Genetic evidence suggests that some conquering Hungarians were of Uralic origin!

A groundbreaking study on the origins of the Hungarian people has been published in the prestigious scientific journal Cell. As part of an international collaboration, the Institute of Archaeogenomics of the Research Centre for the Humanities at Eötvös Loránd University (HTK AGI) analysed 120 ancient genomes from the territory between Western Siberia and the River Volga. This region, which has been largely unexplored from a genetic perspective, is crucial for understanding the origins and migrations of the early Hungarians.

Pioneering research has identified one of the most significant genetic sources of the 10th‑century conquering Hungarians: the Karayakupovo communities that flourished in the Ural Mountains region between the 8th and 10th centuries. These Uralic archaeological cultures had both cultural and now confirmed genetic links with the conquerors of the Carpathian Basin, according to a statement released by the institute.

The West Siberian roots

According to the research, the genetic foundation of the Karayakupovo groups primarily originated from the population that lived along the Rivers Irtysh and Tobol in Western Siberia in the 3rd–5th centuries AD, later known as the “post‑Sargatka” people. The genetic legacy of this community was decisive for both the Karayakupovo culture and for many individuals among the conquering Hungarians.

This means that a portion of the conquering Hungarians had ancient roots tracing back to Western Siberia in the first centuries after Christ. Genetic analyses also revealed that by the 6th century, populations living on both the eastern and western sides of the Urals had already formed a shared genetic unit, indicating that groups associated with the Hungarians were present on both sides of the mountain range at that time.

The network connecting the Carpathian Basin and the Urals

The research team also introduced a new method to build genetic relationship networks based on matching DNA segments. By analysing more than a thousand ancient samples, they found that parts of the early medieval populations of the Volga–Ural region and the Carpathian Basin formed a shared genetic network.

These connections were detected despite the vast distances involved: particularly strong genetic links were found between the Conquest‑period graves in the Szakony‑Kavicsbánya cemetery in western Hungary and the Uralic Karayakupovo finds.

The genetic samples also revealed the presence of two eastern components (Yakutian and Baikal), which are characteristic genetic markers of Uralic peoples. This duality suggests that the conquering Hungarians originated from multiple biological sources and that several groups of different origins joined them during their migrations.

The “Hungarians who remained in the East”

The research further confirmed that the “Hungarians who remained in the East”, discovered in the 13th century by Friar Julian, could indeed have been living descendants of the Karayakupovo communities. Populations buried in cemeteries along the River Kama, associated with the Chiyalik culture, displayed genetic continuity with early Uralic populations up to the 14th century.

Members of these communities likely survived the Mongol invasion and by the 15th–16th centuries had assimilated into their new, multilingual environment.

The Conquest and the language

The genetic findings indicate that the groups of conquerors with Uralic genetic traits may have been the carriers of the Hungarian language. As the researchers emphasise, genetics alone cannot prove language use, but based on the current evidence, this appears to be the most probable explanation.

The new data also challenge the “dual conquest” hypothesis, as the Uralic genetic component appears in the Carpathian Basin only from the second half of the 9th century, together with the conquerors themselves.

Future research

The research team plans to continue exploring the kinship networks and social structure of Conquest‑period cemeteries, as well as to investigate previously unmapped genetic components among steppe peoples, which may be linked to tribes that joined in Etelköz, such as the Khavars.

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