Izz al-Din Shir was described historically as being "of the line of Senek'erim", referring to Senekerim-Hovhannes Artsruni, the final ruler of the Kingdom of Vaspurakan. Given Shir's Kurdish heritage, it is likely that this Armenian ancestry was matrilineal, i.e. his mother or grandmother may have been an Artsrunid princess. Such intermarriages between Christian Armenian nobles and Muslim ruling families were not uncommon due to the mutual political benefits they provided.