ABSTRACT
Much has been written about the Khurramite movement against Islamic rule. 1 Its ultimate roots are to be found in the Mazdakism, a gnostic religious movement that flourished in the reign of the Sassanid king Kavad (488–531). For our purpose, we are interested only in the late phase of the movement that started with the Abbasid Revolution. As is well known, Islamized Persians, particularly those coming from the militarized region of Khurāsān, were the main driving force behind the Abbasids’ seizure of power in 750. The overthrow of the Umayyads and the ensuing transfer of the capital from Damascus to Baghdad symbolized a new era for the caliphate where Muslim converts, and especially Iranians, began to play a more determinant role than the Arab tribes themselves, who had formerly founded the caliphate by expanding their power beyond the limits of the Arabian peninsula. 2
