The royal family of Emesa, also known as the Emesani Dynasty or the Sempsigerami of Emesa (Arabic: آل شميس غرام‎), sometimes known as The Sampsiceramids were a ruling Roman client dynasty of priest-kings in Emesa, Syria Province (modern Homs, Syria).^[1] They can be viewed both as Arameans and Arabs.^[2]

The deity El-Gebal[link]

Emesa was famous for the worship of the strong ancient pagan cult El-Gebal, also known as Elagabal.^[3] The city was renowned for El-Gebal’s place of worship the Temple of the Sun. El-Gebal was worshipped in the form of a conical black stone.^[4] El-Gebal was the Aramaic name for the Syrian Sun God and means God of the Mountain.^[5]

Priest-kings of Emesa: Sampsiceramus I to Sampsiceramus II[link]

A resident of Emesa could be called an Emesan, Emesani or Emesene (plural Emesenes). Sampsiceramus I was the founding priest-king of the Emesani dynasty who lived in the 1st century BC and was an Aramean chieftain. The ancestors of Sampsiceramus I were Bedouins^[6] who had travelled the Syrian terrain, before deciding to settle in the Orontes Valley^[7] and South of the Apamea region. Sampsiceramus I, his family and his ancestors in Syria had lived under the Greek rule of the Seleucid Empire. Sampsiceramus I was a son of Aziz (Azizus, c. 94 BC); paternal grandson of Iamblichus (c. 151 BC) and there was a possibility he may had a brother called Ptolemaeus (c. 41 BC) who may have had descendants through his son.^[8]

In Emesa, Aramaic and Greek were commonly spoken languages and later Latin was probably commonly spoken in the city.^[9] Through the rule and influence of the Seleucid dynasty and Greek settlement in the Seleucid Empire, Emesa was assimilated into the Greek language and culture of the Hellenistic period.^[10] Hence, Sampsiceramus I and his ancestors became Hellenize through the Greek rule of Syria and the surrounding territories.

Sampsiceramus I was an ally to the last Seleucid Greek Monarchs of Syria. By this time, the Seleucid Empire had become very weak and always appealed to the Roman Republic to help solve political or succession problems. Around 64 BC, the Roman General and Triumvir, Pompey had reorganised Syria and the surrounding countries into Roman provinces. Pompey had installed client kings in the region, who would become allies to Rome. Among those client kings was Sampsiceramus I (whose name is also spelt Sampsigeramus). The Roman politician Marcus Tullius Cicero, nicknamed Pompey ‘Sampsiceramus’ to make fun of Pompey’s pretensions as an eastern potentate.^[11] At the request of Pompey, Sampsiceramus I captured and killed in 64 BC, the second last Seleucid King Antiochus XIII Asiaticus.

After the death of Antiochus XIII, Sampsiceramus I was confirmed in power and his family was left to rule the surrounding region under Roman suzerainty.^[12] Client rulers such as Sampsiceramus I could police routes and preserve the integrity of Rome without cost to Roman manpower or to the Roman treasury; they were probably paid for the privilege.^[13]

Emesa was added to the domains of Sampsiceramus I, but the first Emesani capital was Arethusa, a city north of Emesa, along the Orontes River. The kingdom of Sampsiceramus I was the first of Rome’s client kingdoms on the desert’s fringes.^[14] The kingdom’s boundaries extended from the Beqaa Valley in the West to the border of Palmyra^[15] in the East, from Yabrud in the South to Arethusa in the North and Heliopolis.^[16] During his reign, Sampsiceramus I built a castle at Shmemis on top of an extinct volcano and rebuilt the city of Salamiyah which the Romans incorporated in the ruling territory. In time Sampsiceramus I established and formed a powerful ruling dynasty and a leading kingdom in the Roman East. His priest-king dynasty ruled from 64 BC until at least 254.

When Sampsiceramus I died in 48 BC, he was succeeded by Iamblichus I. In his reign, the prominence of Emesa grew after Iamblichus I established it as the new capital of the Emesani dynasty.^[17] The economy of the Emesani Kingdom was based on agriculture. With fertile volcanic soil in the Orontes Valley and a great lake, as well as a dam across the Orontes south of Emesa, which provided ample water, Emesa’s soil was ideal for cultivation.^[18] Farms in Emesa provided wheat, vines and olives.^[19] Emesa in antiquity was a very wealthy city. The city was a part of a trade route from the East, heading via Palmyra that passed through Emesa on its way to the coast.^[20] Apart from Antioch, A very important city for the Romans, the port city, prospered under its Roman vassal rulers.

Each year neighbourhood princes and rulers sent generous gifts honoring and celebrating Emesa’s cult and its Temple of the Sun. The priesthood of the cult of El-Gebal in Emesa was held by a family that may be assumed to be descended from Sampsiceramus I or the later Priest King Sohaemus, either by the priest-king or another member of the dynasty.^[21] The priest that served in the cult of El-Gebal wore a clad costume. The dress of an Emesene Priest was very similar to the dress of a Parthian Priest.^[22] An Emesani priest wore a long-sleeved and gold-embroidered purple tunic reaching to his feet, gold and purple trousers and a jewelled diadem on his head.^[23]

Prior to succeeding his father, Iamblichus I was considered by Cicero in 51 BC (then Roman Governor of Cilicia), as a possible ally against Parthia.^[24] Shortly after Iamblichus I became priest-king, he had become prudent and supported the Roman politician Julius Caesar in his Alexandrian war against Pompey. Iamblichus I sent troops to aid Caesar. Pompey was the patron for the family of Iamblichus I, who was later defeated and killed.^[25] The Emesani dynasty had proven from the late Republic into the Imperial era that the dynasty were loyal to the Roman state.^[26]

After the death of Julius Caesar, for a brief period Iamblichus I supported the Roman Governor of Syria who was one of Julius Caesar’s assassins.^[27] In the period of the Roman civil wars, Iamblichus I supported the Roman triumvir Octavian. Iamblichus I became suspect to Roman Triumvir Mark Antony. Antony encouraged Iamblichus I’s brother Alexio I, to usurp his brother’s throne and had Iamblichus I executed. Octavian, after defeating Antony and reorganising the Eastern Roman provinces, had Alexio I executed for treason in 31 BC.^[28] From 30 BC until 20 BC, the Emesani Kingdom was dissolved and became an autonomous community free of dynastic rule though under the supervision of the Roman governor of Syria.^[29]

Later in 20 BC, Octavian, now as the Roman Emperor Augustus, restored the Emesani Kingdom to Iamblichus II, the son of Iamblichus I.^[30] It was either Iamblichus I or his son, Iamblichus II, that received Roman citizenship from Julius Caesar or Augustus, as the Emesani dynasty took the Roman gentilicium Julius^[31] to be added to their Aramaic, Arabic, Greek and later Latin names. Iamblichus II ruled as a priest-king from 20 BC to 14. Iamblichus II’s reign was stable and from it emerged a new era of peace, known as the Golden Age of Emesa. Iamblichus II died in 14 and his son Sampsiceramus II succeeded him as priest-king. Sampsiceramus II ruled from 14 until his death in 42. According to a surviving inscription at the Temple of Bel in Palmyra, dating from the years 18/19 he may have acted as an intermediary between Palmyra and Rome.^[32] In the inscription he is mentioned alongside the Roman general Germanicus, the adoptive son and nephew of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Emesa was closely linked for its prosperity with its neighbor Palmyra.^[33] Before he died, Sampsiceramus II was convened by the Herodian King Agrippa I at Tiberias.^[34]

Priest-kings of Emesa: Azizus, Sohaemus and afterwards[link]

After the death of Sampsiceramus II, his first son Azizus succeeded him. Azizus reigned from 42 until 54. Little is known on Azizus’ reign, however he is known for his childless marriage to the Herodian Princess Drusilla.^[35] Azizus married Drusilla after 51, on the condition that he was to be circumcised.^[36] Drusilla was briefly married to Azizus. Drusilla ended their marriage and divorced him because she fell in love with Marcus Antonius Felix, a Greek Freedman who was the Roman Governor of Judea, whom she later married.

As Azizus died in 54, his brother Sohaemus succeeded him. Sohaemus reigned from 54 until his death in 73. Under Sohaemus’ reign Emesa’s relations with the Roman government grew closer and around 70 it lost its status as a kingdom and came directly under Roman rule. ^[37] In 70 in the Roman Siege of Jerusalem, Sohaemus had sent Emesene archers to assist the Roman army. He also assisted the Roman Emperor Vespasian in 72, in annexing the Client State of the Kingdom of Commagene.^[38]

Sohaemus had died in 73 and was succeeded by his son, Alexio II. Despite the fact that the Emesani dynasty were loyal allies to Rome, for unknown reasons the Roman State reduced the autonomy rule of the Emesani dynasty. Alexio II and his successors held only ceremonial authority. Alexio II died in 78 and his succeeded by his son Sampsiceramus III. Little is known about the Emesani dynasty after the rule of Alexio II. By the 3rd century, the Emesani dynasty became Governors over Emesa, then Priest Kings over a Roman Client Kingdom. Between 211-217, the Roman Emperor Caracalla, made Emesa into a Roman Colony, as this was partly due to the Severan dynasty’s relations and connections to Emesa. Partly due to the influence and rule of the Emesani dynasty, Emesa had grown and became one of the most important cities in the Roman East and eventually in modern Syria, as it retains local significance as it is the market centre for surrounding villages.

Archaeological evidence[link]

The Royal Family of Emesa is very imperfectly known.^[39] What is known about the Emesani dynasty and their kingdom is from surviving archaeological evidence, as the historical sources do not provide a lot of information about them. It is from surviving inscriptions that we know the names of the Emesani Priest Kings; their known relatives and the limited information about them.^[40] As a capital of a Roman Client Kingdom, Emesa shows attributes of a Greek city-state and traces of Roman town planning remain.

Coins have survived from the Emesani dynasty; the earliest known ones being issued for celebrating the cult of El-Gebal under the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius, 138-161.^[41] They depict an eagle perched on a black stone and an elaborate monumental altar being shown. Two superimposed row of niches, between two pilasters stand on a massive base; with statues in each of the six niches. Above is a smaller altar, surmounted by the great stone itself, ornamented with mysterious markings.^[42]

Roman aureus depicting Elagabalus. The reverse reads Sanct Deo Soli Elagabal (To the Holy Sun God Elagabal), and depicts a four-horse, gold chariot carrying the holy stone of the Emesa temple.

The Emesa temple to the sun god El-Gabal, with the holy stone, on the reverse of this bronze coin by Roman usurper Uranius Antoninus

Priest-Kings of the Emesani dynasty[link]

The known Emesene Priest Kings were:

• Sampsiceramus I, reigned 64 BC-48 BC, son of Aziz (Azizus, c. 94 BC) and paternal grandson of Iamblichus (c. 151 BC)^[43]
• Iamblichus I (son of Sampsiceramus I and brother of Alexio I^[44]), reigned 48 BC-31 BC^[45]
• Alexio I, sometimes known as Alexios or Alexander^[46] (brother of Iamblichus I and another son of Sampsiceramus I^[47]). Usurper to the Emesene throne in 31 BC and executed in the same year by Octavian^[48]
• The Emesani kingdom dissolved from 30 BC to 20 BC and becames an autonomous community under the supervision of the Roman governor of Syria^[49]
• Iamblichus II (son of Iamblichus I^[50]), reigned 20 BC-14^[51]
• Gaius Julius Sampsiceramus II, also known as Sampsiceramus II (son of Iamblichus II^[52]), reigned 14-42
• Gaius Julius Azizus or Asisus (son of Sampsiceramus II^[53]), reigned 42-54
• Gaius Julius Sohaemus (brother to Azizus and second son to Sampsiceramus II^[54]), reigned 54-73
• Gaius Julius Alexio also known as Alexio II (son of Sohaemus^[55]), reigned 73-78
• Gaius Julius Fabia Sampsiceramus III Silas (son of Alexio II^[56]), reigned 79-120
• Gaius Julius Longinus Soaemus also known as Soaemus (son of Sampsiceramus III^[57]), died 160
• Gaius Julius Sulpicius, died ca. 210
• Uranius Antoninus, reigned 210-235
• Lucius Julius Aurelius Sulpicius Severus Uranius Antoninus, reigned 235-254, originally called Sampsiceramus

Other members of the Emesani royal family[link]

• Commagenean Princess Iotapa, married Sampsiceramus II.^[58] Iotapa bore Sampsiceramus II, four children; two sons: Gaius Julius Sohaemus and Gaius Julius Azizus^[59] and two daughters: Iotapa who married the Herodian Prince Aristobulus Minor and Mamaea^[60]
• Julia Urania Queen of Mauretania, who may have been a minor Emesene Princess and married Roman Client King Ptolemy of Mauretania^[61]
• Mauretanian Princess from North Africa, Drusilla of Mauretania, who was the daughter of Ptolemy of Mauretania and Julia Urania, married Gaius Julius Sohaemus^[62], son of Sampsiceramus II and Iotapa.^[63] Drusilla and Sohaemus had a son called Gaius Julius Alexio, also known as Alexio II
• Sohaemus of Armenia also known as Gaius Julius Sohaemus^[64][65], King of Armenia from 140 until 161, then again in 163 to an unknown date
• The Emesene high priest Gaius Julius Bassianus a possible descendant of Drusilla of Mauretania and Gaius Julius Sohaemus.^[66] Bassianus was the father of the Roman Empress Julia Domna and her older sister Julia Maesa. He was the maternal grandfather of Domna’s sons who were the Severan Roman Emperors Caracalla and Publius Septimius Geta; and Maesa’s daughters Julia Soaemias and Julia Avita Mamaea. Julia Soaemias was the mother of Severan Roman Emperor Elagabalus and Julia Avita Mamaea was the mother of Severan Roman Emperor Alexander Severus
• Another possible descendant of Drusilla of Mauretania and Gaius Julius Sohaemus was the Syrian Queen of the 3rd century, Zenobia of Palmyra^[67][68][69]

Descendants of the Emesani dynasty[link]

• The novelist of the 2nd century Iamblichus, claims his ancestry from the Emesene Priest Kings and was a contemporary of Sohaemus of Armenia^[70]
• The Syrian Neoplatonist philosopher Iamblichus, who lived between the second half of the 3rd century and first half of the 4th century, claimed to be a descendant of the Emesene Priest Kings
• According to Patriarch of Constantinople, Scholar and Christian Saint of the 9th century Photios I, notes around 500, the Syrian Pagan Philosopher Damascius, dedicated a book to a Theodora, daughter of Diogenes, son of Eusebius, son of Flavianus and a descendant of King Sampsiceramus of Emesa^[71]

See also[link]

• Black Stone
• Elagabalus (deity)
• Homs

Note[link]

• Soaemus is a male variation of the name Sohaemus, while Soaemias is the female variation of Sohaemus

References[link]

1. ^ Shahid, Irfan(1984), Rome and The Arabs: A Prolegomenon to the Study of Byzantium and the Arabs
2. ^ Shahid, Irfan (1984). Rome and The Arabs: A Prolegomenon to the Study of Byzantium and the Arabs
3. ^ Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, p.71
4. ^ Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, p.71
5. ^ Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, p.71
6. ^ Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, p.71
7. ^ Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, p.71
8. ^ Ball, Rome in the East: the transformation of the an empire, p.35
9. ^ Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, p.71
10. ^ Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, p.71
11. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.8
12. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.8
13. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.8
14. ^ Ball, Rome in the East: The Transformation of the Empire, p.p.34-35
15. ^ Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, p.71
16. ^ Ball, Rome in the East: The Transformation of the Empire, p.p.34-35
17. ^ Ball, Rome in the East: The Transformation of the Empire, p.p.34-35
18. ^ Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, p.71
19. ^ Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, p.71
20. ^ Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, p.71
21. ^ Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, p.p.71-72
22. ^ Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, p.p.71-72
23. ^ Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, p.p.71-72
24. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.8
25. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.8
26. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.p.8-9
27. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.8
28. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.8
29. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.8
30. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.p.8-9
31. ^ Ptolemaic Genealogy – Cleopatra Selene, Footnote 10
32. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.9
33. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.9
34. ^ Josephus, AJ 19,338
35. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.p.xx
36. ^ Josephus, JA, xx.7.1
37. ^ Dumper, Michael; Bruce E. Stanley (2006). Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: a historical encyclopedia. ABL-CLIO. p. 171. ISBN 978-1-57607-919-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=3SapTk5iGDkC&pg=PA171&dq=Emesani+dynasty&hl=en&ei=ZLspTpG8E8aZ8QO34fGJDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Emesani%20dynasty&f=false. 
38. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.9
39. ^ Ptolemaic Genealogy – Cleopatra Selene, Footnote 10
40. ^ Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, p.71
41. ^ Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, p.p.71-2
42. ^ Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, p.p.71-2
43. ^ Ball, Rome in the East: the transformation of the an empire, p.35
44. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.p.8&xx
45. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.8
46. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.xx
47. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.p.xx
48. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.8
49. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.p.8-9
50. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.p.8&xx
51. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress
52. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.xx
53. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.xx
54. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.xx
55. ^ Settipani, Continuité gentilice et continuité familiale dans les familles sénatoriales romaines à l’époque impériale
56. ^ Temporini, Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt: Geschichte und Kultur Roms im spiegel der neueren Forschung p.219
57. ^ Settipani, Continuité gentilice et continuité familiale dans les familles sénatoriales romaines à l’époque impériale
58. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.p.xx
59. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.p.xx
60. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.p.xx
61. ^ Ptolemaic Genealogy – Cleopatra Selene, Footnote 10
62. ^ Ptolemaic Genealogy – Cleopatra Selene, Footnote 10
63. ^ Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, p.p.xx
64. ^ Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, p.224
65. ^ According to Christian Settipani, Sohaemus was the son of Avitus (Gaius Julius Avitus), son of Soaemus (Gaius Julius Longinus Soaemus), son of Sampsiceramus, son of Alexio, son of Sohaemus
66. ^ Ptolemaic Genealogy – Cleopatra Selene, Footnote 10
67. ^ Ptolemaic Genealogy – Cleopatra Selene, Footnote 10
68. ^ Ptolemaic Affiliated Lines: Descendant Lines
69. ^ Ptolemaic Points of Interest: Cleopatra VII & Ptolemy XIII
70. ^ Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, p.71
71. ^ Ptolemaic Genealogy – Cleopatra Selene, Footnote 10

Sources[link]

• H. Temporini & W. Haase, Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt: Geschichte und Kultur Roms im spiegel der neueren Forschung, Walter de Gruyter, 1977
• R. Morkot, The Penguin Historical Altas of Ancient Greece, Penguin Group, 1996
• D.W. Roller, The Building Program of Herod the Great, University of California Press, 1998
• A.R. Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, Routledge, 1999
• W. Ball, Rome in the East: The Transformation of the an Empire, Routledge, 2000
• C. Settipani, Continuité gentilice et continuité familiale dans les familles sénatoriales romaines à l’époque imperial, Oxford, 2000
• Microsoft Encarta Encyclopaedia - 2002 Edition
• B. Levick, Julia Domna, Syrian Empress, Taylor & Francis, 2007
• Royal Egyptian Genealogy: Ptolemaic Descendants
• Ptolemaic Genealogy – Cleopatra Selene
• Ptolemaic Affiliated Lines: Descendant Lines
• Ptolemaic Points of Interest: Cleopatra VII & Ptolemy XIII
• Sampsiceramus article at Ancient Library
• Biblical Genealogy: From Alexander son of Herod to Bustanai
• New Advent Encyclopaedia – Emesa
• Articles, Books and Studies: The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress – The Rise and Fall of Cleopatra II Selene, Seleukid Queen of Syria by Michael Burgess
• Articles, Books and Studies: Numismatic Evidence For A New Seleucid King: Seleucus (VII) Philometor by Brian Kritt

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Coordinates: 35°2′12.48″N 37°0′48.63″E / 35.0368°N 37.0135083°E / 35.0368; 37.0135083

A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning duke, grand duke, or prince. However, in common parlance members of any family which reigns by hereditary right are often referred to as royalty or "royals". It is also customary in some circles to refer to the extended relations of a deposed monarch and his or her descendants as a royal family.

Members of a royal family[link]

A royal family typically includes the spouse of the reigning monarch, surviving spouses of a deceased monarch, the children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, and cousins of the reigning monarch, as well as their spouses. In some cases, royal family membership may extend to great grandchildren and more distant descendants of a monarch. In certain monarchies where voluntary abdication is the norm, such as the Netherlands, a royal family may also include one or more former monarchs. There is often a distinction between persons of the blood royal and those that marry into the royal family. In certain instances, such as in Canada, the royal family is defined by who holds the styles Majesty and Royal Highness.^[1] Under most systems, only persons in the first category are dynasts, that is, potential successors to the throne (unless the member of the latter category is also in line to the throne in their own right, a frequent occurrence in royal families which frequently intermarry). This is not always observed; some monarchies have operated by the principle of jure uxoris.

The Royal Family of France in classical costume during the reign of Louis XIV.

In addition certain relatives of the monarch (by blood or marriage) possess special privileges and are subject to certain statutes, conventions, or special common law. The precise functions of a royal family vary depending on whether the polity in question is an absolute monarchy, a constitutional monarchy, or somewhere in between. In certain monarchies, such as that found in Saudi Arabia or Kuwait, or in political systems where the monarch actually exercises executive power, such as in Jordan, it is not uncommon for the members of a royal family to hold important government posts or military commands. In most constitutional monarchies, however, members of a royal family perform certain public, social, or ceremonial functions, but refrain from any involvement in electoral politics or the actual governance of the country.

The specific composition of royal families varies from country to country, as do the titles and royal and noble styles held by members of the family. The composition of the royal family may be regulated by statute enacted by the legislature (e.g. Spain, the Netherlands, and Japan since 1947), the Sovereign's prerogative and common law tradition (e.g. the United Kingdom), or a private house law (e.g., Liechtenstein, the former ruling houses of Bavaria, Prussia, Hanover, etc.). Public statutes, constitutional provisions, or conventions may also regulate the marriages, names, and personal titles of royal family members. The members of a royal family may or may not have a surname or dynastic name (see Royal House).

In a constitutional monarchy, when the monarch dies, there is always a law or tradition of succession to the throne that either specifies a formula for identifying the precise order of succession among family members in line to the throne or specifies a process by which a family member is chosen to inherit the crown. Usually in the former case the exact line of hereditary succession among royal individuals may be identified at any given moment during prior reigns (e.g. United Kingdom, Sark, Nizari Ismailis, Japan, Balobedus, Sweden, Benin Empire) whereas in the latter case the next sovereign may be selected (or changed) only during the reign or shortly after the demise of the immediately preceding monarch (e.g. Cambodia, KwaZulu Natal, Buganda, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland, Yorubaland, The Kingitanga). Some monarchies employ a mix of these selection processes (Malaysia, Monaco, Tonga, Jordan, Morocco), providing for both an identifiable line of succession as well as authority for the monarch, dynasty or other institution to alter the line in specific instances without changing the general law of succession.

Some countries have abolished royalty altogether, as in post-revolutionary France and Russia.

Royal houses and dynasties[link]

Current Royal Families[link]

Deposed royal families[link]

Mediatised royal families[link]

• House of Arenberg (Belgium)
• Fürstenberg princely family (Germany)
• House of Ligne (Belgium)
• Princely family of Merode (Belgium)
• Schwarzenberg princely family (Bohemia)

See also[link]

• Abbasid
• Abolished monarchy
• Chief of the Name
• Crown prince
• Family trees of royal families
• Palaces
• Prince
• Prince consort
• Princeps
• Princess
• Princess Royal
• Queen consort
• Regicide
• Royal and noble styles
• Royal descent
• Royal house
• Royal prerogative

References[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2008)

Isao Tomita (冨田 勲, Tomita Isao^?, born April 22, 1932), often known simply as Tomita, is a Japanese music composer, regarded as one of the pioneers of electronic music^[1][2] and space music,^[3] and as one of the most famous producers of analog synthesizer arrangements.^[4] In addition to creating note-by-note realizations, Tomita made extensive use of the sound design capabilities of his instrument, using synthesizers to create new artificial sounds to accompany and enhance his electronic realizations of acoustic instruments. ^[4] He also made effective use of analog music sequencers^[1] and featured futuristic science fiction themes,^[2] while laying the foundations for synth-pop music^[5] and trance-like rhythms.^[6] He also received four Grammy Award nominations for his album Snowflakes are Dancing in 1974.^[2]

Biography[link]

Tomita was born in Tokyo and spent his early childhood with his father in China. After returning to Japan, he took private lessons in orchestration and composition while an art history student at Keio University, Tokyo. He graduated in 1955 and became a full-time composer for television, film and theatre. He composed the theme music for the Japanese Olympic gymnastics team for the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.

In 1965, he composed the theme song and incidental music for Osamu Tezuka's television animated series Jangaru Taitei (Jungle Emperor), released in the USA as Kimba the White Lion. Bernie Baum, Bill Giant and Florence Kaye were the vocalists. In 1966 he wrote a tone poem based on this music with an original video animation synchronized to the tone poem released in 1991. Isao Tomita and Kunio Miyauchi also created the music for the tokusatsu SF/espionage/action TV series Mighty Jack, which aired in 1968. The same year, he co-founded Group TAC.^[7]

By the late 1960s, Isao turned to electronic music with the impetus of Wendy Carlos and Robert Moog's work with synthesisers. Isao acquired a Moog III synthesizer and began building his home studio. He eventually realized that synthesizers could be used to create entirely new artificial sounds in addition to mimicking real instruments.^[4] His experiments with electronic music would eventually spark a "revolution in synthesizer programming." His first electronic album was Electric Samurai: Switched on Rock, released in Japan in 1972 and in the United States in 1974. The album featured electronic renditions of contemporary rock and pop songs, while utilizing speech synthesis in place of a human voice. He then started arranging Claude Debussy's classical pieces for synthesizer and, in 1974, the album Snowflakes are Dancing was released; it became a worldwide success and was responsible for taking synth programming to new heights. The album's contributions to electronic music included an ambience resembling a symphony orchestra, the use of reverberation, the use of phasing and flanging to create a spatial audio effect with stereo speakers, electronic surround sound using four speakers, realistic string simulations, portamento whistles, and abstract bell-like sounds created using ring modulation.^[1] A particularly significant achievement was its polyphonic sound, which was created without the use of any polyphonic synthesizers (which were not yet commercially released). Tomita created the album's polyphonic sound by recording selections one part at a time, taking 14 months to produce the album.^[8] In his early albums, he also made effective use of analog music sequencers, which he used for repeated pitch, filter or effects changes.^[1] Tomita's modular human whistle sounds would also be copied in the presets of later electronic instruments.^[9] His version of "Arabesque No. 1" was later used as the theme to the astronomy TV series Jack Horkheimer: Star Gazer (originally titled Star Hustler) seen on most PBS stations.

He continued to release albums, of which the best known are his arrangements of classics, such as Igor Stravinsky's The Firebird, Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, and Gustav Holst's The Planets. Tomita's albums Pictures at an Exhibition (1975), The Firebird Suite (1975) and Holst: The Planets (1976) introduced a new direction that infused classical synth music with dynamic futuristic music, while abandoning the note-by-note approach previously used in synthesized classical music in favour of polyphonic sounds. Holst: The Planets in particular introduced a science fiction space theme, a connection that had rarely been explored since the 1956 film Forbidden Planet.^[2] This album sparked controversy on its release, as Imogen Holst, daughter of Gustav Holst, refused permission for her father's work to be interpreted in this way. The album was withdrawn, and is, consequently, rare in its original vinyl form.

While working on his classical synthesizer albums, Tomita continued composing numerous scores for Japanese television and films including the Zatoichi television series, two Zatoichi feature films, the Oshi Samurai (Mute Samurai) television series and the Toho science fiction disaster film, Catastrophe 1999, The Prophesies of Nostradamus (US title: Last Days of Planet Earth) in 1974. The latter blends synthesizer performances with pop-rock and orchestral instruments. It and a few other partial and complete scores of the period have been released on LP and later CD over the years in Japan. While not bootlegs, at least some of these releases were issued by film and TV production companies without Tomita's artistic approval.

In 1984, Tomita released Canon of the Three Stars, which featured classical pieces renamed for astronomical objects. For example, the title piece is his version of Pachelbel's Canon in D Major. He credits himself with "The Plasma Symphony Orchestra", which was a computer synthesizer process using the wave forms of electromagnetic emanations from various stars and constellations for the sonic textures of this album.

Tomita has performed a number of outdoor "Sound Cloud" concerts, with speakers surrounding the audience in a "cloud of sound". He gave a big concert in 1984 at the annual contemporary music Ars Electronica festival in Linz, Austria called "Mind of the Universe", live mixing tracks in a glass pyramid suspended over an audience of 80,000 people. He performed another concert in New York two years later to celebrate the Statue of Liberty centennial ("Back to the Earth") as well as one in Sydney in 1988 for Australia's bicentennial. The Australian performance was part of a $A7 million gift from Japan to New South Wales, which included the largest ever fireworks display at that time, six fixed sound and lighting systems — one of those on a moored barge in the centre of a bay, the other flown in by Chinook helicopter — for the relevant parts of the show. A fleet of barges with Japanese cultural performances, including kabuki fire drumming, passed by at various times. His most recent Sound Cloud event was in Nagoya, Japan in 1997 featuring guest performances by The Manhattan Transfer, Ray Charles, Dionne Warwick, and Rick Wakeman.

In the late 1990s, he composed a hybrid orchestra plus synthesizer symphonic fantasy titled The Tale of Genji inspired by the eponymous old Japanese story. It was performed in concert by symphony orchestras in Tokyo, Los Angeles, and London. A live concert CD version was released in 1999 followed by a studio version in 2000.

In 2001, Tomita collaborated with Walt Disney Company to compose the background atmosphere music for the AquaSphere entrance at the Tokyo DisneySea theme park outside Tokyo.

His synthesizer score featuring acoustic soloists for the 2002 film The Twilight Samurai (たそがれ清兵衛, Tasogare Seibei^?) won the 2003 Japanese Academy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music.

The advent of the DVD-Audio format has allowed Tomita to further pursue his interests in multichannel audio with reworked releases of The Tale of Genji Symphonic Fantasy and The Tomita Planets 2003.

In 2008, his Snowflakes are Dancing played in the background at the Disney World Resort, Epcot, World Showcase, Japan, Bijutzu-kan Gallery.

Discography[link]

• 1974 Snowflakes Are Dancing
• 1975 Pictures at an Exhibition (version of Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky)
• 1975 Firebird (version of The Firebird by Stravinsky)
• 1976 The Planets (version of The Planets by Gustav Holst)
• 1977 Sound Creature
• 1978 Kosmos (originally released under the title Space Fantasy)
• 1978 Bermuda Triangle (inspired by the Bermuda Triangle) (5 channel stereo recording)
• 1979 Greatest Hits (compilation album)
• 1979 Daphnis et Chloé (Bolero)
• 1981 Greatest Hits Volume 2 (compilation album)
• 1982 Grand Canyon
• 1984 Dawn Chorus (Canon of the Three Stars)
• 1984 Best of Tomita (compilation)
• 1984 Space Walk - Impressions Of An Astronaut (compilation album)
• 1985 Mind of the Universe - Live at Linz
• 1988 Back to the Earth - Live in New York
• 1989 Misty Kid of Wind
• 1992 Storm from the East
• 1993 School
• 1994 The First Emperor (as musical supervisor)
• 1994 Shin Nihon Kikou
• 1994 Nasca Fantasy (supporting Kodō)
• 1996 Bach Fantasy

See also[link]

• Hideki Matsutake, Tomita's assistant and member of Yellow Magic Orchestra
• Susumu Hirasawa
• Maurice Ravel
• Haruomi Hosono
• Ryuichi Sakamoto
• Nobuo Uematsu
• Patrick Moraz
• Jean Michel Jarre
• Kitaro
• Synergy
• Vangelis
• Kraftwerk
• Tangerine Dream
• Eloy Fritsch
• Suzanne Ciani
• New Age Music
• Francis Rimbert
• Keith Emerson

References[link]

External links[link]

• Fans' "Sound Creature" website (includes Fans' biography)
• Japanese fan's website