Javanshir (alternate spellings: Javansher, Juansher, Ĵovenšēr, Jivanshir; '' pal, Juvānšēr'';

literally ''Literally'' is an English adverb. It has been controversially used as an intensifier for figurative statements. History The first known use of the word ''literally'' was in the 15th century, or the 1530s, when it was used in the sense of "in ...

"young lion"), was the prince of

Caucasian Albania Caucasian Albania is a modern exonym for a former state located in ancient times in the Caucasus: mostly in what is now Azerbaijan (where both of its capitals were located). The modern endonyms for the area are ''Aghwank'' and ''Aluank'', among ...

from 637 to 680, hailing from the region of

Gardman Gardman ( hy, Գարդման), also known as Gardmank, was one of the eight cantons of the ancient province of Utik in the Kingdom of Armenia and simultaneously, together with the canton of Tuchkatak, an Armenian principality. It roughly corre ...

. His life and deeds were the subject of legends that were recorded in Armenian medieval texts. He was from the

Parthia Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...

n Mihranid family, an offshoot of the

House of Mihran The House of Mihrān or House of Mehrān (Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭨𐭥𐭠𐭭; new Persian: مهران), was a leading Iranian noble family (''šahrdārān''), one of the Seven Great Houses of the Sassanid Persian Empire which claimed descent f ...

, one of the

seven Parthian clans The Seven Great Houses of Iran, also known as the seven Parthian clans, were seven feudal aristocracies of Parthian origin, who were allied with the Sasanian court. The Parthian clans all claimed ancestry from Achaemenid Persians. The seven Great ...

of the

Sasanian Empire The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...

Early life

Javanshir was the second son of

Varaz Grigor Varaz Grigor () was the first known Mihranid king of Caucasian Albania from 628 until at least 654. The last holder of the title was Vachagan III. Before reign Although mentioned in ''The History of the Country of Albania'' numerously, almost ...

, a prince of

who belonged to the

Mihranid The Mihranids were an Iranian family which ruled several regions of Caucasus from 330 to 821. They claimed to be of Sasanian Persian descent but were of Parthian origin. History The dynasty was founded when a certain Mihran, a distant relative o ...

family, and an Iberian princess named Goridouxt. In 637 Varaz Grigor was baptised and declared

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

as the official religion of

, thus making his son, Javanshir, convert too. However, Varaz was deposed by the Sasanian king, who didn't acknowledge his conversion to Christianity. Thus, Javanshir became the king of

Reign

Javanshir was known for his bravery and intelligence; he fought against the Arabs during the

Muslim conquest of Persia The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, was carried out by the Rashidun Caliphate from 633 to 654 AD and led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire as well as the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion. Th ...

on the side of the

, and was rewarded by the Sasanian king

Yazdegerd III Yazdegerd III (also spelled Yazdgerd III and Yazdgird III; pal, 𐭩𐭦𐭣𐭪𐭥𐭲𐭩) was the last Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 632 to 651. His father was Shahriyar and his grandfather was Khosrow II. Ascending the throne at t ...

himself two golden spears, two golden shields and a flag, probably the Drafsh e Kavian. In 636, he led an Albanian army, which alongside the

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

prince

Mushegh III Mamikonian Mushegh III Mamikonian ( Armenian: Մուշեղ Գ Մամիկոնյան) was an Armenian ''sparapet'' that fought against the Arabs during the Muslim conquest of Persia. He was killed during the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah in 636. Family The family ...

and Grigor of Syunik, took part in the

Battle of al-Qādisiyyah The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah ( ar, مَعْرَكَة ٱلْقَادِسِيَّة, Maʿrakah al-Qādisīyah; fa, نبرد قادسیه, Nabard-e Qâdisiyeh) was an armed conflict which took place in 636 CE between the Rashidun Caliphate and the ...

between the Persian and Arab armies. However, the Sasanians were defeated, which made Javanshir lose hope. He then made a mutiny against his overlords and retreated to

. Where he wrote a letter to

Constans II Constans II ( grc-gre, Κώνστας, Kōnstas; 7 November 630 – 15 July 668), nicknamed "the Bearded" ( la, Pogonatus; grc-gre, ὁ Πωγωνᾶτος, ho Pōgōnãtos), was the Eastern Roman emperor from 641 to 668. Constans was the last ...

and became an ally of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. He was then awarded with the title of ''

patrikios The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after ...

'', and recognized as king of the East. He also married to a noble from a princely family of Syunik. After his alliance with the Byzantines, he joined his forces with the

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

n king Adarnase I in an attack on Sasanian garrisons in Albania.Martindale, John Robert (1992), ''The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'', pp. 13-14.

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

, . He later expanded his dominion from

Derbent Derbent (russian: Дербе́нт; lez, Кьвевар, Цал; az, Дәрбәнд, italic=no, Dərbənd; av, Дербенд; fa, دربند), formerly romanized as Derbend, is a city in Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea. It is ...

Aras river , az, Araz, fa, ارس, tr, Aras The Aras (also known as the Araks, Arax, Araxes, or Araz) is a river in the Caucasus. It rises in eastern Turkey and flows along the borders between Turkey and Armenia, between Turkey and the Nakhchivan excl ...

. Facing the threat of the Arab invasion on the south and the

Khazar The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...

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 680, by the rival nobles, whose power he had tried to restrict. He was succeeded by Varaz Tiridates I.

Depiction in Armenian Poetry and Historical Texts

The only historical source about the life and deeds of Javanshir comes from the

text by

Movses Kaghankatvatsi Movses Kaghankatvatsi ( hy, Մովսէս Կաղանկատուացի ''Movses Kaġankatvac’i''), or Movses Daskhurantsi ( ''Movses Dasxuranc’i'') is the reputed author (or authors) of a tenth-century Classical Armenian historiographical work on ...

, known as ''History of the Land of Aghvank''. Movses Kaghankatvatsi's text includes a poem dedicated to Javanshir ''Elegy on the Death of the Great Prince Jevansher'' by

Davtak Kertogh Davtak Kertogh (''Davtak the Poet'') was a 7th-century Armenian poet, the first secular writer in Armenian literature.The Heritage of Armenian Literature: By Agop Jack Hacikyan, Gabriel Basmajian, Edward S. Franchuk, Nourhan Ouzounian, Wayne State ...

(''Davtak the Poet''), a 7th-century

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

n poet and the first secular writer in Armenian literature.The Heritage of Armenian Literature: By Agop Jack Hacikyan, Gabriel Basmajian, Edward S. Franchuk, Nourhan Ouzounian, Wayne State University Press, 2002, P. 94 The only surviving poem by Kertogh is written in Armenian, in alphabetical acrostic verse.

References

Sources

* * {{Mihranids 680 deaths Year of birth unknown 616 births 7th-century monarchs in Asia 7th-century Iranian people Mihranids Rebellions against the Sasanian Empire Patricii Converts to Christianity from Zoroastrianism Vassal rulers of the Sasanian Empire People of the Muslim conquest of Persia Christians in the Sasanian Empire Princes of Gardman

Early life

Reign

Depiction in Armenian Poetry and Historical Texts

See also

References

Sources