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 Vachagan III the Pious () or Vachagan II (according to some authors) was the last Arsacid king of Caucasian Albania, ruling approximately from 485 to 523. Background His lineage is uncertain. Murtazali Gadjiev considers him a son (or nephew) of ...

Before reign

Although mentioned in ''

The History of the Country of Albania ''The History of the Caucasian Albanians'' (or ''The History of the World of Aghvank''; hy, Պատմութիւն Աղուանից աշխարհի) by Movses Kaghankatvatsi is a history of eastern territories of Armenia ( Artsakh and Utik), as well ...

'' numerously, almost nothing prior to his reign is known. He was son of Vard II, the

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

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 ...

and had a sister called Shushik. He succeeded his father before his accession to the throne of Albania in 628. Like other Gardman rulers, he was of the Mihranid stock and according to

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 C ...

he was baptized by Catholicos Viro.

Cyril Toumanoff Cyril Leo Toumanoff (russian: Кирилл Львович Туманов; 13 October 1913 – 4 February 1997) was a Russian-born Georgian historian and genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armenia, ...

believes that it was simply a

rebaptism Rebaptism in Christianity is the baptism of a person who has previously been baptized, usually in association with a denomination that does not recognize the validity of the previous baptism. When a denomination rebaptizes members of another denomi ...

from monophysite doctrine to Chalcedonian doctrine. According to

Constantin Zuckerman Constantin Zuckerman (; born 1957) is a French historian and Professor of Byzantine studies at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris. Biography Academic rank: professor. Highest degree: doctorate. Job title: The Deputy Director of the Cen ...

, however, his Zoroastrian name may have been Gadvšnasp prior to his conversion to Christianity, and he used the opportunity to become the ruler of the kingdom.

Reign

He rose to prominence during Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628, gaining the trust of Byzantine emperor Heraclius and being crowned king of Caucasian Albania in 628, following Sassanid

marzban Marzbān, or Marzpān (Middle Persian transliteration: mrzwpn, derived from ''marz'' "border, boundary" and the suffix ''-pān'' "guardian"; Modern Persian: ''Marzbān'') were a class of margraves, warden of the marches, and by extension milita ...

Gayšak's departure from

Partav Barda ( az, Bərdə ) is a city and the capital of the Barda District in Azerbaijan, located south of Yevlax and on the left bank of the Tartar river. It served as the capital of Caucasian Albania by the end of the 5th-century. Barda became the ch ...

.M.L. Chaumont, �
ALBANIA
” Encyclopædia Iranica, I/8, pp. 806-810 (accessed on 17 May 2014). However, he didn't have full control over lands of Caucasian Albania situation in north of Kura as it was ruled by Göktürk prince Böri Shad. A mediation by Viro didn't help. He sent his second son

Javanshir Javanshir (alternate spellings: Javansher, Juansher, Ĵovenšēr, Jivanshir; '' pal, Juvānšēr''; literally "young lion"), was the prince of Caucasian Albania from 637 to 680, hailing from the region of Gardman. His life and deeds were the subje ...

Rostam Farrokhzad Rostam Farrokhzād ( fa, رستم فرخزاد) was an Iranian dynast from the Ispahbudhan family, who served as the ''spahbed'' ("military marshal") of the northwestern quarter (''kust'') of Adurbadagan during the reign of Boran () and Yazdege ...

, who would take him to Ctesiphon before

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 the ...

and fight at the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah in 636.

After 638

According to Toumanoff, he was deposed by Yazdegerd III while he was alive and replaced by his son in 638. According to Kaghankatvatsi, Grigor lived well after 638 and met with Javanshir in his old age; he also mentions Javanshir as '' sparapet'', that is being military leader. Thus, he may have co-reigned or restricted to be figurehead during reign of his son. He resided in Partav during his final years and was captured by Sassanid army in 639 alongside his other sons. This prompted Javanshir to ally with

Adarnase I of Iberia Adarnase I ( ka, ადარნასე I) or Adrnerse (ადრნერსე, also transliterated as Atrnerseh), of the Chosroid dynasty, was a presiding prince of Iberia (Kartli, eastern Georgia) from 627 to 637/642. The name Adarnase der ...

and Aruičans, a princely family of Syunik. However, Javanshir managed to free them later. Varaz Grigor, following

Theodore Rshtuni Theodore Rshtuni, also spelled Theodoros Ṛštuni (, ; AD 590–655 or 656), equated with Pasagnathes (Πασαγνάθης), the "''patrikios'' of the Armenians" from the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor,Muawiyah Mu‘āwīyya or Muawiyah or Muaawiya () is a male Arabic given name of disputed meaning. It was the name of the first Umayyad caliph. Notable bearers of this name include: * Mu'awiya I (602–680), first Umayyad Caliph (r. 661–680) * Muawiya ...

in 651, however Javanshir preferred an alliance with Constans II and joined forces with Mousegh IV Mamikonian instead, in 654. Varaz Grigor disappears from the sources after this, only to be mentioned in Chapter 25 of Book Two in ''The History of the Country of Albania'', as a part of Javanshir's prayer in 663-664.

Family

He was married to Goridukht, an Iberian princess descended from Vakhtang Gorgasali and had 5 issues: * Varaz Peroz (d. ) ** Varaz Tiridates I (r. 680-705) *

* Yezud Khosrov * Varazman (b. ) *# Varaz Tiridates -

(d. 704) *## Stepannos *## Varazman *## Juansherik *## Vardanouhi - m. Varazoy, her cousin. *# Vakhtang *## Varazoy - m. Vardanouhi, his cousin. * Helen (d. 670) - married to Grigor I Mamikonian (r. 662 – 685)

References

Sources

* 7th-century Iranian people Mihranids Converts to Christianity from Zoroastrianism Vassal rulers of the Sasanian Empire Asian kings European kings Christians in the Sasanian Empire Princes of Gardman 638 deaths {{Iran-bio-stub