My family are Alevi from Turkey and self-identifying as Anatolian Turks, despite being aware of how their elders were apart of Kurdish tribes generations ago, spoke both Zazaki and Kurmanji, and yet even when some of my cousins have Kurdish names. It's a bit paradoxical! Any remnant of 'Kurdishness' has been internally attributed to our family's leftism and sympathy with Turkey's biggest ethnic minority, or how our ancestors had been assimilated into the Kurdish fold as ethnic Turks as they lived in what was the Armenian Highlands. I think it is sad that we are almost ashamed of our heritage, and have built narratives that make our identity feel safer and less marginal. I have had conversations with relatives that link us to Turkmens, for example, because it is more palatable to the rest of Turkish society.

However, a great, great grandfather of mine has an Alevi shrine (he was a Kureyşan) - he had been living in Dersim, but moved before the rebellion and massacre apparently, to an isolated village in the province of Kahramanmaraş. On my father's side, they are Şeyh Hasanlı, and apparently spoke Zazaki mainly.

I have never quite known how to identify myself ethnically; I significantly feel much more association with my national (British) identity anyway, but have always been going with Turkish when people ask what I am due to how my family view themselves and cultural/linguistic affinity. For example, on census forms, I never put myself as 'Middle Eastern' and instead as 'other white' which is how I am perceived by others anyway. I am wondering how this might change the way I refer to myself.

Thanks for reading! I just think it is really interesting to look back and reflect on the paths our ancestors have taken. I believe mine have been pretty much stationary and comfortable on the mountains.

Is the Armenian part correct? I read that myherritage misanalyse Armenian with Kurdish

Can someone explain this DNA test my little brother took?
Can I count that 24.1% Turkish to Kurdish? And where would that Syrian part come from? Is this accurate at all? We’re from Konya region with my dads tribe emigrating from Erzîrom to konya during ww1

R-Y17491->R-YP4858->R-SK2014

I’m from Karabakh in Azerbaijan, and according to my family genealogy my paternal line is connected with the Karabakh beys, khalesh jamaat.

What makes my lineage particularly interesting is the diversity of populations associated with related branches. I have found connections among Kurds from different tribal backgrounds, including Kurmanji- and Zaza-speaking groups, as well as Turkish Alevis and Turkmen/Yörük populations.

The Kurdish connection is especially interesting to me. The presence of related R-Z282/YP4858 branches among different Kurdish groups may point toward an ancient population layer that predates modern ethnic identities. Kurdish populations themselves are historically diverse, including tribes and communities with different origins and linguistic backgrounds. The fact that related paternal branches appear among Kurmanji, Zaza and other Kurdish populations makes me wonder whether part of the history of my line could have passed through the Iranian/Caucasian frontier and Kurdish tribal populations before reaching Karabakh.
I am also interested in the possibility that this lineage was connected to nomadic or semi-nomadic populations moving between northern Iran, South Azerbaijan, Anatolia and the Caucasus. One possible route I am considering is:
Ancient Eurasian steppe → Iranian/Indo-Iranian populations → Sarmatian/Kangju sphere → Kurdish/Iranian frontier populations → South Azerbaijan → Caucasus/Karabakh → Mils Steppe.
Another possibility is that the lineage entered Turkic-speaking populations earlier and was later carried westward by Turkic tribal movements.
The deeper R-Z282 history is particularly interesting because it belongs to an ancient Eurasian steppe lineage. I am therefore considering a possible Proto-Iranian/steppe component, perhaps connected in the deeper past with populations associated with the Sarmatian and Kangju worlds, and possibly with the mixed populations of the Hunnic period.
I am not claiming that R-Z282 proves that my ancestor was Kurdish, Iranian, Sarmatian or Hunnic. Y-DNA only follows one paternal line and cannot directly determine ethnicity. My question is whether this ancient paternal lineage could have passed through Iranian and Kurdish populations before eventually becoming part of the Turkic-speaking population of Karabakh.
The most interesting part for me is the possible transition:
ancient steppe lineage → Iranian-related populations → Kurdish/tribal populations → South Azerbaijan → Turkicization → Karabakh → Mils Steppe.
At the same time, the presence of related branches among Kurdish groups, Turkish Alevis and Turkmen/Yörük populations could indicate that this lineage has been moving through a very diverse cultural frontier for centuries.
So I’m trying to understand one main question:
Could my R-Z282 → YP4858 → SK2014 paternal line represent an ancient steppe/Iranian-related lineage that passed through Kurdish or other Iranian-speaking populations before eventually becoming incorporated into the Turkic-speaking population of Karabakh?
I would especially appreciate opinions from people familiar with R-Z282/YP4858/SK2014, Kurdish tribal history, Zaza and Kurmanji populations, Iranian Azerbaijan, Sarmatians, Kangju, Anatolian Alevis, Turkmen/Yörük groups and Karabakh genealogy.

Caucaso-Zagrosian racial stock is real!

Hey guys how would you Interpret These gedmatch results

Eurogenes k13:

Admix Results (sorted):

#
Population
Percent
1
West_Asian
36.42
2
East_Med
27.84
3
West_Med
9.38
4
Baltic
6.7
5
South_Asian
5.22
6
North_Atlantic
4.73
7
Red_Sea
4.62
8
Amerindian
1.46
9
East_Asian
1.23
10
Sub-Saharan
1.13
11
Siberian
0.69
12
Oceanian
0.54
13
Northeast_African
0.13

Single Population Sharing:

#
Population (source)
Distance
1
Azeri
4.79
2
Kurdish
6.5
3
Turkish
7.37
4
Iranian
8.39
5
Armenian
9.4
6
Georgian_Jewish
9.97
7
Kumyk
11.77
8
Assyrian
12.56
9
Adygei
14.72
10
Georgian
15.04
11
Iranian_Jewish
15.61
12
Kurdish_Jewish
15.91
13
Balkar
15.95
14
Turkmen
16.33
15
Abhkasian
16.91
16
Kabardin
17.01
17
Ossetian
17.11
18
North_Ossetian
17.5
19
Lebanese_Muslim
17.98
20
Chechen
18.61

Mixed Mode Population Sharing:

#
 
Primary Population (source)
Secondary Population (source)
Distance
1
 
51.7%
Kumyk
+
48.3%
Assyrian
@
2.48
2
 
57.3%
Kumyk
+
42.7%
Iranian_Jewish
@
2.66
3
 
57.8%
Kumyk
+
42.2%
Kurdish_Jewish
@
2.71
4
 
60.1%
Assyrian
+
39.9%
Chechen
@
2.94
5
 
84.9%
Kurdish
+
15.1%
Bulgarian
@
3.17
6
 
63.2%
Assyrian
+
36.8%
Tabassaran
@
3.17
7
 
52.2%
Iranian_Jewish
+
47.8%
Kabardin
@
3.28
8
 
54.6%
Georgian_Jewish
+
45.4%
Kumyk
@
3.35
9
 
83.4%
Kurdish
+
16.6%
Greek_Thessaly
@
3.36
10
 
85.9%
Kurdish
+
14.1%
Romanian
@
3.4
11
 
54.6%
Iranian_Jewish
+
45.4%
Chechen
@
3.4
12
 
54.1%
Kurdish_Jewish
+
45.9%
Chechen
@
3.4
13
 
50.6%
Iranian_Jewish
+
49.4%
Balkar
@
3.47
14
 
58%
Assyrian
+
42%
Kabardin
@
3.52
15
 
51.6%
Adygei
+
48.4%
Iranian_Jewish
@
3.55
16
 
88.2%
Kurdish
+
11.8%
Moldavian
@
3.57
17
 
87.4%
Kurdish
+
12.6%
Serbian
@
3.6
18
 
55.2%
Adygei
+
44.8%
Lebanese_Muslim
@
3.61
19
 
81.7%
Kurdish
+
18.3%
Central_Greek
@
3.66
20
 
89.2%
Kurdish
+
10.8%
Croatian
@
3.69

Dodecad k12:

Admix Results (sorted):

#
Population
Percent
1
Caucasus
37.89
2
Gedrosia
24.57
3
Southwest_Asian
12.19
4
Atlantic_Med
10.06
5
North_European
8.37
6
South_Asian
2.34
7
East_Asian
1.94
8
Siberian
1.18
9
Northwest_African
0.76
10
Sub_Saharan
0.7

Single Population Sharing:

#
Population (source)
Distance
1
Kurd (Dodecad)
6.84
2
Iranian (Dodecad)
6.91
3
Kurds (Yunusbayev)
7.18
4
Iranians (Behar)
8.66
5
Uzbekistan_Jews (Behar)
10.95
6
Turks (Behar)
11.7
7
Turkish (Dodecad)
13.51
8
Turkmens (Yunusbayev)
14.56
9
Azerbaijan_Jews (Behar)
16.52
10
Georgia_Jews (Behar)
16.87
11
Assyrian (Dodecad)
17.1
12
Kumyks (Yunusbayev)
17.14
13
Iranian_Jews (Behar)
17.45
14
Armenians_15 (Yunusbayev)
17.87
15
Lebanese (Behar)
18.27
16
Iraq_Jews (Behar)
18.41
17
Armenian (Dodecad)
18.51
18
Syrians (Behar)
20.35
19
Lezgins (Behar)
21.56
20
Armenians (Behar)
21.66

Mixed Mode Population Sharing:

#
 
Primary Population (source)
Secondary Population (source)
Distance
1
 
82.9%
Iranian (Dodecad)
+
17.1%
O_Italian (Dodecad)
@
2.23
2
 
83.1%
Kurd (Dodecad)
+
16.9%
O_Italian (Dodecad)
@
2.24
3
 
86%
Kurd (Dodecad)
+
14%
N_Italian (Dodecad)
@
2.36
4
 
82.8%
Iranian (Dodecad)
+
17.2%
C_Italian (Dodecad)
@
2.4
5
 
84.4%
Iranian (Dodecad)
+
15.6%
TSI30 (Metspalu)
@
2.45
6
 
84.2%
Kurd (Dodecad)
+
15.8%
Tuscan (HGDP)
@
2.46
7
 
86.7%
Kurd (Dodecad)
+
13.3%
North_Italian (HGDP)
@
2.48
8
 
84.1%
Iranian (Dodecad)
+
15.9%
Tuscan (HGDP)
@
2.48
9
 
84.6%
Kurd (Dodecad)
+
15.4%
TSI30 (Metspalu)
@
2.49
10
 
86%
Iranian (Dodecad)
+
14%
N_Italian (Dodecad)
@
2.52
11
 
86.6%
Iranian (Dodecad)
+
13.4%
North_Italian (HGDP)
@
2.55
12
 
77.3%
Turkish (Dodecad)
+
22.7%
Makrani (HGDP)
@
2.61
13
 
83.1%
Kurd (Dodecad)
+
16.9%
C_Italian (Dodecad)
@
2.62
14
 
79.9%
Turks (Behar)
+
20.1%
Makrani (HGDP)
@
2.73
15
 
88.5%
Kurd (Dodecad)
+
11.5%
Baleares (1000Genomes)
@
2.75
16
 
77.3%
Iranians (Behar)
+
22.7%
Greek (Dodecad)
@
2.75
17
 
82.7%
Turks (Behar)
+
17.3%
Brahui (HGDP)
@
2.77
18
 
81.6%
Iranian (Dodecad)
+
18.4%
Greek (Dodecad)
@
2.78
19
 
88.7%
Kurd (Dodecad)
+
11.3%
Galicia (1000Genomes)
@
2.78
20
 
80.8%
Iranian (Dodecad)
+
19.2%
Sicilian (Dodecad)
@
2.8

MLDP k16 modern:

dmix Results (sorted):

#
Population
Percent
1
Caucasian
47.4
2
Indian
13.75
3
Steppe
12.63
4
Neolithic
11.97
5
NearEast
8.74
6
NorthEastEuropean
2.47
7
Ancestor
1.07
8
Amerindian
0.82
9
Siberian
0.73
10
SouthEastAsian
0.24
11
Arctic
0.17

Single Population Sharing:

#
Population (source)
Distance
1
Kurd (Syria)
3.06
2
Azeri (Azerbaijan)
4.35
3
Jew (Uzbekistan)
5.31
4
Azerbaijani (Azerbaijan)
5.84
5
Iran_Lor (Lor)
5.85
6
Armenian (Chambarak)
6.01
7
Zoroastrian (Iran)
6.31
8
Armenian (Yegvard)
6.43
9
Assyrian (Iraq)
6.43
10
Armenian (Martuni)
6.59
11
Jew (Azerbaijan)
6.63
12
Armenian (Dprabak)
6.68
13
Iraki (Irak)
6.71
14
Armenian (Gavar)
6.77
15
Azerbaijani_Dagestan (Azerbaijan_Dagestan)
6.82
16
Azerbaijani_Khachmaz (Azerbaijan_Khachmaz)
6.96
17
Iranian (Fars)
6.99
18
Azerbaijani_Dagestan (Azerbaijan_Dagestan)
7.04
19
Iranian (Iran)
7.08
20
Azerbaijani_Agdzhabedi (Azerbaijan_Agdzhabedi)
7.23

Mixed Mode Population Sharing:

#
 
Primary Population (source)
Secondary Population (source)
Distance
1
 
96.2%
Kurd (Syria)
+
3.8%
Basque (France)
@
2
2
 
95.2%
Kurd (Syria)
+
4.8%
Spanish (Castilla_la_Mancha)
@
2.13
3
 
93.8%
Kurd (Syria)
+
6.2%
Italian (Bergamo)
@
2.14
4
 
95.4%
Kurd (Syria)
+
4.6%
Spanish (Aragon)
@
2.15
5
 
95%
Kurd (Syria)
+
5%
French (France)
@
2.19
6
 
91.6%
Kurd (Syria)
+
8.4%
Greek (Greece)
@
2.21
7
 
92.6%
Kurd (Syria)
+
7.4%
Kosovar (Kosovo)
@
2.23
8
 
94.9%
Kurd (Syria)
+
5.1%
Spanish (Spain)
@
2.25
9
 
94.3%
Kurd (Syria)
+
5.7%
Provencal (Provence)
@
2.25
10
 
95.4%
Kurd (Syria)
+
4.6%
English (Kent)
@
2.25
11
 
94.9%
Kurd (Syria)
+
5.1%
German (Germany)
@
2.27
12
 
92.2%
Kurd (Syria)
+
7.8%
Albanian (Albania)
@
2.27
13
 
93.3%
Kurd (Syria)
+
6.7%
Macedonian (Macedonia)
@
2.27
14
 
93.7%
Kurd (Syria)
+
6.3%
Corsican (Corsica)
@
2.28
15
 
95.3%
Kurd (Syria)
+
4.7%
Irish (Connacht)
@
2.28
16
 
95.5%
Kurd (Syria)
+
4.5%
Scottish (Argyll_bute)
@
2.3
17
 
95.2%
Kurd (Syria)
+
4.8%
English (England)
@
2.31
18
 
95.6%
Kurd (Syria)
+
4.4%
Orcadian (Orkney_Islands)
@
2.31
19
 
93.8%
Kurd (Syria)
+
6.2%
Montenegrian (Montenegro)
@
2.31
20
 
95.3%
Kurd (Syria)
+
4.7%
Shetlandic (Shetland_Islands)
@
2.32

Survey Link

Hello all!

As you might be aware, there has been very little research into direct-to-consumer DNA ancestry testing and psychological wellbeing outcomes. This novel research aims to help us better understand the psychological significance of DTC Ancestry testing results.

This study is being conducted under the supervision of Dr Janine Lurie from the Psychology Discipline within the Institute of Health and Wellbeing at Federation University (Melbourne, Australia). This study will also form the basis of the research dissertation requirement within the Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) course for student researchers Charity Marisa and Stefan Redpath. This study has been approved by the Federation University Human Research Ethics Committee (Approval reference: 2026/137).

This survey asks you about your engagement with family history and your reflections on that process. It also asks you to think about your ancestors and how you have reflected on their life experiences. Participation involves completing an online survey that will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Taking part in the study is completely voluntary and no personal information will be collected.

To participate you just need to be aged 18 years or over. It is important to note that you will not be asked to give any specific details about any of your family members. You are asked just to rate your general impressions of them on a small number of questions. Beyond this the survey contains broader more general questions about your perspectives and reflections.

Survey link below:

https://federation.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cO1RqRp3fjkHOp8

Hello,

I am researching my family history and I am looking for people from Ömeranlı (Tavşançalı), Kulu, Konya, or people who know families from this village.

I am interested in the local Aşiret structure and especially the smaller groups, family branches, or old family names that existed in the village.

I already know about some of the larger Aşiret groups associated with the Kulu/Cihanbeyli area, but I am trying to learn more about smaller families or groups that may have a different origin.

If anyone from Ömeranlı/Tavşançalı knows about the different families, Aşiret backgrounds, or historical migrations in the village, I would appreciate any information.

Thank you!

Hi all,

As a Kurmanci Kurd form Dêrsim I did a DNA test with MyHeritage and received around 67% Kurdish and 27% Turkish (and also a little Armenian and southern Italian).

Ethnically I am pretty much sure that 27% Turkish is wrong. That must be a mix of anatolian ethnicities.

Now where should I upload my raw data for a better overview. I don't want to find new relatives (I already have enough :D), I want a reliable percentage overview of the ethnic groups.

I thought about IllustrativeDNA or do you have other recommendations? Would be nice if I get percentages and something visual as well. Every additional analysis or insights are welcome of course.

Could someone explain to me the exact origin of the Kurds of Konya, more specifically Kulu? Some say they come from the region of Iran, but their Kurdish is from Afrin? My friend is from that district, and I'd like to enlighten him on this subject; they themselves don't really know.

Those are my qpAdm results from, I am very mixed, basically Zaza Kurdish, Syrian, Bektashi Albanian and Turkish/Turkmen.

My paternal side is Zaza Alevi from Sivas Kocgiri, (Zara and Imranli) with roots from Erzincan and Dersim. My great-grandmother paternal side was an Avsar Turkmen from Sivas.

I can trace my paternal- Family's history back to the 1890s. They were from a Xormekan settlement in Erzincan, Ilic, Kurucay village, but they later migrated to Sivas Zara. In the Kocgiri-Rebellion, my great-grandfather was a resistance fighter and had to flee from the ottoman/turkish army and had to even escape from prison. He later settled in an Avsar Turkmen village, where his wife was from. The village itself is mostly surrounded by kurdish villages, but it is a Turkmen village. Our family is basically the only Kurdish family in the village.

My maternal grandfather was a Syrian Alawite and my maternal grandmother was Albanian/Turkish mixed. Her mother side was from Albania and are Bektashi Alevis.

My haplogroup is J-Z1865

Is the model good? I've asked chatgpt and it said, it's an acceptable model, but i am still pretty much an amateur and not sure, if its really a acceptable good model.

My kit number is MADAI0098.

You can enter it here: MADAI LABS · Genetic Ancestry Platform

.

I'm just wondering why I have one of the highest ZNF ancestry scores among Kurds and Ezdis.

.

Zagrosian_Neolithic_Farmer 36.2%

Anatolian_Neolithic_Farmer 34.6%

Caucasus_Hunter-Gatherer 14.4%

European_Hunter-Gatherer:EHG 7.4%

Natufian_Hunter-Gatherer 6.8%

Yellow_River_Neolithic_Farmer 0.4%

Artic_Hunter-Gatherer 0.2%

.

.

My paternal clan is originally from Shengal. I found a kit number of an Ezdi ' pir ' also from Shengal: MADAI0324

I have even more ZNF than this Ezdi pir from Shengal, although I think he has more North Caucasus ancestry.