The only one who comes to mind for me is Mani, a man born in modern-day Iraq in 216 AD. Following a revelation he had at a young age he formed the Manichaean religion, which had Mani as the final prophet in a line which includes Adam, Buddha, Jesus and Zoroaster.

This religion was formed, as seen with the diverse heritage of the prophets, from aspects of many religions (syncretism). The religion characterised itself with its gnostic beliefs. There is a divine spark of knowledge which the prophets receive, and which should be shared with the people. This knowledge is what helps people free their sacred spirit from the evil material world we live in.

The history of this religion is intriguing in many aspects, but especially because of its proselytising ways. Mani encouraged the translation of his works in order to convert more and more people. He was very succesful in this, as Manichaeans could be found all the way from Western Europe (Spain, Gaul) to China. The conversion of the Uyghur Khan and his people to Manichaeism by Iranian priests in 762 is a testament to the amazing reach of this religion.

Manichaeans were persecuted by many empires over the years, it was swept from the Roman Empire in the 5th and 6th centuries, and later it was purged from China in the 8th and 9th centuries and the Middle East in the 10th and 11th centuries. It is difficult to find sources on this religion due to the harsh persecution, but every now and then we find a gem such as at Turfan, an important hub in the Silk Road, where a mass of Christian, Muslim and Manichaean texts was found. This is a great article about it.

Sources:

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/362167/Manichaeism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manichaeism (Sorry for using wikipedia, but the relevant articles are excellently sourced!)

University course on Mesopotamian Religions

Sure! To take one example, Mani (216-274) was a Prophet of Iranian origin, who was the progenitor of Manichaeism, a Gnostic religion based on a single, all-powerful God, an eternal conflict between light and darkness (in which Light was slowly being subsumed), and a dualistic religious approach. Manichaeism was for a period of time between the third and fifth centuries the main rival to Christianity, and attracted a significant number of adherents across the Roman empire; Rome itself was largely under the influence of Manicheans in the late 4th century, for example; and even Augustine of Hippo, perhaps the greatest theologian in the history of the Church, was himself a Manichean in his youth. Manichaeism eventually died out in the fourteenth century in China, but was largely extinct by the seventh, around the time of the rise of Islam.

This is not an answer to OP's question, but a request for information that is relevant to it:

During a course I took on early Christianity (from 50 - 450 CE), the professor mentioned a messiah figure who is called "the Egyptian" by Josephus (I think it was Josephus anyway). The professor kind of mentioned it as an aside, so I didn't feel comfortable asking about it, but I really wish I had. I can't find any information about this figure. The professor mentioned that the Egyptian was a contemporary of Christ (and of numerous other messiah figures), allegedly performed miracles, and had a much larger following than Christ had.

Does anyone have any information about someone who fits this description?

Edit: This is the guy, but it doesn't mention anything about any supposed miracles. The full list of messianic claimants published on that site is here (Moses of Crete is particularly interesting from a modern perspective, given the similarity to some modern "Doomsday prophets.").

From the section's introduction, it seems like this is the kind of list you seek, though I have no expertise/authority to determine the credibility of the source:

Although we cannot be certain whether a person in Antiquity was indeed called a Messiah (and by whom), the list of messianic claimants in modern literature seems endless. At the moment, it seems a common idea that ancient Judea and Galilee were crowded with Messiahs. It may have been so, but we simply cannot know. The main problem is that our most important source, the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, felt a strong dislike for messianism and knew that the Romans shared this dislike. Consequently, he refused to use the title, except for Jesus of Nazareth. Modern scholars, however, suspect that several people mentioned by Josephus were in fact called Messiah, but it is of course tricky to try to know it better than the ancients. The following men, however, are likely candidates.

To play off of OP's question, can anybody explain why Christianity, Judaism, and Islam survived, while the religions of prophets such as Mani, Mazdak, etc. all but died out? Is there something about the present monotheistic faiths that make them more tenacious than the others, or could their survival be attributed to pure luck?

A man that might fit your description is the Greek philosopher Apollonius of Tyana who lived in the 1st century AD. Most of what we know about him comes from a narrative written by Philostratus at the behest of Julia Domna, the wife of Roman Emperor Septimius Severus some time after 210 AD. We don't know a lot about his followers though the fact his memory persisted for well over a century shows it more than a passing fad. Philostratus' story immortalized him in words though many times it ventures into the realm of the fantastic with mentions of dragons with other stories bearing a striking resemblance to Paul and Jesus in the New Testament. In the 4th century AD, Diocletian used Philostratus' biography as a counterclaim to the validity of Christianity during his persecution of that religion.

The best place for further information on Apollonius is still Philostratus book which has survived to this day. Just keep in mind that it is not a history book. I haven't found anything recent that is still in print but enjoyed Apollonius of Tyana by G. R.S. Mead. Both books are also online at http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/aot/index.htm

So they didn't end up forming distinct religions, but there were many Jewish claimants to the title of Messiah after Jesus.

The most notable was Simon Bar Kokhba, known mostly as Bar Kokhba (died 135). He led a revolt against the Roman occupiers, known as the Bar Kokhba Revolt or the Third Romano-Jewish War.

Bar Kokhba fought an initially successful guerrilla campaign against the Romans. He was declared to be the Messiah by Rabbi Akiva (Rabbi Akiva was the preeminent Jewish scholar of the time, and made contributions to Jewish philosophy that are still relevant today). In other words, Bar Kokhba's role to his followers was no less than Jesus's role to his own followers.

This initial success allowed the Jewish state a degree of independence. During this time, many Jews believed that the "world to come" had arrived. However, in short order Rome gathered troops from throughout the Empire and invaded. After a few years of fighting, Rome was successful, the rebellion was crushed, and Bar Kokhba and Rabbi Akiva were both killed.

As a consequence, the destruction of Judea that had begun in 70 CE was taken further. Over 500,000 Jews were killed, Jews were banned from Jerusalem (which was renamed Aelia Capitolina), and the majority of the surviving Jews were enslaved or exiled. The Romans even renamed the province of Judea to "Syria Palaestina" to remove any association between the land and the Jewish people.

Bar Kokhba was similar to Jesus in that they were both Jews, they were both considered to be the Messiah by their followers, and they both were killed by Rome. The important difference is that Bar Kokhba's believers either changed their mind (his failure was seen as proof of him not being the Messiah), or were killed.

This is more of a followup question, I'm no expert on religion but I do remember reading about Apollonius of Tyana who had a similar story than Jesus. (Although this was just before Jesus's time.)

What reasons were there that his following did not last?

A lot of gnostic leaders may have been regarded as prophets by their followers. Mani is a good example and according to some (apocryphal and Christian) accounts Simon Magus (who in Acts is rebuked by St. Peter for attempting to buy the powers granted to the Apostles by the Holy Spirit) went around with a prostitute whom he claimed was Sophia, wisdom incarnate.

Then there were a host of people who claimed or were believed to be the Jewish messiah, beginning with Simon of Peraea and Athronges around 4 BC and ending with Moses of Crete in the 5th century. Although they continue to this day, most notably Sabbatai Zevi in the 1600s and Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who died in 1994.

Between Jesus and Muhammad, though, the most well-known is Simon bar Kokhba, who led a revolt against Roman rule in Judaea that was succesful right up until the Romans responded with overwhelming force, killed pretty much everyone and leveled Jerusalem.

I'm not sure about other religions, but there were several sects of Abrahamic faith throughout the Middle East, all with their own prophets. In fact, most of these so-called messiah were crucified at the stake for the crime of 'zealotry', the highest sin, because it is ideological treason.

Judas the Galilean led a prophetic revolt against the Romans in 6AD. His sect of Judaism was called the 'Zealots', though they are considered the 4th sect of Judaism in this time period. The other three being the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Essenes. Each of these movements had their own prophet leaders, and all were eventually crushed by the Romans. Then there was Theudas, who crowned himself Messiah and pulled hundreds of followers to the Jordan River, promising to part it as Moses had done. Even Judas' grandson Menahem lead a resistance that succeeded in killing the Roman-elected high priest at the Temple Mount.

Jesus Christ the saviour is the godlike figure of the stories, but Jesus of Nazareth the man was another one of these zealous figures. He had many important qualities that distinguished him, and his legacy assures that. However, it is useful to examine the context in which he lived in, a land where Roman occupation had left the populace in perpetual famine and poverty. These zealous movements were often the peoples' response.

Sources:

'Zealot - Aslan, Reza

Encyclopedia Britannica

http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/9032-judas-the-galilean

Yup! Check out "Zealot" by Reza Aslan. Traveling self-ordained prophets were fairly common around the time of Christ, especially near Jerusalem, of which the most famous in the modern-day is John the Baptist- although, there were many others.