IRAQI DNA HISTORY 🇮🇶🧬

The country of Iraq is incredibly diverse. For example, when you go up into the northern regions of the country towards Mosul, people typically have higher levels of Anatolian DNA. And when you go all the way down towards the south towards Basra, people typically have higher levels of both Arabian and Iranian related admixture. You know what's really interesting about the Iraqi genome guys, is that they're a combination of the three Neolithic populations which contribute to most West Asian genomes. We are going to look at the Iraqi genome through a variety of different time periods to understand who these people are through a genetic perspective. Over here, I've got a stone age DNA breakdown of the average Iraqi genome. And interestingly, what we see is that their DNA is evenly distributed between the three Neolithic populations within the region. The first one is that of Natufian related ancestry and the Natufians were the first people who discovered agriculture. Today, this DNA component is found highest within the Yemeni Mahra, but amongst the Iraqi population, it peaks within the Bedouins. The second is that of Anatolian related ancestry. And today, this Anatolian Neolithic component actually peaks in the Sardinians, but amongst the Iraqi population, it's found high in the Assyrians. You have that of Zagrosian related DNA, which today peaks in the modern day Baloch, but amongst the Iraqi population, it peaks in the Kurds. And lastly, we have a ghost population that's not well understood. It's known as Arabian hunter-gatherer and we still haven't found DNA samples, but we know that it contributes substantially to southern Arabian populations. Because Mesopotamia is geostrategically located at the crossroads of all of these Neolithic populations, it makes sense that the first civilizations in the world sprung up in the modern country of Iraq. The Sumerians, whose origins are still conspicuous, were the first of these. But following that, you have waves of migrations of different Semitic people migrating into Mesopotamia. Many of these Semitic populations mixed with Anatolian Neolithic populations. That's why even to this day, within the northern regions of Iraq, people typically have higher levels of Anatolian Neolithic ancestry. When we look into both ancient and modern Assyrians, they exhibit this characteristic. As a matter of fact, modern Assyrians are very, very genetically similar to ancient Assyrians, implying genetic continuity within the region. In the south though, there was more genetic input from both Natufian, Arabian hunter-gatherer, and Zagrosian populations. Following the collapse of the Akkadian Empire, you have a series of migrations of Gushans and Kassites, which all originated in the Zagros, contributing to the genomic characteristics of the region. The Babylonians would have exhibited this genetic composition, and that's why today many non-Arab populations like the Mandaeans also exhibit this characteristic. Now a question that I get asked all the time is, were the Iraqis impacted by the Islamic expansions? And in order to answer this question, we first have to define what Arab is. When we look into ancient maps from both the Achaemenids as well as that of Judea, there has historically always been a region known as Arabia in the southern Levant. Many of these Arabian groups started to migrate within Mesopotamia, far predating that of the Islamic expansions. For example, you have that of the Qerrites, who would have been very Natufian-derived. On the contrary though, you had some Arabian groups that migrated down the Red Sea coast, mixing with Arabian hunter-gatherer populations, and making subsequent migrations back into Mesopotamia like the Lakhmids. When the Islamic expansions do occur, all it does is that it rigidifies this pre-existing Arabian identity. The Iraqi Arabs, compared to all groups outside of the Arabian Peninsula, have the highest component of Arabian DNA, ranging anywhere between 20-25%. But it's not just because of the Islamic expansions. When the Mongols invade Mesopotamia, the entire population is virtually destroyed. The siege of Baghdad results in close to 2 million people losing their lives. So what ends up happening is you have migrations of Bedouin-related groups effectively rebuilding the Mesopotamian population. Modern-day Iraqis for the most part have retained onto their ancient Mesopotamian element, with the exception that there has been additional Arabian migrations contributing to their genome. When you talk to many Iraqi Arabs to this day, they can still trace their family lineage to an Arabian tribe. Guys, today is actually my birthday, and I've been filming this video here in the busy streets of Barcelona. And I just want to say this was probably one of the hardest videos I've ever worked on, just because Iraq has such rich history. When you read about the history of Mesopotamia, you well and truly understand why it's called the cradle of civilization. So this video in amongst itself only scratches the surface. There are a slew of migrations which I didn't cover in this video, but I anticipate that this video serves as a, you know, a reference point for you to understand who the Iraqi people are. So as always, guys, if you've done an existing DNA test and you're interested in learning more about your ancient DNA story, I offer comprehensive DNA breakdowns where I can tell you all the ancient civilizations you descend from. So if you're interested in unlocking the secrets of your ancient heritage, make sure you check the link out of my bio.