About 8% of men in Central Asia inherited their Y-chromosome from Genghis Khan, which means that roughly a gazillion people have the Mongol ruler in their family trees. Michael Stusser—author of The Dead Guy Interviews—snagged a sit-down with the prolific potentate.
Bao Wenguang's mother found a century-old document that helped establish his descent from Genghis Khan.
The document was found in 2002 when his mother was tidying up the courtyard in the family's ancestral home, but Bao is only now making the find publicly known.
The "Bao family tree", is 6 meters long, 1.45 meters wide and together with other documents [cover] a period of more than 200 years. [Link]
The Embassy of Mongolia and the Mongolian Community Association in Washington, D.C., want to erect a monument to that most prolific of conquerors, Genghis Khan.
Michael Johnson of the D.C. Office on Planning said that the groups, like any others wishing to erect a statue on city land, must apply to the agency's Commemorative Works Committee with detailed plans and designs. He said "greater weight" usually is given to honorees with a local connection but declined to comment on Genghis Khan. [Link]
Tom Robinson—the Florida accounting professor supposed to be descended from Genghis Khan—has been featured in hundreds of newspapers, and was offered a free trip to Mongolia by a movie company. Then he made the mistake of asking for a second opinion.
The discrepancy occurred because Oxford Ancestors only tested Mr. Robinson's Y chromosome at nine sites, ones at which the DNA mutates quite often between generations. Finding a match between Mr. Robinson and Genghis at seven of nine sites, Dr. [Bryan] Sykes assumed that was good enough to declare a direct relationship, since he had never seen such a match outside of Asia, he said.Despite the headlines reading "Prof Not Direct Descendant of Warlord," Robinson might still be a direct descendant of Khan. This proves only that he didn't descend through a unbroken line of fathers and sons. Believe it or not, several people in the world don't even have a Y chromosome. In fact, there's about a 50-50 chance you're one of them.
But the major branches of the Y chromosome family tree are defined by mutations at sites that change very seldom. Oxford Ancestors did not check the slow-mutating site that defines the branch to which Genghis Khan belongs. [Link]
The only things I am willing to conclude based on the weight of the evidence at this point is:
- My Y-Chromosome ancestors were likely nomadic horsemen in Central Asia/Eastern Europe, but not Genghis Khan (and I will not be taken that previously scheduled trip to Mongolia).
- Vikings may have been involved.
- While I may be the closest match to the Mongolian DNA from west of the Caucasus mountains in databases at this point in time, other closer matches are likely to be found some of whom will be haplogroup C3. There goes any inheritance!
- I am an accountant (not practicing), living in the Miami area.
Tom Robinson, a University of Miami accounting professor, has become the first man outside of Asia to prove his descent from Genghis Khan. His Y chromosome is an exact match with the Mongol warlord's for eight of nine markers (one mutation is to be expected over 800 years).
Update: Always wait for a second opinion.He has little in common with his infamous ancestor. He is not a keen horseman. Though a Republican, his politics are moderate. And while Genghis Khan may have fathered thousands of children, Professor Robinson and his wife, Linda, have no offspring.
“I’m not sure we have too many similarities,” he said. “I obviously haven’t conquered any countries, and though I’ve headed up accounting groups, I’ve done nothing as big as Genghis Khan.
“I’m proud to have such an interesting ancestor. I’ve been reading a lot about him since I found out about the link, and it does seem that his reputation is a little unfair.
“He conquered a lot of countries, but he had a pretty good system of government.” [Link]
From abc13.com (of Houston, Tex.):
Candidates with same name cause confusionGenghis Khan is credited with 16 million direct male descendants, and the Khan surname is ubiquitous in Central Asia. What are the chances that two of that name would settle in Houston?
(11/1/05 - KTRK/HOUSTON) - When Houstonians head to the polls next week they'd better take a good look at who they're voting for in one Houston city council race.
The race for city council district F may be confusing. The main challenger for incumbent MJ Khan is a candidate named KA Khan.
[snip]
"For the longest time, I thought they were related," admitted voter Laura Walpole. "I thought they were father and son, because the last name is spelled the same way."
[snip]
[Read the whole story]
From The New York (N.Y.) Times:
Scientists Link a Prolific Gene Tree to the Manchu Conquerors of China
By NICHOLAS WADE
Published: November 1, 2005
Geneticists have identified a major lineage of Y chromosomes in populations of northern China that they believe may mark the bearers as descendants of one of the Manchu conquerors who founded the Qing dynasty and ruled China from 1644 to 1911.
Because the founder of the lineage lived some 500 years ago, according to calculations based on the rate of genetic change, he may have been Giocangga, who died in 1582, the grandfather of the Manchu leader Nurhaci. At least 1.6 million men now carry this Manchu Y chromosome, says Chris Tyler-Smith, the leader of a team of English and Chinese geneticists.
[snip]
The Mongol Y chromosome presumably spread so widely because of the large number of concubines amassed by Genghis [Khan] and his relatives. The Manchu rulers, though not in Genghis's league, also were able to spread their lineage so far, Dr. Tyler-Smith and his colleagues suggest, because of being able to keep many concubines.
[snip]
[Read the whole story]
You might know how many ancestors you have through five, ten, or even fifteen generations. But how many descendants will you have, say, 900 years from now?The Genghis Khan Genetic Fitness Test allows you to measure your virility, fertility, or non-sterility against that of the Mongol ruler himself. He's credited with 16 million male descendants—and those are just the ones descended through direct patrilineal lines.
Just answer a few (sometimes personal) questions about yourself and your immediate family, and a system of calibrated algorithms and space-age nanotechnology will compute the number of your descendants through 32 generations. You'll also get a customized "family tree" laying out in graphic detail your genetic legacy, allowing for "sterility, birth rates, death rates, disease, drug abuse, nitwitism, and accidents."
You might want to exaggerate on the questionnaire: I told the truth, and learned that I am "no Mongol warlord," which we all know is untrue.
From ananova:
Free meal promotion for relatives of Genghis Khan
A London restaurant chain is offering customers free DNA testing to see if they're descended from Genghis Khan.
Restaurant Shish has promised free meals for any found to be related to the notorious Mongol leader.
The unusual promotion is to mark the Mongolian government's decision to allow citizens to have surnames for the first time since they were banned by the communists in the 1920s.
[snip]
It is estimated that 17 million people worldwide, including the British Royal Family, Iranian Royalty, and the family of Dracula, are direct descendents of Genghis Khan.
[Read the whole story]
