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Haplogroup J/J2

Like haplogroups E3b and G, haplogroup J and its subclades originated in the Near East and spread across

Europe and the Mediterranean during the Neolithic. It is common among Semitic populations, and includes

the Cohen Modal Haplotype - the paternal genetic legacy of the Jewish priestly class. It is also present in

North Africa, Arabia and the Caucasus. It is not to be confused with the mtDNA Haplogroup J,

which also has a Near Eastern origin.

J Haplotype #1

The highest frequencies for this haplotype occur in Mediterranean countries, among American Hispanics and in

the Caucasus. There are also several matches in Germany that may be attributed to the Jewish diaspora through Central

and Eastern Europe. This haplotype may have come to Britain with Roman troops and settlers, with Norman troops

and administrators, or with Flemish merchants of Sephardic ancestry.

19 389i 389ii 390 391 392 393 385a 385b
14 13 29 23 10 11 12 13 18

Geographical Locale

 %
Crete, Greece 12.50
Virginia [Hispanic-American] 4.35
Caucasus [Azerbaijan] 1.39
Egypt 1.20
Dresden, Saxony 1.16
Sicily, Italy 1.01
Marche, Italy .93
Cologne, Westphalia .74
Lombardy, Italy .55
Latium, Italy .45
Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt .35
Argentina [European] .33
Berlin, Brandenburg .18
Leipzig, Saxony .15

J Haplotype #2

The high frequency matches in Colombia are probably of a European Iberian origin.

Most of the other matches fall in Western Asia or the Mediterranean region - or both.

This haplotype may have come to Britain with Roman troops or settlers

(e.g., Syrian archers, Iraqi boatmen or Sarmatian cavalry). It may also have arrived

with Norman troops and administrators or Flemish merchants of Sephardic origin.

19 389i 389ii 390 391 392 393 385a 385b
14 13 29 23 10 11 12 13 19

Geographical Locale

 %
Choco, Colombia [African] 1.49
Puglia, Italy 1.42
Caucasus [Azerbaijan] 1.39
Syria .88
Turkey .63
Leipzig, Saxony .15

J Haplotype #3

Two of the top four match frequencies for the haplotype below fall among Ashkenazi Jews and Syrians,

and most of the other matches fall among groups known to have been influenced by the Jewish diaspora -

Eastern Europe, Iberia and Germany.

This haplotype is clearly of Semitic origin and most likely came to North Britain with Roman troops

recruited in the Middle East or one or another wave of Sephardic Jewish immigrants.

19 389i 389ii 390 391 392 393 385a 385b
14 13 31 23 10 11 12 13 17

Geographical Locale

 %
Budapest, Hungary [Ashkenazi Jews] 2.86
Moscow, Russia 1.18
England-Wales [Chinese] .93
Syria .88
Bialystok, Poland [Tatars] .81
Antioquia, Colombia [European] .64
Andulacia/Extremadura, Spain .26
Sao Paulo, Brazil [European] .22
Stuttgart, Germany .22
Central Portugal .20
Buenos Aires, Argentina [European] .15
Chemnitz, Germany .12

J Haplotype #4

This haplotype most likely occurs among both J1 and J2 populations. Since YHRD does not use the DYS388

marker, it is difficult to distinguish between them. The highest frequencies for this haplotype fall in Sweden, the

Caucasus, Turkey, Ethiopia and Syria - with several other matches mostly among Iberian or Hispanic samples.

This haplotype may have come to Britain with Syrian archers, Roman settlers or Flemish wool traders of

Sephardic Jewish descent. (The Swedish match is probably a J2 of Gothic origin.)

19 389i 389ii 390 391 392 393 385a 385b
14 13 31 23 10 11 12 13 18

Geographical Locale

 %
Ostergotland/Jonkoping, Sweden 2.38
Caucasus [Georgian] 1.30
Turkey 1.27
Ethiopia [Amharic] 1.16
Caucasus [Armenian] 1.00
Damascus, Syria 1.00
Lausanne, Switzerland .94
Bulgaria .82
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [European] .79
Bogota, Colombia [European] .68
New York City [Hispanic-American] .67
New York City [European-American] .65
Sicily, Italy .50
Barcelona, Spain .15
Buenos Aires, Argentina [European] .15
Bhutan .12

J Haplotype #5

The J1 haplotype below is found primarily in Middle Eastern or North African populations. It could easily have

come to Britain with Jewish or Mediterranean traders, or Roman troops and settlers. Since it occurs (thus far)

among Scots-Irish individuals with roots in the Southeast border states, it might also indicate Melungeon origins,

but that is pure speculation.

19 389i 389ii 390 391 392 393 385a 385b
14 13 30 23 12 11 12 - -

Geographical Locale

 %
Umbria, Italy 1.96
Tunis, Tunisia 1.84
Tehran, Iran 1.25
Oran, Algeria [Arab] .99
Pakistan [Brahui] .91
Maracaibo, Venezuela [European] .90

J Haplotype #6

Of the top ten Old World frequencies for this haplotype, eight fall among populations of largely Mediterranean origin -

Greeks, Jews, Tunisians, Egyptians, Armenians, Turks and Italians. Two other high frequency matches - in the

Netherlands and Belgium - most likely reflect the spread of itinerant mercantile peoples, such as the Armenians or

the Sephardic Jews, to the Low Countries of Europe.

This haplotype could easily have come to the Borders with Roman troops, but could also have arrived with

Flemish merchants involved in the wool trade, like those who settled in Berwick about 500 years ago.

19 389i 389ii 390 391 392 393 385a 385b
14 13 30 23 10 11 12 13 17

Geographical Locale

 %
Central Greece 7.14
Florida [European-American] 4.55
Budapest, Hungary [Askenazi Jews] 2.86
Bologna, Italy 1.96
Tunis, Tunisia 1.85
Pennsylvania [European-American] 1.49
Egypt 1.20
Netherlands 1.15
Caucasus [Armenian] 1.00
Leuven, Belgium .88
Argentina [European] .66
Turkey .63
Latium, Italy .45
Malaysia [Malay] .36
Northern Portugal .35
Stuttgart, Baden-Wurttemburg .22
Chemnitz, Saxony .12

J Haplotype #7

The match pattern for this haplotype clearly suggests an origin in Western Asia, very likely among the Alans

or Sarmatians. The frequencies in the Caucasus are overwhelmingly high, followed by Gotland, Macedonia, Pakistan

and Bulgaria. It is very easy to imagine this haplotype coming to Britain with the Sarmatian cavalrymen who served

along Hadrian's Wall.

19 389i 389ii 390 391 392 393 385a 385b
15 13 30 23 10 11 12 - -

Geographical Locale

 %
North Caucasus [Chechenian] 15.8
North Caucasus [Lezginian] 10.5
North Caucasus [Rutulian] 4.55
South Caucasus [Azerbaijan] 2.78
Ostergotland Jonkoping, Sweden 2.39
Bulgaria [Turks] 1.64
Macedonia 1.34
Parsi, Pakistan 1.11
Damascus, Syria 1.00
South Caucasus [Armenian] 1.00
Panjab, Northern India .93
Brahui, Pakistan .91
Latium, Central Italy .90
Sindhi, Pakistan .82
Bulgaria .82
Sindhi, Pakistan .81
Bydgoszcz, Northern Poland .59
Central Portugal .55
Sicily, Southern Italy .50
Munich, Bavaria .39
Leipzig, Saxony .30
Freiburg, Baden-Wurttemburg .23

J Haplotype #8

The match pattern for this haplotype suggests an origin in Central Asia, with a spread westward through

Eastern Europe. This scenario is more typical of a J2 haplotype (which it may actually be), but the match pattern

was prepared for a Border Reiver descendant ostensibly tested as J1. Inferring from the match pattern only,

we might say that this haplotype could have arrived in Britain with Roman auxiliaries or foreign traders.

It is unlikely to have arisen locally.

19 389i 389ii 390 391 392 393 385a 385b
14 13 30 22 10 11 12 13 18

Geographical Locale

 %
Kathmandu, Nepal [Nepalese] 1.30
Lublin, Poland [Polish] .41
Central Bohemia, Czech Rep. [Czech] .22

Haplogroup J2

Haplogroup J2 is a subclade of haplogroup J.

The Capelli study found J2 in modest proportions in Great Britain, ranging from zero in Ireland, the Orkneys,

northern Scotland and the Hebrides - to 7 percent in Pitlochry. Pitlochry is in the Central Highlands of Perthshire, so

the presence of J2 here is somewhat puzzling. It probably has multiple sources. Much of the Roman settlement on

the Scottish frontier was in Perthshire - indeed, Perth was originally a Roman town. Some of the J2 component

in Pitlochry may have derived from the Flemish settlements in Aberdeen and Edinburgh, as many of the Flemish

merchants there were of Sephardic origin.  Levels of J2 ranging from 4 to 6 percent are also found in exactly the same

areas that had relatively high levels of E3b - the former Roman settlements of Faversham, Southwell and Uttoxeter.

Many conscripts from the Middle East served in the Roman Army, including The Company of Syrian Archers

stationed in Cumbria, and a unit of Iraqi boatmen who served in Northumbria. Many of these troops may have

settled down alongside their Saxon cohorts after the Roman Empire withdrew from Britain.

J2 Haplotype #1

The match pattern for this haplotype includes the Caucasus, and areas along the northern coast of continental

Europe, such as The Netherlands, Hamburg, Estonia and Poland. The haplotype may have originated with a Jewish

population, or from an admixture that had been present in a Germanic population thousands of years ago. The hits in the

U.S. heartland and Southern Ireland suggest that it diffused into the British Isles to a greater degree than many J2

haplotypes. The closest matches for DYS385a,b values of 12,16 are, in fact, with Oregon and Southern Ireland.

One cautionary note about this haplotype however. The DYS393 value of 13 causes it to resemble some

R1a haplotypes, so we can't rule out convergence.

19 389i 389ii 390 391 392 393 385a 385b
15 13 29 23 10 11 13 - -

Geographical Locale

 %
North Caucasus [Rutulian] 4.55
Indiana [European-American] 2.94
Oregon [European-American] 2.86
Maryland [African-American] 1.37
Netherlands 1.15
Okinawa, Southern Japan 1.15
Southern Ireland .93
Hamburg, Northern Germany .88
Lublin, Eastern Poland .75
Tartu, Estonia .75
Buenos Aires, Argentina [Europeans] .67
Dusseldorf, Westphalia .67
Lombardy, Northern Italy .55
Sweden .25
Freiburg, Baden-Wurttemburg .23
Berlin, Brandenburg .18

J2 Haplotype #2

The match pattern for this haplotype includes many areas where J2 is known to have spread. There are

multiple hits in Western Asia, Iberia and the Mediterranean, with fewer hits in the Germanic areas of Europe.

This haplotype could have entered Britain through either Roman settlement or later Sephardic immigration.

Yet the high scores in Western Russia, Norway and Puglia - which was once a Norman colony -

suggest that a Scandinavian origin is also a possibility.

19 389i 389ii 390 391 392 393 385a 385b
14 13 30 24 10 11 12 - -

Geographical Locale

 %
Moscow, Western Russia 2.35
Western Norway 1.56
Puglia, Southern Italy 1.43
Maryland [African-American] 1.37
Tehran, Iran 1.25
Pathan, Pakistan 1.08
Sicily, Southern Italy 1.01
South Caucasus [Armenian] 1.00
Santiago de Compostela, Galicia .97
Turkey .63
Northern Portugal .55
Munich, Bavaria .39
Sweden .25

J2 Haplotype #3

This haplotype is widespread, but it is especially common in Western Asia. Eight of the top

fifteen frequencies fall in such areas as Pakistan, Turkey and the Caucasus. The seven other

top frequencies are quite scattered, and require individual interpretation.

One group that scores high are the Cajuns, who are Americans largely descended from the

French Canadian group known as the Acadians. The Acadians came originally from Britanny,

Poitou and Saintonge, all provinces on the west coast of France. Each of these areas saw

immigration from Western Asia and Eastern Europe in ancient times. The Alans settled in

Brittany (when it was called Armorica) and the Visigoths settled in Poitou. Sephardic Jews

also settled in this area, perhaps contributing to the high frequency of Tay-Sachs disease

among the Cajuns.

The Romani - or gypsies - are also of eastern origin, and are thought by some to have

come from India.

Such a haplotype with a clearly eastern origin may have come to Britain with Roman

troops or settlers, or with Sephardic Jewish settlement in the wake of the Norman

invasion.

19 389i 389ii 390 391 392 393 385a 385b
14 14 31 23 10 11 12 - -

Geographical Locale

 %
North Caucasus [Darginian] 7.69
Ankara, Turkey 5.13
Cajun [European-American] 4.55
Makrani Beloch, Pakistan 4.00
South Caucasus [Georgian] 3.89
Baranya, Southern Hungary [Romani] 2.56
Varmland, Sweden 2.33
Madrid, Central-East Spain 2.03
South Caucasus [Armenian] 2.00
Romania 1.96
Turkey 1.90
Brahui, Pakistan 1.82
Missouri [European-American] 1.69
Tuscany, Central Italy 1.38
Tehran, Iran 1.25
Madeira, Portugal 1.02
Transylvania [Szekely] 1.02
Athens, Greece .99
Cantabria, Northern Spain .99
Santiago de Compostela, Galicia .97
Latium, Central Italy .90
Bulgaria .82
Valencia, Eastern Spain .71
Dusseldorf, Westphalia .67
New York City [African-American] .67
New York City [Hispanic-American] .67
Northern Portugal .55
Central Portugal .54
Budapest, Hungary .51
Sweden .49
London, England .40
Munich, Bavaria .39
Freiburg, Baden-Wurttemburg .23
Sao Paulo, Brazil [Europeans] .22
Berlin, Brandenburg .18
Gdansk, Northern Poland .18

J2 Haplotype #4

The match in China below may be the result of convergence - or it may reflect ancient trade relations along the Silk Road

between the Far East and the Middle East. The most relevant match for this haplotype is Leiden, which suggests an

origin among the Sephardic Jews who settled in The Low Countries, and later followed the Flemish allies of the Normans

into England.

19 389i 389ii 390 391 392 393 385a 385b
16 12 28 23 10 11 12 - -

Geographical Locale

 %
Hangzhou, China [Han] 2.86
Leiden, Netherlands 1.04
Greifswald, Pomerania .48
London, England [Asian] .38
Bygoszcz, Poland .18
Leipzig, Saxony .15

J2 Haplotype #5

The highest frequencies for the haplotype below fall overwhelmingly in Greece, followed by Albania, Saxony and Hungary.

(The match in Mongolia most likely reflects ancient trade relations along the Silk Road between the Far East and the

Middle East.)

There are additional matches in southeastern Europe, including Croatia, Macedonia and Turkey. Since there are relatively

few matches in Iberia, and none in The Low Countries, this may not necessarily be a Flemish or Norman signature of

Sephardic Jewish origin. It most likely came to Britain with Roman troops and settlers.

19 389i 389ii 390 391 392 393 385a 385b
14 12 28 24 10 11 12 - -

Geographical Locale

 %
Central Greece 7.14
Thessaly, Greece 6.66
Mongolia [Khalkh] 2.56
Albania 1.98
Dresden, Saxony 1.47
Szeged, Hungary 1.00
Cantabria, Northern Spain .99
Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate .96
Marche, Italy .93
Choco, Colombia [African] .75
Cologne, Westphalia .74
Macedonia .67
Zagreb, Croatia .67
Turkey .63
Budapest, Hungary .51
Argentina [European] .33
Berlin, Brandenburg .18
Chemnitz, Saxony .12

J2 Haplotype #6

This haplotype is found at low levels in Germany and Eastern Europe.

It is probably most commonly associated with Ashkenazi Jews, but may also have been present in Europe since Roman times.

This haplotype may have come to Britain with Neolithic farmers, Roman colonists or traders and merchants of Jewish origin.

19 389i 389ii 390 391 392 393 385a 385b
15 12 28 24 10 11 12 13 17

Geographical Locale

 %
Albania .99
Krakow, Poland .93
Freiburg, Baden-Wurttemburg .69
Dusseldorf, Westphalia .67
Zagreb, Croatia .67
Budapest, Hungary .52
London, England [Asian] .40
Leipzig, Saxony .15
Chemnitz, Saxony .12

J2 Haplotype #7

The haplotype below is rare, but the few matches are consistent with an origin among Roman troops or colonists,

or Sephardic Jews.

19 389i 389ii 390 391 392 393 385a 385b
14 13 30 23 10 12 12 13 -

Geographical Locale

 %
Syria .88
New York City [Hispanic-American] .67
Northern Portugal .32

J2 Haplotype #8

The highest Old World frequencies for the haplotype below fall among Hungarian Jews, and in Iran, Italy, Armenia, France

and Spain. This haplotype may have come to Britain with Roman troops or settlers, or with Sephardic Jews from France

or Flanders.

19 389i 389ii 390 391 392 393 385a 385b
14 13 29 23 10 11 12 13 17

Geographical Locale

 %
Florida [European-American] 4.55
Budapest, Hungary [Ashkenazi Jews] 2.70
Isfahan, Iran 2.08
Umbria, Italy 1.96
Caucasus [Armenian] 1.00
Cordoba, Argentina 1.00
Latium, Italy .90
Lyon, France .80
Pyrenees, Spain .75
Munster, Westphalia .51
Tuscany, Italy .46
Barcelona, Catalonia .45
Tyrol, Austria .44
Chemnitz, Saxony .24
Berlin, Brandenburg .18

J2 Haplotype #9

The haplotype below is interesting because by far the highest frequency of matches occurs in the Indo-Iranian homeland

of the Caucasus, and in areas colonized by Indo-Iranian nomads, such as Romania and Pakistan. Outside these regions,

it appears to be found mostly in Iberian populations - the Portuguese, in particular. This may be a Sephardic signature,

but it might also be an Alanic signature. Indo-Iranian nomads like the Alans and the Sarmatians migrated from western

Asia to Romania and Hungary, where they forged an alliance with the Goths. During the fifth century C.E., the Alans

joined the Visigoths and the Vandals in their invasion of Gaul and Spain, and settled heavily in Portugal.

The Alans also settled in Brittany, from where their descendants joined the Norman invasion of England.  

Their cousins, the Sarmatians, served as Roman troops in northwestern England and along the

Welsh and Scottish marches.

19 389i 389ii 390 391 392 393 385a 385b
14 14 32 23 10 11 12 - -

Geographical Locale

 %
North Caucasus [Darginian] 3.84
North Caucasus [Kabardinian] 1.72
Romania .98
Sindhi, Pakistan .82
Northern Portugal .55
Central Portugal .54
Antioquia, Colombia .25
Sao Paulo, Brazil [Europeans] .22

J2 Haplotype #10

The highest match frequency below falls in Iran, which suggests an Indo-Iranian origin, although a Semitic origin

is also possible. This haplotype could easily have come to Britain with Roman troops and settlers or Sephardic Jews.

19 389i 389ii 390 391 392 393 385a 385b
14 13 30 24 10 11 12 13 17

Geographical Locale

 %
Tehran, Iran 1.25
Berlin, Brandenburg .36

J2 Haplotype #11

Three of the top four highest frequencies for the partial haplotype below fall in the Caucasus. Additional locales in the top

ten include Turkey, Iran, Syria, Egypt and Italy. It also occurs in Central Anatolia, among Kurds, and in several samples

of obscure populations with a likely Central Asiatic origin - such as the Brahui and Burusho of Northwest Pakistan, and

the Csango of Romania, who are thought by many to be of Turkic or Magyar descent. This match pattern supports the

scenario of an origin in Central Asia, with a gradual diffusion into the Middle East and the Mediterranean, and then later

into other parts of Europe.

This haplotype could easily have come to Britain with Roman conquest or Hellenic exploration, either with Mediterranean

merchants, Sarmatian troops or Roman settlers of a variety of ethnicities. There is also the additional possibility that it

came to Britain far earlier, with Neolithic agricultural pioneers.

19 389i 389ii 390 391 392 393 385a 385b
14 12 28 23 10 11 12 - -

Geographical Locale

 %
Caucasus [Rutulian] 4.55
Caucasus [Ingushian] 4.17
Lunca de Sus, Romania [Csango] 3.57
Caucasus [Armenian] 3.00
Umbria, Italy 1.96
Turkey 1.89
Syria 1.77
Texas [Hispanic-American] 1.35
Manila, Phillipines [Tagalog, Cebuano] 1.32
Tehran, Iran 1.25
Liguria, Italy 1.23
Egypt 1.20
Asturias, Spain 1.11
Pakistan [Burusho] 1.06
Birmingham, England 1.03
Paris, France .92
Central Anatolia, Turkey .91
Pakistan [Brahui] .91
Kurds, Iraq .79
Tartu, Estonia .75
Cologne, Westphalia .74
Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt .71
Switzerland .67
Northern Portugal .64
Lombardy, Italy .55
Budapest, Hungary .52
Rostock, Mecklenburg .49
Barcelona, Catalonia .45
London, England [Indo-Pakistani] .40
Sweden .25
Chemnitz, Saxony .12

J2 Haplotype #12

The two top frequencies fall in Bosnia and Iran. This suggests a possible Indo-Iranian connection, not only due to the

presence of Iran, but because Bosnia is close to Croatia, which has historically claimed descent from the Sarmatians.

It is worth noting that both this haplotype, and #13 above, share DYS19/390/391/392/393 marker values with the Cohen

Modal Haplotype, which is found among J1 descendants of the Jewish priestly class, the Cohanim. Therefore, some of

these matches are possibly of Jewish origin, and may actually be haplogroup J1.

This haplotype could have come to the Borders with Roman settlers or troops - with Norman troops or administrators of

Alanic or Sephardic origin, or with Flemish merchants engaged in the wool trade, some of whom, especially after 1492 C.E.,

would have been of Sephardic Jewish origin.

19 389i 389ii 390 391 392 393 385a 385b
14 13 30 23 10 11 12 13 19

Geographical Locale

 %
Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina 2.86
Isfahan, Iran 2.08
Pennsylvania [European-American] 1.49