Cyprus-Forum.com

[Jimski999]

It is a very interesting book by Roger Crowley; well worth a read and raises many questions relating to why Constantinople actually fell to the Ottomans. It does say in the book that when the Seljuk Turks came from the South East Caspian area (not Mongolia) they did in fact assimilate the local Greek population into their tribe because they would have been unable to maintain a hold of Anatolia otherwise because there was just too few of them to do it. You are correct that the local population were sick and tired of the oppression and coruption so you can understan why they sided with the Seljuk Turks.

Try reading John Julius Norwich Trilogy; The Rise and Fall of Byzantium; very interesting.

[yialousa1971]

Bloody imperialist colonisers!

The Greeks were not the only players of that game: Don't forget the Semitic Phoenicians too Colonies all over the Med, and into the Atlantic coasts of both Africa and Spain/Portugal. (Cadiz was originally a Phoenician settlement)

Fool, Greeks were everywhere, see............
cyprus37766.html

19 June 2012
Welsh people could be most ancient in UK, DNA suggests



Welsh people could lay claim to be the most ancient Britons, according to scientists who have drawn up a genetic map of the British Isles.

Research suggests the Welsh are genetically distinct from the rest of mainland Britain.

Professor Peter Donnelly, of Oxford University, said the Welsh carry DNA which could be traced back to the last Ice Age, 10,000 years ago.

The project surveyed 2,000 people in rural areas across Britain.

Participants, as well as their parents and grandparents, had to be born in those areas to be included in the study.

Prof Donnelly, a professor of statistical science at Oxford University and director of the Wellcome Trust centre for human genetics, said DNA samples were analysed at about 500,000 different points.

After comparing statistics, a map was compiled which showed Wales and Cornwall stood out.

Prof Donnelly said: "People from Wales are genetically relatively distinct, they look different genetically from much of the rest of mainland Britain, and actually people in north Wales look relatively distinct from people in south Wales."

While there were traces of migrant groups across the UK, there were fewer in Wales and Cornwall.

He said people from south and north Wales genetically have "fairly large similarities with the ancestry of people from Ireland on the one hand and France on the other, which we think is most likely to be a combination of remnants of very ancient populations who moved across into Britain after the last Ice Age.

"And potentially also, people travelling up the Atlantic coast of France and Spain and settling in Wales many thousands of years ago".

Mountains

He said it was possible that people came over from Ireland to north Wales because it was the closest point, and the same for people coming to south Wales from the continent, as it was nearer.

However he added: "We don't really have the historical evidence about what those genetic inputs were."

The geography of Wales made it more likely that ancient DNA would be retained.

Because of its westerly position and mountainous nature, Anglo-Saxons who moved into central and eastern England after the Romans left did not come that far west, and neither did the Vikings who arrived in around 900AD.

The professor said modern people from central and southern England had many genetic similarities to modern people in Denmark and Germany.

The mountains were also the reason why DNA may have remained relatively unchanged, as people would have found it harder to get from north to south Wales or into England compared with people trying to move across the flatter southern English counties, making them more likely to marry locally and conserve more ancient DNA.

"In north Wales, there has been relative isolation because people moved less because of geographical barriers," Prof Donnelly said.

He added that some of these factors also held true for the extreme edges of Scotland, while the Orkney islands showed DNA connections to Norway.

The next stage of the research will looking at physical similarities between different groups, in which the team will use photographs of people and make 3D models to measure quantitative similarities between related groups.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-18489735


'Extraordinary' genetic make-up of north-east Wales men

Experts are asking people from north-east Wales to provide a DNA sample to discover why those from the area carry rare genetic make-up.

So far, 500 people have taken part in the study which shows 30% of men carry an unusual type of Y chromosome, compared to 1% of men elsewhere the UK.

Common in Mediterranean men, it was initially thought to suggest Bronze Age migrants 4,000 years ago.

Sheffield University scientists explain the study at Wrexham Science Festival.

'Quite extraordinary'

A team of scientists, led by Dr Andy Grierson and Dr Robert Johnston, from the University of Sheffield is trying to find out how and why this has come about.

Dr Grierson is leading the talk at Glyndŵr University on Tuesday and wants to speak to people with ancestry in the region to discover what is known about their family history - and to provide them with an opportunity to contribute a DNA sample to the project.

"The number of people in north-east Wales with this genetic make-up is quite extraordinary," he said.

Continue reading the main story
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Genetics allows us to look at the historic population through their living descendants”
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Dr Andy Grierson

Study leader

"This type of genetic make-up is usually found in the eastern Mediterranean which made us think that there might have been strong connections between north-east Wales and this part of Europe somewhere in the past.

"But this appears not to be the case, so we're still looking to find out why it's happened and what it reveals about the history of the region."

Early into the study in 2009, the academics were hoping to link the migration of men in the Bronze Age to the discovery of copper.

The metal was found at both Parys Mountain on Anglesey, and on the Great Orme at Llandudno, Conwy.

Participants who come from the same area as their paternal grandfather are asked to give a cheek swab sample for genetic analysis. It is anonymous.

Dr Grierson leads research investigating the molecular basis of neurological disorders, including motor neuron disease and Alzheimer's disease.

He said he became interested in north Wales because of the unique genetic make-up, and because it offered an opportunity to investigate the history of the area using genetics.

"It provides a novel opportunity to look at past populations," he said.

"History and archaeology depend on surviving manuscripts and objects/landscapes. So it can be very limited.

"Genetics allows us to look at the historic population through their living descendants."

The Genetic Legacy of Medieval Society in north-east Wales takes place at Glyndŵr University's Wrexham campus from 1800 BST on Tuesday 19 July.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-nort ... s-14173910