Featured Wife-swapping socialist cult? Or how about some moderate reforms instead?

Two coins acquired back in November (yes, I'm finally catching up):

Coin 1. Sasanian Persia. AR drachm. Kavad I, 2nd reign (499-532), Royal Year 36. Obverse: Bust of king right, Pahlavi inscription before "KaVAT AFZUTU" (May Kavad Prosper). Reverse: Zoroastrian fire-altar with two attendants, star and crescent above, to right mintmark DYNAS, to left date 36. This coin: Picked from a dealer's "choose-your-own" pile of Kavad I drachms at the Baltimore Whitman coin show, November 2019.


Coin 2. Sasanian Persia. AR drachm. Kavad I, 2nd reign (499-532), Royal Year 34. Obverse: Bust of king right, Pahlavi inscription before "KaVAT AFZUTU" (May Kavad Prosper). Reverse: Zoroastrian fire-altar with two attendants, star and crescent above, to right mintmark AS, to left date 34. This coin: Picked from a dealer's "choose-your-own" pile of Kavad I drachms at the Baltimore Whitman coin show, November 2019.

Kavad was born in 473, the son of Peroz I (459-484). After Peroz' death, his brother Valkash was appointed by the nobles to rule, but proved unpopular and was deposed after just four years. Kavad ascended the throne in 488 AD, but as he was just 15 he was largely a figurehead for his advisors, particularly a Parthian-descended noble named Sukhra. In 493, by now more confident and worried about Sukhra's dominance, Kavad had Sukhra exiled to his native Shiraz. However, Sukhra still proved troublesome, and Kavad had him imprisoned and then executed. This, understandably, damaged his relations with the nobility. Around this time, Kavad also fell in with a heretical Zoroastrian faction known as the Mazdakites. The Mazdakites preached a socialist-sounding program of redistribution of wealth, as well as the more lurid idea they are most remembered for, wife-swapping. Some modern historians argue that the wife-swapping part was heavily embellished by the enemies of the Mazdakites to make them look bad; Touraj Daryaee argues that they merely loosened marriage rules to help the lower classes, which the wealthier nobles saw as a threat to their marriage-based alliances and traditional lineages. Regardless of how true the "wife-swapping" was, the wealth-redistribution part was more than enough to alarm the nobles. In 497 they overthrew Kavad, imprisoning him in the awesomely-named Tower of Oblivion and installing Zamasp as king. Zamasp was apparently a moderate and humane king; he returned the state religion to more orthodox Zoroastrianism, and while he stopped the confiscation and redistribution of wealth, he did lower the taxes on the poorer classes. Meanwhile, Kavad managed to escape from captivity and make his way east. In 499 he returned at the head of a large force of Hephthalites. Zamasp decided not to fight his brother and relinquished the throne to him, heading into exile in Armenia.

Having regained the throne, Kavad continued a reform program, but one more moderate than previously. He instituted a poll tax and reviewed the assignments of tax dues to improve fairness, strengthened small landowners, and introduced a new priestly office called "advocate and judge of the poor" to oversee charity programs. He also reformed the army, reducing the influence of noble-controlled cavalry and enlisting troops from Hephthalite and Arab allies. By the 520s, he had turned away from the Mazdakites, and had many of them executed, reportedly including their leader Mazdak. (There is some debate over whether Mazdak was actually a real person, or just a name used for the movement.) Kavad proved a strong military leader, successfully leading Sasanian armies against the Byzantine emperor Anastasius I from 502-505. Around 520, Kavad tried to simultaneously strengthen the position of his son (and eventual successor) Khusro, and also improve relations with the Byzantines, by having him adopted by the Byzantine emperor Justin I. Negotiations broke down, however, reportedly over fears that Khusro might try to usurp the Byzantine throne. This was later used as a pretext, in 528, for renewal of warfare between the two empires. In 531, Kavad died of natural causes, and his son and successor, now Khusro I, made peace once again with the Byzantines under Justinian I.

I bought these two coins from a dealer who had a pile of dozens of coins of Kavad I, with various dates and mintmarks, presumably part of a hoard. Sasanian coins at this time included both dates (expressed in Royal Years) and mintmarks, although interpretation of what cities or provinces the mintmarks correspond to has been controversial, and you can find very different interpretations depending on which modern authority you consult. Kavad's dates proceed from the start of his first reign, understandably ignoring the interruption of Zamasp. The mintmark of AS is sometimes assigned to Isfahan, which was (and still is) a major city, but this is uncertain. The mintmark of DYNAS has been tentatively assigned to Dinavar, which was once a large city in western Iran but is now an uninhabited ruin. Both of these coins have the reverse within a double circle, with the outer circle almost exactly matching the edge of the coin. This seems to be common for coins of Kavad I, though I'm not sure why. Also, note the raised areas on the reverse of Coin 2, at 1 and 11 o'clock. These are not deposits, but are part of the coin itself, apparently from some significant die breaks. Please post your coins of Kavad I, or whatever else you feel is related.

 

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I have not rechecked these ID's for this post so am open to corrections. It strikes me that I need a 1st reign coin (not year dated). Mine are all before the double border began in year 33. I also lack Zamasp.

Kavad I second reign year 14 GI


2nd reign year 18 LD

2nd reign year 31? AS

 

@dougsmit : Mintmark on first coin is GD (not GI), other two are correct. I agree with the dates on the first two coins, last coinI am not sure- doesn't look quite right for 31, but I don't have a better suggestion. I also don't have a first reign coin for Kavad I, but I do have a Zamasp, which I posted a while back:
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/sasanian-drachm-of-king-zamasp.310894/

 

This is what I have of Kavad I, one of the greatest Sasanid kings.



Sasanids. AR drachm Kavad I (first reign, 488-496 AD). Mint Karzi (province Fars). No date. 28 mm, 4.02 gr. Black patina. Göbl I/1, 183. SNS 32. Scarce mint, nice black patina.


5361. Sasanids. AR drachm Kavad I (second reign, 499-531). Mint Isfahan. Year 40 (=528). 28 mm, 4.12 gr. Göbl III/2, 189 and 190.



5362. Sasanids. AE 1/12 unit Kavad I, datable 499-505. Obv. Crowned bust in pearl rim, moon and star outside it. Rev. Fire altar with assistants, moon and star between them. 12 mm, 0.40 gr. Cf. Göbl 186, crown II, rev. Year of reign 13-19.