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This Episode: The Sasanian Empire
In this episode, u/EnclavedMicrostate interviews Michael Bonner on the subject of the Sasanian Empire, which ruled Iran and its environs from the fall of the Arsacid (Parthian) empire in the early 3rd century AD to the rise of Islam in the 7th century. This covers the politics of the empire, its religious landscape, and the geopolitics of Eurasia in Late Antiquity, with discussion of connections and conflicts with Rome, Armenia, the steppe, and China.
Great episode, I really enjoyed this!
A few questions though - what was the contemporary Roman source that mentions a Mazdak-esque sect, and what was the name of that sect? Zaradust-e something? (Mentioned around 49m)
Is it Zaradushtakhan?
And does anyone know where I can read any of that Soviet Mazdakism scholarship?
I've now read Ameen Rihani's *The Descent of Bolshevism,* which was interesting, if not exactly rigorous, but I couldn't find much else.