow nightclub. Ovechkin has denied that version of events, while Malkin confirmed it. On 21 January 2008, in Pittsburgh, Ovechkin took a run at Malkin, which would have seemingly resulted in a devastating hit had Malkin not ducked out of the way just in time. The two would also not make eye contact at the 2008 NHL Awards Ceremony. Ovechkin has repeatedly denied "having it out" for Malkin.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: The feud raised many concerns as to its effect on the league, and the Russian national team at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. On 24 January 2009, at the SuperSkills Competition, Malkin assisted Ovechkin in his stunt during the Breakaway Challenge. Malkin handed Ovechkin his props for the stunt as well as handing him his stick and pouring some sports drink down Ovechkin's throat. It has been reported that Ilya Kovalchuk, who was then the Atlanta Thrashers' captain and a teammate of Ovechkin and Malkin on the Russian national team, brokered the peace between the two.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Malkin gave a speech at Ovechkin's 35th birthday party in September 2020. The two are reportedly very close friends, with the feud long in the past.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: Ovechkin was formerly engaged to tennis player Maria Kirilenko. On 21 July 2014, Kirilenko announced that the wedding was called off and that the two were no longer seeing each other. On 11 September 2015, Ovechkin announced via Instagram his engagement to Nastya Shubskaya (the daughter of Vera Glagoleva), whom he subsequently married.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: On 7 June 2018, in an interview after winning the Stanley Cup, it was made public that Ovechkin and his wife were expecting their first child. On 18 August 2018, the couple had a son, whom they named Sergei after Ovechkin's late brother.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: On 24 February 2020, Ovechkin’s wife announced via Instagram that they were expecting their second child. On 27 May 2020, their second son, Ilya, was born.


title: Alexander Ovechkin

text: , Ovechkin is currently studying for and is close to obtaining a Doctor of Sciences, the Russian equivalent of a PhD or higher doctorate. Ovechkin's field of study is Pedagogical Sciences.


title: Billy Preston

text: William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he backed artists such as Little Richard, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, the Everly Brothers, Reverend James Cleveland, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. He gained attention as a solo artist with hit singles such as "That's the Way God Planned It", the Grammy-winning "Outa-Space", "Will It Go Round in Circles", "Space Race", "Nothing from Nothing", and "With You I'm Born Again". Additionally, Preston co-wrote "You Are So Beautiful", which became a #5 hit for Joe Cocker.


title: Billy Preston

text: Preston is the only non-Beatle musician to be given a credit on a Beatles recording at the band's request; the group's 1969 single "Get Back" was credited as "The Beatles with Billy Preston". He continued to record and perform with George Harrison after the Beatles' breakup, along with other artists such as Eric Clapton, and the Rolling Stones on many of the group's albums and tours during the 1970s. On May 12, 2021, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced that Preston would be inducted with the Musical Excellence Award.


title: Billy Preston

text: Preston was born September 2, 1946, in Houston but moved to Los Angeles as a child with his mother, Robbie Lee Williams. Noted as a child prodigy, Preston was entirely self-taught and never had a music lesson. By the age of ten, he was playing organ onstage backing several gospel singers such as Mahalia Jackson. At 11, Preston appeared on an episode of Nat King Cole's NBC TV show singing the Fats Domino hit "Blueberry Hill" with Cole. He also appeared in "St. Louis Blues", the 1958 W. C. Handy biopic starring Nat King Cole; Preston played with Handy at a younger age.


title: Billy Preston

text: In 1962, Preston joined Little Richard's band as an organist, and it was while performing in Hamburg that he met the Beatles. In 1963, he played the organ on Sam Cooke's "Night Beat" album and released his own debut album, "16 Yr. Old Soul", for Cooke's SAR label. In 1965, he released the album "The Most Exciting Organ Ever" and performed on the rock and roll show "Shindig!" In May or June of 1965, he had a session with Little Richard and Jimi Hendrix , in New York City, yielding the Soul classic dirge "I Don't Know What You've Got". In 1967, he joined Ray Charles' band. Following this exposure, several musicians began asking Preston to contribute to their sessions.


title: Billy Preston

text: Preston is among those sometimes known as the "Fifth Beatle". After befriending the group in 1962, Preston joined the "Get Back" sessions in January 1969. (At one point John Lennon proposed the idea of having Preston join the band; Paul McCartney countered it was difficult enough reaching agreements with four.) Preston played organ and electric piano for the Beatles during several of the "Get Back" sessions; some of these sessions appeared in the film "Let It Be" and on its companion album. Footage of their collaboration also appeared in the 2021 documentary "" directed by Peter Jackson. Preston also accompanied the band on electric piano for its rooftop concert, the group's final public appearance. In April 1969, their single "Get Back" was credited to "The Beatles with Billy Preston", the only time an artist was credited as a co-performer with The Beatles after the band started recording as independent artists. The credit was bestowed by the Beatles to reflect the extent of Preston's presence on the track; his electric piano is prominent throughout and he plays an extended solo. Preston also worked, in a more limited role, on the 1969 "Abbey Road" album, contributing organ to the tracks "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and "Something".


title: Billy Preston

text: In 1978, he appeared as Sgt. Pepper in Robert Stigwood's film "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", which was based on the Beatles' album of the same name, and sang and danced to "Get Back" as the penultimate song.


title: Billy Preston

text: Signed to the Beatles' Apple label, in 1969, Preston released the album "That's the Way God Planned It", produced by George Harrison, the title song from which was a hit single in Britain. His association with Harrison continued after the Beatles' breakup in 1970; Preston was the first artist to record Harrison's subsequent international hit "My Sweet Lord", on his 1970 album "Encouraging Words", which Harrison co-produced with him. He appeared on several of Harrison's 1970s solo albums, starting with "All Things Must Pass"; made a notable contribution to the Concert for Bangladesh, the Harrison-organized 1971 charity benefit; performed with the ex-Beatle on his 1974 tour of North America; and played at the 2002 Concert for George tribute, held at London's Royal Albert Hall. Preston also worked on solo releases by Lennon and Ringo Starr.


title: Billy Preston

text: In 1971, Preston left Apple and signed with Herb Alpert's A&M Records. The previous year, he contributed to another hit single when Stephen Stills asked to use Preston's phrase "if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with", a song on Stills's self-titled debut solo album.


title: Billy Preston

text: Following the release of "I Wrote a Simple Song" on A&M, Preston's solo career peaked at this time, beginning with 1972's "Outa-Space", an instrumental track that further popularized the sound of the clavinet in funk music. The song reached number 2 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and topped "Billboard"'s R&B chart, before going on to win the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. "Outa-Space" sold over 1 million copies in America, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA in June 1972. Later that year, Preston contributed the title song to the hit blaxploitation film "Slaughter" starring Jim Brown.


title: Billy Preston

text: Over the next two years, Preston followed up with the US chart-topping singles "Will It Go Round in Circles" (which displaced Harrison's "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" at the top on July 7, 1973) and "Nothing from Nothing", and the number 4 hit "Space Race". Each of the three singles sold in excess of 1 million copies. "American Bandstand" host and executive producer Dick Clark enjoyed "Space Race" so much that he used the instrumental for the mid-show break for virtually the remainder of its run.


title: Billy Preston

text: From 1970, Preston played keyboards (including piano, organ, clavinet and various synthesizers) for the Rolling Stones, sometimes alongside pianists Nicky Hopkins and Ian Stewart, on their albums "Sticky Fingers", "Exile on Main St.", "Goats Head Soup", "It's Only Rock 'n Roll" and "Black and Blue". As the band's primary touring keyboardist from 1973 to 1977, he also performed as a support act with his own band (including Mick Taylor on guitar) on their 1973 European tour. A Munich performance from this tour was documented on Preston's album "Live European Tour 1973". In 1974, along with Bruce Fisher, one of his regular songwriting collaborators in the 1970s, he composed one of Joe Cocker's biggest hits, "You Are So Beautiful". On October 11, 1975, he was the first musical guest on "Saturday Night Live"s series premiere episode. Preston's 1973 song "Do You Love Me" was the basis for the Rolling Stones' track "Melody", released on "Black and Blue" in 1976. Although two of his songs were included in the band's 1975 and 1976 (plus the famous El Mocambo)live sets, the Stones and Preston parted company in 1977, mainly due to a disagreement over money. He continued to play on solo records by Stones members like Mick Jagger's "Wandering Spirit", and made appearances on the band's "Tattoo You" and "Bridges to Babylon".


title: Billy Preston

text: After seven years with A&M, he signed with Motown. In 1979, he duetted with Syreeta Wright on the ballad "With You I'm Born Again", which reached number 4 on the charts in the US. Preston's career lost momentum in the 1980s due to his cocaine and alcohol addictions. He left Motown in 1984 and focused on session work, contributing to works by artists such as Luther Vandross (his organ solos were included on Vandross's 1985 hit "Til My Baby Comes Home"), Whitney Houston and Patti LaBelle, among others. He served as musical director for "Nightlife", a late-night talk show hosted by David Brenner that lasted one season from 1986 to 1987.


title: Billy Preston

text: Preston toured with Eric Clapton, recorded with Gary Walker, one of the vocalists in his Los Angeles-based band, and worked with a wide range of other artists. He also toured with Ringo Starr, appearing on his 1990 live album. He was invited to become a member of The Band in 1991, after the death of piano player Stan Szelest. He performed on tour with the group, but the sentencing from his cocaine and sexual assault charges in 1991 ended the collaboration.


title: Billy Preston

text: In 1997, Billy Preston recorded the album "You and I", in Italy, with Italian band Novecento. The album was produced by Vaughn De Spenza and Novecento members Lino and Pino Nicolosi. In 1998, Preston played organ during the choir numbers on the UPN comedy show "Good News". The same year he sang and played synthesizer in the film "Blues Brothers 2000", as part of the Louisiana Gator Boys supergroup.


title: Billy Preston

text: On November 29, 2001, while touring and fighting his own health problems, Preston received the news that George Harrison had died, after a long illness. Preston, among many of Harrison's longtime friends, performed in the 2002 Concert for George at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Preston's performance of "My Sweet Lord" received critical acclaim. Additionally, he sang "Isn't It a Pity", provided backing vocals on most of the other songs, and played the Hammond organ for the show.


title: Billy Preston

text: In 2002, Preston appeared on the Johnny Cash album "", playing piano on "Personal Jesus" and "Tear-Stained Letter".


title: Billy Preston

text: In 2004, Preston toured with the Funk Brothers and Steve Winwood in Europe, and then with Clapton in Europe and North America. After the Clapton tours, he went to France, where he was featured in one episode of the "Legends Rock TV Show." His performance included a duet with Sam Moore on "You Are So Beautiful"; this was Preston's last filmed concert.


title: Billy Preston

text: In 2004, Preston performed as a jazz organist on Ray Charles's "Genius Loves Company", an album of duets, on the song "Here We Go Again" with Charles and Norah Jones.


title: Billy Preston

text: In March 2005, he appeared on the "American Idol" fourth-season finale. Playing piano, he performed "With You I'm Born Again" with Vonzell Solomon (who finished the contest in third place). The same year, he recorded "Go Where No One's Gone Before", the main title song for the anime series "".


title: Billy Preston

text: Preston played clavinet on the song "Warlocks" for the Red Hot Chili Peppers album "Stadium Arcadium" (2006). Although very ill by this point, he jumped out of his bed after hearing a tape of the song given to him by the band, recorded his part, and went back to bed. Preston's final recorded contributions were the gospel-tinged organ on the Neil Diamond album "12 Songs" (2005), and his keyboard work on "The Road to Escondido" (2006) by Eric Clapton and J. J. Cale.


title: Billy Preston

text: In late 2005, Preston made his last public performance, in Los Angeles, to publicize the re-release of the 1972 documentary film "The Concert for Bangladesh". He played a set of three Harrison songs—"Give Me Love", "My Sweet Lord" and "Isn't It a Pity"—with Dhani Harrison and Starr joining on guitar and drums, respectively, for the last song.


title: Billy Preston

text: Preston was brought up in the African-American gospel tradition; he was a committed Christian throughout his life and openly expressed his faith in works such as his 1970s hit "That's the Way God Planned It". His personal beliefs were sometimes at odds with the attitudes and musical expressions of the secular world of rock & roll in which he often worked, but he was apparently willing to put his religious views aside when working on tracks like John Lennon's openly atheistic song "God". Preston was deeply attached to his mother, for whom he wrote the song that became his best-known composition, "You Are So Beautiful".


title: Billy Preston

text: Although the details did not become fully known to the general public until after his death, Preston struggled throughout his life to cope with his homosexuality, and the lasting effects of the traumatic sexual abuse he suffered as a boy. Although his sexual orientation became known to friends and associates in the music world (such as Keith Richards), Preston did not publicly come out as gay until just before he died, partly because he felt that it conflicted with his deeply held religious beliefs and his lifelong association with the church. In his autobiography, "Life", Keith Richards mentioned Preston's struggles with his homosexuality.


title: Billy Preston

text: In an interview for a 2010 BBC Radio 4 documentary on his life and career, Preston's manager Joyce Moore revealed that after she began handling his affairs, Preston opened up to her about the lifelong trauma he had suffered as the result of being sexually abused as a child. Preston told Moore that at about the age of nine, after he and his mother moved to Los Angeles from Houston to perform in a touring production of "Amos 'n' Andy", he was repeatedly abused by the touring company's pianist. When Preston told his mother about the abuse, she did not believe him, and failed to protect him. The abuse went on for the entire summer, and Preston was also later abused by a local pastor.


title: Billy Preston

text: Another traumatic incident, which reportedly affected Preston deeply, occurred in the early 1970s, while he was engaged to actress/model Kathy Silva. At this time Preston had become close friends with musician Sly Stone, and made many contributions to Stone's recordings of the period (including the album "There's a Riot Goin' On"). According to Moore, Preston was devastated when he came home one day to find Stone in bed with Silva (who later famously married Stone on stage at Madison Square Garden). According to Moore, Silva's affair with Stone was the trigger that led Preston to stop having relationships with women. It was after this incident that he began using cocaine and having sex with men, and Moore has stated that she saw his drug abuse as his way of coping with the internal conflicts he felt about his "sexual urges".


title: Billy Preston

text: While on probation for a drunk driving conviction in August 1991, Preston was arrested for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old Mexican boy, after picking him up at a gathering point for day laborers. The boy told authorities that Preston took him to his Malibu home, smoked cocaine, showed him pornographic pictures and tried to assault him before he escaped. Preston was also charged with assault with a deadly weapon involving a man he picked up to do work at his home, the day before his arrest in the case involving the boy. After submitting to a drug test, Preston tested positive for cocaine. He entered no-contest pleas to the cocaine and assault charges. The sex charges which included misdemeanor charges of child molestation and exhibiting pornographic material to a minor were dismissed. He was sentenced to nine months at a drug rehabilitation center and three months of house arrest.


title: Billy Preston

text: In 1992, Preston was sentenced to 30 days in jail for violating his probation on a drunk driving conviction.


title: Billy Preston

text: In 1997, Preston was sentenced to three years in a California prison for cocaine possession in violation of his probation. He had been placed on three years' probation earlier that year after testing positive for cocaine use; under the terms, he agreed to spend 90 days in jail and to remain drug-free.


title: Billy Preston

text: While in prison in 1998, Preston was indicted for a $1 million insurance fraud scheme after setting fire to his own house in Los Angeles. He pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against other defendants involved in the scam. His plea called for five years of probation, one year in jail, and $60,000 in restitution. The probation and jail time ran concurrent with his cocaine possession conviction. At California's Avenal State Prison, Preston led a chorus and performed at church services. He served 18 months of his four-year sentence, after which he apparently became drug-free.