Image by andriish22 on Pixabay · Pixabay License
Key facts
- 1st reign
- 488–496
- Predecessor
- Balash
- Successor
- Jamasp
- 2nd reign
- 498/9–531
- Died
- 13 September 531 (531-09-13) (aged 57–58)
- Spouse
- Sambice Hephthalite princess Ispahbudhan noblewoman
- Issue
- Kawus Jamasp Xerxes Khosrow I
- House
- House of Sasan
- Father
- Peroz I
- Religion
- Zoroastrianism
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Sasanian Empire
- Place of birth
- Ctesiphon
- Child
- Xerxes
- Father
- Peroz I
- Sibling
- Jamasp
- Occupation
- sovereign
- Position held
- King of Kings
- Religion
- Zoroastrianism
- Family
- Sasanian dynasty
- Image
- Plate with king hunting rams (white background).jpg
Show 4 more facts
- Commons category
- Kavad I
- date of death
- 0531-09-13
- date of birth
- 0473-01-01
- topic's main category
- Category:Kavad I
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~40 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Kavad I (Middle Persian: 𐭪𐭥𐭠𐭲 Kawād; 473 – 13 September 531) was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 488 to 531, including a two or three-year interruption. A son of Peroz I (r. 459–484), he was crowned by the nobles to replace his deposed and unpopular uncle Balash (r. 484–488).
Inheriting a declining empire where the authority and status of the Sasanian kings had largely weakened, Kavad tried to reorganize his empire by introducing many reforms whose implementation was completed by his son and successor, Khosrow I. They were made possible by Kavad's use of the Mazdakite preacher Mazdak, leading to a social revolution that weakened the authority of the nobility and the clergy. Because of this, and the execution of the powerful king-maker Sukhra, Kavad was deposed and imprisoned in the Castle of Oblivion. He was replaced by his brother Jamasp. However, with the aid of his sister and an officer named Siyawush, Kavad and some of his followers fled east to the territory of the Hephthalite king, who provided him with an army. This enabled Kavad to restore himself to the throne in 498/9.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Kavad I” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.