This image depicts Iranian society in the period from roughly 200-600 C.E. McNeill describes the Sassanian dynasty as aloof and "islanded" off from the rest of society, which explains the circle around the King. Note how he is attending by religious leaders on the left and an equestrian nobleman on the right, the support of both groups providing the basis of the Sassanian's power and political legitimacy. Zoroastrianism was the official religion of these ruling elites but religious syncretism was the reality of rest of Sassanian Persia. The noble landlords provide the military strength for the society, are closely tied to the state, and are the defenders of the Zoroastrian orthodoxy (note how the rays shine upon them).The king, the clergy and the nobility draw taxes from the urban dwellers. In these urban areas, represented by the trapezoidal structure, Christianity and Manichaeism infiltrate. Similar to Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism was the belief that the universe was a battle between Light and Dark, and Mani exhorted his followers to follow the Light, which is why he points toward it and he is in turn bathed in the rays of the Light. Below the urban society are the urban workers and the peasantry, who are under the sway of Mazdakism, a radical religious movement that some have called an early form of communism.