Changes

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Invasions and wars often cause the most dramatic and radical changes to cultures and history in many regions. However, it is not just the social transformations they bring but often the physical, genetic makeup of populations change. Whether it is through forced migrations, interbreeding, or simply high casualties from war or disease, there are important impacts to populations in times of great upheaval such as wars. The Mongol Invasions (1206–94) represent an important event in the history of population genetics because of the large, spatial extent of the invasions that spanned across Eurasia.

===Evident Genetic Changes===

Studies have indicated that Genghis Khan himself may have been among history's most prolific influences on populations, where his genes could have influenced up to 8% of the male population in Asia today. However, tracing to a specific individual might be difficult, thus the genes attributed to Genghis Khan could actually be more representatives of his genetic group. Overall, what is evident is that Y-chromosomal lineage variation in populations can be found in 16 populations in Asia that span from the Pacific to the Caspian. In effect, this variation is relatively unusual and often is characteristic for small groups of populations. This variation is from a limited group from Mongolia. Additionally, in the study, it is clear this population spread rapidly and far, spreading what should have been a more limited chromosomal variation, which suggests that the chromosomal changes happened due to migration (Figure 2).<ref>For more on the Y-chromosomal study, see: Zerjal, Tatiana, Yali Xue, Giorgio Bertorelle, R. Spencer Wells, Weidong Bao, Suling Zhu, Raheel Qamar, et al. 2003. “The Genetic Legacy of the Mongols.” <i>The American Journal of Human Genetics</i> 72 (3): 717–21. doi:10.1086/367774.</ref>

===References===

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