More than 800 million Asian men are descendants of 11 ancestors.

More than 800 million men living in Asia today are descended from just 11 men, including Genghis Khan - the founder of the Mongol Empire, according to a new study.

Map depicting human lineages (symbol DC) in Asia. Photo: Nature

Geneticists at the University of Leicester (UK) have traced the DNA of modern Asian men to find their ancestors.

The team analyzed the Y chromosomes of 5,321 men from 127 different populations across Asia. They found that 11 common Y chromosome sequences appeared repeatedly in the genomes studied.

By looking for specific random mutations that accumulated over time on these Y chromosome sequences, the team was able to roughly estimate when they originated. They discovered that, in addition to Genghis Khan—who is rumored to have fathered hundreds of children—10 other men were responsible for the rest of the lineages across Asia.

Among them is a lineage whose ancestor is Giocangga, a Chinese ruler who died in 1583 and whose grandson founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China from 1644 to 1912. Giocangga is said to have fathered numerous children with his wives and concubines and is the direct ancestor of more than 1.5 million Asian men.

According to the research report, another Asian lineage appears to have formed scattered populations along the so-called “Silk Road” trade route and dates back to around 850 AD. This suggests that this Asian lineage may have originated from powerful rulers who dominated the steppe regions that the Silk Road passed through, such as the Khitan, Western Xia, Juchin, Western Liao, and Mongol empires.

The research team believes that the ancestor of this human lineage could be Liao Taizu - the first emperor of the Khitans or Genghis Khan, who died in 926 AD.

The ancestors of the Asian human lineages are dated to around 2100 BC to AD 1100. They lived in both local agricultural societies and nomadic tribes that migrated from the Middle East to Southeast Asia.

Writing in the European Journal of Human Genetics, Professor Mark Jobling, who led the study, said: "Having many children is often associated with men of high social status, 'prestigious' status and having many concubines and maids. Their children also have lower mortality rates."

According to Daily Mail