I used to think my ancestors consisted of Dutch and German farmers as far as the eye could see. Then I connected my family tree with research by Hans Zuur and Bernd Josef Jansen, and everything changed.
Note: Genealogy this far back is not a science. History blends into myth, and all I can go on is the research of genealogists and historians who have far more expertise and time than I do.
Marcus Aurelius (121-180)
Emperor of the Roman Empire 161-180. He was the last of the "Five Good Emperors" and is also considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers. His tenure was marked by wars in Asia against a revitalized Parthian Empire and with Germanic tribes.
(Wikipedia entry)
Theodosius I (347-395)
Emperor of the Roman Empire 379-395. Reuniting the eastern and western portions of the empire, Theodosius was the last emperor of both the Eastern and Western Roman Empire. After his death, the two parts split permanently. He is also known for making Nicene Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire.
(Wikipedia entry)
Attila the Hun (406-453)
Emperor of the Huns. Leader of the Hunnic Empire which stretched from Germany to the Ural River and from the River Danube to the Baltic Sea. During his rule, he was one of the most fearsome of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires' enemies.
(Wikipedia entry)
Theodoric the Great (454-526)
King of the Ostrogoths (471-526), ruler of Italy (493-526), andregent of the Visigoths (511-526). He became a hero of Germanic legend.
(Wikipedia entry)
Cerdic of Wessex (c467-534)
King of Wessex (519-534) and regarded as the ancestor of all subsequent Kings of Wessex, and as such an ancestor of virtually every royal throne in Europe.
(Wikipedia entry)
Clovis I (466-511)
The first King of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one king. He also introduced Christianity. He is considered the founder of the Merovingian dynasty which ruled the Franks for the next two centuries.
(Wikipedia entry)
Brunhilda (c545-613)
A Frankish queen who ruled the eastern kingdoms of Austrasia and Burgundy. Known as a liberal ruler of great political acumen, she became notorious for her cruelty and avarice.
(Wikipedia entry)
Charlemagne (742-814)
The King who expanded the Frankish kingdoms into an Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. The father of Europe.
(Wikipedia entry)
Harald I (850-933)
The first king (872-930) of Norway
(Wikipedia entry)
Alfred the Great
King of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessexfrom 871 to 899. Alfred is noted for his defense of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English king to be given the epithet "the Great."
(Wikipedia entry)
and his son:
King Edward the Elder (870-924)
King of England 899-924; he captured the eastern Midlands and East Anglia from the Danes in 917 and became ruler of Mercia in 918
(Wikipedia entry)
KIng Louis IV (920-954)
King of Western Francia from 936 to 954. He was a member of the Carolingian dynasty
(Wikipedia entry)
Otto I (912-973)
Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy. While Charlemagne had been crowned emperor in 800, his empire had been divided amongst his grandsons, and the imperial title had lain vacant for nearly 40 years. In 962, Otto was crowned Emperor of what would later become the Holy Roman Empire.
(Wikipedia entry)
Antiochus IV of Commagene (c10-)
The last king of Commagene, who reigned 38-72 as a client king to the Roman Empire
(Wikipedia entry)
Izates II (c5-54)
King of the Parthian kingdom of Adiabene
(Wikipedia entry)
Vologaises I (c25-c76)
King of the Parthian Empire, at war with the Roman Empire
(Wikipedia entry)
Cantria Longina (c45-)
Priestess and poet of the goddess Julia and of Isis
Kanishka (c70-139)
King of the Kushan Empire in Central Asia, ruling an empire extending from Bactria to large parts of northern India
(Wikipedia entry)
Antoninus Pius (Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus) (86-161)
Emperor of the Roman Empire 138-161
(Wikipedia entry)
Many Exilarchs, who were leaders of the Diaspora Jewish community following the deportation of the population of Judah into Babylonian exile after the destruction of the kingdom of Judah (Wikipedia entry). Some people think that the Exilarchs are direct descendants of King David.
Many of these are my ancestors, including:
Ahija or Ahijah (c90-)
Exilarch 130-145; perhaps a descendant of Akkub (I Chronicles 3:24)
and
Mar 'Ukban III (Wikipedia entry)
and
Bostanai (Wikipedia entry)
The first Exilarch under Arabian rule (7th century)
Marcus Clodius Pupienus Maximus (c164-238)
Emperor of the Roman Empire April-July 238
(Wikipedia entry)
Titus Flavius Stasicles Metrophanes (c190-)
Priest of Zeus
Ardashir I (c190-241)
Founder of the Sassanid dynasty, ruler of Istakhr (206-241) and subsequently Persia (208-241), and finally "King of Kings of Iran" (226-241)
(Wikipedia entry)
Ovida van Burgund (c220-c270)
King of Burgundy
Gordian III (225-244)
Emperor of the Roman Empire 238-244
(Wikipedia entry)
Tiridates III (c265-330)
King of Iranian Arsacid Armenia and also known as Tiridates the Great. Tiridates proclaimed Christianity as the state religion of Armenia, making the Armenian kingdom the first state to officially embrace Christianity.
(Wikipedia entry)
Hoger van Thuringer (c280-c325)
King of Thuringer, Germany
Flavius Richomeres (Richomer van Franken) (c350-)
Joined the Roman military; eventually supreme commander in the Eastern (Roman) Empire
(Wikipedia entry)
Flavius Afranius Syagrius (c345-381)
Roman politician, also proconsul of Africa in 379 and praefectus praetorio Italiae in 382
(Wikipedia entry)
grandfather of:
Tonnatius Ferreolus (c450-517)
Roman Senator in Narbonne, France
(Wikipedia entry)
Flavius Felix (c380-430)
Prominent Roman politician, consul in the Western Roman Empre in 428
(Wikipedia entry)
Geiseric (c389-477)
King of the Vandals and Alans; one of the key players in the troubles of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century
(Wikipedia entry)
Theodemir (c425-474)
King of the Ostrogoths (an East Germanic Goths tribe) of the Amal Dynasty
(Wikipedia entry)
Aun (c440-c550)
One of the Swedish kings of the House of Yngling, the ancestors of Norway's first king, Harald Fairhair.
(Wikipedia entry)
If you follow the links to fathers back further, you'll see that this line soon becomes entangled with Norse mythology and Norse gods. When genealogy goes back this far, it's tough to know where the line is between history and myth.
Chilperic II of Burgundy (445-486)
King of Burgundy - until he was forced to submit to the authority of the Roman Empire
(Wikipedia entry)
Vard Mamikonian (c450-509)
King of Armenia 505-509
Wacho (c482-541)
King of the Lombards - he assassinated his uncle to take the throne
(Wikipedia entry)
Sigibert van Franken (Sigobert the Lame) (c460-508)
King of the Franks in the area of Zulpich - and murdered by his son
(Wikipedia entry)
grandfather of:
Saint Doda of Reims (c500-)
Abbess of Saint Pierre de Reims and a French Saint whose Feast Day is April 24
(Wikipedia entry)
Charibert I (c518-567)
The Merovingian King of Paris
(Wikipedia entry)
Leovigild (Liuvigild) (c535-586)
Visigothic King of Hispania and Septimania (most of modern Spain)
(Wikipedia entry)
father of:
Hermengild (Hermenegild)
A saint and member of the Visigothic Royal Family in Hispania; his martyrdom was a catalyst in the Visigoths' conversion from Arianism to the Nicene Creed (Catholicism).
(Wikipedia entry)
Tassilo I of Bavaria (c560-610)
King of Bavaria
(Wikipedia entry)
Sisebut (Sigebut) (c570-620)
Visigothic King of Hispania, Septimania and Galicia; In 616, he ordered that those Jews who refused to convert to Christianity should be punished with the lash.
(Wikipedia entry)
Yazdegerd III (c590-651)
King of the Sassanid dynasty of Iran 632-651; the Islamic Conquest of Persia began in his first year of reign
(Wikipedia entry)
Pippin II van Franken (Pepin of Herstal) (635-714)
Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy; de facto ruler of the Frankish kingdom
(Wikipedia entry)
Anna of East Anglia (-654)
Mid-7th century King of East Anglia.
(Wikipedia entry)
Leo III the Isaurian (c685-741)
Byzantine emperor starting in 717; he successfully defended the empire against the invading Umayyads and forbade the veneration of icons
(Wikipedia entry)
Arpad (c845-c907)
The second Grand Prince of the Magyars; his descendants later ruled Hungary
(Wikipedia entry)
King Louis II (Louis the Stammerer) (846-879)
King of Aquitaine and later King of West Francia
(Wikipedia entry)
Otto II (955-983)
Holy Roman Emperor, ruler of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty; chosen German king at Worms in 961, crowned joint emperor at Rome by Pope John XIII in 967.
(Wikipedia entry)
Ezzo van Lothringen (955-1034)
Count Palatine of Lotharingia of the Ezzonen dynasty; he was the second most powerful person in Germany; his brother-in-law was Emperor Otto III
(Wikipedia entry)
Boleslaw I Chrobry (967-1025)
King of Poland; he turned Poland into one of the largest and most powerful monarchies in eastern Europe
(Wikipedia entry)
Berengar II (c900-966)
Usurper King of Italy
(Wikipedia entry)