The Last Khan (What If Book 1)

More symbolically, it was the Mongols who finally extinguished the Abbasid Caliphate. In Muslim societies pride of place is given to Sayyids , descendants of Muhammad through his grandsons Hasan and Husain. Naturally this is often fictive, but that matters little. In fact in the Golden Horde , the northwestern region of the Mongol Empire which eventually gave rise to the Tatars who imposed the yoke on the Russians, non-Genghiside warlords produced fictive genealogies claiming descent from Muhammad as a way to negate the lineage advantage of their Genghiside rivals.

But it is still shocking that there was even a question as to whether descent from Genghis Khan was more prestigious than descent from the prophet of Islam! And the power of descent from Genghis Khan, the monopoly of the commanding heights which his male line descendants still felt to be theirs by right of their blood, obtained at the heart of his Empire, Mongolia, down to a very late period. The last of the great steppe polities, the Zunghar Empire , was defeated by the Manchus in part because it was led by a subset of the Oirat Mongols, a tribe whose leadership were not descended in the male line from the Golden Family, and so could not convince the Genghiside nobility of eastern Mongolia to align with them.

From the perspective of moderns, who tend to conceive of historical patterns and forces in economic, or at least ideological, terms, this fixation on blood descent seems ridiculous. I suspect that many pre-modern people, who were accustomed to small family groups and kin networks in a way we are not, would find our own surprise rather perplexing. So what did they find in the paper?

First, they discovered that there was a particular Y chromosomal haplotype, a set of unique genetic markers, which was found across much of Asia.

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This haplotype seems to have expanded relatively recently, as was evident from small number of mutational steps connecting all of the local variants. Figure 1 illustrates the phylogenetic network:. The shaded area represents the star-phylogeny. This suggests that the genetic variant has risen rapidly in frequency before mutations had time to build up variation and generate a more complex topology. Observe the greater complexity of the network for other Y lineages.

Here is the text which explains the factors behind the rise of the Genghis Khan haplotype:. Thus, chance can be excluded: Increased reproductive fitness, transmitted socially from generation to generation, of males carrying the same Y chromosome would lead to the increase in frequency of their Y lineage, and this effect would be enhanced by the elimination of unrelated males…. A factor of 1. In theory of course drift could do this, but in theory the molecules of gas in a room could all congeal to one corner.

As noted in the text the Y chromosome is not rich in biologically useful genes. The main exception to this are the Hazara people of central Afghanistan, who importantly have a claim of paternal descent from Mongol soldiers who fled turmoil in Persia after the collapse of Mongol rule over that nation. Also, the shaded areas are regions where the population density was, and is, relatively low in relation to later societies which the Mongols conquered in East and West Asia.

Finally, the shaded areas were under domination of Genghiside lineages for far longer than Yuan China or the Ilkhanate of Persia. Of interest in this table is the relatively higher frequency among the Kazakh sample than among the Kalmyks. The Kalmyks are a people who were a fragment of the aforementioned Zunghar Empire who took refuge in the Russian Empire. They make the claim to be the only indigenous people of Europe who are Buddhists Kalmykia is to the west of the Urals and Volga. Though more closely related to the Mongols proper than the Turkic Kazakhs in culture and genes, they do not seem to carry the lineage of Genghis Khan, as was reputedly the case in the 18th century when the Genghiside led Mongol tribes fought them as arriviste interlopers.

In contrast the Kazakhs have presumably mixed for centuries with the remnants of the Golden Horde. It is interesting to note that the Genghis Khan biopic Mongol had funding from the government of Kazakhstan, again attesting to the prestige which he still retains outside of Mongolia in Inner Asia. Explanation 1 is unlikely because these populations do not share other Y haplotypes, and explanation 2 is difficult to reconcile with the high Y-haplotype diversity of modern Mongolians…The historically documented events accompanying the establishment of the Mongol empire would have contributed directly to the spread of this lineage by Genghis Khan and his relatives, but perhaps as important was the establishment of a long-lasting male dynasty.

This scenario shows selection acting on a group of related men; group selection has been much discussed…and is distinguished by the property that the increased fitness of the group is not reducible to the increased fitness of the individuals. It is unclear whether this is the case here. Our findings nevertheless demonstrate a novel form of selection in human populations on the basis of social prestige.

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A founder effect of this magnitude will have influenced allele frequencies elsewhere in the genome: What he had on his side was simply scale of success. Rather, Genghis Khan was able to gather around himself a cadre of followers who were willing to stick with him through thick and thin. In the life and legacy of the great Mongol warlord I suspect we see the patterns of male domination and power projection which were the norm after the decline of hunter-gatherers, and before the rise of the mass consumer society.

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During this period complex civilizations built on rents extracted from subsistence agriculturalists arose. These civilizations were dominated by powerful men, who could accrue to themselves massive surpluses, and translate those surpluses into reproductive advantage.

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This was not possible in the hunter-gatherer world where reproductive variance was constrained by the reality that allocation of resources was relatively equitable from person to person. But with agriculture and village society inequality shot up, and the winner-take-all dynamic came to the fore. And so the appearance on the scene genetically of super-Y lineages. Over the past years the pendulum has started to shift back, thanks to the spread of Western values and normative monogamy, which dampens the potential unequal reproductive outcomes between the rich and the poor.

Since my surname is Khan, I should admit that I am not a direct descendant of Genghis Khan through the male line. So is an indicator of the Khan lineage a preference for fur hats, as suggested in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy? What is really important is the quantity of the overall effect of the Mongol invasion not just the Genghiside lineage on the genomes of non-Mongolian ethnicities.

I wonder if it is testable. In fact, it seems more than likely that the individual picked out by these tests is one of these three. This game can be played ad infinitem, of course, but above Qabul Khan the genealogy is less reliable, and the more distant relatives of Genghis probably had relatively little advantage.

Alexander was bisexual and unenthusiastic, tending toward celibacy. Karl XII of Sweden, who came close to making Sweden a great power in the place of Prussia and Russia, was so uninterested that his counselors considered putting aphrodisiacs in his food he never did marry. Genghis had several hundred wives, of whom only eight were important to him, and that size of harem is also seen in the Muslim world and among the Rus ca. Charlemagne has children by 8 women, as his monkish biographers noted without comment. In Russia the language of the ruling group switched from Mongol to Turkish quite early — the mass of the troops were Turks.

So many of the Tatars were probably Mongol in descent. This would skew the results a bit. Despite his pagan practices, Muslims needed to believe that his power was from God, punishing Islam for its sinfulness. He plays a role in Islam a bit like that of Alexander the Great, who is an important figure in Muslim legend. Another historical figure to have likely left many descendants is Attila the Hun. He is reputed to have had wives and, undoubtedly, many offspring.

The early Bulgar khans may have been his descendants. Samo, the Frankish unifier of Slavic tribes in the 7th century could also have left a disproportionate number of descendants. There is no such reverence for Genghis in Islam quite naturally as he lived many centuries after Muhammad and instead the majority of Muslims have seen him as an evil man and condemned him from his time until the present day because of all the butchery and harm he and his lineage did to the Muslim world.

Baumeister expands upon several of the points made in your concluding paragraph. Mongols borrowed this term from the Turkic groups nearby them. From his time until the present day, the overwhelming majority of the Muslims who knew or heard about him hated Genghis Khan Central Asia is an exception here, but even there there were many Muslims who hated him , and this is very natural given what he and his immediate descendants did to the Muslims.

It was already a common ruler title and later also a male given name never used alone, always attached to another name among pre-Mongol Turkics and Iranians, so it is wrong to connect it to Genghis Khan. My answer to your question is: I have never too deeply focused on South Asian history. This is an interesting article. In Mongolian history, there were 4 types of Khans: Descent from Genghis Khan Mongolian: Later Asian potentates attempted to claim descent from the Borjigin even on flimsy grounds, such as was considered Mongol matrilineal descent.

In the 14th century, valid sources heavily dependent on Rashid-al-Din Hamadani and other Muslim historians all but dried up. With the recent popularity of genealogical DNA testing , a larger and broader circle of people started to claim descent from Genghis Khan. In one passage, Chagatai refers to Jochi as "bastard" although the true meaning of the Mongol term is obscure.

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To this, Genghis Khan responds: Is not he the eldest of my heirs? That I never heard such wicked words again!

Descent from Genghis Khan

All in all, Genghis Khan pronounces the words "Jochi is my eldest son" thrice , , Modern historians speculate that Jochi's disputed paternity was the reason for his eventual estrangement from his father and for the fact that his descendants never succeeded to the imperial throne.

On the other hand, Genghis always treated Jochi as his first son, while the failure of the Jochid succession may be explained by Jochi's premature death which may have excluded his progeny from succession. Another important consideration is that Genghis' descendants intermarried frequently. For instance, the Jochids took wives from the Ilkhan dynasty of Persia , whose progenitor was Hulagu Khan.

As a consequence, it is likely that many Jochids had other sons of Genghis Khan among their maternal ancestors. As a rule, the Genghisid descent played a crucial role in Tatar politics. For instance, Mamai — had to exercise his authority through a succession of puppet khans but could not assume the title of khan himself because he lacked Genghisid lineage. Timur Lenk — , the founder of the Timurid Dynasty , claimed descent from Genghis Khan; however, this claim remains questionable: He also never assumed the title "Khan" for himself, but employed two members of the Chagatai clan as formal heads of state.

All subsequent rulers of Korea for the next 80 years, through King Gongmin , also married Borjigid princesses. At a later period, Tatar potentates of Genghisid stock included the khans of Qazan and Qasim notably a Russian tsar , Simeon Bekbulatovich , formally Grand Prince of All Rus' from to , died and the Giray dynasty , which ruled the Khanate of Crimea until The khans of the Khoshut Khanate were indirect descendants.

They were descendants from a younger brother of Genghis Khan, Qasar. As the Russian Empire annexed Turkic polities, their Genghizid rulers frequently entered the Russian service.

1 in men direct descendants of Genghis Khan - Gene Expression

For instance, Kuchum 's descendants became Russified as the Tsarevichs of Siberia. All these families asserted their Genghisid lineage. The Emperors of the Qing dynasty and the Emperor of Manchukuo were also indirect descendants by Qasar, a younger brother of Genghis Khan.

After the Mongol invasion of Rus' , the Rurik dynasty rulers of Russian principalities were eager to obtain political advantages for themselves and their countries by marrying into the House of Genghis. Alexander Nevsky was adopted by Batu Khan as his son. On the other hand, petty Mongol princelings of Genghisid stock very rarely settled in Russia.

For instance, Berke 's nephew adopted the Christian name Peter and founded St. Peter's Monastery in Rostov , where his descendants were long prominent as boyars. The issue of three Russian-Mongol marriages may be traced down to the present. The most famous was the marriage of St. Fyodor the Black , later proclaimed a patron saint of Yaroslavl , to a daughter of the Mongol khan Mengu-Timur. Male-line descendants of Fyodor's marriage to the Tatar princess include all the later rulers of Yaroslavl and two dozens princely families such as the Shakhovskoy , Lvov , or Prozorovsky , among others , which passed Genghis genes to other aristocratic families of Russia.

Gleb , Prince of Beloozero , a grandson of Konstantin of Rostov , was another Rurikid prince influential at the Mongol court. Gleb married the only daughter of Sartaq Khan. From this marriage descends the House of Belozersk , whose scions include Dmitry Ukhtomsky and Belosselsky-Belozersky family. The most problematic is the marriage of Narimantas , the second son of Gediminas of Lithuania , to Toqta 's daughter.