Average Reward

Important upcoming unpublished sample from the Late Sasanian era has been identified in what was once Adurbādagān province (near the Hasanlu area, south of the Urmia Basin), dating to the Byzantine–Sasanian War period in AD 624. The sample exhibits negligible Iranian ancestry, mirroring the earlier Bronze and Iron Age Hasanlu individuals from the same region (with the exception of one outlier that shows signs of Iranian admixture). Interestingly, the Achaemenid-to-Sasanian-era Caspian samples published earlier this year by Amjadi et al., which likewise also show no Iranian ancestry in the pre Islamic Caspian samples. Historical sources indicate that during this period, Adurbādagān had a notably heterogeneous population, comprising both Iranian and non-Iranian groups. This individual likely represents part of the local non-Iranian demographic, of whom were primarily composed of Armenians and Assyrians. At present, only three (perhaps four) historical samples show clear traces of western Iranian ancestry. These include the Ganj Historic and Lorestan Kalmakareh Cave individuals, both dating to the medieval period, and one Sasanian-era Iranian from modern-day Azerbaijan, who likewise exhibits strong admixture with local populations. The outlier at Hasanlu is primarily BMAC derived with a small amount of Sintashta ancestry, alongside other traces. It is hard to say whether or not this sample was an Iranian speaker. When comparing modern west Iranians to ancients, alongside linguistic research, there seems to have been a massive expansion of south Iran related ancestry during the Sassanian era, that continued well into the post Islamic era. For example modern Caspians (particularly eastern ones) show strong signs of south Iran related admix, that their ancient counterparts did not.