The other day I was editing my post Did Genghis Khan and his son Ögedei have red hair?, because I wanted to add a link to this 2016 article about the DNA testing on a Mongol queen’s family and her possible kinship with Genghis Khan (we will talk about it later).
As you can see, in the middle of my post there is a hyperlink, under the word “Source”. Initially, the link (this one https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genghis_Khan#Physical_appearance ) led to the paragraph “Physical appearance” of the Wikipedia page in English about Genghis Khan. Since I wanted to check if the link was still working, I clicked on it, but I immediatly noticed there was something strange in the page that opened: the paragraph “Physical appearance” was nowhere to be found, as well as any reference to red hair. I scrolled the page and I saw that the only short reference to Genghis Khan’s physical appearance could be found in the paragraph Character and achievementes.
I also checked the pages in other languages, but it was the same. However, since you can’t fool a redhead so easily, I copied and pasted the origial link on the Wayback Machine and in this way I put together the full chronolgy of that paragraph.
Even though this will be a bit long, I will quote all the editings made to the paragraph "Physical appearance" in full, because first of all, everything will be put on record (so to speak), and secondly, you will be able to see how many and what editings have been made. After that, I will write down my opinions.
The paragraph first appeared in 2012.
There are some debate as to whether Genghis Khan was fully Mongoloid or mixed Mongoloid/Caucasoid as there is no historical portrait of Genghis Khan. The only piece of evidence attributed to his Caucasoidness was the description from Rashid al-Din that recorded him being a red haired with green eyes, however these traits evidently still exists in some modern Mongols who are predominately Mongoloid in appearance and inherit all light hair and light eyes traits such as blue or green eyes and blonde or red hair. A certain number of Mongols, particularly the Oirat tribe in western Mongolia tend to exhibit lighter features such as fair skin, blue or green eyes, varying shades of brown hair, and sometimes even red or blonde hair.[15] Adding to the fact that Zerjal et al. identified Genghis Khan paternal DNA Y-chromosomal lineage to be Haplogroup C3 which is a common mongoloid marker among Tungustic people, this would make Genghis Khan more likely to be either predominately Mongoloid or at least a Euro-Mongoloid hybrid. Genetic testing of ethnic Mongolians mtDNA in Xinjiang China were found to have 14.3% west Eurasian mtDNA.[62] Which shows significant number of Europoid maternal contribution into the Mongolian mtDNA gene pool.
No accurate portraits of Genghis Khan exist today, and any surviving depictions are considered to be artistic interpretations.
Persian historian Rashid-al-Din had never met Genghis Khan but had recorded in his Jami' al-tawarikh (written in 14th century) that the legendary "glittering" ancestor of Genghis Khan was tall, long-bearded, red-haired, and green-eyed. Rashid al-Din also described the first meeting of Genghis and Kublai Khan, when Genghis Khan was surprised to find that Kublai had not inherited his red hair.[citation needed] According to al-Din Genghis' Borjigid clan legend involving their origins: It began as the result of an affair between Alan Gua (Alan-ko) and a stranger to her land, a glittering man who happened to have red hair and bluish-green eyes. Modern historian Paul Ratchnevsky has suggested in his Genghis biography that the "glittering man" may have been from the Kyrgyz people, who historically displayed these same characteristics. However, these traits can be found among modern Mongolians where they have a predominate Mongoloid appearance and with frequent occurrence of blue eyes, green eyes and red hair.[60] A certain number of Mongols, particularly the Oirat tribe in western Mongolia tend to exhibit lighter features such as fair skin, blue or green eyes, varying shades of brown hair, and sometimes even red or blonde hair.[61] Some Mongols today with predominate Mongoloid appearance exhibit slight Caucasoid features most likely stem from historical intermixing with ancient Central Asian and Siberian Europoids, as opposed to recent intermixing with Slavics and other Europeans.[62] Controversies aside, the closest depiction generally accepted by most historians is the portrait currently in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan.
Intermixing between the Mongoloid and Europoid population in Northern Mongolia have existed during the Xiongnu period long before the time of Genghis Khan.[63] Skulls of the well preserved Xiongnu and pre-Xiongnu tomb were examined and were found to have been an hybrid population with physical appearance of predominately Mongoloid with some Europoid admixture.[64] Genghis Khan was identified to have been Haplogroup C-M217, a common mongoloid paternal marker among Tungusic males.[55] Genetic testing of ethnic Mongolians mtDNA in Xinjiang, China were found to have 14.3% west Eurasian mtDNA,[65] which shows Caucasoid maternal contribution into the Mongolian mtDNA gene pool. Historically, the Tarim Basin in present-day Xinjiang was home to many ethnic groups, including some of East-West admixture, such as the people of the Xiaohe Tomb complex.[66]
No accurate portraits of Genghis Khan exist today, and any surviving depictions are considered to be artistic interpretations.
Persian historian Rashid-al-Din had never met Genghis Khan but had recorded in his Jami' al-tawarikh (written in the 14th century) that the legendary "glittering" ancestor of Genghis Khan was tall, long-bearded, red-haired, and green-eyed. According to al-Din Genghis' Borjigid clan legend involving their origins: It began as the result of an affair between Alan Gua (Alan-ko) and a stranger to her land, a glittering man who happened to have red hair and bluish-green eyes. Modern historian Paul Ratchnevsky has suggested in his Genghis biography that the "glittering man" may have been from the Kyrgyz people and historically displayed these same characteristics. The dominant type of the Yenesy Kyrgyz" was Mongoloid.[68] In Chinese sources, these Kyrgyz tribes were described as fair- skinned, green-eyed and red-haired people with a mixture of European and Mongol features.[69]
However, these traits can be found among modern Mongolians where they have a predominate Mongoloid appearance and with frequent occurrence of blue eyes, green eyes and red hair.[70] A certain number of Mongols, particularly the Oirat tribe in western Mongolia tend to exhibit lighter features such as fair skin, blue or green eyes, varying shades of brown hair, and sometimes even red or blonde hair.[71] Some Mongols today with predominate Mongoloid appearance exhibit slight Caucasoid features most likely stem from historical intermixing with ancient Central Asian and Siberian Europoids, as opposed to recent intermixing with Slavics and other Europeans.[72] Controversies aside, the closest depiction generally accepted by most historians is the portrait currently in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan which was drawn during the Mongol Yuan dynasty rule of China and depicts Genghis Khan with typical Mongol features.
Intermixing between the Mongoloid and Europoid population in Northern Mongolia have existed during the Xiongnu period long before the time of Genghis Khan.[73] Skulls of the well preserved Xiongnu and pre-Xiongnu tomb were examined and were found to have been an hybrid population with physical appearance of predominately Mongoloid with only 11% Europoid admixture.[74] Genghis Khan was identified to have been Haplogroup C-M217, a common mongoloid paternal marker among Tungusic males.[62] Genetic testing of ethnic Mongolians mtDNA in Xinjiang, China were found to have 14.3% west Eurasian mtDNA,[75] which shows Caucasoid maternal contribution into the Mongolian mtDNA gene pool. Historically, the Tarim Basin in present-day Xinjiang was home to many ethnic groups, including some of East-West admixture, such as the people of the Xiaohe Tomb complex.[76]
The closest depiction generally accepted by most historians is the portrait currently in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan which was drawn during the Mongol Yuan dynasty rule of China and depicts Genghis Khan with typical Mongol features.
Intermixing between the Mongoloid and Europoid population in Northern Mongolia have existed during the Xiongnu period long before the time of Genghis Khan.[68] Skulls of the well preserved Xiongnu and pre-Xiongnu tomb were examined and were found to have been an hybrid population with physical appearance of predominately Mongoloid with only 11% Europoid admixture.[69] Genghis Khan was identified to have been Haplogroup C-M217, a common mongoloid paternal marker.[62] Genetic testing of ethnic Mongolians mtDNA in Xinjiang, China were found to have 14.3% west Eurasian mtDNA,[70] which shows Caucasoid maternal contribution into the Mongolian mtDNA gene pool. Historically, the Tarim Basin in present-day Xinjiang was home to many ethnic groups, including some of East-West admixture, such as the people of the Xiaohe Tomb complex.[71]
The closest depiction generally accepted by most historians is the portrait currently in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan which was drawn under the supervision of his grandson Khubilai during the Mongol Yuan dynasty and depicts Genghis Khan with typical Mongol features.[69]
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Reproduction of a 1278 portrait taken from a Yuan-era album |
Unlike most emperors, Genghis Khan never allowed his image to be portrayed in paintings or sculptures. The earliest known images of Genghis Khan were produced half a century after his death, including the famous National Palace Museum portrait, produced by an anonymous[98][99] author. They are considered as arbitrary interpretations rather than accurate images.[100]
Although the factual nature of this statement is controversial, the Persian historian Rashid al-Din said that Genghis Khan and his male-line ancestors were tall, and red-haired. He also said that they had blue-green eyes, and that they had long beards.[101] Rashid al-Din authored these statements under the auspice of Mongol emperor Ghazan Khan, with the assistance of Bolad.[102]
Second half of 2020 (this was the paragraph I originally linked in my post)
Unlike most emperors, Genghis Khan never allowed his image to be portrayed in paintings or sculptures. The earliest known images of Genghis Khan were produced half a century after his death, including the famous National Palace Museum portrait.[111][112] Though the portrait in the National Palace Museum is often considered the closest resemblance to what Genghis Khan actually looked like, it, like all others, is essentially an arbitrary rendering.[113] These earliest images were commissioned by Kublai Khan and intentionally sinicized Genghis Khan as a Mandarin, in order to posthumously legitimate him as a Chinese emperor.[114] Other portrayals of Genghis Khan from other cultures likewise characterized him according to their particular image of him. In Persia he was portrayed as a Turkish sultan, in Europe he was pictured as an ugly barbarian with a fierce face and cruel eyes.[115] According to Herbert Allen Giles, a painter known as Ho-li-hosun (also known as Khorisun or Qooriqosun ) was a Mongol commissioned by Kublai Khan in 1278 to paint the portrait of Genghis Khan (National Palace Museam portrait).[116] Under Kublai Khan supervision, he ordered Khorisun along with the other entrusted remaining followers of Genghis Khan to make sure that the portrait of Genghis Khan reflected his true image.[117]
The only individuals to have recorded Genghis Khan's physical appearance during his lifetime were the Persian chronicler Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani and Chinese diplomat Zhao Hong.[118] Minhaj al-Siraj described Genghis Khan as "a man of tall stature, of vigorous built, robust in body, the hair of his face scanty and turned white, with cats’ eyes, possessed of dedicated energy, discernment, genius, and understanding, awe-striking..."[119] The chronicler had also previously commented on Genghis Khan's height, powerful build, with cat's eyes and lack of grey hair, based on the evidence of eyes witnesses in 1220, which saw Genghis Khan fighting in the Khorasan (modern day northwest Persia).[120][121] According to Paul Ratchnevsky, Zhao Hong, a Song dynasty envoy who visited the Mongols in 1221,[122] described Genghis Khan as "of tall and majestic stature, his brow is broad and his beard is long."[120]
Other descriptions of Genghis Khan come from 14th century texts. The Persian historian Rashid-al-Din in Jami' al-tawarikh, written in the beginning of the 14th century, stated that most Borjigin ancestors of Genghis Khan were "tall, long-bearded, red-haired, and bluish green-eyed," features which Genghis Khan himself had. The factual nature of this statement is considered controversial.[113] In the Georgian Chronicles, in a passage written in the 14th century, Genghis Khan is similarly described as a large, good-looking man, with red hair.[123]However, according to John Andrew Boyle, Rashid al-Din's text of red hair referred to ruddy skin complexion, and that Genghis Khan was of ruddy complexion like most of his children except for Kublai Khan who was swarthy. He translated the text as “It chanced that he was born 2 months before Möge, and when Chingiz-Khan’s eye fell upon him he said: “all our children are of a ruddy complexion, but this child is swarthy like his maternal uncles. Tell Sorqoqtani Beki to give him to a good nurse to be reared ”. [124] 14th century Arabic historian Shihab al-Umari also disputed Rashid al-Din's translation and claimed Alan Gua falsified the origin of her clan. [125] Some Historians such as Denise Aigle claimed that Rashid al-Din mythicized the origin of Genghis Khan ancestors (the Borjigin clan) through his own interpretations of The Secret History of the Mongols. Italian historian Igor de Rachewiltz claimed that the Mongol origins of the early ancestors of Genghis Khan were animals born from the blue eye wolf (Borte Chino) and the fallow doe (Qo'ai Maral) that was described in the early legends, that their ancestors were animals.[126]
End of 2021 (here there is no “Physical appearance”
paragraph, but the description is given in the paragraph “Depictions –
Medieval”)
Unlike most emperors, Genghis Khan never allowed his image to be portrayed in paintings or sculptures.
The earliest known images of Genghis Khan were produced half a century after his death, including the famous National Palace Museum portrait in Taiwan.[110][111] The portrait portrays Genghis Khan wearing white robes, a leather warming cap and his hair tied in braids, much like a similar depiction of Kublai Khan.[112] This portrait is often considered to represent the closest resemblance to what Genghis Khan actually looked like, though it, like all others renderings, suffers from the same limitation of being, at best, a facial composite.[113] Like many of the earliest images of Genghis Khan, the Chinese-style portrait presents the Great Khan in a manner more akin to a Mandarin sage than a Mongol warrior.[114] Other portrayals of Genghis Khan from other cultures likewise characterized him according to their particular image of him: in Persia he was portrayed as a Turkic sultan and in Europe he was pictured as an ugly barbarian with a fierce face and cruel eyes.[115] According to sinologist Herbert Allen Giles, a Mongol painter known as Ho-li-hosun (also known as Khorisun or Qooriqosun) was commissioned by Kublai Khan in 1278 to paint the National Palace Museum portrait.[116] The story goes that Kublai Khan ordered Khorisun, along with the other entrusted remaining followers of Genghis Khan, to ensure the portrait reflected the Great Khan's true image.[117]
The only individuals to have recorded Genghis Khan's physical appearance during his lifetime were the Persian chronicler Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani and Chinese diplomat Zhao Hong.[118] Minhaj al-Siraj described Genghis Khan as "a man of tall stature, of vigorous build, robust in body, the hair of his face scanty and turned white, with cats’ eyes, possessed of dedicated energy, discernment, genius, and understanding, awe-striking...".[119] The chronicler had also previously commented on Genghis Khan's height, powerful build, with cat's eyes and lack of grey hair, based on the evidence of eyes witnesses in 1220, which saw Genghis Khan fighting in the Khorasan (modern day northwest Persia).[120][121] According to Paul Ratchnevsky, the Song dynasty envoy Zhao Hong who visited the Mongols in 1221,[122] described Genghis Khan as "of tall and majestic stature, his brow is broad and his beard is long".[120]
Other descriptions of Genghis Khan come from 14th century texts. The Persian historian Rashid-al-Din in Jami' al-tawarikh, written in the beginning of the 14th century, stated that most Borjigin ancestors of Genghis Khan were "tall, long-bearded, red-haired, and bluish green-eyed," features which Genghis Khan himself had. The factual nature of this statement is considered controversial.[113] In the Georgian Chronicles, in a passage written in the 14th century, Genghis Khan is similarly described as a large, good-looking man, with red hair.[123] However, according to John Andrew Boyle, Rashid al-Din's text of red hair referred to ruddy skin complexion, and that Genghis Khan was of ruddy complexion like most of his children except for Kublai Khan who was swarthy. He translated the text as “It chanced that he was born 2 months before Möge, and when Chingiz-Khan's eye fell upon him he said: “all our children are of a ruddy complexion, but this child is swarthy like his maternal uncles. Tell Sorqoqtani Beki to give him to a good nurse to be reared”.[124] 14th century Arabic historian Shihab al-Umari also disputed Rashid al-Din's translation and claimed Alan Gua falsified the origin of her clan.[125] Some Historians such as Denise Aigle claimed that Rashid al-Din mythicized the origin of Genghis Khan ancestors (the Borjigin clan) through his own interpretations of The Secret History of the Mongols. Italian historian Igor de Rachewiltz claimed that the Mongol origins of the early ancestors of Genghis Khan were animals born from the blue eye wolf (Borte Chino) and the fallow doe (Qo'ai Maral) that was described in the early legends, that their ancestors were animals.[126]
2023 (here the description is given in the paragraph Cultural depictions/Medieval)
Unlike most emperors, Genghis Khan never allowed his image to be portrayed in paintings or sculptures.[173]
The earliest known images of Genghis Khan were produced half a century after his death, including the famous National Palace Museum portrait in Taiwan.[174][175] The portrait portrays Genghis Khan wearing white robes, a leather warming cap and his hair tied in braids, much like a similar depiction of Kublai Khan.[176] This portrait is often considered to represent the closest resemblance to what Genghis Khan actually looked like, though it, like all others renderings, suffers from the same limitation of being, at best, a facial composite.[177] Like many of the earliest images of Genghis Khan, the Chinese-style portrait presents him in a manner more akin to a Mandarin sage than a Mongol warrior.[178] Other portrayals of Genghis Khan from other cultures likewise characterized him according to their particular image of him: in Persia he was portrayed as a Turkic sultan and in Europe he was pictured as an ugly barbarian with a fierce face and cruel eyes.[179] According to sinologist Herbert Allen Giles, a Mongol painter known as Ho-li-hosun (also known as Khorisun or Qooriqosun) was commissioned by Kublai Khan in 1278 to paint the National Palace Museum portrait.[180] The story goes that Kublai Khan ordered Khorisun, along with the other entrusted remaining followers of Genghis Khan, to ensure the portrait reflected the Genghis Khan's true image.[181]
The only individuals to have recorded Genghis Khan's physical appearance during his lifetime were the Persian chronicler Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani and Chinese diplomat Zhao Hong.[182] Minhaj al-Siraj described Genghis Khan as "a man of tall stature, of vigorous build, robust in body, the hair of his face scanty and turned white, with cats’ eyes, possessed of dedicated energy, discernment, genius, and understanding, awe-striking...".[183] The chronicler had also previously commented on Genghis Khan's height, powerful build, with cat's eyes and lack of grey hair, based on the evidence of eyes witnesses in 1220, which saw Genghis Khan fighting in the Khorasan (modern day northwest Persia).[184][185] According to Paul Ratchnevsky, the Song dynasty envoy Zhao Hong who visited the Mongols in 1221,[186] described Genghis Khan as "of tall and majestic stature, his brow is broad and his beard is long".[184]
Other descriptions of Genghis Khan come from 14th century texts. The Persian historian Rashid-al-Din in Jami' al-tawarikh, written in the beginning of the 14th century, stated that most Borjigin ancestors of Genghis Khan were "tall, long-bearded, red-haired, and bluish green-eyed," features which Genghis Khan himself had. The factual nature of this statement is considered controversial.[177] In the Georgian Chronicles, in a passage written in the 14th century, Genghis Khan is similarly described as a large, good-looking man, with red hair.[187] However, according to John Andrew Boyle, Rashid al-Din's text of red hair referred to ruddy skin complexion, and that Genghis Khan was of ruddy complexion like most of his children except for Kublai Khan who was swarthy. He translated the text as “It chanced that he was born 2 months before Möge, and when Chingiz-Khan's eye fell upon him he said: “all our children are of a ruddy complexion, but this child is swarthy like his maternal uncles. Tell Sorqoqtani Beki to give him to a good nurse to be reared”.[188]
Second half of 2023 (here the description is given in the paragraph Legacy/Medieval depictions and assessment)
Genghis Khan never allowed his image to be depicted in any medium; as a result, any painting, sculpture, or engravings are interpretations of the writings of historians, most writing long after his death.[180] The two earliest statements come from the Persian chronicler Juzjani, who relied on Khorasani eyewitnesses, and the contemporary Song diplomat Zhao Hong—both record that he was tall and strong with a powerful stature. Juzjani additionally remarks on the khan's "cat's eyes", mirroring a similar statement Dei Sechen, Genghis' father-in-law, is recorded saying on meeting him as a nine-year old.[181] Another written description is found in the Jami al-tawarikh, which states that Genghis Khan and his Borjigin ancestors had blue-green eyes and either red hair or a ruddy complexion which Kublai Khan did not inherit. The factual nature of this description is considered controversial.[182][183]
Genghis Khan had a notably positive reputation among some western European authors in the Middle Ages, who knew little concrete information about his empire in Asia.[184] The Italian explorer Marco Polo said that Genghis Khan "was a man of great worth, and of great ability, and valor",[185][186] while philosopher and inventor Roger Bacon applauded the scientific and philosophical vigor of Genghis Khan's empire,[187] and Geoffrey Chaucer praised the "great renown of Cambinskan".[188]
End of 2023 (here the description is give in the paragraph Character and achievements, and is the last editing, for now)
No eyewitness description or contemporary depiction of Genghis Khan survives.[181] The two earliest descriptions come from the Persian chronicler Juzjani and the Song diplomat Zhao Hong.[f] Both record that he was tall and strong with a powerful stature. Zhao said that Genghis had a broad brow and long beard while Juzjani remarks that the khan lacked grey hair and had cat's eyes. The Secret History records that his father-in-law remarked on his "flashing eyes and lively face" when meeting him.[183]
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A Yuan dynasty portrait of Ögedei, Genghis's third son and eventual successor. Note the reddish moustache and goatee. |
Now, if you notice, in the 2012, 2013 and 2014 pages genetics is mentioned. They say that Genghis Khan was identified to have been Haplogroup C-M217 (a common mongoloid paternal marker among Tungusic males) and the source cited is this 2003 article by Zerial and colleagues: The Genetic Legacy of the Mongols.
However, if you read it, you’ll see that Genghis Khan being Haplogroup C-M217 is only an inference. No test has been conducted on the bodies of Genghis Khan and his family members, for the simple reason that their burial place is unknown.
Then, in 2015, something must have happened, because the “Physical appearance” paragraph is shortened and for five years it stays that way. In 2020, the paragraph is edited again and more information is added, but without any reference to genetics.
Just a little more than one year later, they start to “hide” this piece of information by removing the “Physical appearance” paragraph and writing about Genghis Khan’s physical appearance first in the paragraph Depiction/Medieval, then in Cultural depictions / Medieval and finally in Legacy/Medieval depictions and assessment. By doing so, they probably want to give readers the impression that these descriptions are not Genghis Khan’s real physical appearance, but only fiction.
Finally, at the end of 2023, any reference to red hair is removed and the few bits of information about his physical appearance are given in the paragraph Character and achievements.
Now, my idea is that all this crazy editing is mainly due to the 2016 article I linked at the beginning of this post. As I said before, the burial place of Genghis Khan and his family members is unknow, but in 2004 five graves belonging to the Golden family (the Mongol imperial family) have been discovered in Tavan Tolgoi, Eastern Mongolia. I’m not an expert of genetics, so I can’t say this study and its conclusions are correct, but at least in this case actual bodies have been examined, unlike the research by Zerial and colleagues.
I quote some excerpts from the article, and you will see that authors mention red hair as well:
Four of the 5 bodies were determined to carry the mitochondrial DNA haplogroup D4, while the fifth carried haplogroup CZ, indicating that this individual had no kinship with the others. Meanwhile, Y-SNP and Y-STR profiles indicate that the males examined belonged to the R1b-M343 haplogroup. Thus, their East Asian D4 or CZ matrilineal and West Eurasian R1b-M343 patrilineal origins reveal genealogical admixture between Caucasoid and Mongoloid ethnic groups, despite a Mongoloid physical appearance… Here, we propose that Genghis Khan and his family carried Y-haplogroup R1b-M343, which is prevalent in West Eurasia, rather than the Y-haplogroup C3c-M48, which is prevalent in Asia and which is widely accepted to be present in the family members of Genghis Khan.” [here’s the Wikipedia page about the haplogroup R1b and its distribution]
Evidence suggests that many Mongoloid and Caucasoid nomadic tribes inhabited the present-day Mongolian plateau over thousands of years [40]. Since Genghis Khan’s era, the Mongolian population underwent rapid and considerable gene flow from Eurasia, resulting in additional genetic admixture [40]. Likewise, the Mongolian population was formed by the continuous admixture of indigenous tribes who inhabited the Mongolian plateau, with European and other Asian populations who inhabited regions geographically distant from Mongolia. This admixture has deeply influenced the physical appearance of modern-day Mongolian people, exhibiting both Mongoloid and Caucasoid features.
The mixing between Mongoloid and Caucasoid ethnic groups inherent in the genetic structure of modern-day Mongolians was also observed in the Tavan Tolgoi bodies. The Golden family members carried mtDNA haplogroups D4 and CZ, mostly found in Far Eastern and Northeastern Asia, respectively, whereas male members of Golden family carried the Y-haplogroup R1b-M343, dominant in Western Europe [41–43]. That is, although members of Golden family were physically Mongoloid, their molecular genealogy revealed the admixture between Caucasoid and Mongoloid ethnic groups. Thus, it is likely that their Mongoloid appearance would have resulted from gradual changes in their appearance from Caucasoid to Mongoloid through generations from their ancestors. Their physical appearance was largely attributed to D4-carrying Mongoloid females who were indigenous peoples of the Mongolian plateau, rather than an R1b-M343-carrying Caucasoid male spouse who had initially moved from Europe to the Mongolian plateau and his male descendants; it is, however, uncertain how and when the admixture between Mongoloid and Caucasoid ethnic groups originated in the Mongolian plateau.
Although many regard the portrait at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan, as the depiction most closely resembles Genghis Khan, all existing portraits, including this one, are essentially arbitrary interpretations of Genghis Khan’s appearance by historians living generations after Genghis Khan’s era [2, 6]. Although the factual nature of the statement is controversial, Persian historian Rashid-al-Din reported in his “Jami’s al-tawarikh” written at the start of the 14th century that most Borjigin ancestors of Genghis Khan were tall, long-bearded, red-haired, and bluish green-eyed, suggesting that the Genghis Khan’s male lineage had some Caucasoid-specific genetic features [44]. He also said that Genghis Khan looked just like his ancestors, but Kublai Khan, his grandson, did not inherit his ancestor’s red hair, implying that the addition of Mongoloid-specific alleles for determining hair color to the genetic makeup of Genghis Khan’s Borjigin clan was probably from the grandmother or mother of Kublai Khan, that is, the wife or daughter-in-law of Genghis Khan.
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| A Caucasian Central Asian monk, possibly an Indo-European Sogdian or Tocharian, teaching an East Asian monk, perhaps a Turkic Uyghur or Chinese, on a 9th-century AD fresco from the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves near Turfan, Xinjiang, China. More information here |
This excerpt refers to the 2003 study I linked above:
In contrast, considering that modern-day individuals with specific haplotypes such as C3c-M48 are largely distributed within the past Mongol Empire, Zerjal and colleagues [56] reported that Genghis Khan carried haplogroups C-RPS4Y711, and C3c-M48, which are common Mongoloid paternal markers. However, their results did not come directly from the remains of Genghis Khan. Accordingly, nobody can determine whether those haplogroups were indeed carried by Genghis Khan until human remains from Genghis Khan’s grave are excavated to obtain direct proof of the connection of those haplogroups with him.
As you can guess, these findings must have stirred some controversy, because we can imagine that, in our age, so suffocated by ideologies, many didn’t like the idea of the most important Asian conqueror being of Eurasian origins. The article is from 2016, but the results of the research have probably started to circulate in previous years, and, in my opinion, this is reason of the sudden shortening, in 2015, of the “Physical appearance” paragraph. Since the 2003 article by Zerial and colleagues proved to be unreliable (its authors never examined any actual body), the authors of the Wikipedia Genghis Khan page no longer wanted to cite it, but, at the same time, they didn’t want to cite this 2016 article either, so, they decided first to shorten the paragraph and then to remove any reference to genetics and physical appearance.
This is obviously a very naive thing to do. First, because, as you can see, the internet doesn’t forget so easily.
Second, because on the internet you’ll find plenty of articles arguing that several historical characters from Asia and the Far East (and even entire peoples) could have had a not so “Eastern” physical appearance (you can find some posts on this blog as well). This article, for example, quoting Victor Mair, a professor of Chinese culture, argues that even descriptions of “legendary figures of great stature, with deep-set blue or green eyes, long noses, thick beards, and red or blond hair… may be accurate”
Third, the simple fact that Genghis Khan, his sons and male relatives all sported a beard/goatee and a moustache means they were not 100% of Mongol descent, because the so-called Mongoloid race (just like other human races) is glabrous (i. e. with little or no body hair). Even today, most Mongolian men are able to grow facial hair (unlike most Chinese, Japanese and Korean men), which means that in that area the mixing between Mongoloid and Caucasoid ethnic groups was quite strong.
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Genghis Khan and seven of his successors from Bust Portraits of Yuan Dynasty Emperors, by Anonymous, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) |
Some of you probably know the so-called Tarim mummies (we have talked about them here). They are mummies with Caucasian features found in the Tarim Basin, in present-day Xinjiang, China, which date from 1800 BC to the first centuries BC. In this article, professor Victor Mair (who I already quoted above) explains how, for years, the Chinese government tried to thwart foreign scholars from looking too deeply into the mummies' origins, because they “seemed to contradict the official government view that the Han Chinese had the oldest historical claim to Xinjiang, dating to the second century B.C. The question of which ethnic group lived here first is a serious issue today...”
I’m not saying the Chinese governmente is behind the Wikipedia censorship on Genghis Khan, but this of the Tarim mummies is an exemple of how the presence of ancient Caucasian people in that part of Asia can lead to controversy, because many had wanted to establish as normative, during the 20th century, that the first Westerner to set foot in China was Marco Polo.
One last thing. As you read in several versions of the Physical appearance paragraph, unlike most emperors, Genghis Khan never allowed his image to be portrayed in paintings or sculptures. That’s quite strange, because many great leaders have wanted to create a sort of cult of their own image and even had their personal sculptors and painters. My idea is that Genghis Khan never allowed his image to be portrayed because he knew he looked different from the peoples he was conquering.
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