The End of Mazdak

Two days ago I promised you a grisly end to Mazdak and his followers. Yesterday was the set-up: Iranian Emperor Kavad tried to be tolerant of Mazdak, a priest who preached a doctrine that was not in line with orthodox Zoroastrianism.

Kavad reached a point where support of Mazdak was detrimental to Kavad's rule. He arranged a debate over the tenets of Mazdakism. Not only Zoroastrian priests, but also Jewish and Christian representatives were invited to all denigrate Mazdak and his beliefs.

Kavad sent Mazdak and all his followers to his son, Khosrow (who would later succeed Kavad as emperor). Kavad's eldest son, Kawus, was a supporter of Mazdakism, and could not be entrusted to do what had to be done.

What happened next was not recorded at the time. The Shahnameh, an epic poem by a Persian in the 10th century (in fact, the longest epic poem in the world created by a single author), tells us what transpired. Khosrow took 3000 followers to a walled garden, where he had them "planted" head-down in the ground, with only their legs showing.

Mazdak himself was then invited by Khosrow, who supposedly said "You will find trees there that no-one has ever seen and no-one ever heard of even from the mouth of the ancient sages." Upon viewing the scene, Mazdak cried out, then fainted. He was hanged and shot with arrows.

Cool story, if true. There is a Jewish tradition that says the Jewish community under a revolutionary named Mar-Zutra II rose up to defeat Mazdak and the Mazdakites and then established a Jewish kingdom that lasted seven years.

"The End of Mazdak" was not necessarily the end of his ideas. Mazdakism survived, however, because a few survivors went to remote areas. An author in the 17th century claimed to have met Mazdakites practicing their beliefs secretly among the Muslims.

Religious tolerance in the Iranian Empire took a strange turn after Khosrow's son succeeded him. That's a story for tomorrow.

Mazdak and Kavad

During the reign of the Sassanian dynasty's Emperor Kavad I (r. 488–531), Zoroastrianism was the dominant religion. An Iranian priest named Mazdak started preaching a different version that came to be called Mazdakism.

The Zoroastrian clergy were very powerful, wealthy through donations at a time when the empire was having economic problems due to the need to provide tributes to some of their neighbors who had defeated them in some military struggles. The control of the Zoroastrian clergy meant the population was ready to embrace something new, but also meant that something new would not be received well by those in the upper class.

Mazdakism preached a dualistic Manichaeism cosmology, that there was a struggle between a good spiritual world of light, and an evil material world of darkness. Mazdakism also opposed war, consumption of meat, and said greed should be eliminated by eliminating personal property. It also said women should be held in common, which may have been an attempt by Mazdak to promote polygamy.

During a famine, grain was being hoarded by the wealthy nobility. Mazdak urged Kavad to help the people by sharing the grain. Kavad was dealing with an increasingly powerful nobility and Zoroastrian clergy, and saw helping the people as a way to garner more popular support to himself.

Kavad was actually deposed by the nobles for his support of Mazdak. He was imprisoned, and his brother Jamasp was enthroned in 496. Procopius tells the story that Kavad's wife went to the man guarding Kavad, offering herself to the guard for sex in exchange for getting to speak to her husband. While in his cell, Kavad and his wife exchanged clothes. An Iranian officer and friend of Kavad had horses ready nearby, helping him escape.

Kavad returned two years after his imprisonment with an army at his back. Fearing a devastating civil war, Jamasp stepped down with the promise that he would not be harmed. Those who plotted the usurpation were executed, however.

Kavad instituted several reforms that were influenced by Mazdakism: pacifism, anti-clericalism, and aid for the poor.

The Zoroastrian clergy were still powerful, however. When Kavad died, they asserted control over the succession. His elder son, Kawus, who had been a supporter of Mazdak, was considered unsuitable. The youngest, Khosrow, became Emperor Khosrow I. Under Khosrow, Mazdakism (and Mazdak) would come to a grisly end. Yesterday's post promised that today, but we will have to wait until tomorrow for the details.

Iranian Religious Tolerance

If the Iranian Empire under the Sassanian Emperor Khosrow I (531 - 579) had an official religion, it would be Zoroastrianism. In fact, Khosrow's older brother was deemed unsuitable to succeed their father as emperor because he supported an offshoot of Zoroastrianism (called Mazdakism after its chief proponent). Khosrow's father, Emperor Kazad I, was even deposed (briefly) because of his dalliance with Mazdakism.

Khosrow's interest in accepting "the good" in other cultures extended to tolerance of other religions. (Unless, of course, it was the "heretical" Mazdakism.) Sassanians were aware of other religions and their prominence in different parts of the East, and treated them as mard/zan ī šahr ("man/woman citizen" (of the Empire). So long as they adhered to the laws of Iran/Persia, they were accepted in society.

Christian and Jewish scholars had even been employed in a formal debate along with Zoroastrians to slander Mazdak.

The Christian "Church of the East" (aka Nestorian Church, aka Assyrian Church) had a leader who was called Catholicos of Iran. During Khosrow's reign this was Mar Abba the Great. Khosrow (usually) got along with Mar Abba, although after the Lazic War there were increased persecutions of Christians. Mar Abba held a 544 synod that created an "orthodoxy of faith" that embedded in it some Persian facets of the Church in the East, like the prohibition of marriage between close kin, following Zoroastrian ideas.

Khosrow even used a Christian diplomat in his communications with the Byzantine Empire. One of his commanders, Gregory, had left Zoroastrianism and converted to Christianity. Khosrow supported Gregory, but the court felt the commander's existence was an insult. One of Gregory's nephews asked Khosrow to execute Gregory. Khosrow tried incarceration first, but ultimately was pressured to execute Gregory.

Worse than being a member of another religion, however, was being a member of Zoroastrianism and departing from Zoroastrian orthodoxy. I suppose I should really tell you about how harshly Mazdak and his followers were treated. Tomorrow's post should carry a warning for those who are squeamish.

Can't wait.