Descent from antiquity

Descent from Antiquity (DFA) is the project of establishing a well-researched, generation-by-generation descent of living persons from people living in antiquity. It is an ultimate challenge in prosopography and genealogy.

Overview

The idea of descent from antiquity is by no means new to genealogists. Hellenistic dynasties, such as the Ptolemies, claimed descent from gods and legendary heroes. In the Middle Ages, major royal dynasties of Europe sponsored compilations claiming their descent from Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, in particular the rulers of Troy (see also British Israelism, Euhemerism). Such claims were intended as propaganda glorifying a royal patron by trumpeting the antiquity and nobility of his ancestry. These descent lines included not only mythical figures but also stretches of outright fiction, much of which is still widely perpetuated today. The distinguishing feature of a DFA compared to such efforts is the intent to establish an ancestry that is historically accurate and verifiable. Nevertheless, DFA research still focuses on the ancestries of royal and noble families, since the historical record is most complete for such families.

The phrase descent from antiquity was used by Tobias Smollett in the 18th-century newspaper The Critical Review. Reviewing William Betham's Genealogical Tables of the Sovereigns of the World, from the earliest to the present period he wrote "From a barren list of names we learn who were the fathers or mothers, or more distant progenitors, of the select few, who are able to trace what is called their descent from antiquity." ^[1] The possibility of establishing a DFA as a result of serious genealogical research was raised in a pair of influential essays, by the Albany Herald, Sir Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk, and the late Garter King of Arms, Sir Anthony Wagner. Wagner explored the reasons why it was difficult to do, and suggested several possible routes, based on the work of genealogists such as Prince Cyril Toumanoff, Prof. David H. Kelley, Christian Settipani and Ford Mommaerts-Browne. The following years have seen a number of studies of the possibilities. These are highly variable in the quality of their research. Many, if not most, of the DFA-related publications widely used by amateur genealogists are essentially worthless.

No Western DFA is accepted as established at this time, and widely accepted non-Western DFAs have not been validated.^[2] However, research has established the outlines of several possible or likely ancestries that could become DFAs. Moreover, the project has stimulated detailed inquiry into the prosopography of ancient and early medieval societies, an effort which is of great value in illuminating the social transformations which took place in those societies.

Postulated routes

Innumerable alternative routes of descent from antiquity have been posited. One proposal is to establish Charlemagne's descent from one of the senatorial families of the later-day Imperial Rome based in southern Gaul. This project is of particular interest since all European royal families can trace their descent from Charlemagne, as can many other people who are able to trace their descent from European nobility. While such a link possibly existed, extant sources do not permit reconstructing it with any degree of certainty. The record of senatorial families in the 5th and 6th centuries is very sparse. While a large amount of data exists with which to construct a prosopography of the leading provincial families of Imperial Rome in southern Gaul, it is not yet possible to establish a Gallic line that traverses the Imperial Age, though a Roman line through a Gallic one had been proposed in 1991 by Christian Settipani. Therefore, all reconstructions of the DFA through Western European monarchs must remain precarious at best and speculative at worst. Though two possible lines are proposed for the ancestry of Arnulf of Metz, both are linked to the ancestors who are in turn reputedly linked to the Gallo-Roman genealogies. One of these proposes a descent from the proconsul Flavius Afranius Syagrius.

A possible alternative route to Settipani's original scheme goes through the Counts of Coimbra in 9th century Portugal. That route was originally suggested in a discussion between Settipani and Francisco Antonio Doria; it starts with a Count Ardabastos (b. c. 611), son of a Visigoth refugee in Byzantium, Athanagild (in turn son of Saint Hermenegild) and of Flavia Juliana (a Byzantine noblewoman related to the family of Emperor Maurice), that later moved to Provincia Spaniae (Byzantine possession in Spain) and fathered Erwig, king of the Visigoths (680-687). It is argued that this individual was descended from a Byzantine Artavazd of the great Mamikonian clan. The line is documented in a controversial deed that links the full descent to the historically attested count Hermenegildo Guterres (878). The deed itself is dubious, and while some have suggested that the genealogy it contains could still be authentic, the lack of surviving documentation from the period spanned makes independent evaluation impossible. It is also said that the mentioned Count Ardabastos was a great-nephew of Emperor Maurice, grandson of his brother Peter Augustus, whose ancestry, though Armenian, was of a lower birth. Interestingly, even if Count Ardabastos was "only" a great-nephew of Emperor Maurice, with no kinship to the Mamikonians, through his maternal grandmother Anastasia Areobinda (wife of Peter Augustus and great-great daughter of Flavius Anastasius Paulus Probus Sabinianus Pompeius, Roman consul in 517) he was a lineal descendant of the Valentinian and Theodosian dynasties, as well as of the very ancient gens Anicia, whose first mention dates back to the end of the 4th century BC (Quintus Anicius Praenestinus, curule aedile in 304 BC^[3]). If the proposed links between Count Ardabastos and Hermenegildo Guterres are correct, it would be possible to trace a blood-link between Theodosius I or Valentinian I and Ramiro II of León (grandson of Hermenegildo Guterres) and so to the modern European royal houses.

Non-European DfAs

Africa

The Solomonic dynasty, formerly sovereign in Ethiopia, has long claimed descent from King Solomon of the Kingdom of Israel. For all of its circumstantial evidence, the well known claim is nonetheless unverifiable due to the fact that reliable documentation is lacking before the 13th century. Outside of this case in particular, similar oral traditions of various descents from antiquity exist in nations and amongst peoples from all over the continent. Amongst the Yorubas of West Africa, for example, there is a popular belief that the numerous members of the tribe are all descendants of Oduduwa, their semi-mythical emperor and founding father, who is believed to have reigned in the 11th century. Contemporary social status in their various kingdoms, therefore, is traditionally reckoned by what can be described as tanistry: If a person can claim to be a direct descendant of the emperor through the lines of his progeny (i.e. his children and grandchildren) as opposed to being an indirect one through those of his more distant relatives, then he or she is probably a dynastic member of one of the royal or high noble families within the contemporary Yoruba chieftaincy system. As with the aforementioned claim by the Ethiopians, however, genealogical verification is generally difficult in these cases due to an absence of written corroboration.

Pre-Columbian America

Another such case for descent from antiquity originates in the Americas (i.e. pre-Columbian civilization) for the descendants of the Aztec emperor Moctezuma II (himself a direct descendant of the first Aztec king Acamapichtli), among whom can be counted titled members of the Bourbon, Stuart, Habsburg, and Hohenlohe noble houses^[4][5] (as well as untitled people such as Eduardo Matos Moctezuma) and the holders of the titles of Duke of Moctezuma de Tultengo, Dukes of Ahumada, Counts of Miravalle, Duke of Abrantes, Condes de la Enjarada, Condes de Alba de Yeltes,^[6] Dukes of Atrisco^[5] and Dukes of Alba.

Jewish

Membership of a number of lineages who bear the names "Cohen" and "Kahn" could well signify descent from the ancient tribe of Levi.

Islam

The privileges and immunities accorded to descendents of the prophet have led to many false claims. As in other parts of the world, claiming noble ancestry could reinforce a ruler. In the Ottoman empire, tax breaks for "the People of the House" encouraged many people to buy certificates of descent or forge genealogies; the phenomenon of teseyyüd - falsely claiming noble ancestry - spread across ethnic, class, and religious boundaries. In the 17th century, an Ottoman bureaucrat estimated that there were 300,000 impostors; In 18th-century Anatolia, nearly all upper-class urban people claimed descent from Muhammad.^[7] The number of people claiming such ancestry - which exempted them from taxes such as avarız and tekalif-i orfiye - became so great that tax collection was very difficult.^[8] The Hashemite kings of Jordan,^[9] the Alaouite kings of Morocco,^[10][11] and the Aga Khans,^[12] all claim descent from the Prophet Muhammad or his close relatives.

Japan

In the East, a descent from antiquity may be easier to establish. The Japanese imperial family claims descent from the Emperor Ōjin,^[13][14] who is generally considered historical, though his time of life is uncertain. However, contemporary Japanese records do not commence until several centuries after Ōjin's time, and the tradition reports a major change to a cadet line shortly before the start of the literate period.

China

The oldest claimed DFA is Chinese. Kung Tsui-chang, who succeeded to the title Sacrificial Official to Confucius in the Republic of China in 2009, is claimed to be the 79th-generation male-line descendant of Confucius, and many other Chinese claim descent from this line. It is likely that some of the descent involves links by adoption.^[15][16]

There are numerous families in China who purportedly claim descent from antiquity figures. (e.g. ^[17][18]) Some of these lines go back to pre-Qin dynasties, which in turn can be traced back into legendary history.

See also

• Descent from Genghis Khan
• Family tree of Confucius in the main line of descent

Notes

References