son Musa () who was in turn murdered by his own son Abu'l-Hasan Lashkari (II) (). Abu'l-Aswar Shavur's name is an Arabic–Persian hybrid: "Shavur" is the old Persian name "Shapur", while his kunya contains the Arabicized form of the Iranian (possibly Daylamite) name "Asvar" (cognate with savar, "horseman, knight"). Lord of Dvin (1022–49) Münejjim Bashi records that at the time of his death in 1067, Abu'l-Aswar's total reign, both in Ganja and before that "over some territories", had lasted 46 years. "Some territories" clearly refers to his rule over Dvin, known from other sources, meaning that he became ruler of the city in . The city, although part of the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia, had been left defenceless after the death of Gagik I of Armenia in 1020 and the dispute of his sons over their inheritance, and suffered a devastating Daylamite raid in 1021 which effectively cut it off from the remainder of the Armenian kingdom. In the aftermath, the city appears to have sought the protection of the Shaddadids, and Abu'l-Aswar became its ruler. From this base, he pursued a virtually independent course from his brother, and later his nephew, in Ganja, focused more on Armenia than Arran. Abu'l-Aswar was intimately connected with the Armenian princely houses, having married a sister of David I Anhoghin, King of Tashir. His second son even bore the typically Armenian name of Ashot. Due to his focus on the affairs of his domain, he is not mentioned by Münejjim Bashi until his takeover of the main family seat at Ganja in 1049. For his activities in the period 1022–49, the main sources derive from his opponents, the Armenians and the Byzantines. Abu'l-Aswar is first recorded by the history of Matthew of Edessa in 1040, when the Armenian nobleman Abirat, who had become embroiled in the dispute between Gagik I's sons Ashot IV and Hovhannes-Smbat III, came to Dvin. Fearful of the latter's displeasure, Abirat with 12,000 horsemen sought Abu'l-Aswar's protection. Abu'l-Aswar initially welcomed Abirat and gave him a high position, but soon came to mistrust him, and had him killed, whereupon Abirat's lieutenant Sare departed for Ani with Abirat's supporters. Despite their kinship, at about the same time Abu'l-Aswar attacked David of Tashir. The Shaddadid army, numbering an impossible 150,000 according to Matthew of Edessa, captured much of Tashir, but David was able to assemble a broad alliance against Abu'l-Aswar. David himself