Javanshir was the second son of Varaz Grigor, a prince of Gardman who belonged to the Mihranid family, and an Iberian princess named Goridouxt. In 637 Varaz Grigor was baptised and declared Christianity as the official religion of Caucasian Albania, 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 Caucasian Albania.
Reign
Javanshir was known for his bravery and intelligence; he fought against the Arabs during the Muslim conquest of Persiaon the side of the Sasanian Empire, and was rewarded by the Sasanian king Yazdegerd III 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 prince Mushegh III Mamikonian and Grigor of Syunik, took part in the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah 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 Caucasian Albania. Where he wrote a letter to Constans II and became an ally of the Byzantine Empire. He was then awarded with the title of patrikios, 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 Iberian king Adarnase I in an attack on Sasanian garrisons in Albania. He later expanded his dominion from Derbent to Aras river. Facing the threat of the Arab invasion on the south and the Khazar 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 Armenian text by Movses Kaghankatvatsi, 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, a 7th-century Armenian poet and the first secular writer in Armenian literature. The only surviving poem by Kertogh is written in Armenian, in alphabetical acrostic verse.
