Khazar DNA Project

[CrackSmokeRepublican]

CSR is of the opinion that the Ashkenazi J-Tribers came from multiple migrations to Russia-Ukraine from the West. The Turkic-Khazars likely were converted to Islam and Christianity since the 10th century after their defeat by the Rus.  They are similar to the Turkic Kipchaks http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kipchak_people.

----------

Image of a Khazar warrior with prisoner, based on 8th century ewer found in Romania, as part of the Treasure of Sânnicolau Mare

[youtube:2ncc2qmi]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S7zweg67v4[/youtube]2ncc2qmi]


Khazar DNA Project

ABOUT

The Khazars are one of the most mysterious populations of the Old World whose abrupt disappearance from the history pages has tantalized scientists for years. Who were these Eurasian warriors? Were they Giants, Amazons, Turks, or Mongols? Were they all Jews or just their rulers? What happened to them and where are they now? Were they enslaved by their conquerors or were they absorbed into a different population?

To answer these questions we launched the Khazar DNA Project. The Khazar DNA Project currently participates in its first crowdfunding effort, seeking to raise $5-6,000. Please consider making a small donation to support the study.

This project traces the ancestry of the Khazars, by searching for their particular DNA signature in the genomes of 500 worldwide populations to learn more about these mysterious people. Sounds like searching for a needle in a sack of hay? It's somewhat similar, but imagine that you have a magnet! Want more information? Read on and check out the video below!

What can DNA tell us? Our DNA is like a history encyclopedia. It tells us the stories of our forbearers from the first human who walked on the earth to YOU. Different DNA regions can tell us whether you ancestors interbred with Neanderthals, while other regions tell us about the path your ancestors took out of Africa. It all depends on what you want to know and your ability to interpret the genetic code. We are interested in identifying populations around the world the carry the Caucasus signature. Because Caucasus people remained largely confined in the Caucasus, finding populations who carry these signature is the first step in relating them to the Khazars.

Why Khazars? Why now? Unlike the famous Greek, Roman, and Persian Empires, the history of the Khazar's Empire remained a mystery, known only to very few people. The main reason was that the study of Khazaria was forbidden in the Soviet Union, where the major sites reside. Dr. Satanovsky, director of the Middle Eastern Institute in Moscow, said that Josef Stalin detested the idea that a Jewish empire had come before Russia's own. He ordered references to Khazar history removed from textbooks because they "disproved HIS theory of Russian statehood." Only now are Russian scholars free to explore the Khazar culture, and they are doing a tremendous job. The Itil excavations, for example, sponsored by the Russian-Jewish Congress, recently revealed one of the three Khazar capital cities. While archeologists and historians are making their contribution to our knowledge of the Khazars, so should geneticists. Using genetic data we can unravel some of the mystery around these people who built their Empire of the basis of harmony and peace and later on joined the Jewish faith and perhaps contributed to Eastern European Jewish culture.

Our knowledge of the ancient Khazars is based almost entirely on the writings of educated, wealthy, elite men who often contradicted one another. The Soviet Union did its share of spreading fear and prejudice around about the Khazars that still prevails among many people and hinders studies in the field. It's time to change our approach to Khazar history by harnessing genetics and combining it with archeological and historical knowledge.

What's this new project about? My preliminary analyses identified a unique Caucasus genetic signature found exclusively in Caucasus populations. This is not surprising, because Caucasus populations remained isolated in their mountain terrain for centuries and over time they became genetically distinct from other populations. The only population who mass-migrated from the Caucasus were the Khazars when they fled from the Rus in the 13th century. This project aims to survey the genomes of 500 populations around the world and look for this Caucasus signature in a hope to trace the live descendents of the Khazars. Because the Khazars were Jews, we speculate that Jewish populations, mostly around ancient Khazaria, will exhibit a large fraction of this signature, compared to other populations, but we will search non-Jewish populations as well. While other genetic projects measure the percentage of Neanderthal interbreeding or Jewish ancestry in DNA data, no one knows how to identify and measure Khazarian ancestry. I am excited to reveal the genetic background of these mysterious people through our genetic data.

How can I help? Genetic Archeology of ancient Khazars is a new research area, currently unsupported by any funds. This project will be the first large-scale DNA survey of Khazar descendants. The Khazar DNA Project currently participates in its first crowdfunding effort, seeking to raise $5-6,000. Donors will have exclusive access to the Khazar DNA Project's Facebook and blog, where I will post news and updates. It is our hope that this project will result in sufficient data for further grant proposals.

http://khazardnaproject.wordpress.com/

[FrankDialogue]

I have grave doubts about DNA projects....Why?

Because we are messing with building blocks or genetic blueprints, and we know not what we do.

Also there is much room for coverup and manipulation, at least as to the findings.

Arthur Koestler's book is a very good reference for 'what happened to the Khazars'...They are still here, just in a different form.

[CrackSmokeRepublican]

This is a collection of research.  I personally think the early Khazars were "re-converted" to other religions over the centuries.  A few "mountain Jews" of Crimea are probably the only real "kosher" remnant of converts.   Koestler probably wanted to give a permanent identity to Russian Jews under the Communists as minority in the empire. While I was a believer of the theory at first -- I found that it doesn't fit with recent research into genetics-- and Koestler had an agenda. He didn't wanted to trade Europe for Israel.  

Koestler argued that a proof that Ashkenazi Jews had no biological connection to the biblical Jews would remove the racial basis of European anti-Semitism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Koestler

Is the "Khazar" thing legit? (nope...Ashkenazi's were not from a group of converts that spread after a defeat by the Rus.  --CSR)
viewtopic.php?f=40&t=11090&p=62587