Historical documents reveal that the Durasov family can trace its origins back to the Durazzo line of the House of Anjou-Sicily, a junior branch of the Capet, Valois and Bourbon Houses of the French royal dynasty. The Durazzo line ruled in Sicily in the 13th and 14th centuries and in Hungary in the 14th century. In 1482, during Ivan the Third's reign, a descendant of Duke Durazzo moved from Poland to Moscow, where he was given the first name of Dimitry, and his family became known as the Durasovs.
Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, St. Petersburg, 1890
According to some French sources, the Durazzo line is considered to have died out. Nevertheless, Vassily Durasov (1870–1971) was able to have his descendance from the House of Anjou-Durazzo recognised in 1911 by the King of Spain who awarded him the title of the Duke of Durazzo. In 1916, Emperor Nicholas II officially confirmed the Durasov family to be descendants of the Capetian dynasty's Bourbon branch, and Vassily Durasov was permitted to use the name of Durasov-Durrazzo-Anjou.
