Al-Rawandiyya, Rawandians, or Ravendians in Persian ( راوندیان ) in Arabic ( الراوندية ) is a Khurramite sect that originally traces its lineage back to the Mazdakite. It was named Rawandiyya after the village of Rawand, which is a village in Qasan, near Isfahan and their belief is syncretism between the beliefs of Islam and Zoroastrianism, and it is considered a type of new Zoroastrianism, as the followers of the sect are Zoroastrians.[1] It can be considered a kind of Neo-Zoroastrians.
Revolt against the Abbasids
The Abbasid Caliphate drew upon the Rawandians for support during the clandestine and revolutionary phases of their movement; but once in power, the caliphs attempted to distance themselves from the group due to the unconventional beliefs contained within the group's religious doctrines.[2]: 108 In 757 AD, Caliph al-Mansur confronted a group of Rawandians that claimed he was their God or rabb while performing circumambulation around his palace.[2]: 108 [3]: 201 so he came out to them himself and killed them.[4] The confrontation turned violent, but al-Mansur was graciously saved by Ma'n ibn Za'ida al-Shaybani, a former Umayyad general who went into hiding after the Abbasid Revolution. It is said that following this event, al-Mansur founded Baghdad where he fixed his after residence.[3]: 201
References
- ^ شعبان, محمد (2021-12-25). "الراوندية: طائفة فارسية عبدت الخليفة العباسي". إضاءات (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-08-30.
- ^ a b Berkey, J. P. (2003). The formation of Islam: Religion and society in the Near East, 600-1800. New York: Cambridge University Press.
- ^ a b Aikin, John (1747). General biography: or, Lives, critical and historical, of the most eminent persons of all ages, countries, conditions, and professions, arranged according to alphabetical order. London: G. G. and J. Robinson. ISBN 1333072457
- ^ في معالم الخلافة, مآثر الإنافة. "موقع تراثي". turathi.org. Retrieved 2024-08-30.