All right, there is nothing more that I love than history, especially fake history. So I am so excited that The world of Fodlan appears to actually have some history, unlike say, Fateslandia. But one of the few tidbits we have gotten from the trailer in the most recent Direct, is that the Adrestian Empire is ruled by a dynasty that is 1,000 years old, and THAT is impressive. For anyone who likes to just peruse through history (or played any amount of CK2), then it would be impressive to anyone that keeping a dynasty on any throne for more than 400 years is a feat in of itself, but somehow the Adrestian's have managed something only the Japanese Imperial Family has managed to do by making it to over a thousand. So I'm curious, how have they managed this feat? Obviously, we won't know till the game comes out (hopefully...maybe) , But I do love a little speculation, so I will go over some I think possible, and others I think highly improbable.
First on the list, and most probable to me , is that the imperial family of Adrestia claim to be of descent from Seiros. I say this, because that is one of the few reasons the Japanese Emperors have lasted quite so long, because they declared to be descended from Amaterasu, being the children of gods. It would not surprise to see the Adrestian Empire try to make such a claim (true or not, we'll have to wait and see), and it would make sense in a more historical light, as many rulers of nations in the past have claimed descent from any number of gods/goddesses, though I think Seiros, despite being the figure the church is most identifying with, seems to just be a regular person, who was blessed by the real goddess, so I'd say Seiros is more of a saint. But that still amounts to some sort of "Blessed Blood" in the Adrestian's (if my theory is true), which would explain the lack of people trying to kill them off so they could rule instead, and why their dynasty has lasted so long.
The second likely way they have managed to stay in power, is by either
1.Keeping such a tight stranglehold on power that the people have no choice but to accept their fate, kind of like the Rigellian Empire.
or 2. They have been so benevolent that everyone loves them and wants to keep them safe. This second one is far less likely, mostly because of the negative associations most peoples minds have with the word "empire" in the first place. Nothing with the word "empire" in it's name has ever behaved in a completely noble way. Just saying.
And my least likely reason for their longevity is well, they control some sort of technological advancement that no other person has. I find this highly unlikely, based solely on the fact that this is Fire Emblem, and they are very strict on how advanced the tech is in the games, so I doubt the Empire controls cannons or matchlock rifles, as interesting as that would be. I just don't see this as a possibility.
Well those are some of my guesses as to how the Adrestian Empire has managed to keep it's dynasty going for so long, what are some other peoples thoughts, I am highly curious, or does no one else care, which as a history nerd, I have run into that, but yes please, share your thoughts. Oh, and obviously, I know that we will (maybe) get the answer to this question in the game, but that is months away, and I just couldn't stop my brain from thinking about this.