Arshavir (Armenian: Արշավիր (reformed); Արշաւիր (classical), pronounced [ɑɾʃɑˈviɾ]) is an ancient Armenian name of Iranian origin. Philologist Heinrich Hübschmann interprets the name as being composed of the Avestan words aršan 'man, male' and vīra 'man'.[1] According to another interpretation, the name means 'virile' and comes from Persian.[2]

This name is related to the family of the 9th-century Patriarch of Constantinople, Photius. Photius' mother Irene was the sister of Arshavir, who had married Calomaria, the sister of Caesar Bardas and the empress Theodora.[3] Arshavir, Photius' uncle, is often confused with Arshavir, the brother of John the Grammarian.[4]

People with the name

edit

Notes

edit
  1. ^ Achaṛyan, Hrachʻya (1942). "Arshawir". Hayotsʻ andznanunneri baṛaran [Dictionary of Armenian given names] (in Armenian). Vol. I. Erevan: Petakan hamalsarani hratarakchʻutʻyun. p. 296.
  2. ^ Awde, Nicholas; Losi, Emanuela (2001), Armenian First Names (1st ed.), New York, New York: Hippocrene Books, p. 72, ISBN 0-7818-0750-6, archived from the original on 2011-07-11
  3. ^ Charanis, Peter (1963). The Armenians in the Byzantine Empire. Lisboa: Livraria Bertrand. pp. 27–28. 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.
  4. ^ Adontz, Nicolas (1950). "Role of the Armenians in Byzantine Science". Armenian Review. 3: 66.