A Reflection on the Representation of Mazdak’s Social-Religious Movement in the Historiography of the Early Islamic Centuries

Iranian-Islamic historiographical texts of the early centuries of the Hijri are considered to be the most important sources of study for this period due to their historical information about the ancient past of Iran. One of the important events reflected in these texts is the social-religious movement of Mazdak (488-531 A.D); an uprising that was formed by Mazdak, as one of the Zoroastrian clerics, and by presenting a new interpretation of the Avesta and presenting new social laws, he attempted to reduce inequalities and class differences and establish a common and unbiased society based on the teachings of Zoroastrianism. Mazdak's social and religious reforms created a wave of structural changes and quickly led to his increasing popularity and the support of some officials, including Shah Qobad (487-531 A.D). However, these developments were encountered with the resistance from the government apparatus and Zoroastrian clerics affiliated with the government, and ultimately, during the reign of Khosrow Anushirvan (531-579 A.D), Mazdak movement was suppressed. The main issue of this research is to examine how Mazdak's uprising was represented in the Iranian-Islamic historiography and to analyze the political and intellectual functions of this representation. The research question is why the Iranian Muslim historians of the early Islamic centuries often negatively represented Mazdak's movement and his teachings, and what functions this representation had in the society and politics of their time. The research hypothesis is that negative narratives of Mazdak and his movement were not an accurate reflection of historical facts, but rather the product of the intellectual, cultural, and political needs of historians and society of their time, and its purpose was to present a historical model to warn and legitimize political power. The research method is based on the description and analysis of narratives from the Iranian-Islamic chronicles. In analyzing the reports of Muslim historians about Mazdak's uprising and how it was suppressed, with regard to the role of two background sources, namely the Sassanid Khodainameh and their Arabic translations, it is shown how these primary sources influenced the selection, highlighting, and intellectual orientation of historians and determined the form of their narrative. The findings clarify that the Muslim historians have mainly presented a negative image of Mazdak. He has been described with titles such as "despiser of religion," "heretical dog," "devil," and "Mazdak cursed by Allah," and his religious social teachings, such as the sharing of property and women and the fight against inequality, have been introduced as heresy and a threat to social order. These representations are often based on the Iranian-Islamic cultural and political values ​​and discourses, and rather than reflecting historical realities, their aim was to create a model that would teach lessons and legitimize political power in the Abbasid era (132-656 A.H). By comparing the Mazdakist movement with contemporary uprisings such as Sinbad (138 A.H), Babak (201-223 A.H), and Maziyar (224-225 A.H), historians have presented a model of suppressing heretics and emphasizing the preservation of social order. The difference of the approaches in the texts of historians is also notable; some historians such as Tabari and Mas'udi have presented brief and descriptive accounts, while Tha'alebi, Moqaddasi, and Gardizi have explained the movement with a theological historical approach. The main focus of all these accounts has been heresy, the threat to social order, and the danger of spreading Mazdak's teachings to the society of their time. These representations show that Iranian Islamic historiography in the early Islamic centuries, in addition to its reporting role, had an educational and normative role and acted as an intellectual tool for legitimizing the political order. As a result, the representation of the Mazdak movement is not an accurate reflection of a historical event, but a directional representation of the past that aims to educate the audience, warn the elite and rulers, and consolidate the socio-political order. By highlighting features such as heresy, heresy, and threat to the religious and social order, historians have presented a negative image of Mazdak and his movement in order to present a model for learning lessons for confronting contemporary movements. Thus, Iranian Islamic historiography of the early Islamic centuries reflects a combination of the cultural memory of ancient Iran, the intellectual needs, and the official policy of the Abbasids, and studying this representation provides valuable insight into the role of history and historians in shaping historical memory, the legitimacy of power, and the reproduction of social norms.