How Was the Genetic Heritage of the Turks Shaped?

The homeland of the Turks is Central Asia. Their homeland stretches from the Caspian Sea to the Kingan Mountains, from the Siberian plains in the north to the Pamir Plateau in the south, including the Dark Mountains, the Golden Mountains, and the northern provinces of China. Recent research has revealed that the homeland of the Proto-Turks was the Altai-Sayan steppe-taiga belt. The Proto-Turks had a great influence on ancient Chinese culture, establishing themselves as leaders in the region by transitioning from a nomadic to a settled lifestyle in northern China and founding many dynasties.

Meanwhile, in the 10th century, many tribes, primarily the Oghuz-Turkmens, who settled in Anatolia from Central Asia, mostly via Iran, gathered under the name Turk. The name Turk has been the common name for communities belonging to the Turkic race and speaking the Turkish language in Central Asia since the Göktürk period.

The Turks are seen as the children of Anatolia, a unique geography that has been home to dozens of civilisations for thousands of years. The most profound change in these lands occurred in the 11th century with the arrival of our ancestors, the Turks, from Central Asia. So, what does science say about that famous question we are all curious about?

‘Are Turks really Central Asian, or did only their language change?’

The answers provided by genetic science to this question are both surprising and will make us proud of the Turkish identity we carry in this geography.

In essence, we Turks are a tremendous Eurasian synthesis. So, is the resulting ‘Turkish identity’ cultural or genetic? Some researchers argue that the Anatolian people have been here for thousands of years and that the Turks who came to Anatolia later were few in number compared to the local population, so the change was only ‘cultural’. However, modern scientific studies prove the opposite. Ultimately, this profound linguistic and cultural transformation in Anatolia could only have been possible through centuries of intense population migration. In other words, it was not just the administration that changed; the genes of the people living in this geography also mixed, creating a new synthesis. This is where Anatolia's richness lies.

When measuring the Central Asian genetic heritage of the Turks in Turkey, using today's Central Asian Turkic peoples is not considered a valid method. The ethnogenesis of the Anatolian Turks emerged through the mixing of the indigenous peoples of Anatolia, mainly the Oğuz/Turkmens and Greeks. In the years when ancient DNA samples were not yet available or were very insufficient, it is known that some academic studies attempted to measure the Central Asian genetic heritage in Turkey using some Central Asian Turkic peoples, such as the Kyrgyz, whose history and migration routes are very different from those of the Anatolian Turks. Nevertheless, the results obtained do not appear to support the claim that today's Turkish people have been ‘Turkified’ or assimilated. The studies do not support this.

In order to make a true comparison to reveal the genetics of the Turks, scientists examined DNA samples taken from 2,000-year-old Hun graves in Mongolia and identified direct links to people living in Turkey today. The continuation of genetic traces seen particularly in Hunnic nobles in modern Anatolian Turks proves that Turkish identity did not arrive in these lands only in 1071, but is based on a much older steppe heritage.

Turkey's genetic structure, much like the art of ebru, offers different colours from region to region. In recent years, DNA research has not only developed new treatment methods for certain health problems but also provided new information about the origins of ethnic groups.

Contrary to popular misconception, there are no genes specific to ethnic groups. In other words, it is not possible to speak of a specific Greek gene, Turkish gene, Armenian gene, etc. However, various scientific assessments can be made by examining the gene pools specific to these ethnic groups. In this context, it is possible, for example, to distinguish a Turk from a Kurd. Genetically, Turks are described as a mixture of Anatolian Greeks and Oghuz/Turkmens based on the medieval model, while Kurds are described as a mixture of Zagros-Mesopotamian natives and nomads who brought Iranian languages to the region during the Iron Age.

As seen in this example, scientists can now determine the similarities and differences between past groups and present-day ethnic/demographic groups by studying the genetics of a region's population. There are many different methods used for this purpose. For example, autosomal DNA data from different societies are compared using various methods to identify biogeographical characteristics. This method identifies which autosomal components are present in which regions and in what proportions. For example, East Eurasian components, which range from 5% to 20% in Anatolian Turks, are not found at all in neighbouring ethnic groups. Or, the proportions of intercontinental shared autosomal components, such as the Caucasian component, show significant differences between ethnic groups. Taking all this into account, scientific conclusions can be reached regarding which ethnic group or geography an individual is genetically closest to and whose genetic profile they most closely resemble. In this sense, a sample is available. For example;

· Western and Southern Anatolia: Along the axis stretching from Muğla to Mersin and from Antalya to Aydın, the Central Asian heritage is seen to be at its strongest level (between 25-45%).

· Black Sea: In provinces such as Rize and Trabzon, the indigenous Anatolian and Caucasian genetic heritage is more dominant.

Uzbek-Turkmen Connection: Genetic models show that the first Turks who came to Anatolia closely resembled our present-day Uzbek and Turkmen brothers, and that this genetic mixing intensified from the Seljuks to the founding of the Ottoman Empire (1053-1373).

When we look at the genetic map of a Turkish citizen today, we see the steppe spirit of Central Asia and the warrior genes from the equestrian nomadic culture combined with the traces of the ancient peoples who pioneered agriculture in these lands, from the Hittites to the Assyrians.

In short, we are neither entirely Central Asian nor entirely native Anatolian. We are a brand new and unique nation that has made these lands our homeland for at least a thousand years, that settled in Anatolia in the form of various Turkish movements before that, and that blended the bravery of Central Asia with the thousands of years of civilisational accumulation of Anatolia. Old and new, we are now all part of the ancient Anatolian civilisation. Our biological makeup serves as an unshakeable bridge connecting these two great worlds.

That is why we utter Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's unique phrase with even deeper meaning today: How fortunate are those who say, ‘I am Turkish!’ This phrase speaks to a unity far superior to genetics or race, to the true identity of the Anatolian people. Every individual living on this land is considered Turkish to the extent that they feel Turkish.

References:

1. Hodoğlugil & Mahley (2012): The genetic structure of Turkey and its Central Asian origins.

2. Kars et al. (2021): Current Turkish gene map and diversity report.

3. Di Benedetto (2001): Genetic mixing and DNA diversity in Anatolia.

4. Kim et al. (2010): Hun graves and ancient DNA links.

5. Yunusbayev (2015): Genetic distribution of Turkic-speaking peoples.