All other medieval and pre-medieval accounts of his life are either legendary or hagiographical, such as the account in "Fihrist" by Ibn al-Nadim, purportedly by al-Biruni, or were anti-Manichaean polemics, such as the 4th-century "Acta Archelai". Among these medieval accounts, Ibn al-Nadim's account of Mani's life and teachings is generally speaking the most reliable and exhaustive. Notably, the (in other accounts prominent) image of the "Third Ambassador" is only represented through a brief mention of the name "bašīr", "messenger of good news", and the topos of "Mani the Painter" (which in other Islamic accounts almost completely replaces that of "the founder of a religion") is completely absent. This work and other evidence discovered in the 20th century establishes Mani as a historical individual. Mani was born near Seleucia-Ctesiphon, perhaps in the town Mardinu in the Babylonian district of Nahr Kutha; according to other accounts in the town Abrumya. Mani's father Pātik (Middle Persian "Pattūg"; , ), a native of Ecbatana (now Hamadan, Iran), was a member of the Jewish Christian sect of the Elcesaites. His mother was of Parthian descent (from "the Armenian Arsacid family of Kamsarakan"); her name is reported variously, among others "Maryam". Therefore, Mani was raised in a heterodox environment in Babylon. The Elcesaite community was ostensibly Jewish Christian, though with some Gnostic features due to their Ebionite heritage, such as the belief in recurring incarnations of heavenly apostles, one of whom was a docetic Christ. At ages 12 and 24, however, Mani had visionary experiences of a "heavenly twin" of his ("syzygos"), calling him to leave his father's Baptist sect and preach the true message of Jesus in a new gospel. Mani then travelled to India (now the Sakhas in Afghanistan), where he studied Hinduism and its various extant philosophies, including Buddhism. Al-Biruni says Mani only traveled to India after being banished from Persia, but this might be an error or a second journey. It is believed that his Christian roots might have been influenced by Marcion and Bardaisan. Returning in 242, Mani presented himself to Shapur I, to whom he dedicated his only work written in Persian, known as the "Shabuhragan".