Abstract
The ancient Hungarians, “Madzsars”, established their control of the Carpathian Basin in the late ninth century and founded the Hungarian Kingdom around 1000AD. The origin of the Magyars as a tribal federation has been much debated in the past. From the time of the conquest to the early fourteenth century they were ruled by descendants of the Arpad family. In order to learn more about the genetic origin of this family, we here analyzed the genome of Bela III one of the most prominent members of the early Hungarian dynasty that ruled the Hungarian Kingdom from 1172 to 1196. The Y-Chromosome of Bela III belongs to haplogroup R1a-Z2123 that is today found in highest frequency in Central Asia, supporting a Central Asian origin for the ruling lineage of the Hungarian kingdom. The autosomal DNA profile of Bela III, however, falls within the genetic variation of present-day east European populations. This is further supported through his mtDNA genome that belongs to haplogroup H, the most common European maternal lineage, but also found in Central Asia. However, we didn’t find an exact haplotype match for Bela III. The typical autosomal and maternal Central Eastern European ancestry among Bela III autosomes might be best explained by consecutive intermarriage with local European ruling families.
Highlights
The vast majority of Europeans today speak Indo-European languages, but their origins and dispersals are highly debated topics
A recent ancient DNA study of Fenno-Scandian human remains identified an additional genetic contribution related to a Northeast Asian population (Nganasan) reaching this region by at least 3,500 BCE11
Almost all ancient DNA studies on post-Iron Age individuals have been relying on the genetic typing or sequencing of polymorphisms within the Y-chromosome (Ychr), on partial or complete mitochondrial DNA sequences and on phenotypic S NPs17–24, which has not permitted a detailed genome-wide characterization of populations in Hungary through time
Summary
The vast majority of Europeans today speak Indo-European languages, but their origins and dispersals are highly debated topics. The described population movement might have been responsible for replacing the original languages and contributing the “steppe” genetic component that, together with “Hunter-Gatherer” and “Farming” ancestries, describe the genetic makeup of most Europeans today. From this steppe-Indo-European correlation, there are known exceptions like the Basques who despite carrying steppe ancestry speak a non-IndoEuropean language. A recent ancient DNA study of Fenno-Scandian human remains identified an additional genetic contribution related to a Northeast Asian population (Nganasan) reaching this region by at least 3,500 BCE11 This genetic component is present in lower proportions in present-day Saami individuals from northern Finland and to an even lesser extent in Finns, who are largely admixed with central European ancestry. It is suggested that Hungarian conquerers, together with Turkic-speaking Kabars, assimilated Avars and Slavonic groups[29,30,31]
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