- Javanshir
Javanshir (Dzevanshir), which is Persian for Young Lion, was the prince of
Caucasian Albania from 635 to 669, hailing from the region ofGardman . His deeds are the subject of legends and epic. He was either ofParthian or Persian origin, as theMihranid family claimed descent from the Sassanid Persians.He came of the Mihranid dynasty (630-705) founded by his father, Varaz-Grigor, who was the first Girdmanian prince to become the ruler of
Caucasian Albania . Some time between 629 and 638,Caucasian Albania passed from Roman to Iranian allegiance, and Varaz-Grigor was replaced by his son Javanshir [Cyril Toumanoff. Review of C. J. F. Dowsett's "The History of Caucasian Albanians by Movsēs Dasxuranci", "Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London", Vol. 25, No. 1/3. (1962), p. 366] . Javanshir succeeded him in 635, and fought against theArab invasion ofcaliph Uthman on the side of theSasanid Iran . In 637, he led an Albanian army, which alongside theArmenia n prince MushekMamikonean and Grigor ofSyunik , took part in theBattle of al-Qādisiyyah between the Persian and Arab armies. After the Sassanid defeat in 642, Javanshir concluded an alliance with theByzantine empire . Facing the threat of the Arab invasion on the south and theKhazar offensive on the north, Javanshir had to recognize the Caliph’s suzerainty, a move, which would prove to be a turning point in the country’s history.Javanshir was assassinated, in 669, by the oppositionist nobles, whose power he had tried to restrict.
References
External links
* [http://www.caucasianhistory.org/eng Caucasian Albania]
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