A family tree, also called a genealogy or a pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. More detailed family trees, used in medicine and social work, are known as genograms.
A family tree, also called a genealogy or a pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. More detailed family trees, used in medicine and social work, are known as genograms.
Genealogical data can be represented in several formats, for example, as a pedigree or ancestry chart. Family trees are often presented with the oldest generations at the top of the tree and the younger generations at the bottom. An ancestry chart, which is a tree showing the ancestors of an individual and not all members of a family, will more closely resemble a tree in shape, being wider at the top than at the bottom. In some ancestry charts, an individual appears on the left and his or her ancestors appear to the right. Conversely, a descendant chart, which depicts all the descendants of an individual, will be narrowest at the top. Beyond these formats, some family trees might include all members of a particular surname (e.g., male-line descendants). Yet another approach is to include all holders of a certain office, such as the Kings of Germany, which represents the reliance on marriage to link dynasties together.
The passage of time can also be included to illustrate ancestry and descent. A time scale is often used, expanding radially across the center, divided into decades. Children of the parent form branches around the center and their names are plotted in their birth year on the time scale. Spouses' names join children's names and nuclear families of parents and children branch off to grandchildren, and so on. Great-grandparents are often in the center to portray four or five generations, which reflect the natural growth pattern of a tree as seen from the top but sometimes there can be great-great-grandparents or more. In a descendant tree, living relatives are common on the outer branches and contemporary cousins appear adjacent to each other. Privacy should be considered when preparing a living family tree.[ citation needed ]
The image of the tree probably originated with that of the Tree of Jesse in medieval art, [2] used to illustrate the Genealogy of Christ in terms of a prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 11:1). Possibly the first non-biblical use, and the first to show full family relationships rather than a purely patrilineal scheme, was that involving family trees of the classical gods in Boccaccio's Genealogia Deorum Gentilium ("On the Genealogy of the Gods of the Gentiles"), whose first version dates to 1360. [3]
In addition to familiar representations of family history and genealogy as a tree structure, there are other notable systems used to illustrate and document ancestry and descent.
An Ahnentafel (German for "ancestor table") is a genealogical numbering system for listing a person's direct ancestors in a fixed sequence of ascent:
and so on, back through the generations. Apart from the subject or proband, who can be male or female, all even-numbered persons are male, and all odd-numbered persons are female. In this scheme, the number of any person's father is double the person's number, and a person's mother is double the person's number plus one. This system can also be displayed as a tree:
| 4. Paternal grandfather | |||||||||||
| 2. Father | |||||||||||
| 5. Paternal grandmother | |||||||||||
| 1 Subject (or proband) | |||||||||||
| 6. Maternal grandfather | |||||||||||
| 3. Mother | |||||||||||
| 7. Maternal grandmother | |||||||||||
A fan chart features a half circle chart with concentric rings: the subject is the inner circle, the second circle is divided in two (each side is one parent), the third circle is divided in four, and so forth. Fan charts depict paternal and maternal ancestors.
While family trees are depicted as trees, family relations do not in general form a tree in the strict sense used in graph theory, since distant relatives can mate. Therefore, a person can have a common ancestor on both their mother's and father's side. However, because a parent must be born before their child, an individual cannot be their own ancestor, and thus there are no loops. In this regard, ancestry forms a directed acyclic graph. Nevertheless, graphs depicting matrilineal descent (mother-daughter relationships) and patrilineal descent (father-son relationships) do form trees. Assuming no common ancestor, an ancestry chart is a perfect binary tree, as each person has exactly one mother and one father; these thus have a regular structure. A Descendant chart, on the other hand, does not, in general, have a regular structure, as a person can have any number of children or none at all.
Family trees have been used to document family histories across time and cultures throughout the world.
In Africa, the ruling dynasty of Ethiopia claimed descent from King Solomon via the Queen of Sheba. Through this claim, the family traced their descent back to the House of David.
The genealogy of Ancient Egyptian ruling dynasties was recorded from the beginnings of the Pharaonic era c. 3000 BC to the end of the Ptolomaic Kingdom; although this is not a record of one continuously linked family lineage, and surviving records are incomplete.
Elsewhere in Africa, oral traditions of genealogical recording predominate. Members of the Keita dynasty of Mali, for example, have had their pedigrees sung by griots during annual ceremonies since the 14th century. Meanwhile, in Nigeria, many ruling clans—most notably those descended from Oduduwa—claim descent from the legendary King Kisra. Here too, pedigrees are recited by griots attached to the royal courts. [5]
In some pre-contact Native American civilizations, genealogical records of ruling and priestly families were kept, some of which extended over several centuries or longer.
In pre-Islamic Arabia, the Arab tribes were often organized around extended family units, and tribal identity was key to understanding one's heritage and honor. Each tribe, or qabila, would trace its lineage back to a common ancestor. These genealogies were passed down orally, with poets, historians, and storytellers responsible for preserving these family histories. The Arabs were well-known for their oral traditions and poetry, where family lineages were often preserved in elaborate genealogies. For example, many pre-Islamic poets like Imru' al-Qais referenced their tribal heritage and the great ancestors of their families in their poetry.
With the rise of Islam in the 7th century, genealogy took on even more significance, particularly for those claiming descent from the Prophet Muhammad. Sayyids (those who trace their lineage back to the Prophet) and Hashemites (the family of the Prophet's clan) have been highly regarded throughout history. The Prophet Muhammad’s family tree is one of the most well-known genealogical records in the Arab world. The Islamic era also formalized the recording of genealogies, with Islamic scholars beginning to document and preserve family histories in written form. This was not only important for religious reasons but also for maintaining tribal alliances, political power, and historical records. The First Recorded Arab Genealogical Trees. The first known recorded genealogical trees for Arabs are largely from the early Islamic period, and these genealogies were meticulously recorded by historians, genealogists, and scholars.
One of the most famous early genealogical trees in the Arab world is that of Prophet Muhammad. His genealogy was carefully documented in various Islamic texts, and it traces his lineage to Ishmael, the son of Abraham. The family tree is crucial in establishing the Prophet’s noble lineage. This line of descent is known as the Hashemite lineage, originating from Hashim, a forefather of the Prophet, and it remains one of the most revered lineages in the Arab world. The Book of Lineages (كتاب الأنساب, Kitab al-Ansab)The early Islamic genealogist Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (1372–1449) compiled a monumental work called "Kitab al-Ansab", which documents the genealogies of various Arab tribes. His work was based on earlier genealogical sources and serves as a foundational resource for understanding Arab tribal and familial lineages. Ibn Khaldun and Genealogies: Another important historical figure, Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406), a famous historian and philosopher, included discussions on genealogy in his renowned work, Muqaddimah. In his writing, he explored the role of tribes and lineages in Arab society, and this work contributed to the study of genealogies as part of social and political structures. Early Arab Family Trees and Tribal Systems Tribal Clans: Ancient Arab society was deeply rooted in the concept of tribal affiliation. The family tree often extended across large tribal networks that governed the social and political dynamics of pre-Islamic Arabia. Families like the Quraysh tribe (to which the Prophet Muhammad belonged) and the Banu Hashim clan were particularly significant. In these tribes, each family, or bayt, would have its own genealogical history, and knowing one’s ancestry was considered essential for social status, marriage eligibility, and political power. Recorded Genealogies for Prestige and Protection: Genealogies also served as a form of social security. By tracing one's family history back to notable ancestors, a family could bolster its claim to land, resources, or power. It also ensured that family members could protect themselves against challenges to their status or inheritance. The Role of Ilm al-Ansab (Genealogy Science)The science of genealogy (Ilm al-Ansab) became a recognized scholarly field within the Arab world. Scholars and experts in genealogy would specialize in documenting, analyzing, and preserving genealogical records for the Arab tribes. This process led to the creation of family trees that not only had historical value but also served as political tools, especially in contexts where tribal affiliation played a key role in gaining or maintaining power. While we can trace recorded family trees in the Arab world back to the early Islamic period, with prominent examples like the genealogy of the Prophet Muhammad and scholarly works by figures like Ibn Khaldun and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, the practice of preserving and documenting family lineages has ancient roots in Arab culture. Tribal identity and genealogical knowledge were integral to the social fabric of pre-Islamic Arabia and continue to play a significant role in modern Arab societies. The family tree, therefore, has always been a crucial part of Arab heritage, not just as a way of tracing descent but as a means of preserving cultural identity and social structure.
There are extensive genealogies for the ruling dynasties of China, but these do not form a single, unified family tree. Additionally, it is unclear at which point(s) the most ancient historical figures named become mythological.
In Japan, the ancestry of the Imperial Family is traced back to the mythological origins of Japan. The connection to persons from the established historical record only begins in the mid-first millennium AD.
The longest family tree in the world is that of the Chinese philosopher and educator Confucius (551–479 BC), who is descended from King Tang (1675–1646 BC). The tree spans more than 80 generations from him and includes more than 2 million members. An international effort involving more than 450 branches around the world was started in 1998 to retrace and revise this family tree. A new edition of the Confucius genealogy was printed in September 2009 by the Confucius Genealogy Compilation Committee, to coincide with the 2560th anniversary of the birth of the Chinese thinker. This latest edition was expected to include some 1.3 million living members who are scattered around the world today. [6]
Before the Dark Ages, in the Greco-Roman world, some reliable pedigrees dated back perhaps at least as far as the first half of the first millennium BC; with claimed or mythological origins reaching back further. Roman clan and family lineages played an important part in the structure of their society and were the basis of their intricate system of personal names. However, there was a break in the continuity of record-keeping at the end of Classical Antiquity. Records of the lines of succession of the Popes and the Eastern Roman Emperors through this transitional period have survived, but these are not continuous genealogical histories of single families. Refer to descent from antiquity.
Many noble and aristocratic families of European and West Asian origin can reliably trace their ancestry back as far as the mid to late first millennium AD; some claiming undocumented descent from Classical Antiquity or mythological ancestors. In Europe, for example, the pedigree of Niall Noígíallach would be a contender for the longest, through Conn of the Hundred Battles (fl. 123 AD)[ citation needed ]; in the legendary history of Ireland, he is further descended from Breogán, and ultimately from Adam, through the sons of Noah.
Another very old and extensive tree is that of the Lurie lineage—which includes Sigmund Freud and Martin Buber—and traces back to Lurie, a 13th-century rabbi in Brest-Litovsk, and from there to Rashi and purportedly back to the legendary King David, as documented by Neil Rosenstein in his book The Lurie Legacy. [7] The 1999 edition of the Guinness Book of Records recorded the Lurie family in the "longest lineage" category as one of the oldest-known living families in the world today. [8]
Family trees and representations of lineages are also important in religious traditions. The biblical genealogies of Jesus also claim descent from the House of David, covering a period of approximately 1000 years. In the Torah and Old Testament, genealogies are provided for many biblical persons, including a record of the descendants of Adam. Also according to the Torah, the Kohanim are descended from Aaron. Genetic testing performed at the Technion has shown that most modern Kohanim share common Y-chromosome origins, although there is no complete family tree of the Kohanim. In the Islamic world, claimed descent from Muhammad greatly enhanced the status of political and religious leaders; new dynasties often used claims of such descent to help establish their legitimacy.
Elsewhere, in many human cultures, clan and tribal associations are based on claims of common ancestry, although detailed documentation of those origins is often very limited.
Forms of family trees are also used in genetic genealogy. In 2022, scientists reported the largest detailed human genetic genealogy, that unifies human genomes from many sources for insights about human history, ancestry and evolution and demonstrates a novel computational method for estimating how human DNA is related via a series of 13 million linked trees along the genome, a tree-sequence,[ clarification needed ] which has been described as the largest "human family tree". [9] [10] [11]
Genealogy is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members. The results are often displayed in charts or written as narratives. The field of family history is broader than genealogy, and covers not just lineage but also family and community history and biography.
Banu Hashim is an Arab clan within the Quraysh tribe to which the Islamic prophet Muhammad Ibn Abdullah belonged, named after Muhammad's great-grandfather Hashim ibn Abd Manaf.
Sayyid is an honorific title of Hasanid and Husaynid lineage, recognized as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and Ali's sons Hasan and Husayn. The title may also refer to the descendants of the family of the Bani Hashim through the Prophet’s great-grandfather Hashim, and others including Hamza, Abbas, Abu Talib and Asad ibn Hashim.
Qahtanite refers to Arabs who originate from modern-day Yemen. The term "Qahtan" is mentioned in multiple ancient Arabian inscriptions found in Yemen. Arab traditions believe that they are the original Arabs.
The Manasir people constitute one of many Sunni Arab riverine tribes of Northern Sudan. They are not to be confused with the Manasir of the Persian Gulf region in the Arabian Peninsula-based mainly in the United Arab Emirates. They inhabit the region of the Fourth Cataract of the Nile and call their homeland Dar al-Manasir. Similar to their neighbouring tribes, the upstream Rubatab (الرباطاب) and the downstream Shaiqiyah (الشايقيّة), the Manasir are an indigenous Nile culture who adopted Islam and speak Arabic as their first language. Unlike other riverine tribes of Sudan, a considerable part of their population lives as Bedouins in the adjacent Bayuda Desert. The nomadic life of herding their stock of goats, sheep and camels in desert valleys is however limited for many to the rainy season, coinciding with the annual inundation of the Nile.
This family tree is about the relatives of the Islamic prophet Muhammad as a family member of the family of Hashim and the Quraysh tribe which is ‘Adnani. According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad descends from the biblical Ishmael through the Hashem tribe.
Samaale, also spelled Samali or Samale is traditionally considered to be the common forefather of several major Somali clans and their respective sub-clans. His name is the source of the ethnonym Somali.
A royal descent is a genealogical line of descent from a past or present monarch.
Bakr ibn 'Abd Manat also known as Banu Bakr ibn 'Abd Manat or simply Banu Bakr is an Arab tribe located in the Hijaz region of the Arabian Peninsula. They are maternal cousins of the Quraysh tribal confederation and were rivals to them before the rise of Islam in the 7th century CE. Bakr ibn 'Abd Manat is also divided into four clans, all of which are now predominantly Muslim.
The Adnanites were a tribal confederation of the Ishmaelite Arabs, who trace their lineage back to Ishmael son of the Islamic prophet and patriarch Abraham and his wife Hagar through Adnan, who originate from the Hejaz. The Islamic prophet Muhammad belonged to the Quraysh tribe of the 'Adnanites'.
The name Qureshi, also known as Quraysh, Quraishi, Qurayshi and various other spellings, originates from the Arabic name قريشي, denoting membership in the esteemed Quraish tribe of Mecca, in the Hejaz, present day Saudi Arabia. The prophet Muhammad was also born into the Qureshi tribe of Mecca.
In pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions, Maʿadd was a term that was used to refer to a group of nomadic and semi-nomadic groups occupying central Arabia, beyond the territorial domain of the major powers of its day: north of the direct territorial control of the Himyarite Kingdom, and south of that of the Lakhmids. Ma'addites retained independence and protected their northern and southern frontiers because they lived in remote areas and had militarized societies. From the fourth to sixth centuries, they were centered at Ma'sal al‐Jumh in the Najd. Ma'add coexisted among other regional identites including Ghassan, Himyar, and Tayyi'. They are first mentioned in the Namara inscription.
Adnan the Patriarch is the traditional ancestor of the Adnanite Arabs of Northern, Western, Eastern and Central Arabia, as opposed to the Qahtanite Arabs of Southern Arabia who descend from Qahtan. After a claim by Muhammad, his ancestry can allegedly be traced back to Abraham.
The Ba 'Alawi sadah or Sadat Ba 'Alawi are a group of Hadhrami Sayyid families and social group originating in Hadhramaut in the southwest corner of the Arabian Peninsula. They claim their lineage to Ahmad al-Muhajir who was born in 873 (260H), who emigrated from Basra to Hadhramaut in 931 (320H) to avoid sectarian violence, including the invasion of the Qaramite forces into the Abbasid Caliphate. The claim remains controversial in Indonesia, and to date, there is no agreement between those who refute and those who support the Ba 'Alawi lineage. According to the Ba 'Alawi side, their claim is accepted by virtually all Niqaba of Muslim countries, notably in Yemen, the Levant, the Maghreb, Iran and the Middle East. Great classical scholars of Islam such as Ibn Hajar al-Haitami or Murtada Al Zabidi have validated the Nasab of the Ba Alawi Sada.
The Quda'a were a confederation of Arab tribes, including the powerful Kalb and Tanukh, mainly concentrated throughout Syria and northwestern Arabia, from at least the 4th century CE, during Byzantine rule, through the 12th century, during the early Islamic era. Under the first caliphs of the Syria-based Umayyad Caliphate (661–750), the Quda'a occupied a privileged position in the administration and military. During the Second Muslim Civil War (683–692) they allied with South Arabian and other tribes in Syria as the Yaman faction in opposition to their rivals, the Qays confederation, in what became a rivalry for power and influence which continued well after the Umayyad era. In forging this alliance, the Quda'a's leaders genealogically realigned their descent to the South Arabian Himyar, discarding their north Arabian ancestor, Ma'add, a move which elicited centuries-long debate and controversy among early Islamic scholars.
Kinana is an Arab tribe based around Mecca in the Tihama coastal area and the Hejaz mountains. The Quraysh of Mecca, the tribe of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, was an offshoot of the Kinana. A number of modern-day tribes throughout the Arab world trace their lineage to the tribe.
Arabs in India are people with Arab origins who have over a long period of time, settled in the Indian subcontinent. There have been extensive trade and cultural links between India and the Arab world spanning several millennia. The west coast region of India, especially Malabar and Konkan coasts were active trading hubs, where Arab merchants frequently used to visit on their way to Sri Lanka and South East Asia. Over a span of several centuries, migrants from different Arabian nations immigrated to various regions and kingdoms of the Indian subcontinent as merchants, missionaries and through intermarriages.
Mudrikah ibn Ilyas, was a tribal leader in the era of pre-Islamic Arabia. Mudrikah is the father of Hudhayl, who would be the progenitor of the Banu Hudhayl tribe. He is also one of the ancestors of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
The Source of Genealogy or Manba Al-Ansāb is a historical document outlining various topics including the genealogy of the Sayyids of Bukkur and Sufism written by Sayyid Muīn Al-Haqq around 1426 AD and the Islamic year 830. Sayyid Muīn is a notable Sayyid who descends from the Islamic prophet, Muhammad through his descendant, Ali al-Hadi. The work was extended by a lineal sixth degree descendant of Sayyid Muīn. Sayyid Ali Ghazanfar alias Jārullah added more information other Sayyid ancestries and other Sufi orders. Sayyid Muīn lived in India where the book was originally written in Persian and was later translated into Urdu. Manba Al-Ansāb can also be found in the manuscript form in The British Library and Allahabad, India.
Al-Majdi fi Ansab al-Talibiyyin is an Arabic book written by Ali ibn Muhammad Alawi Umari known as Ibn Sufi on the subject of genealogy dating back to the fifth century AH—11th century AD/CE. In this work, the author discusses the genealogy of the descendants of the Alawis and the Talebis, especially the genealogy of the first Shiite Imam, Ali and his descendants. Almost a thousand years have passed since the life of this handwritten manuscript book.
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