The purpose for preparing a genealogical Stemma of the Ardalan dynasty since the ancient times stems from the present lack of a definitive, exhaustive and reliable genealogy for that illustrious and long-lasting Iranian dynasty. The lineage is also presented in a more traditional way of an old and vivacious Tree, a stemma, with its roots in ancient history and its stems and leaves rising up into the future.
The preparation of this genealogy, all affiliations with political groups and factions have been forfeited, as also disparaging this or that contemporary dynasty for gain. The sole purpose has been to help with the awareness of history by the new generation as also the more seasoned historians.
The process began at the end of 1937, when i was going through my youthful, raw years. One day in the company of Mr. Cullen my mentor and interpreter, I visited the Kedleston Hall Museum in Derbyshire. Britain.
I shall forget the description of the beauty and vastness of the grounds, the splendor of the buildings and the richness of the antiquities and respect they held. instead, I shall concentrate on the feelings that engendered the motivation for my researching and creating a detailed and historically accurate genealogy for the ruling house of Ardalan.
On the wall of the one of the rooms of the said museum, in the style an arboreal old genealogy, had depicted briefly the long-lasting genealogy of the owner’s house. as follow:
” The works of art made by the Marquis Curzon of Kedleston when viceroy of India 1898-1905 and a selection of the Robert Adam’s signed drawings for the house “.
As the museum guide described the services of the lordly family, the visitors enthusiastically admired the achievements of that family. Instead, I was deep in thought and somewhat detached in the way that the ancient poet Saadi described:
” In the midst of a multitude I was, but lo, my heart wandering elsewhere! “. I felt ashamed of my neglect and ignorance of our own long-lasting historic family of Ardalan, which knew not much substance about. Perhaps Kedleston hall realization was what that woke me up from my bliss full ignorance .
Upon my return to Tehran actively endeavored to make up for this negligence by gathering the necessary resources and information in order to ascertain the data and accurately plot a detailed genealogy of the Ardalan ruling house .
After an early retirement per my own choosing and leaving my administrative duties in 1981, I commenced work in a serious and continuous manner on this project, collecting and examining old letters, categorizing names and dates men as much a women, and collecting authentic history for each person to be included into the genealogy. this went on for decades until the present Genealogical stemma was completed.
The first draft was completed by 2001 AD and was digitized and photographed as working file to this base file were gradually added new names, Information and data as they presented themselves until this day.
- Technically, by listing the Ardalan ruler in numbers on the Stemma the researcher may better grasp the relationships of each individual on the Ardalan family tree. also, by the cross references and the use of asterixis makes it possible to expand the branches of the genealogical tree vertically as horizontally, while fitting the outcome into a reasonably-sized work area.
- All dynastic members were connected, showing the relationship -dates and ranks of each person in the context of the genealogical stemma. Meanwhile, the female members are presented in yellow hue, while the male are depicted in white.
Unfortunately, due to the dearth of reliable data, the name of one Seminal dynastic ancestor, King Ahmad Marvan-an ancestral Monarch, and his connection to the Sassanian dynasty, presented a major lacuna in the genealogy. Like a thirsty-man in the desert searching out water, I turned to every mirage for a sip to only be disappointed.
In the middle of 2011 AD i obtained a used copy of the first of the collection of books on the critical english translation and interpretation of the four hundred year old history of Sharafnama, done by M.Izady .
In a personal communication with him, I received a connection table. That table and his book, also his generous light leading, all helped to complete my work-as described by Bitlisi in his history-book.
So, according to the previous explanation, the names of the links connecting Baba Ardalan to the Sassanid emperors have been shown with a diagram on the tree trunk of the last genealogical print dating 1397 AH. as the completion of my work.
IN the end, it is hoped that this detailed genealogical Stemma proves to be a meaningful tool for the detailed study of Ardalan’s dynastic history, both in its dynasty and its roots.
June 2024
Yadollah Roshan Ardalan
http://www.ardalanfamily.com
