It was persecuted in Persia. Mani was either executed or died in jail; in Persia it was seen as a competitor of the Zoroastrian religion, and the Zoroastrian priesthood persecuted it into oblivion. See Will Durant's book, THE AGE OF FAITH.

In Central Asia, it had better luck. EMPIRE OF THE STEPPES says that the Uighur Turks adopted it as a state religion. The Uighurs, developing a high degree of civilization, propped up Tang Emperors after the An-Shi Rebellion. The Chinese Emperors let Manicheans preach in China. But after the Uighurs got smashed by the Kirghiz, who were uncivilized Turks from the Siberian forest, the Chinese turned on them persecuted the Manicheans into oblivion.

The Chinese, it would seem, had come to resent their dependence on Uighur support, and saw the religion of Mani as an unwelcome intrusion.

It is said that Mani's ideas were behind the Bogomil heretics in Bosnia, the Paulician heretics in Anatolia, and the Albigensians of Southern France. All these groups were persecuted by Christians or absorbed by Islam.

I do not know if they really were Manicheans, and would like to see people here discuss these movements. I think that in the long run, Mani's religion had nothing that could compete against Islam and Christianity; and Buddhism was more attractive in the East Asian region.