Kavad came to the throne in 488, following the deposition of his predecessor and uncle, Valkash, due to the latter’s failure to gain popular support and control the marauding Hephthalites. After Kavad’s accession, his continued reliance upon Hephthalite mercenaries alienated him from the nobility. Kavad also incurred the hostility of the Zoroastrian clergy with his interest in Mazdakism, a heresy. After numerous Arab incursions, defeat at the hands of the Christian Armenians and humiliation by the Romans, Kavad succumbed to a palace revolt in 496, and was imprisoned. His younger brother, Zamasp, was placed on the throne, and Kavad escaped to seek refuge with the Hephthalites. Zamasp lacked the personality to control this chaotic situation. He voluntarily abdicated when Kavad returned in 498 with a Hephthalite wife and an army of her countrymen who had been promised tribute if the restoration took place.
Kavad’s second reign proved to be a turning point in Sasanian affairs. After a century of troubles, caused by an inability to effectively manage such a large territory, Kavad now adopted a new approach. Realising that he could not afford to antagonise both clergy and nobility, he abandoned Mazdakism, having its leaders slaughtered by his son, Khusrau. Kavad instituted reform in the empire, intended to make the administration more responsive. He won over the Armenians by granting them liberty to practice their Christian faith, while the Arabs and Hephthalites joined willingly in an attack on the Romans. A truce was declared in 505, as the Huns were breaking through the Caucasus passes. Kavad’s second reign was also characterised by the building of bridges, canals and towns. Open war with Rome broke out in 527, when her forces came to the aid of Georgian Christians against Zoroastrianism. This war dragged on until 531, with Kavad’s death.

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