Origins of the Avar elite elucidated with ancient DNA
Less known than Attila’s Huns, the Avars were their more successful successors. They ruled much of Central and Eastern Europe for almost 250 years. They came from Central Asia in the 6th C AD, but their provenance was debated.
Less known than Attila’s Huns, the Avars were their more successful successors. They ruled much of Central and Eastern Europe for almost 250 years. They came from Central Asia in the 6th C AD, but their provenance was debated.
In a new study, a multidisciplinary team analysed 66 individuals from the Carpathian Basin, covering the entire Avar period as well as the preceding era. The study included the eight richest Avar graves ever discovered, overflowing with golden objects.
mpg.de
mpg.de
The earlier genomes were typical of west Eurasians and mostly overlap with the genetic profile of modern-day inhabitants of the region.
But the Avars were completely different. Their DNA largely matched that of ancient populations that inhabited the Mongolian plateau.
But the Avars were completely different. Their DNA largely matched that of ancient populations that inhabited the Mongolian plateau.
The Avars did not leave written records about their history, but they claimed to be the direct successors of the Mongolian Steppe Rouran empire that was destroyed by the Turks in ∼550 AD.
The results show striking genetic similarity between early Avar elites and the Rouran.
The results show striking genetic similarity between early Avar elites and the Rouran.
The study's results also provide support for a rapid long-distance trans-Eurasian migration of Avar elites. They covered more than 5000 km in a few years from Mongolia to the Caucasus, and after ten more years settled in what is now Hungary.
cell.com
cell.com
The Avars were successful in holding on to the lands they invaded in the 6thC for more than 200 years -modern-day Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Austria, Croatia and Serbia. They remained a power in E. Europe until 796, when they were vanquished by the Frankish Empire of Charlemagne
High eastern Eurasian ancestry maintained in the Avar elites for 200+ years, but their genome showed no signs of inbreeding. This indicates that the exodus from Mongolia involved both men and women and was substantial enough to maintain genetic diversity. haaretz.com
One question remains. Less than two decades elapsed between the fall of Rouran and the arrival of the Avars in the Carpathian basin. Why not settle somewhere on the 6000-km journey from Mongolia to Hungary?
Gnecchi-Ruscone speculates:“They were a defeated people on the run...
Gnecchi-Ruscone speculates:“They were a defeated people on the run...
...perhaps they had some knowledge of a rich empire to the West...Maybe, urged on by this dream, they reached the borders of the collapsing Roman empire, and that’s where they settled, plundering the gold they so much desired, which is the same gold we now find in their tombs.”
Walter Pohl’s epic narrative, translated into English for the first time, restores the Avars to their rightful place in the story of early medieval Europe.
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rmblf.be
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