Statue of Kanishka at the Mathura Museum. The lower part of his cloak bears a dedicatory inscription:
“The Great King, King of Kings, Son of God, Kanishka.”
Mathura Museum
Genetic studies on the origins of the Kushan Empire and the Yuezhi, as well as their connections to modern Eurasian populations, confirm hypotheses in scholarly historiography regarding the involvement of the Yuezhi in the ethnogenesis of the Kyrgyz. This process also included the Dingling, Wusun, Saka, Huns, Kipchaks, and later, the Mongols.
At the same time, these findings refute theories emphasizing a predominantly Yenisei-Altai component in the ethnogenesis of the Kyrgyz, including hypotheses about a mass migration to the Tian Shan.
Historical and genetic data indicate that some ancestors of the Kyrgyz originally inhabited the Tian Shan region even before the arrival of the Siberian Kyrgyz.
In this context, the reasoning of the renowned scholar Igor Rozhansky, who studied the connection between the Kyrgyz and Lithuanian Tatars, becomes clear. He notes:
“The land of modern Kyrgyzstan, inhabited at the turn of the eras by Saka and Wusun tribes, was seized by the Yenisei Kyrgyz (Khakas) in the 8th century CE. Since Kyrgyzstan serves as a natural mountain fortress in the Tian Shan, it resembles the Lithuanian Tatar community in its strong genetic inertia and limited external influences.
In essence, all these groups share a common Scythian foundation: Saka-Scythians, Scythian-Wusun, Yenisei Kyrgyz-Scythians, and Lithuanian Tatar-Scythians.”
This analysis underscores the profound historical interconnectedness of various Scythian groups and their role in shaping the Kyrgyz ethnos.
Wei Lanhai, Li Hui and Xu Wenkan from Fudan University:
“According to the historical records, the activities of the Yuezhi can be divided into
four stages:
1. Stage I, from ancient times to ~200 B.C. The Yuezhi lived in the grasslands between Dunhuang and Tianshan Mountain. During this time, they defeated the Wusun (乌孙) in the west and killed their King Nandoumi (难兜靡). It is thought that the Yuezhi extended their rule to the northwest part of Gansu and the southwest part of Mongolia. The son of the Xiongnu Chanyu, Modu, was sent to the Yuezhi people as a hostage.
2. Stage II, from ~200 B.C. to 170 B.C. The Yuezhi were defeated by Chanyu Modu
and Chanyu Laoshang of the Xiongnu, and then moved westward to the area of Saka in the Valley of the Ili River. The Yuezhi conquered the Saka and forced them to move to the southwest. During this period, the Yuezhi tribe took over the original homeland of the Saka.
3. Stage III, from ~170 B.C. to ~130 B.C. At the beginning of this stage, the Yuezhi were defeated soundly by a united army of the Wusun and Xiongnu. Then the Yuezhi moved westward again and came into Transoxania.
4. Stage IV, after ~130 B.C. The Yuezhi crossed the Oxus River and conquered
Bactria. The subsequent events, such as the establishment of the Kushan Empire,
are well recorded in history.
Map of the Kushan Kingdom surrounded by Scytho-Kyrgyz tribes: Gyan-Gun, Kyrgyz, and Dingling.
The Yuezhi are an ancient nomadic population that lived between Dunhuang and the Tianshan Mountains before they were first mentioned in the Chinese historical record in about 200 B.C.
Before the rise of the Xiongnu Chanyu Modu, the Yuezhi had a strong power base, ruling a vast region that ranged from the Gansu Province to the Tianshan.
After that time, the Yuezhi suffered several defeats and finally moved westward into Bactria (Enoki et al. 1994, Wang 2004).
Between 1000 B.C. and 200 B.C., three major ancient cultures were active between Tianshan and Dunhuang. In the western part of this region, the Subeishi culture was dominant in the Turpan Basin and surrounding area. In the east, the Yanbulaq culture centered around the Qumul Basin.
The region in the south was isolated from other South Xinjiang cultures by the Taklamakan Desert. In the north of the Turpan and Qumul basins, a set of nomadic remains distributed widely on grasslands from west to east has been found.
Archaeological remains presumed to be those of the Yuezhi would be expected to be found within the geographical scope and chronological range of the culture.
The economies of both the Subeishi and Yanbulaq cultures were a combination of prosperous oasis agriculture and alpine transhumance. In the Turpan Basin area after 200 B.C., the Subeishi culture developed into the local walled nation-state called the Gushi Kingdom.
The Yanbulaq culture declined after 500 B.C. and finally disappeared from the northern hills of the Qumul Basin. By contrast, archaeological sites of the Barkol culture contain purely nomadic remains. This culture was originally associated with nomadic cultures in the south-central part of Inner Mongolia.
Their way of life was closely related to the Nanwan type of the Tianshan North Road culture that lasted from 1500 B.C. to 1000 B.C. (Guo 2012). Both the geographical scope and chronological range of the Barkol culture corresponded to the period of the Yuezhi.
This connection is further supported by cultural changes in this region. According to archaeological discoveries, this region was conquered by another people with a different
culture after 200 B.C.
Remains of this culture were similar to finds of Xiongnu materials in Mongolia and North China. Hence, we can conclude that they were created by a group of Xiongnu people who migrated westward into this region.
Cultural elements of human sacrifices in the Heigouliang-Dongheigou sites are closely related to those found in the Yuegongtai-Xiheigou sites, which show elements of the Barkol culture that persisted from ancient times to that period (Wang 2008, Zhao 2011, Wang 2004).
Based on the evidence discussed above, we propose that a set of non-mound stone graves in the Barkol grasslands, tentatively called the Barkol culture, are possibly
remains of the ancient Yuezhi population.
Genetic evidence for migration into Xinjiang from multiple directions
In recent decades, genetic testing has been applied to a large number of human remains excavated from archaeological sites in Xinjiang and its surrounding area.
In the following, we summarize all available genetic data from ancient cultures in this region
and add our own unpublished data from the Qumul and Heigouliang sites. The dating of
these archaeological remains ranges from 6000 ybp to 1200 ybp (Table 2, overleaf).
On the steppe of Kazakhstan, all samples prior to the 13th–7th centuries B.C. belong to
European lineages. After the Bronze Age, the arrival of East Eurasian sequences that coexisted with the previous West Eurasian genetic substratum can be detected (Lalueza-
Fox et al. 2004).
The earliest contact between West and East can be observed in the central part of southern Siberia (Keyser et al. 2009). A typical west mtDNA component, U5a, was detected in the Lokomotiv cemetery around Baikal Lake dated to about 6000 years bp.
It is believed that the appearance of Afanasievo populations in the Eastern steppe is the result of an eastward migration of populations from the Yamna culture.
This provides a possible explanation for the emergence of a European component in the gene pool of the ancient south Siberians.
In a later period, both maternal and paternal Western lineages dominate among populations north of the Altai Mountains (i.e., the Minusinsk Basin and surrounding area).
By contrast, no West Eurasian lineage was detected up to the early Iron Age in the central part of China, as at the Gansu and Qinghai provinces (Gao et al. 2007, Zhao et al. 2011, Cui et al. 2002, Zhao et al. 2010).3
An admixture origin was discovered in the oldest archaeological site containing human remains in Xinjiang, at the Xiaohe cemetery, with analyses of both Y chromosomal and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA).
All of the male individuals in the Xiaohe cemetery belong to a typical West Eurasian haplogroup, R1a1a, whereas mtDNA analysis revealed both the East Eurasian haplogroup (C) and the West Eurasian haplogroups (H and K) (Li et al. 2010).
Components of East Eurasian or West Eurasian heritage in ancient populations of Xinjiang and its surroundings.
Haplogroup C is a typical maternal lineage in Siberia, thus supporting one of the hypotheses about the origin of the Tocharians. It has been proposed that ancestors of the Tocharians were the earliest population in Bronze Age Xinjiang, and that they originally were connected with people of the Afanasievo culture.
In the region around the Qumul Basin, mtDNA analysis has revealed both East Eurasian and West Eurasian components (He et al. 2003).
On the other hand, according to our unpublished data from the tombs of the Tianshan North Road culture and the Heigouliang sites in the grasslands of Barkol, only East Eurasian paternal lineages have been observed in this region until now.
This concept corresponds to the analysis of cultural elements by archaeologists. As discussed above, the Tianshan North Road culture is a descendant of the Machang culture expanded from the Gansu Province.
During the development of this culture, it was influenced by the Siba culture from the east and the Qiemuerqieke culture from the west.
In a later period, the Yanbulaq culture arose in the Qumul Basin at about 4000 ybp, succeeding the Tianshan North Road culture, while receiving strong influences from the Xindian (辛店) and Kayue (卡约) cultures from the east.
On the other hand, the Barkol culture, a purely nomadic culture in the Barkol grasslands, originally was associated with nomadic cultures in south central Inner Mongolia.
Many of their remains are closely related to the Nanwan type of the Tianshan North Road culture that lasted from 1500 B.C. to 1000 B.C.
As discussed above, we propose that the Barkol culture possibly represents remains of the Yuezhi people.
They were originally an admixture of aboriginals from around the Qumul Basin and the nomadic population that immigrated from Mongolia or its boundary with China.
In the western part of Xinjiang, genetic testing also was conducted on human remains from the Subeishi culture, the Chawighul culture, the Zaghunluq culture, the Jingjue Kingdom, the Khotan Kingdom and the ruins of Yuansha (Table 2).
East-West admixture was observed in all of these populations except those with only one tested sample (the Niya sites and Chawighul III tombs).
These results present a complex demographic history of this region. It is noteworthy that there is so far no genetic data associated with the Tocharians.”
Wei Lanhai, Li Hui and Xu Wenkan from Fudan University, "The separate origins of the Tocharians and the Yuezhi: Results from recent advances in archaeology and genetics"
🧬 Kyrgyz. DNA Science Data:
“Haplogroup R1a1, more specifically, its subclade R1a1a1b2 (defined by mutation Z93), is the genetic marker of the Indo-European pastoralists, who migrated from modern-day Ukraine to modern-day Iran, India, the Kazakh steppes, the Tarim Basin, the Altai Mountains region, the Yenisei River region, and western Mongolia during the Bronze Age.
Naturally, R1a1, more specifically, its subclade R1a1a1b2 (R1a-Z93), occurs at high frequency among the Turkic peoples now residing in the Yenisei River and the Altai Mountains regions in Russia.
Compared to the Tuvinians, the Khakass (whose name was created by the Soviets from Xiajiasi (黠戛斯), a Chinese name for Kyrgyz, since they were regarded as descending from the Kyrgyz have noticeably higher percentages of R1a1 (35.2%) and much lower percentages of haplogroups C (1.1%) and Q (4%). However, N is also the most prevalent haplogroup (50%) of the Khakass (Gubina et al. 2013: 339; Shi et al. 2013)
As for the Altaians, the Altai-Kizhi (southern Altaians) are characterised by a high percentage of R1a1 (50%) and low to moderate percentages of C2 (20%), Q (16.7%) and N (4.2%) (Dulik et al. 2012: 234).
The major differences between the Khakass and the southern Altaians are the lower frequency of haplogroup N (in another study, haplogroup N is found at high frequency (32%) among the Altaians in general: see Gubina et al. 2013: 329, 339) and the higher frequencies of haplogroups C2 and Q among the latter.
The descent of the Kyrgyz (Kyrgyz) of the Tien Shan Mountains region (Kyrgyzstan) from the Yenisei Kyrgyz is debated among historians.
However, among the modern Turkic peoples, the former have the highest percentage of R1a1 (over 60%). Since the West Eurasian physiognomy of the Yenisei Kyrgyz recorded in the Xin Tangshu was in all likelihood a reflection of their Eurasian Indo-European marker R1a1a1b2 (R1a-Z93), one may conjecture that the Tien Shan Kyrgyz received their R1a1 marker from the Yenisei Kyrgyz. That is, the former are descended from the latter.
The other Y-chromosome haplogroups found among the Kyrgyz (Kyrgyz) are C2 (12~20%), O (0~15%) and N (0~4.5%).50 The lack of haplogroup Q among the Qirghiz (Kyrgyz) mostly distinguishes them from the Altaians.
During the Bronze Age and early Iron Age, the Yenisei River region was inhabited by Indo-Europeans. The dna study of 26 ancient human specimens from the Krasnoyarsk area dated from the middle of the second millennium bc to the fourth century ad shows that the Yenisei pastoralists mostly belonged to haplogroup R1a1 (Keyser et al. 2009: 401)
The high frequency of R1a1 among the modern-day Kyrgyz and Altaians may thus prove that they are descended from the Yenisei Kyrgyz. In addition, this may explain the reason why medieval Chinese histories depict the Kyrgyz as possessing West Eurasian physiognomy.
The Y-chromosomes of the Kök Türks have not been studied. After the collapse of the Second Türk Khaganate in 745 ce, the Kök Türks became dispersed and it is difficult to identify their modern descendants.
If they were indeed descended from the Eastern Scythians aka Saka (Suo) or related to the Kyrgyz, as the Zhoushu states (Zhoushu 50.908), the Ashina (royal Türkic dynasty, possibly related to the Turko-Jewish Khazar Khaganate, according to Peter B. Golden of Rutgers University) may have belonged to the R1a1 lineage.” - Joo-Yup Lee and Shuntu Kuang, University of Toronto, Canada
Source: “A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Historical Sources and Y-DNA Studies with Regard to the Early and Medieval Turkic Peoples’
Authors: Joo-Yup Lee and Shuntu Kuang from, the University of Toronto of Canada
“Kyrgyz are an admixed population between the East and the West. Different patterns have been observed in the patrilineal gene pool of the Kyrgyz. Historically, ancient Kyrgyz were considered to be the Yenisei Kyrgyz that may perhaps be concerned with the Tashtyk culture.
Extremely low Y-diversity and the presence of a high-frequency 68.9% Y-chromosome haplogroup R1a1-M17 (a diagnostic Indo-Iranian marker are striking features of Kyrgyz populations in central Asia. It is believed that this lineage is associated with Indo-Europeans who migrated to the Altai region during the Bronze Age and mixed with various Turkic groups.
Among the Asian R1a1a1b2-Z93 lineages, R1a1a1b2a2-Z2125 is quite common in Kyrgyzstan (68%) and Afghan Pashtuns (40%), and less frequent in other Afghan ethnic groups and some Caucasus and Iran populations (10%). Notably, the basal lineage R1a1a1b2-Z93* is commonly distributed in the South Siberian Altai region of Russia.
According to the published ancient DNA data, we found that, in Middle Bronze Age, Haplogroup R1a1a1b2a2a- Z2125 was mainly found in Sintashta culture population from Kamennyi Ambar 5 cemetery, western Siberia, in Fedorovo type of the Andronovo culture or Karasuk culture population from Minusinsk Basin, southern Siberia, and in Andronovo culture populations from Maitan, Ak-Moustafa, Aktogai, Kazakh Mys, Satan, Oy-Dzhaylau III, Karagash 2, Dali, and Zevakinskiy stone fence, Kazakhstan.” (Wen, Shao-qing; Du, Pan-xin; Sun, Chang; Cui, Wei; Xu, Yi-ran; Meng, Hai-liang; Shi, Mei-sen; Zhu, Bo-feng; Li, Hui (March 2022)
Source: "Dual origins of the Northwest Chinese Kyrgyz: the admixture of Bronze age Siberian and Medieval Niru'un Mongolian Y chromosomes", Nature
Authors: Wen, Shao-qing; Du, Pan-xin; Sun, Chang; Cui, Wei; Xu, Yi-ran; Meng, Hai-liang; Shi, Mei-sen; Zhu, Bo-feng; Li, Hui (March 2022)
“The modern-day descendants of the Yenisei Kyrgyz, the Kyrgyz people, have one of the highest frequencies of haplogroup R1a-Z93. This lineage believed to be associated with Indo-Iranians who migrated to the Altai region in the Bronze Age, and is carried by various Türkic groups. The Zhoushu [the book of the Zhou Dynasty] (Linghu Defen 2003, Chapter 50, p. 908) informs us that the Ashina, the royal clan of the Kök Türks, were related to the Kyrgyz.
If so, the Ashina may have belonged to the R1a1 lineage like the modern-day Tienshan Kyrgyz, who are characterised by the high frequency of R1a1 (over 65%). Haplogroup R1a1, more specifically, its sub- clade R1a1a1b2 defined by mutation Z93, was carried by the Indo-European pastoralists, who reached the Kazakh steppes, the Tarim Basin, the Altai Mountains region, the Yenisei River region, and western Mongolia from the Black Sea steppes during the Bronze Age (Semino et al. 2000, p. 1156, Lee, Joo-Yup (2018)
Source: Lee, Joo-Yup (2018). "Some remarks on the Turkicisation of the Mongols in post-Mongol Central Asia and the Kipchak Steppe ''. Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 71 (2): 121–124. doi:10.1556/062.2018.71.2.1. ISSN 0001-6446. S2CID 133847698.
Kazakh DNA researcher Zhaxylyk Sabitov states: “Until the 9th century, the Kyrgyz lived along the Yenisei River in the Minusinsk Basin. In the 9th century, the Yenisei Kyrgyz migrated to the Altai and Irtysh regions.
“From 1326 to 1329, some Altai Kyrgyz moved to Semirechye and the territory of modern Kyrgyzstan.” He also published DNA sample data from the Sintashta culture, which he claims “is related to the Altai and modern Kyrgyz, while the Arban-1 samples from the Karasuk culture are ancestral to modern Kyrgyz. Genetic data from Arzhan complex (8th century BCE) also show parental genes of the Kyrgyz.”
It is known that the structure of Arzhan has similarities with the Sintashta-Andronovo kurgans (M.P. Gryaznov). It is known that Saka tribes lived in the territory of Kyrgyzstan, and later the Wusun tribe arrived from the east. The high percentage of R1a1 among the Kyrgyz appeared through three routes: from the Saka tribes, from the Wusun Sakas, and from the Dingling tribes. There is also a theory about the migration of part of the Yenisei Kyrgyz to the territory of modern Kyrgyzstan.” (Zhaxylyk Sabitov)
Source: “Historical-Genetic Approach in the Study of the Ethnogenesis and Material Culture of the Ancient Kyrgyz” - International Journal of Experimental Education
“The land of Modern Kyrgyzstan, populated at the turn of the eras by the Saka and Wusun tribes, was overrun by the Yenisei Kyrgyzes (Khakasses) in the 8th c. AD.
Since Kyrgyzstan is a natural mountain fortress of the Tian Shan mountains, it is an island similar to the Lithuanian Tatars, with high genetic inertia and limited influences. Essentially, all four are Scythians, the Saka Scythians, Wusun Scythians, Yenisei Kyrgyz Scythians, and the Lithuanian Tatar Scythians.”
Source: “The Lithuanian Tatars: DNA Ancestry Traced To The Eurasian Steppes”, Academy of DNA-Genealogy, Tsukuba, Japan, Igor Rozhanski
"Samples from the burials of the Andronovo, Tagar, and Tashtyk cultures were identified using Y-STR analysis, which allows for the comparison of these samples with each other and with samples from representatives of different populations, both ancient and modern.
The Andronovo haplotypes S10 and S16 have the following structure:
ANDRON S10, S16:
13-25-16-11-11-14-10-14-11-18-15-14-11-16-20-12-23
The greatest number of matches is observed with the Tian Shan Kyrgyz and the Southern Altaians. Complete matches of haplotypes in populations that are geographically close and share a common history are possible only in cases of genetic relationship; random matches are unlikely.
Thus, the Southern Altaians and the Tien Shan Kyrgyz are likely descendants of close relatives of the Yenisei Andronovites, most likely the descendants of the Altai Andronovites. It is well established by linguists and ethnographers that there is close linguistic and ethnic kinship between the Kyrgyz and the Southern Altaians (Baskakov, 1966: 15-16).
These peoples share the same names for their clan divisions (Mundus, Telos-Doolos, Kipchak, Naiman, Merkit, etc.). Kyrgyz legends refer to Altai as the ancestral home of their people. Several historians believe that the Kyrgyz and Southern Altaians once formed a single community and that the migration of the Kyrgyz from Altai to Tien Shan occurred relatively recently (Abramzon, 1959: 34; Abdumanapov, 2007: 95, 114).
Source: Volkov V.G., Kharkov V.N., Stepanov V.A. Andronovo and Tagar cultures in light of genetic data."
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