Arshavir

Arshavir is an ancient Armenian name, which according to Johann Heinrich Hübschmann (1848-1908) means "man" (Zend aršan +vira). [ [http://armenian.name/index.php?a=list&d=1&p=8&w1=A] Armenian names - Male, Arshavir (No 75).]

This name is related to the Photius family. The fact is that his mother Irene, was the sister of Arshavir, the Arshavir who had married Calomaria the sister of Bardas and the empress Theodora. ["John the Grammarian, Photius, Caesar Bardas and Leo the Philosopher seem to have been the prime movers. All four were, at least in part, of Armenian descent. ...as for Photius, the fact is that his mother Irene, was the sister of Arshavir, the Arshavir who had married Calomaria the sister of Bardas and the empress Theodora." The Armenians in the Byzantine Empire. By P. Charanis, Ph.D., Professor of History, Rutgers University, Livraria Bertrand, Lisboa, 1963, p.27-28.]

Arshavir, Photius' uncle, is ofen confused with Arshavir, the brother of John the Grammarian. ["Arshavir, Photius' uncle, must not be confused with Arshavir, the brother of John the Grammarian." Role of the Armenians in Byzantine Science. By Nicolas Adontz, Armenian Review, vol. 3., No 3 (1950), p. 66.]

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