IDTG

The Acta Apostolicae Sedis or Acts of the Apostolic See (in English) is the official gazette of the Holy See, functioning like the official gazette of any government or state around the world. In here, one finds encyclicals, official decisions, appointments, etc. The gazette was established in 1908 by Pope Pius X and has been published every month since then.

Just on the face of it, this is very interesting to anyone that enjoys such things. However, what is particularly fascinating and an excellent source for those of us in the chivalric/heraldic world is that all those who have had the honor of being admitted into any of the papal orders are mentioned in the gazette. In other words, this resource is a quick and easy way to validate whether someone who claims to be a, say, Knight of the Order of St. Sylvester really is so.

As most of those that are involved in orders of chivalry, there are many (way too many) false orders and even more pretenders that claim to have more knighthoods than even the King of Spain! A very (un)healthy market has been the sales of false membership into papal orders. This has gone on for a long time and a few years ago was wildly popular. Naturally, this was completely false and many people were taken in as victims of these scams.

The availability of the Acta online is a veritable boon to all those who like to validate such claims.

The link to the online archive of every single publication of the Acta Apostolicae Sedis since 1909 is: http://www.vatican.va/archive/aas/index_en.htm

I’d like to thank Dr. Charles Drake for alerting me to the existence of the archive!

Note: image from Wikipedia

In what is perhaps the best online digital library of Greek or Greece related texts, I found an article written in the 1920s by the Archimandrite Zacharias Lianas (Ζαχαρίας Λιανάς, d. 1952), head of the Rizarios Hieratic School between 1923 and 1925.

The article gives a concise history, from a Greek Orthodox perspective (with emphasis on both Greek and Orthodox), of how the double headed eagle came to have the meaning it has today. Below is my translation of the Archimandrite’s words (apologies for the run on sentences but, that’s how the original is too):

It has always been that people used places, shapes, images, plants and animals as symbols to express an idea. These symbols, called hieroglyphics, are found in all populations and all religions. In those, the imagination of the people borrowed much from the kingdom of the plants such as the olive, the laurel, the lilly, the pomegranate, etc. These were used to express different meanings and ideas.

Also, since antiquity all peoples used as an expression of power, force and majesty the Lion. As an expression of height, poetic elation, wisdom and ingenuity was the Eagle. For this reason the Lion is used in the palaces of kings and the heraldry of nations and sovereign Houses, whereas the Eagle is found on the friezes of temples. Lions decorate the palaces of the kings of Babylon and Persia. Lions decorate as well the palace at Mycenae. Lions [in sculpture] were raised in Marathon, Thermopylae, Chaeronea, etc.

The Eagle, on the other hand, is the symbol and the messenger of the Olympian Zeus. An Eagle transfers Ganymede to Olympus. An Eagle eats, on Zeus’ orders, the liver of Premetheus who is bound to the Caucasus. An Eagle is places on the frieze of the temple of the Olympian Zeus and on the temple of the Capitol Zeus. With the meaning of ingenuity and inspiration, the Eagle was given as a symbol to the Apostole and Evangelist John the Theologian.

Ptolemy Lagus of Alexandria first placed the Eagle on the flags of his army as a symbol of the state and military power. From the Ptolemaic state of Alexandria, dissolved by the Romans, did the Roman Emperors take the Eagle for their military flags. Slowly, the Roman Eagle became the symbol of the entire Roman Empire. As the Roman Empire was split during the reign of Diocletian and Maximilian into two states, the Eastern and the Western, so was the Eagle split into two. The Eagle of the Western Empire had its head facing west and the Eagle of the Eastern Empire faced East. When the Roman State, through Constantine the Great, was united into a single Empire, the two symbolic Eagles were reunited into one. However, the previously single headed Eagle became double headed, symbolizing the unified empire with the two capitals: Old Rome and New Rome. For this reason one of the heads faced West towards Old Rome and the other faced East towards New Rome – Constantinople.

When the Emperor Constantine the Great saw in the sky, at high noon, the divine symbol of the cross with the epigraph ΕΝ ΤΟΥΤΩ ΝΙΚΑ [translated to Latin as "IN HOC SIGNO VINCES"], he was instructed in a vision where he was visted by Jesus Christ to construct a copy of the image of the cross and to use it throughout his military ranks so that he may be victorious through it. This is when Constantine the Great, according to the instructions he received, constructed the Labarum and replaced the until then national military flag of the Double-headed Eagle with the new Christian banner of the Cross. However, he maintained and established the Double-headed Eagle as the symbol and state emblem of the Imperial Dynasty of the Byzantine Roman State. In the following centuries of the height of the Byzantine State, the Double-headed Eagle was used as the Coat of Arms of the Byzantine Emperors, placed on the Imperial Palaces, decorating the chests of the imperial guards and the courtiers in general. It was embroidered on the imperial clothes, the saddles of the imperial horses and on the imperial shoes. In the sacristy of the Holy Monastery of Great Lavra on Mount Athos, is preserved the imperial coat with Double-headed Eagles embroidered in gold, once belonging to the Emperors Nicephorus Phocas and John Tzimiskes from the 9th century.

After the Fall of Constantinople to the Turks (1453) the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople was recognized by the conqueror Muhammed II as the Ethnarch [national leader] of the Romans. As such, he inherited along with the other imperial symbols (the crown, sceptre, robes) the Double-headed Eagle as the symbol of the Nation. This symbol has been used ever since as the emblem of the Ecumenical National Patriarchate and used in the seals of the Patriarchal Bulls. Because of this, it is carved as the Coat of Arms above the gate of the Patriarchal churches. It is also carved on the walls and the floors of the Patriarchal churches and stavropegial monasteries and those houses made stavropegial. It is also conserved on the floors of many temples among which is the temple of the Metropolis of Mistras. It is embroidered in the Patriarchal clothing and robes. Embroidered on fabrics or tapestries, wherever Constantinople is depicted. In time, whenever a cleric in the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is ordained and the floor of the particular temple does not have the Double-headed Eagle carved, a tapestry with the symbol is placed under the feet of the ordained to show that he is stepping and is on Patriarchal ground, as spiritual subject of the Patriarchate.

As a Patriarchal emblem, the Double-headed Eagle became part of the Patriarch’s vestments. It is curious how this particular item did not become more widely adopted by other Bishops like the other imperial emblems did such as the Crown (mitre), the Purpure robes and the Sceptre (pastoral staff).

The spirit of the Greek people maintained alive throughout the years after the Fall [of Constantinople] the Byzantine tradition of the Double-headed Eagle and in the expression of Greek art. The Double-headed Eagle, that before the Fall has such symbolic value, did not lose it later. On the contrary, it was conciously kept as the symbol of the continuing Byzantine tradition and became the premier symbol of the national ideal of the recreation of the Great Empire.

For this reason, it is the most beloved theme of neohellenic art and has an excellent place there. How closely tied is the Double-headed Eagle with the popular concious [of the Greek people] is shown the innumerable depictions in all forms of Greek popular art whether it is in textile, woodwork, metalwork, jewelry etc. Even in our own century [20th] the wave of nationalism raised the Double-headed Eagle to the first and most honored position. It is still carved onto many objects of the Church and the residential furniture, woods, silver and gold objects. It is painted on many icons and carved onto seals. The seal of the Archbishopric of Athens as well as many other Metropolia use the Double-headed Eagle. It is also depicted on every other form of art upon which a national meaning is desired to be given.

 

–Archmandrite Zacharias A. Lianas

The link to the original Greek is found here: http://anemi.lib.uoc.gr/metadata/c/0/0/metadata-908460e12ec80b3429d525c3e6f42648_1251357873.tkl

Link to the Rizarios Hieratic School: http://lyk-rizar.att.sch.gr/

Link to the Rizarios Foundation: http://www.rizarios.gr/

Note: Images from Wikipedia

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