Genghis Khan a Prolific Lover, DNA Data Implies
Genghis Khan, the fearsome Mongolian warrior of the 13th century, may have done more than rule the largest empire in the world; according to a recently published genetic study, he may have helped populate it too
An international group of geneticists studying Y-chromosome data have found that nearly eight percent of the men living in the region of the former Mongol empire carry y-chromosomes that are nearly identical.
That translates to 0.5 percent of the male population in the world, or roughly 16 million descendants living today.
The spread of the chromosome could be the result of natural selection, in which an extremely fit individual manages to pass on some sort of biological advantage.
The authors think this scenario is unlikely. They suggest that the unique set of circumstances surrounding the establishment of the Mongol empire led to the spread.
“This is a clear example that culture plays a very big role in patterns of genetic variation and diversity in human populations,” said geneticist Spencer Wells, one of the 23 co-authors of the paper. “It’s the first documented case when human culture has caused a single genetic lineage to increase to such an enormous extent in just a few hundred years.”
Legacy of Genghis Khan
To have such a startling impact on a population required a special set of circumstances, all of which are met by Genghis Khan and his male relatives, the authors note in the study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.
Khan’s empire at the time of his death extended across Asia, from the Pacific Ocean to the Caspian Sea. His military conquests were frequently characterized by the wholesale slaughter of the vanquished. His descendants extended the empire and maintained power in the region for several hundred years, in civilizations in which harems and concubines were the norm. And the males were markedly prolific.
Khan’s eldest son, Tushi, is reported to have had 40 sons. Documents written during or just after Khan’s reign say that after a conquest, looting, pillaging, and rape were the spoils of war for all soldiers, but that Khan got first pick of the beautiful women. His grandson, Kubilai Khan, who established the Yuan Dynasty in China, had 22 legitimate sons, and was reported to have added 30 virgins to his harem each year.
“The historically documented events accompanying the establishment of the Mongol empire would have contributed directly to the spread of this lineage,” the authors conclude.
Tracking the Y-Chromosome
The study looked at blood samples collected over a period of ten years from more than 40 populations living in and around the former Mongol empire.
Geneticists use the Y-chromosome in population studies such as this because it doesn’t recombine as other parts of the genome do. When it comes to eye color, or height, or resistance or susceptibility to particular diseases, each parent contributes half of a child’s DNA, which join together to form a new genetic combination.
The Y-chromosome is passed on as a chunk of DNA from father to son, basically unchanged through generations except for random mutations.
These random mutations, which happen naturally and are usually harmless, are called markers. Once the markers have been identified, geneticists can go back in time and trace them to the point at which they first occurred, defining a unique lineage of descent.
In this particular instance, the lineage originated 1,000 years ago. The authors aren’t saying that the genetic mutations defining the lineage originated with Khan, who was born around 1162; they are more likely to have been passed on to him by a great great grandfather.
The lineage was found in only one population outside of the former Mongolian empire, in Pakistan.
“The Hazaras [of Pakistan] gave us our first clue to the connection with Genghis Khan,” said Wells. “They have a long oral tradition that says they’re his direct descendants.”
Of course, the connection to Genghis Khan will never be a certainty unless his grave is found and his DNA could be extracted.
Until then, geneticists will continue to seek out isolated populations in the hope of unraveling the mysteries of geographic origin and relatedness told by our genes.
See more here nationalgeographic.com
Header image: Mental Floss
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Moffin
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More likely a prolific rapist than a prolific lover.
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Wayne
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exactly
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cgdae
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Genghis Khan was a serial Rapist – not a Lover, but a murdering rapist.
“A man’s greatest moment in life is when his enemy lays vanquished, his village aflame, his herds driven before you and his weeping wives and daughters are clasped to your breast.” – Genghis Khan
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Doug Harrison
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Having completed a family tree which traced my ancestry back 23 generations to Henry 3rd of England, I then decided to work out just how many other direct ancestors I had to that level. It turned out to be 8, 358, 608 so by the time you go back to the 12th/13th century it doesn’t amount to a hill of beans who’s in the mix that far back.
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GT Void
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All the fakery to sell a false history. Jenghiz Khan was slavic, he was always depicted as slavic blond hair and blue-eyed until the history rewrites of the 1800’s where they then portrayed him as asian. There was never a Mongolian Horde as mongols were few in number, nomadic and lived in upper Siberia- current Mongolia is a fabrication. The “mongolian horde” was the Tartarian Empire comprised of multi-ethnic kingdoms under one banner. Our founding fathers even mention Grand Tartary; there are maps of GT with no mention of a Mongolia. History as you know it is a lie for an agenda to create a narrative.
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Marbran
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So…you’re saying this is a deep fake?
“Genghis Khan as portrayed in a 14th-century Yuan era album; now located in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan. The original version was in black and white; produced by the Mongol painter Ho-li-hosun in 1278 under the commission of Kublai Khan.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genghis_Khan#/media/File:YuanEmperorAlbumGenghisPortrait.jpg
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Itsme
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We were all kings an’ sheet….
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Htos1av
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Naw, a prolific raper…
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Don
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People beat me to it, but he was a prolific rapist and sex slave owner is more like it. Hey would you write this article? He was a terrorist and nothing less.
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Crotte
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I believe the word lover is misused!!!!!!!
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Meeester
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“one of 23 co-authors of the paper” geez
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Marbran
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Right? It’s like one of those group papers in high school, and we all know how those went.
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Nabi Rasch
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Give the guy a break. He’s known to be one of the 1st to codify women’s rights, too. Even nowadays there’s plenty of cultures that promote harems but does that stop them from being welcomed in London and New York?
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