Biology:Genetic Studies and the Khazar Hypothesis

The Khazar hypothesis states that the Ashkenazi Jews are descended, in part, from the inhabitants of a medieval kingdom in Eastern Europe called Khazaria. The results of genetic studies conflict on the theory. A 2013 trans-genome study carried out by 30 geneticists, from 13 universities and academies, from 9 countries, assembling the largest data set available to date, for assessment of Ashkenazi Jewish genetic origins found no evidence of Khazar origin among Ashkenazi Jews. "Thus, analysis of Ashkenazi Jews together with a large sample from the region of the Khazar Khaganate corroborates the earlier results that Ashkenazi Jews derive their ancestry primarily from populations of the Middle East and Europe, that they possess considerable shared ancestry with other Jewish populations, and that there is no indication of a significant genetic contribution either from within or from north of the Caucasus region", the authors concluded. The authors found no affinity in Ashkenazim with north Caucasus populations, as well as no greater affinity in Ashkenazim to south Caucasus or Anatolian populations than that found in non-Ashkenazi Jews and non-Jewish Middle Easterners (such as the Kurds, Iranians, Druze and Lebanese). The greatest affinity and shared ancestry of Ashkenazi Jews were found to be (after those with other Jewish groups from southern Europe, Syria, and North Africa) with both southern Europeans and Levantines such as Druze, Cypriot, Lebanese and Samaritan groups.

A 2004 study found that 5.22% of Ashkenazi Jewish men were Haplogroup Q. The primary branch of Haplogroup Q found in Ashkenazi Jews is Y2232. The branches of Haplogroup Q found in Sephardic Jewish populations are YP745 and BZ386. The last common branch of the Y2232 and YP745 lineages is L245, which is 5,100 to 6,700 years old. That means the branches diverged a minimum of 5,100 years ago. The last common branch of the Y2232 and BZ386 branches is M378, which is 8,000 to 12,000 years old. That means that the Y2232 and BZ386 lineages diverged a minimum of 8,000 years ago. So, the Ashkenazi and Sephardic Q lineages diverged more than 2,000 years before the Kingdom of Israel was established.