The Royal Ark

Royal and Ruling Houses

of

Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas

Welcome to the Royal Ark. The web's most comprehensive site on the genealogies of the Royal and ruling houses of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas.

These pages have been designed with the aim of recording, and increasing knowledge about, the genealogies of the current and former ruling families of Africa, Asia and the Americas. Unlike their European counterparts, genealogical information on these families is sparse and inadequate. This is the case, even though many of the dynasties are more ancient than most of the European dynasties that are so amply covered in genealogical works. I hope you will find that this small attempt to redress the balance contributes to your knowledge and enjoyment and makes a small contribution towards historical knowledge.

Many of the ruling families, particularly those of the princely families of India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Burma, have ceased to rule or have been prohibited from playing officially recognised roles in national life. It is therefore, imperative that their stories be recorded for posterity, before they are forgotten to history's memory.

With a work of this size, mistakes and errors are inevitable. For this, I apologise in advance most profusely. I would be most grateful to hear from anyone who visits this site and who may have corrections or suggestions for improvement.

CONTACT

Please note that some chapters are under construction (marked in white). These are being added as and when completed. So your patience is appreciated, I am sure you will agree that the wait will be worthwhile.

I hope you enjoy your visit.

Please click on the country name below to reach the dynasty that is of interest to you.

 

WARNING ALL MATERIALS CONTAINED IN THIS SITE ARE THE SUBJECT OF COPYRIGHT. MANY ITEMS ARE IN USE UNDER LICENCE. THEREFORE, ON NO ACCOUNT MAY COPIES BE MADE OF TEXT, PHOTOGRAPHS, GRAPHICS OR ANY OTHER MATERIALS, WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE UNDERSIGNED. If you wish to copy any items from this site, please be kind enough to e-mail me at the address given above. Please also note that by entering any further pages of this site, you are undertaking to abide by these conditions. Thank you for you co-operation and consideration. Christopher Buyers

A note on spelling and transliteration:

In these pages the Latinized transliteration and spelling of names, titles and ranks have been standardised into English, wherever possible. The greatest effect is on transliterations that have reached us through the French language. This was common in Egypt, Persia and the French overseas empire. I have standardised the plethora of spellings of the same Arabic and Sanskrit words, used in different locations. This was decided upon when I noticed the name of Amina, also being rendered as Amineh, Emine, and Emineh in different sections of the same edition of the Egyptian Directory, for the self-same princess!

As an example, the popular name of the prophet, is rendered throughout as Muhammad , everywhere from Morocco to the Philippines. Other forms, such as, Mahomet, Mahommed, Mohamad and Mohammed, are consequently largely ignored. Similarly, Dawla, Douleh or Doula is rendered as Daula; Sultaneh as Sultana; Noor el-Dine, Nooreddine or Nureddin is rendered as Nur ud-din, etc.

Another example is the common princely title, known to most in India and the Malay archipelago as Raja. This same title is rendered, through French, in Cambodia as Reachea. The former spelling is preferred throughout. Similarly, Thuppdey or Tibodi is rendered as Adipati; Reamea as Rama; Seri, Serey or Shri as Sri.

Copyright©Christopher Buyers, August 2000 - September 2011