Philosopher
Mazdak
Overview
Mazdak (Persian: مزدک, Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭦𐭣𐭪𐭩, also known as Mazdak Bamdadan; died c. 524 or 528) was an Iranian mobad (priest) and social reformer who rose to prominence during the reign of the Sasanian emperor Kavadh I. He instituted a religious and social movement known as Mazdakism, which preached a dualistic cosmology and social welfare programs, including the communal ownership of property and, controversially, women (interpreted by some scholars as a reaction against the harem system).
Although initially supported by King Kavadh I to weaken the power of the nobility and clergy, Mazdak and his followers were eventually purged by Kavadh's son, Khosrow I (Anushiravan). His ideology survived in various forms, influencing later movements such as the Khurramites.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).
Ideas Mazdak discusses
- Pakistan Movement
- Muslim conquest of Persia
- Karl Marx
- Avestan
- Denkard
- Iranian peoples
- Manichaeism
- Russian Revolution
- Shia Islam
- Al-Biruni
- Achaemenid Empire
- Muhammad Iqbal
- Zoroastrianism
- British Raj
- Ctesiphon
- Darius the Great
- Abbasid Caliphate
- Bundahishn
- Mani (prophet)
- Poverty
- Middle Persian
- Mobad
- Mazdakism
Place in the tradition
Part of Anarchism.