IDTG

About a month or so ago I wrote about the heraldic privileges of the Royal and Hashemite Order of the Pearl of Sulu. Now, I feel is a good time to present a short summary of this very old Sultanate of SE Asia.

Recently, in the October-December 2011 (#44) issue of “Il Mondo del Cavaliere” the official journal of the International Commission on Orders of Chivalry (better known as ICOC), an in depth article on the Sultanate was published written by the Chancellor of the Order of the Pearl, Mr. Andres Linholm. Interestingly enough, the Raja Muda Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram (the Crown Prince of Sulu and Head of the Royal House) graced the cover of the journal.

Though I recommend very much to read the original article in the journal, I will try to provide a quick summary of the history of the Sultanate and some information that may of interest.

The Sultanate of Sulu has a fascinating story that goes back to the 15th century when a Mecca born Arab explorer, Sayyid Abu Bakr Abirin, reached Sulu in 1457. Abu Bakr held the title of “Sayyid” as an accepted male descendant of the Prophet Muhhamed’s grandsons (sons of the Prophet’s daughter) and thus considered to be of the highest nobility in the Muslim world.

After arriving in Sulu, Abu Bakr married Paramisuli, the daughter of the local lord Raja Baginda. As the Raja did not have any male children, he chose to name Abu Bakr as his heir and to continue the Royal House. The local lords accepted the Sayyid as their sovereign and spiritual leader, assuming the role of Caliph and the title of Sultan.

The male descendants of Abu Bakr have ruled the Sultanate for all these centuries from the late 15th century and well into the 20th.

One of the first serious encounters with the European powers was in the late 1600′s during the reign of Salahud Din Karamat (Baktial) when there were a number of invasions by the Dutch, asserting their own rule in present day Indonesia. It should be noted that Sulu after this and throughout the Spanish rule of the Philippines never lost is freedom. Though it was considered a client state of the Spanish Crown it retained its own autonomy and local class system and rule under the Sultan. This pact was solidified in 1737 and in 1750 Sultan Alimud Din was baptized in the Catholic Church as Ferdinand I of Sulu.

This close relationship with the Spanish Crown continued well into the 19th century with accords signed with Captain General Salazar (in 1836) and ratified by Queen Isabel II of Spain. The relationship between the Sultanate and the Spain was reaffirmed a few decades later in 1844 by Sultan Muhammed Pulalun where full sovereignty was ceded to Madrid.

Beyond Spain, Sulu had a close relationship with the British when Sultan Jamalul A’Lam leased his posessions in North Borneo (Sabah) to the British North Borneo Company the possessions for the sum of 5000 Mexican dollars a year.

In 1878, a further agreement with Spain was reached whereby the Sultanate became a protectorate and under the complete control of the Spanish government of the Philippines.

After the end of the Spanish American War of 1898, Sultan Jamalul Kiram II signed a treated with General John C. Bates who was representing the United States in the negotiations. The treaty concluded with the sovereignty of Sulu passing to the United States in 1899.

The transition of sovereignty to the USA was reaffirmed in 1915 with the Carpenter Agreement that Sultan Jamalul Kiram II subscribed to. What is interesting to note here is that even though Sulu was under the administration of the USA, the position of the Sultan was still recognized and the Sultan was even welcomed by President Roosevelt to the White House. This makes the Sultan one of the handful of royals to have ever been recognized by the United States government in US administered territories.

During the Japanese occupation, Sultan Ombra Amilbangsa worked with the Japanese forces who in turn recognized his position as Sultan of his possessions. After the liberation, he worked through Congress to retain his position.

In 1962, Sultan Ishmael E. Kiram I cedes to the Philippine Republic, under the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, the territories of North Borneo. Later, in 1974, Sultan Ishmael’s eldest son Mohammed Mahakuttah A. Kiram succeeds him to the throne and is is recognized as such by President Marcos and the Philippine Republic. Sultan Mohammed Mahakuttah A. Kiram was to become the last Sultan recognized in law by the Republic of the Philippines.

His son, Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram was named Raja Muda (Crown Prince) at the same time as the coronation of the Sultan in 1974 and also recognized as such the same year by the Republic. The Raja Muda is the current head of the Royal House of Sulu and the current pretender to the Sultanate.

It is indeed odd for a Republic to recognize native royalty and titles of “king” or “prince” however, it is not unheard of. We have seen similar examples in other countries of the world such as Uganda, where local traditional kings are recognized in the constitution, or even European countries where the former royal families are recognized in law.

Unfortunately, due to the relative lack of information from that part of the world, there are numerous pretenders to the Sultanate that range from completely ludicrous to fantastical. However, the only one with a wholly valid claim, the only to have been officially named Crown Prince by the last Sultan and recognized as such in law by the Philippine State is Raja Muda Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram.

One of the main areas of focus of the Royal House is the philanthropic works  for the benefit of the people of the Raja Muda’s island of Jolo. The biggest need there is access to fresh water. The charity set up has as a stated goal to accomplish this for the impoverished families of the island. The link to the charity page is http://www.royalsultanateofsulu.org/#!charity

The official site of the Royal House of Sulu is: http://www.royalsultanateofsulu.org/

A good page on the Raja Muda and the false pretenders is: http://www.fakesulusultans.com/

The official page of the International Commission on Orders of Chivalry is: http://www.icocregister.org/

Note: All images from Wikipedia

The reason for this article is to address some of the gross inaccuracies I’ve seen online, not the least of which are the dozens of claimants to the Byzantine throne that are running around parading the Palaiologos name.

Let’s get it clear: there are no proven, documented male line descendants of of the Palaiologos House alive today. Therefore, anybody claiming to be that is at best a fantasist and at worst a fraud. If one has the documentation, it would be a boon to historians and genealogists worldwide to examine it. Heck, they would probably become very wealthy by publishing a book (with documentation) on their family history from the Fall to the present.

As it is well known, the last Emperor of the Roman Empire of the East, better known as the Byzantine Empire, was Constantine XI Dragases (Κωνσταντίνος ΙΑ’ Δραγάσης) of the Imperial House of the Palaiologos (Παλαιολόγος). Emperor Constantine died valiantly with his troops defending his capital from the hordes of the Turk that were headed by Mehmet II. After the conquest of of Constantinople, Mehmet II was known as “The Conqueror”.

The fateful day that seat of Christianity in East found itself enslaved by the Muslim Turk was May 29, 1453 and the day the Emperor died.

After his death, the only Palaiologos left were:

• His younger brother Demetrius, Despot of Morea, who died a monk in Constantinople
  • Demetrius had a single child, a daughter, named Helena who was taken along with her mother into the Sultan’s harem
• His other younger brother Thomas who was the last ruler of Morea and as the last remaining male Palaiologos, the claimant to the Imperial throne. It is Thomas’ line that is of interest to us.

After Mehmet conquered the Despotate of Morea, Thomas fled to Rome for safety along with his children in 1461. Along with him, he brought the head of St. Andrew, the First Called, as a gift to the Bishop of Rome, Pope Pius II. However, he died in 1465 and his children (2 boys and a girl) were brought up by Cardinal Bessarion (a Greek Orthodox bishop who was a unionist and was made a Cardinal by the Pope after being persecuted by the anti-union forces of the Eastern Church).

The eldest of them was Andrew and was the legitimate heir to the Christian throne of the East. He styled himself in the European Courts as “Imperator Constantinopolitanus” and squandered both his inherited treasures as well as the salary he was paid by the Pope. He went so far as to sell his claims to the Byzantine throne to Their Most Catholic Majesties King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain! There are rumors that he sold the claims several times over, including to King Charles VIII of France. He did not have any children from his wife and died penniless in 1502.

The younger son, Manuel, who became the titular Emperor on the death of his older brother (and if we discount the sale of the titles), moved to Constantinople and sold his own claims to the throne to the same person who caused the destruction of his Imperial House, Sultan Mehmed II! In return, Manuel received a comfortable pension and a life of luxury. While in the City, he married and had two children: John and Andrew of whom no offspring are found in the historical record. It is also said that Manuel and his children converted to Islam, even serving in the Sultan’s navy. A slap in the face to the legacy of their Imperial House!

Thomas’ youngest child was a girl named Zoe. She married the Grand Prince Ivan III of Muscovy (Moscow) in 1472 and brought as part of her dowry the double-headed eagle. This is the basis for the claim of Moscow to be the “Third Rome”. As a side note, Zoe was the grandmother of Ivan the Terrible.

This is the end of the Imperial House of the Palaiologos. However, there is a cadet branch of the Palaiologos House created by Theodore, the first Marquess of Montferrrat. Theodore was born Theodore Komnenos Doukas Angelos Palaiologos in 1270, a son of Emperor Andronikos II. The last of this line was John George and died in 1533.

There were other Palaiologos, younger children from prior generations that presumably survived the conquest but, after a while, the record goes silent and many of the “bin Palaiologos” that can be found in the various Ottoman tax records are not necessarily related to the dynasty.

Another of the major inaccuracies I’ve seen online and also swept under the rug in Greece is related to the religious dogma of the late Emperor. Growing up in Greece, Emperor Constantine is hailed as the consummate Greek hero (and that part is 100% true) and also the “Defender of the Orthodox Faith” (this part is 100% untrue).

What apparently nobody wants to have known is that the Emperor died in communion with the Pope, as did his Patriarch, since they both had accepted the Councils of Ferrara and Florence. If it had not been for the Turkish conquest, the Eastern Orthodox Church would be in communion with the West today.

According to the historical record and what the noted Byzantine scholar John Julius Norwich, after the death of the Emperor, the Sultan wanted to control the Christians of his new empire by selecting a Patriarch that would not cause problems for him. Naturally, he would not choose someone who supported the union with the West and therefore selected the fiercely anti-unionist Gennadius.

Over the centuries, the almost apocryphal story of  the anti-unionists of the Eastern Empire being so anti-Papal that they supported the Turks. This is patently false!

The most “popular” quote is the one attributed to the Grand Duke Lucas Notaras (Λουκάς Νοταράς), a famous anti-unionist, where he allegedly said

κρειττότερον έστιν ειδέναι εν μέσῃ τη Πόλει φακιόλιον βασιλεύον Τούρκων ή καλύπτραν Λατινικήν

or, in English

better to see in the midst of the City the Turkish turban to reign than the Latin mitre

The Grand Duke remained true to his beliefs in that the Eastern Church could not re-unite with the West as per the two Councils but, he was 100% loyal to his Emperor and a hero to his Empire. He tried to protect the Empire to the utmost of his abilities and was an ardent supporter of the Emperor to solicit help from the Western Powers. He took on the defense of the City and, though the Turk was victorious, his organizational skills and rallying of the troops was exemplary.

Let’s not forget that it was the Grand Duke, his son and his son-in-law that were the three first “neo-martyrs” or martyrs under the Ottoman yoke. The were all beheaded for confronting the Sultan.

Not exactly the actions of a turcophile, is it?

Typically, republics and kingdoms aren’t compatible and don’t coexist homewever, there are some notable examples around the world that are the exceptions proving the rule.

Some of the better known kingdoms that are part of a republic are those that are within the Republic of Uganda. The kingdoms of Buganda, Bunyoro-Kitara, Busoga and Toro are ancient traditional kingdoms of Africa that long enjoyed local and international recognition, even by the British colonial powers.

Unfortunately, with the political upheavel that Uganda experienced in the late 1960′s the new government of Milton Obote forcefully disbanded all the traditional kingdoms. The constitution introduced in 1967 went a step further and fully outlawed them.

The famously violent regime of Idi Amin of the 1970′s was no better and it wasn’t until the democratically elected government of 1993 re-established them. Then in 1995, the new constitution fully recognized these ancient kingdoms in law and the powers of their leaders or Kings. The 2005 amendment to the constitution re-affirmed the position of these Kings, further confirming their status in Ugandan society.

Though these Kingdoms are fully recognized in law, they are not fully sovereign politically. However, they do have considerable political influence and regularly meet with government leaders.

As mentioned above, the only four kingdoms recognized in Ugandan law are the following:

Buganda is the largest of the subnational kingdoms of Uganda and the namesake of the country and covers about 17% of the population of the country. The traditional title of the King of Buganda is “Kabaka” and the current Kabaka is Muwenda Mutebi II.

Bunyoro-Kitara is the second largest of the Ugandan kingdoms and the only one that was once an empire controlling a large swath of the land that is Uganda today. The traditional title of the King of Bunyoro-Kitara is “Omukama” and the current Omukama is Solomon Iguru I.

Busoga is another ancient Ugandan kingdom that is smaller than those above. The traditional title of the King “Kyabazinga” and the last one to hold the title was Henry Wako Muloki. Unfortunately, there has been strife among the leaders of the Kingdom and a successor has not yet been chosen.

Toro was once part of the Bunyoro Empire and was created in 1830 when the eldest son of the Omukama rebelled and founded his own kingdom. The Kingdom of Toro also names its King “Omukama” and the current holder of the title is Rukidi IV.

Links of interest:

• Official site of the Kingdom of Buganda
• Official site of the Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara
• Wikipedia article on the Kingdom of Busoga
• Official site of the Kingdom of Toro

Note: Images from Wikipedia

The “Ίδρυμα Μείζονος Ελληνισμού” or “Foundation of the Hellenic World” is an international organization trying to maintain and support the Hellenic traditions alive wherever Greeks are found, anywhere in the world.

Greeks have set forth and populated lands far and wide, away from the tiny peninsula that is Greece, following a tradition of immigration that started thousands of years ago. Most of the Mediterranean coast as well as that of the Black Sea was first colonized by Greek settlers and the Greek spirit remained vibrant, through religious and political upheavals for over 2500 years and well into the 20th century!

Greeks spread out far beyond the confines of the Mediterranean and into the New World, settling in the Americas, as well as all the other continents.

Considering the very tumultuous history of the region Greece is in, it is not surprising that there has been so much movement throughout the centuries. However, Greeks have always tried to maintain the Hellenic spirit alive, through the generations, regardless of distance from Greece.

There have been three major migrations of Greeks to foreign lands:

• In antiquity, when the Greek city-states would colonize the Mediterranean and the Black Sea
• Around the time of the fall of Constantinople in 1453
• After the end of World War 2

As a result of all this movement, about half of the total world population that identifies itself as “Greek” (without counting those that are of Greek descent but identify themselves otherwise) resides outside of Greece.

The table below is a demonstration of the distribution of Greeks around the world. This table was taken from the Wikipedia article on Greeks and though it is fully referenced, the usual Wikipedia caveats apply.

By the way, notice how few Greeks are left in modern day Turkey: 2500. Whoever is familiar with the region’s history would realize what this means.

In recognition of this wide distribution around the world, the “Foundation of the Hellenic World” was created as a central organization to bring all these communities together and make sure contact with Greece is not lost.

As part of the work this foundation has undertaken is to record the oral histories of Greeks in their senior years and try to create some sort of genealogical reference database to assist those who are trying to find their roots. By making copies of documents, journals, periodicals and, most importantly, oral records of the senior most (in age) a database can be developed to be referenced by future generations.

As I have mentioned before, in my own genealogical research, finding records for Greek ancestors is a herculean task. Some of the highlights, in reverse chronological order:

• Turkish invasion of Cyprus of 1974: All records of the norther half of the island are lost
• Greek Civil War of 1945-1950: Government and Communist forces were destroying records to either take land or to hide family ties
• Nazi Occupation of 1940-1944: Nazi forces and Nazi collaborators were destroying records so as to steal lands legally owned by others
• The Greek Genocide of 1914-1923 by the Turks in modern day Turkey: Destroyed all remnants of Hellenism there (also check the table above to see how successful they were)
• Ottoman rule 1400′s to early 1900′s: Destroyed records of Christians, had a formal plan of Islamization and also violently suppressed any attempts to teach Greek or Greek history in an organized matter.

This is why it is so important for organizations such as these to continue their work and get all the support they need both from individuals and the Greek government.

The link to the Foundation’s home page is: http://www.ime.gr/

The link to the Genealogy and Oral History department is: http://genealogy.ime.gr/

One of the things my wife enjoys a great deal (and I suffer through) is the reality show on the Bravo channel called “The Real Housewives of New York City”.

One of the participants on the show called LuAnn de Lesseps (née Nadeau) and uses the title of “Countess”. The title comes from her now ex-husband, the current Count de Lesseps, Alexandre. The title was inherited through his paternal line from Ferdinand de Lesseps, the Frenchman who designed the Suez Canal and who presented the Statue of Liberty to the United States.

Let’s start with the Coat of Arms of the de Lesseps family displayed above. The image comes from Wikipedia and the blazon can be found in Jean-Baptiste Rietstap ”Armorial général” as

D’argent, à un cep de vigne de sinople, fruité de deux grappes de raisin de sable, le pied accosté de deux champignons de sinople, le tout soutenu d’une terrasse du même et acc. d’un soleil rayonnant de gueules, mouv. du canton senestre du chef.

Or, in English:

Argent, a vine Vert fructed of two bunches of grapes Sable, between in base two mushrooms Vert all supported by a terrace of the same, in sinister canton a sun rayonny Gules.

A very interesting Coat of Arms, though I would’ve expected something less “agricultural” from a family known for their diplomats and engineers all the way back to the 16^th century. However, I admit I know nothing of the de Lesseps family ancestral origins.

Since we’re talking about the de Lesseps and we touched upon LuAnn from the show “The Real Housewives of New York City”, this would be a good opportunity to answer the two big questions everyone has about her status as “Countess”:

1. How could she be a Countess since France has abolished the nobility?

The answer to this is very simple: The title is a courtesy title that is used only in social circles but has no legal standing whatsoever. In other words, the Count de Lesseps cannot and does not call himself “Count” in any formal legal documents in his home country of France, or anywhere else for that matter. The rule applies to all who claim a title of nobility from a country that no longer recognizes them legally. It is only in social circumstances such as social events, when making dinner reservations, etc. that the title is used and only in those cases. The only exception to the rule is when another country recognizes the title and this is not the case with the de Lesseps title.

2. How could she still be called Countess if she’s divorced from the actual Count?

Ms. LuAnn de Lesseps is not a Countess in her own right (i.e. the title is not hers) but had received it by virtue of marrying the Count, just like Kate Middleton is not The Duchess of Cambridge in her own right but is so because she’s married to The Duke of Cambridge. One would think that upon divorcing the Count, she would lose the title as well but, it is not the case. The former wife of a title-bearer usually retains the right to continue using the courtesy title of her ex-husband, if the ex-husband or Sovereign allows it. Since there isn’t a King of France anymore and titles are not recognized in the Republic of France, it is up to the actual title holder. Furthermore, the mother of the heir to the title also tends to keep the title.

Ms LuAnn would be able to continue the use of the title even if Count Alexandre de Lesseps remarries and the new wife will also be called Countess! However, here comes the key difference: LuAnn would be known as “Countess de Lesseps” whereas the new wife of the Count would be known as “The Countess de Lesseps”. The “The” makes all the difference in the world. In the case of royalty (royalty and nobility are not the same), we find occasions where the former wife of a Prince is called “Dowager Princess X”. This would’ve been the case in the event Princess Diana (note I did not use HRH as she lost that in the divorce) had survived to this day where HRH The Prince of Wales is remarried and she would be known as “The Dowager Princess of Wales”.

See also:

• Free online version of Rietstap’s Armoral General: http://www.euraldic.com/blas_aa.html
• Official site of the Real Housewives of New York City: http://www.bravotv.com/the-real-housewives-of-new-york-city
• Official site of LuAnn de Lesseps: http://www.luanndelesseps.com

Note: Image from Wikipedia