 After protests from Kartir and the other Zoroastrian priests, Bahram I was persuaded to imprison Mani, who was sentenced to death in 274.Mani's death was followed by the persecution of his followers by Kartir and the Zoroastrian clergy, who moved against the kingdom's religious minorities as a way to increase and spread their influence.To the Zoroastrian clergy, Mani had been seen as a heterogeneous philosopher and a threatening pagan, who presented an obscure perception of Zoroastrianism that was tainted by Jewish, Buddhist, and Christian ideas.