Editing Kavad I (section)

===Relations with Christianity===
{{main|Church of the East}}
[[Image:Diyarbakr Western City Wall.JPG|thumb|alt=Photograph showing walkways in front of the walls of Amida with buildings in the background | The walls of [[Amida (Mesopotamia)|Amida]]]]
Kavad's relationship with his Christian subjects is unclear. In Christian Iberia, where the Sasanians had earlier tried to spread Zoroastrianism, Kavad represented himself as an advocate of orthodox Zoroastrianism. In Armenia, however, he settled disputes with the Christians and appears to have continued Balash's peaceful approach. The Christians of Mesopotamia and Iran proper practised their religion without any persecution, despite the punishment of Christians in Iran proper being briefly mentioned {{circa|512/3}}. Like Jamasp, Kavad also supported the [[patriarch of the Church of the East]], [[Babai of Seleucia-Ctesiphon|Babai]], and Christians served in high offices at the Sasanian court.{{sfn|Schindel|2013a|pp=136–141}} According to Eberhard Sauer, Sasanian monarchs only persecuted other religions when it was in their urgent political interests to do so.{{sfn|Sauer|2017|p=190}}

According to the ''[[Chronicle of Seert]]'' and the historian [[Mari ibn Suleiman|Mari ibn Sulayman]], Kavad ordered all the religious communities in the empire to submit written descriptions of their beliefs. This took place sometime before 496. In response to this command, the Patriarch [[Acacius of Seleucia-Ctesiphon|Aqaq]] commissioned [[Elishaʿ bar Quzbaye]], interpreter of the [[school of Nisibis]], to write for the Church of the East. His work was then translated from [[Syriac language|Syriac]] to Middle Persian and presented to Kavad. This work has since been [[Lost literary work|lost]].{{sfn|Võõbus|1965|pp=126–127}}

Kavad's reign marked a new turn in Sasanian–Christian relations; before his reign, [[Jesus]] had been seen solely as the defender of the Byzantines.{{sfn|Payne|2015a|p=171}} This changed under Kavad. According to an apocryphal account in the ''Chronicle of [[Pseudo-Zacharias Rhetor|Pseudo–Zachariah of Mytilene]]'', written by an anonymous [[West Syriac rite|West Syrian]] monk at Amida in 569, Kavad saw a vision of Jesus whilst besieging Amida, which encouraged him to remain resolute in his effort.{{sfn|Payne|2015a|p=171}} Jesus guaranteed to give him Amida within three days, which happened.{{sfn|Payne|2015a|p=171}} Kavad's forces then sacked the city, taking much booty.{{sfn|Payne|2015a|p=171}} The city's church was spared, however, due to the relationship between Kavad and Jesus.{{sfn|Payne|2015a|p=171}} Kavad was even thought to have venerated a figure of Jesus.{{sfn|Payne|2015a|p=171}} According to modern historian Richard Payne, the Sasanians could now be viewed as adherents of Jesus and his saints, if not Christianity itself.{{sfn|Payne|2015a|p=171}}