Akhsitan I ibn Minuchihr III

Akhsitan I (also spelled Akhsatan; ) 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 Georgian princess from the Bagrationi dynasty. The details regarding Akhsitan's reign are uncertain and obscure. He may have ruled the kingdom together with members of his family, Shahanshah, Afridun II and Fariburz II. He is notable for moving his place of residence to Baku, which marked its beginning as a major city. Akhsitan was also notably the patron of both Khaqani and Nizami Ganjavi, two leading Persian poets. Name "Akhsitan" is a shortened version of the Georgian name Aghsarthan, itself of Ossetian origin (cf. Ossetian äxsar or äxsart, meaning "might"). The Georgian Chronicles refers Akhsitan as "Aysartan".