List of Themiclesian monarchs

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The following is a near-complete list of all monarchs who have ruled as sovereigns of Themiclesia.

Pre-treaty

Tsjinh parriarchs

The Springs and Autumns of Six States, writting around the 4th century CE, provides a long list of known monarchs of all the states in Themiclesia during the Hexarchy. Though accepted as historical canon, they have been considerably revised by unearthed texts and historical research.

The Springs and Autumns provides a list of 32 "parriarchs" (徹先公), conventionally interpreted as leading figures in the lineage of the Tsjinh ruling house, but the first ten figures are usually considered mythological for several reasons. First, their names recaptulate the ten-member heavenly stem sequence in exact order, which stands in complete contrast with the 22 following names, where there are no sequences at all. Second, the Springs and Autumns state that they were ten brothers in a single generation, which also seems extremely unusual in light of reconstructed succession orders, which saw, at most, four sibilings reign after each other. Third, their names are never mentioned in the cyclical sacrifice oracles, which record the list of venerated parriarchs almost unerringly. Finally, anthropologists think the first ten rulers were imagined by later writers as a rationalization for the Tsjinh clan's original kinship structure, forgotten in later ages because it fell into disuse and was never written down.

From the figure of High Prjang′, the lineage becomes far less problematic. A considerable number of scholars think that High Prjang′ is the first historical figure in the Tsjinh lineage, though his whereabouts and activities "will almost certainly never be knonwn". Some sources date him to the 8th or 9th century BCE, though others believe that even an approximate date cannot be established, since his biological relationship with the succeeding members of the list is yet uncertain. The historical part of the lineage is reconstructed by comparison between oracular plates. In the 19th century, the veracity of the earlier part of the lineage was placed under question, despite their similarity to oracular charges to lists of ancestors. However, as more caches of oracular inscriptions were found, it was discovered that many lineages converge towards a common ancestry. For example:

Generations 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Lineage 1 Prjang' 'Rjut Njem Têng Krap Kje Prjang' 'Rjut K.rang Têng
Lineage 2 Prjang' 'Rjut Njem Têng Krap Kje K.rang Kwji' Prjang' 'Rjut
Lineage 3 Prjang' 'Rjut Njem Têng Krap Kje K.rang Kwji' Prjang' Sjin

In this case, lineages 1 and 2 would be said to converge at the sixth generation, and lineages 2 and 3 at the ninth, where the identity of their respective ancestors are considered too remote to be a sheer coincidence. The main lineage most similar to that recovered from historical documents is attested on over 54 separate instances, making the matter "virtually beyond question" in an age where there is very little evidence of mutual contact between diverging branches of the family, beyond a cultic context, or motivation to create a common ancestry. This conclusion is further buttressed by archaeological dating of the sites where these lineages are recovered.

Epithet Name Reign Bronze Oracle Texts Oracular name Consort(s) Notes
Krap       No No Yes    Considered mythical by historians
'Rjut No No Yes 
Prjang' No No Yes 
Têng No No Yes 
Mjet No No Yes 
Kje' No No Yes 
K.rang No No Yes 
Sjin No No Yes 
Njem No No Yes 
Kwrji' No No Yes 
Prjang'       No Yes Yes  High Prjang' 高祖丙 Consort Krap 奭甲
'Rjut No Yes Yes  High 'Rjut 高祖乙
Njem No Yes No  Njem 祖壬
Têng No Yes Yes  High Têng 高祖丁
Krap No Yes Yes  Krap 祖甲
Kje' No Yes No  Former Kje' 先祖己
Prjang' No Yes Yes  2nd Prjang 二祖丙
'Rjut Kwje 7th c. BCE (?) Yes Yes Yes  'Rjut 祖乙
K.rang Gjên 6th c. BCE (?)  Yes Yes Yes  Former K.rang 先祖庚
Têng No Yes No  Long Têng 延祖丁
Krap No Yes Yes  2nd Krap 二祖甲
Têng No Yes No  2nd Têng 二祖丁
Prjang' Yes Yes Yes  3rd Prjang' 三祖丙
Sjin No Yes No  Sjin 祖辛
Prjang' Sngja Yes Yes Yes  4th Prjang 四祖丙
'Rjut No Yes Yes  3rd 'Rjut 三祖乙
K.rang No Yes Yes  Later K.rang 後祖庚
Têng Grui 4th c. BCE (?) Yes Yes Yes  3rd Têng 三祖丁
Krap Ser  先  4th c. BCE (?)  Yes Yes Yes  3rd Krap 三祖甲
Kje' K.rjang 4th c. BCE (?) Yes Yes Yes  Later Kje' 後祖己
Prjang' Gw(r)et Yes Yes Yes  5th Prjang' 五祖丙
'Rjut S(ts)rêng short reign No Yes Yes  4th 'Rjut 四祖乙
Prjang' Pêk 295 – 260 Yes Yes Yes  6th Prjang 父丙

See also