My History explores recent DNA revelations concerning Black Sovereign's genetic past.
Black Sovereign's DNA Test Results
[one_third]
AFRICA (86%)
- Nigeria - 57%
- Mali - 17%
- Southeastern Bantu - 3%
- Senegal - 3%
- South-Central Hunter-Gatherers - 3%
- Cameroon - 1%
- Benin - less than 1%
- Ghana - less than 1%
[/one_third][one_third]
EUROPE (13%)
- Britain - 6%
- Europe West - 5%
- Italy - less than 1%
- Iberian Peninsula - less than 1%
[/one_third][one_third_last]
PACIFIC ISLANDER (< 1%)
- Melanesia - less than 1%
[/one_third_last]
[/infopane]
Italy/Greece
Primarily located in: Italy, Greece
Also found in: France, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain, Serbia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Austria, Croatia, Bosnia, Romania, Turkey, Slovenia, Algeria, Tunisia, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Kosovo
Located in the south of Europe, against the Mediterranean Sea, this region gave rise to some of the most iconic and powerful cultures the Western world has known. The Greeks were first, with their pantheon of gods, legendary heroes, philosophers and artists. They subsequently influenced the Romans, whose vast empire spread its ideas and language across Europe.
How Black Sovereign compares to the typical person native to the Italy/Greece region
[infopane color="1" icon="0101.png"]Black Sovereign : <1% ... ... ... Typical native : 72%[/infopane]
Genetic Diversity in the Italy/Greece Region
The people living in the Italy/Greece region are admixed, which means that when creating genetic ethnicity estimates for individuals native to this area, we frequently see some similarities to DNA profiles from other nearby regions. We’ve found that approximately 72% of the typical native’s DNA comes from this region.
We have used our reference panel to build a genetic profile for Italy/Greece. The blue chart above shows examples of ethnicity estimates for people native to this region. Most Italy/Greece natives have between 65% and 100% of their DNA showing similarity to this profile. It’s also possible, however, to find people whose DNA shows very little similarity. Since approximately 72% of the typical native’s DNA comes from this region, 28% of his or her DNA is more similar to other regions, such as the Caucasus, Middle East, Iberian Peninsula, and Europe West.
Population History
Prehistoric Italy/Greece
The history of this region is dominated by two titans: the Greeks and the Romans. During the height of the Classical Era, the Greeks introduced cultural, civic and philosophical ideas and innovations that heavily influenced the Roman Empire and, in turn, laid the foundations of Western civilization.
Ancient Greece was settled by four different Greek-speaking groups. During the Bronze Age, Mycenaean Greece of Homer's epics consisted of the Achaeans, Aeolians and Ionians. It was one of the great powers of its time. The remaining group, the Dorians, rose to prominence around 1100 B.C. when the Mycenaean civilization collapsed. The influence of these groups spread beyond mainland Greece to the western coastline of modern Turkey and the islands of the Aegean Sea.
The Greeks also founded colonies in southern Italy and Sicily. Called Magna Graecia in Latin, these settlements existed alongside the native tribes of the Italian peninsula, including the Etruscans, Umbrians and Latins. The Latins would later build their capital in Rome, drawing heavily on the culture of their Greek neighbors.
Colonies of Italy/Greece
Besides Sicily and southern Italy, the Greeks established many more colonies around the Mediterranean, from approximately 750 B.C. until 500 B.C. Established as small city-states, most of these colonies were trading outposts. Others were created by refugees when Greek cities were overrun and the displaced inhabitants looked for new land. More than 90 Greek colonies were established, from Ukraine and Russia to the north, Turkey to the east, southern Spain in the west, and Egypt and Libya in the south.
The Classical Age of Greece began around the 5th century B.C. It was the era of Athens, Sparta, the birth of democracy, and many of Greece’s famous playwrights and philosophers. After two bloody wars with the Persian Empire, Athens and Sparta went to war with each other, leading to the eventual decline of both. The Macedonian king, Philip II, united the Greek city-states in 338 B.C. After Philip’s assassination, his son, Alexander the Great, became king of Macedonia and carried out his father’s plans to invade Persia. Alexander led his armies in conquest of the Middle East, part of India, and Egypt, spreading the Greek language and culture throughout much of the ancient world.
His triumph was short-lived, however; he died on his campaign and his conquered territories were divided among his generals. But many important Greek cities and colonies were established and remained under Greek rule, including Seleucia, Antioch and Alexandria.
While Greece spread its influence eastward, the small city of Rome was growing into a regional power in Italy. As the Roman Republic expanded, it established colonies of Roman citizens to maintain control of newly conquered lands. By the time Julius Caesar seized power from the Senate, the Roman war machine was nearly unstoppable. Soldiers who served for years in the military were rewarded with land in Roman colonies throughout the empire, which stretched from Turkey and the Middle East to Spain and northern France.
Invasion of the barbarians
During the late Roman Empire, Constantine the Great established Constantinople as the eastern capital of the Roman Empire. The Empire was divided and, as the focus of power shifted away from Rome, the Western Empire was left vulnerable to a series of invasions by Goths, Huns, Visigoths and Heruli. In 476 B.C. a Germanic soldier, Odoacer, deposed the last Western Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, signaling the fall of the old Roman Empire. The Eastern Empire continued to flourish, becoming known as the Byzantine Empire. Odoacer was soon murdered by the Ostrogoth ruler Theodoric. Although the barbarians had seized Rome, they never established a major settlement in Italy.
From around 610 A.D. to 867 A.D., the Byzantine Empire was attacked by numerous groups, including the Persians, Lombards, Avars, Slavs, Arabs, Normans, Franks, Goths and Bulgars. During the 8th and 9th centuries, the empire slowly freed Greece from these invaders. The Slavs had the most success at establishing permanent settlements in Greece, although they, too, were eventually defeated and banished from the Greek peninsula.
During this time, Greek-speaking people from Sicily and Asia Minor migrated to Greece, and a large number of Sephardic Jews emigrated from Spain to Greece, as well.
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire conquered the Byzantine Empire, expanding through Greece and capturing Athens in 1458. Many of the Greek scholars fled and migrated to Christian Western Europe. Ottoman colonies were established in several areas in Greece, and held on until Greek independence was declared in 1821.
Italy in the Middle Ages
During the 12th and 13th centuries, the city-states of Italy developed trading and banking institutions. They established a wealth of trading relationships with the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic powers, all around the Mediterranean. The escalation in trade lead to a resurgence of financial power in Italy, allowing it to create Italian colonies as far away as the Black Sea.
Did You Know?
Togas weren’t worn by everyone in ancient Rome. After the 2nd century B.C., only freeborn Roman men were allowed to wear them as a symbol of their citizenship.
The Greeks were the first to develop an alphabet with vowels and it has been used to write the Greek language since 800 B.C.
No comments:
Post a Comment