Characteristics Of The Babakian Revolt

Babakian Revolt
One of the strongest manifestations of discontent was the Babakian (also known as the Khorramid) mutiny. At its core, it was a peasant rebellion against feudal injustice. Nonetheless, it transmuted into an ideological movement, adopting Mazedist religious canons and resurrecting an earlier struggle against Sassanid rulers. Khorramids, an advanced offshoot of Mazdeism, opposed slavery. It promoted communal ownership of agricultural land and promoted women’s rights. They were extremely tolerant to other religions and considered that all religions lead to the truth.
Mazdak preached that all men are born equal but suffer from the unequal distribution of wealth and women. “For Mazdak the source of all evil was due to the malevolent
Even though he promised freedom, justice and wealth, it remains that the Zanj uprising is best described as a class uprising. It was by no means a universal liberation movement against slavery, feudalism or injustice. Unlike other movements that sought change, the Zanj movement lacked utopian or intellectual footing. Zanj leaders were the first to give up the rebellion’s ideas, and they started owning slaves themselves. Al-Tabari, who wrote extensively about that movement, speaks of Arabs who initially joined the Zanj movement. As a matter of fact, at its onset, the Zanj movement did mobilize different non-slave strata because of its call “for the application of the principles of Islam—justice, tolerance, and equality.” However, those numbers dwindled as the revolt turned bloody. The Zanj were merciless against all cities that fought against them. Most remarkably was the plundering of Basra, the massacre of its men and enslavement of its women and children. Historic references place the number of deaths during the Zanj revolt at 1.5 to 2 million (Muhammad 39). Even if those numbers were severely exaggerated, they speak of a staggering human