Ethnic components of Kalmyks and Khazarians according to population genetics
https://doi.org/10.53315/2782-3377-2026-6-1-46-80
Abstract
The Mongols have two populations: the Khalkha and the Oirats (eastern and western). The Oirats also have two subpopulations: the Kalmyks and the Kalmaks (Dzungars). The Kalmyks arrived in the northern Caspian region from western Mongolia in the first half of the 17th century. The Hazaras are descendants of the Kalmaks who arrived in Afghanistan in 1759, after the Qing Empire defeated the Dzungar Khanate. Population genetic data characterizing the Kalmyks, Hazaras, Mongols, and other populations are reviewed. They include Y-chromosome and mtDNA haplogroup frequencies, as well as autosomal markers. Associations of Y-chromosome haplogroups and their subclades are identified: Mongolian, European, Near Eastern, Southern, Steppe, and Siberian. The frequencies of haplogroups of the Mongolian association (C2, O and D) are 58.0, 9.6 and 0.8% among Kalmyks, 36.0, 4.4 and 0% among Hazaras, and 58.1, 16.7 and 0.8% among the Mongols of Mongolia (Khalkha and Oirats). Different subclades of haplogroup C2 predominate among Kalmyks and Kalmaks in terms of frequencies: C2a1a2a-M48 «Kalmyks» and C2a1a2b-M504 «Kalmaks». The Hazaras do not have carriers of the first subclade. Kalmyks have minimal frequencies of carriers of the second subclade. One of the Tibetan populations (haplogroups J2 and R2) participated in the ethnogenesis of Kalmyks. The Near Eastern contribution to their genetic portrait is minimal. The Hazara people are descended from Uyghurs (haplogroup J2) and Afghan populations. Populations from the Near East also made a significant contribution. MtDNA haplogroups and the results of specialized analysis of autosomal markers confirm the ethnic components of the populations, as determined by Y-chromosome haplogroups.
About the Author
A. M. Tyurin
Orenburg State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Anatoliy M. Tyurin, Candidate of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences
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For citations:
Tyurin A.M. Ethnic components of Kalmyks and Khazarians according to population genetics. Nomadic civilization: historical research. 2026;6(1):46-80. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.53315/2782-3377-2026-6-1-46-80
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