Mazdakism

Mazdakism was a dualistic religion that appeared to be influenced by Manichaeism. It taught that there were two principles, light and dark (good and evil) that merged at a primordial time creating the universe. The Mazdakites worshipped the God of Light.

Mazdakism strongly promoted simple and pacifist living. Acts such as murder and killing animals for food or sport were forbidden, as was eating meat. Followers were to treat all people, even their enemies kindly. The movement also believed in the holding of all things in common to reduce greed and, allegedly,[4] promoted group marriage or polyandry, the latter if true presumably due to the lack of women for poor men to marry due to the polygyny of the upper classes of Iranian society at the time.[5]

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• Kreyenbroek, Philip G. (2012). "IRAN ix. RELIGIONS IN IRAN (1) Pre-Islamic". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. XIII/4. pp. 432–439. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
• Yarshater, Ehsan (1983). Cambridge history of Iran The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian periods. Cambridge. ISBN 978-0-521-24693-4.

• Boyce, Mary (2001). Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. Psychology Press. pp. 1–252. ISBN 9780415239028.
• Eichenberger, L. (2020). "Communist, Heretic, Rebell. Mazdak and the History of Religion". Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft. 28 (2): 237–258. doi:10.1515/zfr-2019-0029. S2CID 226223689.
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• Frye, Richard Nelson (1984). The History of Ancient Iran. C.H.Beck. pp. 1–411. ISBN 9783406093975.