At a glance
- When
- the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin, from about 895 CE through the tenth century
- Where
- the Volga and Ural region and the western steppe, then the Carpathian Basin in present-day Hungary
- Entries in our catalogue
- 194 (160 individual genomes)
- Countries of the finds
- 1
What ancient DNA shows
A 2022 study in Current Biology compared Hun, Avar and Conquest period genomes from the Carpathian Basin. It found that the core group of the Conquerors carried ancestry that points east of the Urals, including a component close to present-day Mansi, a Uralic-speaking people of western Siberia, mixed with ancestry like that of Sarmatian and later steppe nomads. Commoners buried in Conquest period cemeteries were mostly of local European ancestry.
Studies of paternal lineages found Y-chromosome lineages of haplogroup N among the Conquerors that are shared with Mansi and with Bashkirs and Volga Tatars, which supports written accounts of a stay in the Volga and Ural region. Later work on cemeteries in the southern Urals identified a population closely related to the Conquerors' eastern component, consistent with that region being a stage on their route west.
Their genetic legacy today
Present-day Hungarians are genetically European for the most part, close to their Central European neighbours, and the eastern ancestry of the Conquerors survives only as a small share, much smaller than the Hungarian language might suggest.
Hungarian Conquerors samples in the MYDNATLAS catalogue
Our ancient DNA catalogue holds 194 entries whose culture label names the Hungarian Conquerors. 160 of them are individual genomes; the others are reference entries, such as averages of several individuals, and samples flagged as outliers. Half of the 194 dated entries fall between 942 CE and 975 CE, with a median of 950 CE.
Where they were found
| Country | Entries |
|---|---|
| Hungary | 194 |
Most common labels
| Label | Entries |
|---|---|
| Conqueror Period (Honfoglalás) | 86 |
| Conqueror Period (Commoner) | 53 |
| Early Hungarian (Magyar Conquest Era) | 28 |
| Hungarian Conquest-Period Magyar | 17 |
| Magyar Conqueror (Hungary) | 5 |
| Hungary Conqueror Commoner | 1 |
Measured from the live catalogue on 2026-10-17. Dates are those recorded for each entry; the archaeological dates of the culture are given above. See our data sources for where the samples come from.
Compare your DNA with the Hungarian Conquerors
To see how close you sit to Hungarian Conquerors samples, you need your DNA as G25 coordinates. Download your raw data file from your testing company, convert it, and MYDNATLAS compares your coordinates with these entries and the rest of the catalogue, period by period, in its closest population and mixture tools.
- Download your raw DNA file: step by step for each testing company.
- Upload it from 23andMe, AncestryDNA, MyHeritage or FamilyTreeDNA, or another supported provider.
- Explore the results with the period by period breakdown and closest populations.
Start free: browse the Population Encyclopedia. The Population Encyclopedia is free to browse with a free account; analysing your own DNA needs a paid plan.
Questions
How many Hungarian Conquerors samples does MYDNATLAS hold?
Our ancient DNA catalogue holds 194 entries labelled as Hungarian Conquerors, of which 160 are individual genomes; the rest are reference entries such as group averages, and flagged outliers. Figures measured 2026-10-17.
Where were the Hungarian Conquerors samples found?
They come from 1 country, most often Hungary. Half of the dated entries fall between 942 CE and 975 CE.
Are modern Hungarians genetically Asian?
No. The Conquerors carried eastern ancestry, but they were a minority who mixed with the much larger population already living in the Carpathian Basin. Present-day Hungarians are close to other Central Europeans, with only a small share of eastern steppe related ancestry.