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Mazdak (in Persian مزدک) (died c. 524 or 528) was a proto-socialist Persian reformer who gained influence under the reign of the Sassanian king Kavadh I. He claimed to be a prophet of God, and instituted communal possessions and social welfare programs.
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Mazdakism
He was the founder of the philosophy called Mazdakism, whose adherents shared a dualistic cosmology with Manichaeism. This doctrine taught that there were two original principles of the universe: Light, the good one; and Darkness, the evil one. These two had been mixed by a cosmic accident, tainting everything except God. Mankind's role in this life was, through good conduct, to release the parts of himself that belonged to Light. But where Manichaeism saw the mixture of good and bad as a cosmic tragedy, Mazdak viewed this in a more neutral, even optimistic way.
Mazdaki principles
The two distinguishing factors of Mazdak's teaching were the reduction of the importance of religious formalities — the true religious person being the one who understood and related correctly to the principles of the universe — and a criticism of the strong position of Zoroastrian clergy, who, he believed, had oppressed the Persian population and caused much poverty.
Mazdak emphasized good conduct, which involved a moral and ascetic life, no killing and not eating flesh (which contained substances solely from Darkness), being kind and friendly and living in peace with other people.
In many ways Mazdak's teaching can be understood as a call for social revolution, and has been referred to as early "communism".[1]
He planned to have all private property confiscated, and replace marriage with free love.[2]
Followers
Despite the concepts of good conduct and Pacifism, the followers of Mazdak raided the palaces and harems of the rich, removing the valuables to which they believed they had equal rightscitation needed. Facing the unrest in the empire, the King Kavadh I, ruling from 488 until 531, converted to Mazdakism, and even agreed to allow Mazdak to sleep with the Queen, to demonstrate his adherence to the concept of communal property. The Crown Prince, Anooshiravan, intervened and convinced Mazdak not to accept the offer.[1]
With his backing Mazdak could embark on a program of social reform, which involved pacifism, anti-clericalism and aid programs for helping the poor. Mazdak had government warehouses opened to help the poor. Mazdak had most Zoroastrian fire temples closed, except three.
Opposition to and purge of Mazdaki adherents
Fear from among the nobility and Zoroastrian clergy grew so strong that King Kavadh was overthrown in 496, but he managed to get the throne back three years later with the help of the Hephthalites.
Scared by the resistance among the powerful, he chose to distance himself from Mazdak. He allowed his son, Anooshiravan, to launch a campaign against the Mazdakis in 524 or 528, culminating in a massacre killing most of the adherents, including Mazdak himself and restoring the Magi religious traditions.[1]
A few Mazdakis survived, and settled in remote areas. Small pockets of Mazdaki societies survived for centuries.
Indirect evidence
We have no direct sources of Mazdakism: none of their books have survived. Our knowledge is made up of brief mentions in Syriac, Persian, Arabic and Greek sources, and much of the information is written by opponents of Mazdakism. Many problems thus remain unsolved. A subset of Mazdakism, called (Khorramdin) Khurramitesi survived in post-Islamic times.
References
- H. Börm: Prokop und die Perser. Untersuchungen zu den römisch-sasanidischen Kontakten in der ausgehenden Spätantike. Stuttgart 2007, p. 230–233.
- A. Christensen: Le règne du roi Kawadh et le communisme Mazdakite. Kopenhagen 1925.
- P. Crone: Kavad’s heresy and Mazdak’s revolt. In: Iran 29, 1991, p. 21–42.
- H. Gaube: Mazdak: Historical reality or invention?. In: Studia Iranica 11, 1982, p. 111–122.
- G. Gnoli: Nuovi studi sul Mazdakismo. In: Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei (Hrsg.), La Persia e Bisanzio [Atti dei convegni Lincei 201]. Rom 2004, p. 439–456.
- Z. Rubin: Mass Movements in Late Antiquity. In: I. Malkin/Z. Rubinsohn (Hrsg.), Leaders and Masses in the Roman World. Studies in Honor of Zvi Yavetz. Leiden/New York 1995, p. 187–191.
- K. Schippmann: Grundzüge der Geschichte des sasanidischen Reiches. Darmstadt 1990.
- W. Sundermann: Neue Erkenntnisse über die mazdakitische Soziallehre. In: Das Altertum 34, 3, 1988, S. 183–188.
- Ehsan Yarshater: Mazdakism. In: Cambridge History of Iran III/2. Cambridge 1983, p. 991–1024.
See also
- Mandaeanism
- Yazdanism
- Zoroastrianism
- Indo-Iranian religion
- Indo-European religion
- List of notable Persian figures in the Sassanid era
- Khurramites
External links
