Garshasp I was the Shirvanshah from post-1203 to 1233/34. He was the son and successor of Farrukhzad I, whom he may have initially co-ruled with.
Background
Garshasp was a son of Farrukhzad I. His name is the New Persian form of the Avestan name Kərəsāspa, which likely means "he with meager horses".
Reign
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 numismatic evidence. Garshasp's reign started sometime after 1203, while recent evidence suggests that Farrukhzad I did not rule beyond 1225. An inscription from a tower in Mardakan mentions both Farrukhzad I and Garshasp, crediting the latter with the construction of the tower. The Armenian-American historian Dickran Kouymjian suggests that they may have ruled in different parts of the kingdom, with Farrukhzad I most likely ruling in Baku, which is close to Mardakan.
