Paulicians (, Pawlikeanner; ; Arab sources: Baylakani, al Bayalika) were a Christian Adoptionist sect, also accused by medieval sources of being Gnostic and quasi-Manichaean Christian. They flourished between 650 and 872 in Armenia and the eastern themata of the Byzantine Empire. According to medieval Byzantine sources, the group's name was derived from the 3rd century Bishop of Antioch, Paul of Samosata.