Akhsitan I

Akhsitan I
Shirvanshah al-Maliku'l-Mu'azzam
Coin of Akhsitan I, minted at Shamakhi between 1175 and 1194
Shirvanshah
Reign	after 1160 – 1197–1203/04
Predecessor	Manuchihr III
Successor	Afridun II (possibly) Shahanshah Farrukhzad I
Born	c. 1112
Died	1197–1203/04
Consort	Safwat al-Din
Dynasty	Kasranids
Father	Manuchihr III
Mother	Tamar
Religion	Sunni Islam

Akhsitan I (also spelled Akhsatan; Persian: اخستان یکم, romanized: Aḵestān) was the 20th Shirvanshah after 1160, and thought to have reigned until the years 1197–1203/04. He was the son and successor of Manuchihr III (r. 1120 – after 1160). 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.