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Chapters:
0:00 Intro and Content
2:18 Early Genetics
3:49 Bronze Age Genetics and Steppe Ancestry
6:41 Genetics of the Roman Empire
9:15 Genetics of Ancient Rome Simplified

Roman Empire DNA: What Was the Genetic Makeup of the Roman Empire?

The Roman Empire was one of the greatest empires in human history, but what was the genetic makeup of ancient Rome during the imperial phase when the Roman eagle was flying high above the Mediterranean? How much influence, if any, did other parts of Europe, or North Africa, or the Middle East have on the genetics of ancient Rome? I will answer these and many other questions in this video.

Now there is a certain allure to the Roman Empire, I know it is probably my favourite empire in history. But before we look at the genetic makeup of ancient Rome, lets first look at a quick overview of the different phases of Rome.

Broadly speaking, ancient Rome encompasses the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC, which evolved into the Roman Kingdom which existed from 753–509 BC. Then the Roman Republic was formed and lasted from 509–27 BC. A few decades after Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon Rome became an empire, with the Roman Empire existed from 27 BC– 395 AD.

During its imperial phase, it was among the largest empires in the ancient world, with an estimated 50 to 90 million inhabitants, roughly 20% of the world's population at the time. Estimates of the population size of Rome itself are between around 500,000 to some as high as 1 million people at its peak. The Empire covered around 5 million square kilometres (1.9 million square miles) at its zenith in 117 AD. Nothing lasts forever though. The Western Roman Empire collapsed in the 5th century AD when it was overrun by various Germanic peoples.

Now we have a better understanding of the timeline of Rome, let’s turn our attention to the genetics of ancient Rome.

What Was the Genetic Makeup of the Roman Empire? Decoding the DNA of Ancient Rome…

Sources:

Margaret L. Antonio et al. Ancient Rome: A genetic crossroads of Europe and the Mediterranean. Science 366, 708714 (2019) Ancient Rome: A genetic crossroads of Europe and the Mediterranean | Science https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/s...

Ancient Rome Ancient Rome Wikipedia

Roman Empire Roman Empire Expansion, Decline, Legacy | Britannica

Researchers use ancient DNA to map migration during the Roman Empire Researchers use ancient DNA to map migration during the Roman Empire | News Center | Stanford Medicine

Margaret L Antonio et al. (2024) Stable population structure in Europe since the Iron Age, despite high mobility eLife 13:e79714. Stable population structure in Europe since the Iron Age, despite high mobility | eLife (elifesciences.org)

Stanford Ancient skeletons used to map the genetic history of Rome Ancient skeletons used to map the genetic history of Rome (youtube.com)

Near East https://www.britannica.com/place/Near...

#romanempire #ancientrome #ancestry