TLIAD: The Call of Mazdak

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Deleted member 67076

TLIAD: The Call of Mazdak


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In the waning decades of 7th century YZ (The late 400s to you Pagans) a new prophet arose. In the most ancient land of Iran, the prophet Mazdak began a strange set of teachings. One that preached something disturbing. It was a set of teachings speaking out against the established order. A strange, radical message where the wealth of the nation would not be deprived. Where the privileged few nobles would be no longer bask in prosperity while the commoners toiled for their pleasure. Where the clergy would not misguide the masses. Where all would be equal. The priest was condemned by the Magi, branded a heretic for his his strange teachings and unorthodox ways. Such was the life of Mazak.

And yet, despite this, Mazdak continued. To teach; to spread his wisdom. Far and wide, the people listened, the teachings of Mazdak took hold of the heart of Iran. Even the King of Kings would hear the message and be enlightened. The granaries were open and the poor were fed. The Fire temples were closed except for 3 important ones. All of Iran was on the path to enlightenment.

And yet this would not last. The forces of reaction, the nobility and the clergy, in their ignorance and sin punished the followers of Mazdak and even at the king, attempting to oust him and replace him with his brother. But God is a just god, and he would not allow their wicked ways to prosper. Rather than exiling the just Shah Kavad and returning Iran to the old order, their plan failed. Instead the Shahanshah moved before the nobility could, ruining their plans before it came to fruition, alerted by the faithful. With righteous fury, Kavadh decided to strike back at the those who, in their greed, dared deny the wisdom of Mazdak and prosperity for all.

Summoning a mighty host, he set out to reign in those who would dare defy God’s regent on earth.

 

Deleted member 67076

Now what is this?

A timeline in a day.

What the hell? You’re not a polibrit!

Yep.

Are TLIAD’s even allowed in Pre 1900?

Probably not. Either way, I don’t care.

Don’t you have other, more important things to work on?

I got creative.

Right... So whats this nonsense about?

Mazdaki Sassanid Iran.

Who’s Mazdak?

Wiki him.

So, generic nice things: Persia edition.

If by that 'generic' nice things you mean by a Late Antique Persia influenced by a communist, than sure, that works.

Uh-huh. I’m calling ASB now.

At least read and judge first. (And offer some ideas)
 

TFSmith121

Banned
Sounds interesting

All I really know about Persian history is the British are responsible for everything bad that ever happened.

My uncle told me so.

Best,
 
Subscribed, Soverihn. This looks great.

And yes, TFSmith121, you've caught us; we're behind it all. We did sabotage King Xerxes's navy and thus cause the Greek victory at Salamis! We are very cunning, we Britons. ;)
 

Deleted member 67076

Thanks for all the support guys!:)

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When the Shah fled his captors, he journeyed east, past the Zagros and into Iran proper. But he was not alone, for a great many of his Mazdaki brethren and loyalist forces journeyed with him, ensuring safe passage for the king of kings. When the king was safe, establishing his base in the northeast of Iran, he sent messengers far and wide to gain support for his cause. Many in the provinces still felt loyalty to their ruler, and answered his call with great haste. They steadfastly defended against the reactionaries who wished to overthrow the king, and sent aid to him when they could. The Hepthalites, or White Huns as the Romans often called them, would also answer his plea for help. Under promise of heavy tribute, they gave him a grand army, and estimated 30,000 in total. After a year of preparations, the Lord of Iran (495), Kavadh had attained a vast legion of soldiers, all ready and willing to restore him to the throne.


And so the King of Kings set off, to right what was wrong. Marching back into Mesopotamia and into the capital of Ctesiphon, his attack was swift and brutal. The loyalist forces marched with great haste, crushing all those who stood in the way of progress, of enlightenment.

The Romans, across from their fortresses in Mesopotamia, watched these events with great interest. Their greatest rival and arguably their equal (much as they loath to admit it) was, from their angle tearing themselves apart in a civil war. While many in the empire argued that now should be the time to strike, as the Sassanid dynasty was distracted, Anastasius firmly held his ground, stating the empire should use this time to complete its re fortification policy while is still could. Eventually his argument won out, and the empire did not attack, merely watching the events in Persia unfold.

Once all dissent was crushed and Kavadh was firmly in control, he decided it was time to reform the government. For too long the warriors and the priests had abused the nation, now it was time to reign them in. Thus began the a period of aggressive reform by the Sassanian government.
 
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Deleted member 67076

Ah dammit, couldn't finish this in one day. :/

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Now, prior to the restoration of Kavadh, most of the land in the Sassanid empire was owned by the Seven Great Parthian clans. There were only 3 classes: The Magi, the nobles and the commoners. For this it had been for over 200 years, and under normal circumstances this is how it would continue for generations. But now, for the Shahanshah, the defeat of the nobles rebellion and his newfound religion provided the perfect pretext for changing the status quo. It was time to change, to introduce reform amongst the Sassanian state. It was time to break up the landowners and and reward the common man, to assuage the just resentment of the masses. With this, the King of Kings, protector of Eran, set out to change his land, much to the pleasure of his radical sect. With an army at his back and the masses at his side, no one would get in the way of progress.

Now the first thing that Kavad did was to ensure a peace with his greatest foe, the Roman Empire. What Kavadh about to do was unprecedented, and would surely shook up the state. The potential for revolt was already high, and he had no desire to see his gambit be ruined by a marauding Roman Army, eager to step in and plunder all they could should revolt break out and the state was distracted. Thus,peace was of utmost importance. Sending emissaries to the court of Anastasius, he pleaded for a 20 year peace with the Romans. Anastasius, the practical man he was, agreed to the treaty, as it would further allow him to go on about his reforms and fortification of the frontiers when war inevitably broke out. Peace would be the norm between the two superpowers for the rest of the duration of Anastasius’ reign.

Kavadh, however devout he might have been, was still a pragmatic man and monarch at heart and had no qualms putting his ideology aside if it meant increasing the state (and by extension, his) power. Thus, although the reforms were a step ahead, many Mazdakites would criticize Kavadh (not in public of course, you don’t get away with being an ungrateful bastard) for ‘watering down the revolution’. As such, while the nobility would be reigned in, they still enjoyed a large amount of privileges and still made up the the vast majority of the heavy cavalry, the backbone of the Sassanid military. Nevertheless his reign would kickstart the further centralization of the Sassanid state and a introduce a series of reforms that would bridge the wealth gap and class inequality of the empire.

The first thing Kavadh would do is institute a series of reforms to limit the nobles wealth and land. In concordance with Mazdak’s philosophy of the equality of all peoples, noble and commoner would be taxed. As well, with the pretext of ‘redistributing wealth’ the nobility would be taxed more than the peasants. Effectively, it meant that in addition to the nobles being introduced taxation, and they were taxed at a higher rate than the peasants were. This in particularly a popular measure for the Sassanid, the peasants liking it because it while the central government enjoyed this as it mean This served as a very primitive form of a progressive tax policy that nonetheless provided great income to the state. At the same time, the Sassanid state continued the lower tax rate of Kavadh’s temporary successor, Jamasp. The increase of government revenue from the nobility more than made up for the lower taxes received from the peasants. A dual win-win.

Now, in the empire, land and power were synonymous, so the government went out of its way to break apart and confiscate much of the land of the nobility, giving it to smaller landowners, loyal soldiers or commoners. This was both more economically productive for the central government (as it was easier to tax) and made it even more popular in the eyes of the masses. As such, the policy was widely adopted by the state and become increasingly common as time passed, with the Sassanian government implementing a variety of ways and excuses to seize land and distribute it. Many Mazdakites however, would pool their land and run it communally, as one unit rather than as several smallholders. Combined with the various administrative reforms taken in by Kavadh, this new class and the peasants eventually overtook the nobility as the backbone of the Sassanid state’s power. This, communal system, while rare would lead to important effects, both cultural and economic, as the decades passed.

While many Nobles protested towards this measure, with more than a few attempting to revolt against the government, these were brutally suppressed by a combination of loyalists forces (the fact that the majority of the people in the country were benefitting from these laws did much to keep their overlord popular) and the well paid Hepthalite mercenaries over a series of years. The nobles were disadvantaged in that as time went on, the government was able to match their wealth and land pound for pound, and inspired much more loyalty than they did. As well, whenever nobility was crushed, the land would often be confiscated and given to smaller owners, mercenaries and peasants, further undermining their power while entrenching the central government’s.

All these policies had very interesting effects on the status of the Sassanid Empire. The sharing of the tax burden did much to reduce poverty and wealth inequality in the state, which very much added to the popularity of Kavadh I. The redistribution of land inadvertently created a new class, in between the nobilities but above the common masses. [1] This new class, and its newfound wealth would be immensely important in both the military and economic sectors. The peasants were richer than what they had been before, and while that wasn’t saying much, it did much to end starvation and assuage dissent. In addition, their newfound wealth was a boon for the economy, as it allowed the peasants more ability to purchase things, creating more demand for products. With more demand, trade increased in the empire, bringing more wealth and more demand. And with more wealth in the hands of the people, there was more to tax. The government's treasury began a build up. Said treasury was often put to good use in the form of internal improvements of infrastructure and the army. Slowly but surely, a positive feedback loop was occurring, that increased the wealth and relative power of Iran.

[1] Some of these policies would eventually be realized by Kavadh’s successor Khosrau I (breaking up the land, tax reform), who was to some extent influenced to some extent by the Mazdaks. Here however, these are being pushed earlier as the Kavadh has a good excuse to push these reforms (and go farther than his son did)
 
Love it! (Had to look up Mazdak and the names of the Shahs though :eek:)
When do the Romans start getting worried about a rich, stable neighbour with rather dangerous ideas about land reform and equality?(Presumably towards the end of Anastasius' reign given what you've already posted)
 

Deleted member 67076

Ok, since I’m never going to finish this if I continue with the update style I used, I’m going to be posting like this.

502: Peace agreement with Emperor Anastasius is formalized, allowing Persia to embark on its reforms. Kavadh begins the second phase of Sassanid centralization.

510: Sassanid Reforms are completed. The army is streamlined, allowing for quicker deployment to and from the frontiers. The amount of heavy cavalry is Similarly the land reform is done. Power of the Seven Parthian clans is drastically weakened. The budding bureaucracy begin to take an increasingly powerful role in the Sassanid empire, much to the hatred of the nobility.

510-518: Peace is maintained with all. The debt to the Hepthalites is paid off at this time, relieving tensions. Mazdakism continues to spread its influence, everywhere from the the Indus to Dacia. While in Constantinople, a commander named Justin hears of the Mazdakite philosophy. While ultimately dismissing it as an eastern heresy, his nephew, an inquisitive man by the name of Flavius Petrus Sabbatius hears and takes a curious interest in it.

519: Justin is elected as Roman Emperor. The Peace of Anastasius is maintained. His nephew, now named Justinian becomes one of Justin’s advisors in managing the states funds.

527: Death of Justin; Justinian ascends the throne. An ambitious man, Justinian seeks to increase the glory of the Roman Empire and Christendom. However, over the years he has taken quite an interest in Mazdakism, disliking the Zoroastrian elements but being intrigued by its economic policies. The noticeable growth of wealth and power is cause for concern and interest in the court of Constantinople.

Iberian war breaks out between Rome and Persia. The Persians begin to test out their new military. Thanks to their reforms, the Romans are crushed.

528: Taking a page out of the Mazdakites, Justinian introduces a slight progressive taxation policy (while still overall increasing taxation for everyone) in the Roman Empire. Its primary purpose is to help fund his restoration of the empire, infrastructure development and possibly most importantly an expansion of the fortification systems started by Anastasius combined with a buildup of the military just in case of Persian assault. Roman spies indicate that the overhaul of the Sassanid military has led to an increase of their dreaded cataphracts, and most displeasing, their once pathetic infantry has been improving itself. Justinian, being the liberal spender as always, oversteps his boundaries and angers his subjects.

529: Khosrau I ascends the Sasssanid throne. Khosrau, much like his OTL counterpart is a brilliant and educated emperor, with an ambition to outdo his father. Unlike OTL, he is raised under the influence of the Mazdakites, becoming a zealous supporter of them by the time of his ascension. Religious tolerance is maintained, but Khosrau clearly favors his father’s faith. The Magi in particular are ‘reigned in’ as time goes by, being subject to taxation and suppression. Further military reforms are started, which standardize equipment and increase troop discipline.

First draft of Corpus Juris Civilis published. It is an overhaul of the extensive Roman Legal code, allowing for a smoother legal system.

End of Iberian war. The war ends in a decisive Persian victory, with Armenian now annexed by Persia. This is a huge cause for concern in the Roman Empire; prompting the beginning of a ‘siege mentality’ with regards to their Persian neighbors. In response, Rome begins upping their military reform and hiring increasingly large number of Slavic mercenaries, settling them down in the eastern frontier and Egypt. A storm is is brewing in Asia, as the two powers begin to prepare for their next clash...
 

Deleted member 67076

Thanks! Glad you like it!

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531: *Nika Riots occur. Justinian’s building frenzy has created a deep seated resentment among the populace, especially in the nobility who are furious, seeing Justinian as an upstart. Stirring up resentment, Constantinople revolts. The revolt is huge and leaves the city partially destroyed. After trying (and failing) to bargain with the rioters, Justinian sends in the military. The stronger (and higher paid, thus ensuring loyalty to Justinian) troops brutally crush the rebellion. After finding the cause of the rebellion was in the nobles, Justinian takes a page from the Persians and increases their tax burdens while easing the peasantry. The Peasants, pacified by this largely lay down their arms.

531-33: Increased taxes on the nobility spurs revolts all over the empire, which are brutally crushed by the loyal Roman troops and mercenaries. Rebelling nobles are killed, their lands and wealth confiscated and distributed to Slavic, Germanic and Hunnic mercenaries as payment and a way to keep them loyal. Other estates are given to loyal soldiers in imitation of the Persian system. However this is not enough, Justinian’s military and infrastructural buildup has drained the treasury and thrown the Roman estate dangerously close to debt.

While distracted by noble revolts, the Sassanids launch and invasion of Lazica and successfully annex the area. This is highly distressing to the Romans as the Persians now have direct Black sea access, meaning they no longer need to go through Anatolia to get to Constantinople. The news of this alleviates further resistance in the populace to the military buildup and tax increase, as they feel threatened.

Roman alliance with the Ghassanids is signed. The kingdom agrees to become a client of the Roman empire and provide support against the Sassanid empire. They also provide extra border security for the Palestinian frontier.

534-35: Partially out of a desire of restoring the empire, and partially to plunder lands to achieve to pay off their debt, the Romans launch an invasion of the Vandal kingdom. Under the great general Belisarius, the much stronger Romans steamroll Africa and annex the Vandal domains. The Vandal treasury is looted and used to pay off the military. Any and would be dissent is brutally crushed over the year by overwhelming military force. The Vandal aristocracy receives an even more brutal version of suppression the Roman aristocracy faced and are largely wiped out by a combination of the Roman army, Barbarian mercenaries and Moorish allies brought into the fold.

The Mauri are also added to the Roman system of mercenaries. However, it should be noted the Romans are being far more careful than the Western Empire was, making sure that their hired armies never up a majority of their armies. Roman pacification continues until the end of the decade, although outright revolt against Roman rule is rare, with any exceptions being brutally suppressed. As well, the progressive taxation system and government investment is put in place, lightening the tax burden. on the lower classes.

Through a combination of government domestic spending, the improving quality of life of the peasants, the end of persecution amongst the Catholic majority, Africa is steadily integrated into the Roman state.

Late 535: Start of Gothic war. The Byzantine Empire invades Ostrogothic Italy with 2 large armies (Roughly 15,000 men each); one moving north into Sicily and another going south from into the Dalmatia. The main target of the northern army is the capital of Ravenna, while the south attempts to march up and capture anything between it and Rome. Belisarius, appointed as the southern commander, takes his large and lands in Sicily.

The rest of the year sees massive gains for the Roman army, by the end of the year, Sicily and Dalmatia are recaptured and the Byzantine armies are steadily encroaching towards the main Ostrogothic power base in Northern Italy. Envoys for help are sent out. The Franks agree to send some support, but the ones en route to the eastern regions, (most noticeably to get Persian support for their cause) are captured en route and executed.

Paranoid for a potential Persian attack, scouting missions on the eastern frontier increase, as well as maintenance spending. It is hoped that the increase in infrastructure over the past 10 years will be a big help in maneuvering troop deployments and increasing the defensibility of the realm, the idea being to hold the Persians at the frontier until the Romans can deploy enough troops to fight back effectively.

Meanwhile, Justinian tries to undermine Persian power by using Ethiopia to cut off Red Sea access to the Sassanids, prompting Arabian intervention.

536-37: While the Goths try to bog down the Romans, the sheer size of the Roman armies [1] crushes almost all resistance. It is better trained, better disciplined, better equipped and just plain larger than the Goths have. The reforms initiated ever since the beginning of the Iberian war 10 years ago have finally begun to pay off, with the Roman army generally being a stronger animal than before. Many segments of the army are not up to the government's standards, but it is enough.

The heavy cavalry, always a weakness of the Roman military machine, is quickly becoming an important segment of the Roman military machine, with much more state assets devoted to increasing its size, maintaining its equipment and supplementing it with Hunnic and Germanic forces. Despite this, the infantry is not neglected in the least, maintaining its status as the number one infantry in the known world.

As the years pass, resistance is swiftly and brutally crushed. Huge gains are made and by summer 537, Rome has fallen and the Romans are tightening the noose on Ravenna. The Goth’s call for aid has been answered at the very least, with contingents of Frankish, Slavic and Lombard forces launching raids and striking blows to Byzantine supply lines. But it is not enough. The Roman cataphracts are equal in strength to anything the Franks can throw at them, and the sheer number of Roman forces is enough to take on all them.

Persian intervention is met with a few bloody noses

538: Battle after battle, the Goths dwindle in number and support. Vast swaths of the peninsula have fallen. Their allies have been repulsed and Ravenna has fallen. Much of the Gothic populace has been slaughtered by the Roman forces, who are intent on breaking the Goths as a people. For many this is revenge for all the humiliations inflicted on the Western half of the Empire and for others it is a simple opportunity to improve their lives. In any case, the war continues as planned. Noticeably, the Romans try to avoid damaging property (especially church property) infrastructure, and the hurting the local Latin population for pragmatic reasons; it wouldn’t do well to damage their new province after all.

However, knowing the Romans are going to win, the Goths increasingly resort to drastic measures, including scorched earth tactics and damaging infrastructure to deny Roman use, in addition to guerrilla warfare. This does strain the Roman advance, and leaves them with a few bloody noses along the way. As well, the Lombards begin to increase their raids from Pannonia.

Persia finishes its Ethiopian campaign, taking Yemen away from Ethiopia and directly annexing it into the Persian empire. To help solidify control, a naval buildup begins. Justinian’s gambit has backfire and now the Persian presence in Arabia has drastically increased.

The various other states are made into clients of Iran.

539: This does little to change the outcome. The war’s outcome is merely delayed. In early spring, the Goths capitulate and sue for peace. Italy and Dalmatia are annexed to the Roman army, and the standard policies of integration now come into effect. The Goths are a broken people, harshly reduced in number and influence. In the decades that follow, many would leave for Spain, Germania or Francia.

The conquest of Italy is a major boon to the popularity of Justinian and a boon for the Empire as a whole, adding in a rich province of nearly 6 million people. Overall, Italy has suffered minimal destruction throughout the war, allowing the area to be integrated rather smoothly. Justinian begins a building spree in Italy to repair the damage done and improve on what the Goths had built. In the long term, this would prove to be a smart idea, as it would ease Italy’s transition as a province, help the population rebound. [2]

[1] A noticeable departure from OTL, where Justinian didn’t send enough men and the Romans had to play whack a mole with the Goths for over 15 years while they waged defensive war. Here, with more men, resistance crumbles.

[2] Thanks to the Gothic war being far shorter than OTL, Italy is not as ravaged as OTL. Thus its still a rich and peaceful province, with a much larger population. The Roman Empire’s population at this point is around ~40 Million. Please note that the Plague of Justinian has not hit the area.
 

Deleted member 67076

Here's a quick map to show the geopolitical situation.

QBAM rivernew ancienter.png
 
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Very nice map, Sov. One minor nitpick - I think the Balearic Islands should be Byzantine purple instead of Visigothic green. They were, historically, part of the Vandal Kingdom and returned to Byzantine rule the same time Africa, Sardinia and Corsica did.
 
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