Millions of Modern Asians are Descended from Genghis Khan and Other Dynastic Leaders

If you're Asian, you may just be descended from Genghis Khan. Scientists have taken a closer look at the genetics thousands modern Asian men and have found that many are descended from just 11 powerful dynastic leader who lived up to 4,000 years ago, including Genghis Khan.

In this latest study, the researchers examined the male-specific Y chromosome which is passed from father to son in more than 5,000 Asian men belonging to 127 populations. Most Y chromosome types are very rare, but the scientists found that 11 types were relatively common across the sample. Focusing on these 11, the researchers studied their distributions and histories.

Two common male lineages have actually been found before, and have been ascribed to Genghis Khan and a lesser-known historical figure, Giocangga. In this latest study, the researchers found the 11 types could be ascribed to 11 dynastic leaders who originated from throughout Asia and date back to the time between 2100 BC and 700 AD.

"The youngest lineages, originating in the last 1700 years, are found in pastoral nomadic populations, who were highly mobile horse-riders and could spread their Y chromosome far and wide," said Mark Jobling, one of the researchers, in a news release. "For these lineages to become so common, their powerful founders needed to have many sons by many women, and to pass their status-as well as their Y chromosomes-on to them. The sons, in turn, could then have many sons, too. It's a kind of trans-generation amplification effect."

The findings reveal that many men are descended from these 11 leaders. In fact, millions could share these lineages. This reveals a bit more about population genetics.

"Identifying the ancestors responsible for these lineages will be difficult or impossible, as it would rely on finding their remains and extracting and analyzing ancient DNA," said Patricia Balaresque, first author of the new study. "This hasn't yet been done for Genghis Khan, for example, so the evidence remains circumstantial, if pretty convincing."

The findings are published in the European Journal of Human Genetics.

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