The Ilkhanate financial minister Sadr al-Dīn was accused by Rashīd al-Dīn of being a Mazdakite after his disastrous attempt at introducing Chinese-style paper currency to the Persian economy. David Morgan calls Mazdak "the prophet of a curious quasi-communistic movement of pre-Islamic Persia". Can anyone tell me more? What beliefs could characterize a person as a Mazdakite, and could such a movement have persisted to the 13th century?
Sorry, I have no sources for this post, but nobody seems to have answered.
Mazdakites would be a branch of Zoroastrianism, the original religion of Persia. Although it was persecuted by the Muslim conquerors, it maintained a large minority there until the Safavid conquest around 1500, and was associated with the native Persian aristocracy. Even afterwards, Zoroastrians continued to exist in Persia, although today there is a tiny population of them in Iran.
I was under the impression that the sect gained its name from the god Ahura Mazda and not a prophet (although Zoroastrians had the prophet Zarathustra) but I am not an expert.