Manuchihr III was the nineteenth independent

Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

Shirvan Shirvan (from fa, شروان, translit=Shirvān; az, Şirvan; Tat: ''Şirvan''), also spelled as Sharvān, Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical Iranian region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both pre-Islam ...

Reign

Manuchihr III was in a shifting balance of power between the

Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economi ...

and the

Seljuks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

. Manuchihr III was mostly under the influence of his wife, Tamar, the daughter of

David IV David IV, also known as David the Builder ( ka, დავით აღმაშენებელი, ') (1073–1125), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the 5th king of United Georgia from 1089 until his death in 1125. Popularly considered to be ...

and princess of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

. He lost many castles to

David IV of Georgia David IV, also known as David the Builder ( ka, დავით აღმაშენებელი, ') (1073–1125), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the 5th List of monarchs of Georgia, king of United Kingdom of Georgia, Georgia from 1089 unti ...

and his son

Demetrius I of Georgia Demetrius I ( ka, დემეტრე) ( 1093 – 1156), from the Bagrationi dynasty, was King of Georgia from 1125 to 1156. He is also known as a poet. He was King of United Georgian kingdom two times, first in 1125 to 1154 and second in 1155 b ...

in 1117 and 1120. After a decisive victory for David IV at the Battle of Didgori, Manuchihr again began negotiations with Georgia. The Seljuk Sultan Mahmud attacked Shirvan and took Manuchihr hostage as punishment for Manuchihr's betrayal. David attacked and defeated the Seljuk Sultan again, but his armies devastated Shirvan. Manuchihr regained power in Shirvan upon David's death in 1125 and started friendly relations with his brother-in-law Demetrius.

Kipchak Rebellion

Contemporary poet

Falaki Shirvani Falaki Shirvani ( fa, فلکی شروانی) was a Persian poet who served at the court of the Shirvanshah Manuchihr III (). A student of the poet Khaqani, Falaki played a leading role in the early development of the ''habsiyat'' (prison poetry) ...

notes about his victories on suppressing rebellious Kipchak tribes and county of Arran. He postponed invasion of Syria and Iraq next years.

Death

In the last years of his rule, Manuchihr exposed a conspiracy and defeated a coup d'état against him and his 60 notable members of palace, including

Khaqani Afzal al-Dīn Badīl ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿOthmān, commonly known as Khāqānī ( fa, خاقانی, , – 1199), was a major Persian poet and prose-writer. He was born in Transcaucasia in the historical region known as Shirvan, where he served a ...

. He died suddenly in 1160.

Family

He was married to daughter of

- Tamar with whom he had issue: #

Akhsitan I Akhsitan I (also spelled Akhsatan; fa, اخستان یکم, Aḵestān) was the Shirvanshah after 1160, and thought to have reigned until the years 1197–1203/04. He was the son and successor of Manuchihr III (). His mother was Tamar, a Georg ...

Farrukhzad I Farrukhzad I was the Shirvanshah from between 1187–1203 to sometime before 1225. He ruled during a time in Shirvanshah history that scholarship has referred to "a period of total confusion", due to the lack of written records and contradictory nu ...

Shahanshah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

Afridun II Shirvanshah Afridun II the Lionheart was the twentieth independent Shah of Shirvan.S. Ashurbeyli – Shirvanshahs, Baku, 2007 Reign and death He reigned for a very short period of time. He was killed by an anonymous archer same year. He left no ...

'the Lionheart' Гафар Кендли, c.126, 141-144 - was designated heir. #

Prince Fariburz A prince is a Monarch, 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 title, hereditary, in s ...

- didn't survive infancy, died around 1137/8. #

Princess Alchichek Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subs ...

- didn't survive infancy, died around 1137/8.. Fortress of Baku, 2010

Legacy

His reign is mostly known from works of his court poets -

Mujir al-Din Baylaqani Mujir al-Din Baylaqani (also spelled Bailaqani; fa, مجیرالدین بیلقانی; died 1197/98) was a Persian poet of the 12th-century. As implied by his ''nisba'', Baylaqani was from Baylaqan, a town in Arran. During the 12th-century, Bay ...

, etc.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{Shirvanshahs 12th-century Iranian people