The Genus of Aba - Aba Nemzetség

The Genus Aba is an extremely old clan of Hungary dating itself back to about the 9th century. Their ancestors belonged to the Kabars, which consisted of three nomadic tribes that joined the federation of the Magyars around the same time period. The clan's origins are traced back to two brothers named Ed (also written as Ede) and Edumer (also written as Edemen) from the 5th or 6th century, who are the documented grandchildren of Attila the Hun.

The family connection is recorded in the Latin medieval manuscript Gesta Hungarorum, known in English as The Deeds of the Hungarians. It was written sometime around 1200 by an anonymus author who referred to himself as "Anonymi Bele Regis Notarii", the anonymous notary of King Bela. In this manuscript, the ancestry of the Genus Aba is recorded:


Iste igitur Chaba filius Ethelæ est legitimus ex filia
Honorii imperatoris Græcorum genitus, cui Edemen
et Ed filii sui sunt vocati. Edemen autem, cum Hungari
in Pannoniam secundario sunt reversi, cum maxima
familia patris sui et matris introivit, nam mater eius de
Corosminis orta erat. Ed vero in Scitia remansit apud
patrem. Ex isto enim Chaba generation Abæ est egressa.

Csaba was Attila's legitimate son by the daughter of the
Greek emperor Honorius. Csaba in turn had two sons,
Edemen and Ed. Edemen entered Pannonia with his
father's and mother's great entourage (his mother being
a Chorasminian) when the Hungarians came back for
the second time, whereas Ed remained in Scythia with
his father. Csaba is the ancestor of the clan of Aba.


The manuscript documents the Genus Aba's ancestry back to Attila the Hun (406-453), Emperor Flavius Honorius (384-423) and a Chorasminian woman. Much is known about Attila the Hun and also Emperor Flavius Honorius, so I will not go into detail about them. I would like to explain more about this Chorasminian woman. Chorasminia is mainly known as Khwarezmia, and was an Empire in the current Greater Iran area in the High Middle Ages, from 1077 to 1231. Reading more closely into the Genus Aba's entry in Gesta Hungarorum, we can properly assume that Csaba's unnamed Khwarezmian wife was of royalty. Khwarezmia was ruled by the herditary Shah's of Khwarezm, a Persianate Sunni Islam dynasty of Turkic origins.

The dynasty was founded by Anush Tigin Gharchai, a governor of Khwarezm who was formerly a slave of the Seljuq sultans. His son, Qutb ud-Din Muhammad I, was the first hereditary Shah of the dynasty. The founder of the dynasty, Anush Tigin Gharchai, was of either Khalaj or Qipchaq origin. What is troubling is the two major differences in the origins of Khalaj and Qipchaq. Khalaj was to the south, in present-day Iran and the language is still spoken today. It's primarily spoken in the Markazi Province of Iran. Qipchaq came slightly more from the north and their ancestors originally coming from Siberia. They're also known as Cumans (or Kumans), who eventually settled throughout the Great Hungarian Plain in the 13th century. They assimilated into the population with the Hungarians of the area.

There are numerous branches of the Genus Aba that took on their own independent names and are still thriving today. There are no-doubt thousands upon thousands of descendants of the Genus Aba alive today. The known Hungarian families that can trace their origins to the Genus Aba are the following:

Athinay de Athina (athinai Athinay)
Amade de Várkony (várkonyi Amade)
Bakos de Gágy (gágyi Bakos)
Báthori de Gágy (gágyi Báthori)
Berthóthy de Berthót (berthóti Berthóthy)
Budaméry de Budamér (budaméri Budaméry)
Csehi de Pánczel-Csehi (pánczel-csehi de Csehi)
Csirke de Póly és Alattyán (pólyi és alattyáni Csirke)
Csobánkay de Csobánka (csobánkai Csobánkay)
Frichi de Frich (frichi Frichi)
Gágyi de Gágy (gágyi Gágyi)
Györkei
Hedry de Hedri (hedrii Hedry)
Keczer de Lipócz (lipóczi Keczer)
Keczer de Radvány (radványi Keczer)
Kompolthi de Nána és Visonta (nánai és visontai Kompolthi)
Kõszeghi/Keöszeghy
Laczkffy de Nádasd (nádasdi Laczkffy)
Lapispataky de Lapispatak (lapispataki Lapispataky)
Makranczy de Makrancz (makranczi Makranczy)
Nekcsey de Nekcse (nekcsei Nekcsey)
Rhédy de Kis-Rhéde (kis-rhédei Rhédy)
Segnyey de Lapispatak (lapispataki Segnyey)
Sirokay de Siroka (sirokai Sirokay)
Solymosy de Solymos (solymosi Solymosy)
Somosy de Somos (somosi Somosy)
Tornay de Torna (tornai Tornay)
Vendéghy de Vendég (vendégi Vendéghy)
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