The Hazara, a people of Mongol descent…

1444 CE to 1455 CE

The Hazara, a people of Mongol descent living primarily in mountainous central Afghanistan, enter Afghanistan between 1229 and 1447.

The origins of the Hazaras have not been fully reconstructed.

Significant Mongol descent is impossible to rule out because the Hazaras' physical attributes and parts of their culture and language resemble those of Mongolians.

Thus, it is widely accepted that Hazaras have Mongolian ancestry, especially after genetic testing shows Hazaras carry the highest frequency of the Y chromosome attributed to Genghis Khan anywhere, in addition to very high frequencies of eastern Eurasian mtDNAs, which are virtually absent from their neighboring groups.

Some Hazara tribes are named after famous Mongol generals, for example the Tulai Khan Hazara who are named after Tolui, the youngest son of Genghis Khan.

Theories of Mongol or partially Mongol descent are plausible, given that the Il-Khanate Mongol rulers, beginning with Oljeitu, embraced Shia Islam.

Today, the majority of the Hazaras adhere to Shi'ism, whereas Afghanistan's other major ethnic groups are mostly Sunni.

However, the Sunni and Ismaili Hazara population, while existent, have not been extensively researched by scholars.

Another popular theory proposes that Hazaras are descendants of the Kushans, the ancient dwellers of Afghanistan who are believed to have constructed the Buddhas of Bamiyan.

Its proponents find the location of the Hazara homeland, and the similarity in facial features of Hazaras with those on frescoes and Buddha's statues in Bamiyan, suggestive.

However, this belief is contrary not only to the fact that the Kushans were Tocharians, but also to historical records which mention that in a particularly bloody battle around Bamiyan, Genghis Khan's grandson, Mutugen, was killed, and he allegedly ordered Bamiyan to be destroyed in retribution.

The theory accepted by most scholars, however, maintains that Hazaras are a mixed group.

This is not entirely inconsistent with descent from Mongol military forces.

For example, Nikudari Mongols settled in eastern Persia and mixed with native populations who spoke Persian.

A second wave of mostly Chagatai Mongols came from Central Asia and were followed by other Mongolic groups, associated with the Ilkhanate (driven out of Persia) and the Timurids, all of whom settled in Hazarajat and mixed with the local Persian population, forming a distinct group.

Genetically, the Hazara are primarily eastern Eurasian with western Eurasian genetic mixtures.

Genetic research suggests that the Hazaras of Afghanistan cluster closely with the Uzbek population of the country, while both groups are at a notable distance from Afghanistan's Tajik and Pashtun populations.

There is evidence of both a patrimonial and maternal relation to Mongol peoples of Mongolia.

Mongol male and female ancestry is supported by studies in genetic genealogy as well, which have identified a particular lineage of the Y-chromosome characteristic of people of Mongolian descent ("the Y-chromosome of Genghis Khan").

This chromosome is virtually absent outside the limits of the Mongol Empire except among the Hazara, where it reaches its highest frequency anywhere.

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