An innovative multidisciplinary and international research project has shed new light on the origin and diversity of the populations that inhabited Central Europe between the late 4th and 6th centuries AD, during and after the Hun Empire. Through cutting-edge archaeogenetic analysis combined with archaeological and historical studies, the research has established direct links between some individuals from the Hun period in Europe and members of the high elite of the Xiongnu Empire, a powerful nomadic confederation that thrived in the Mongolian steppes centuries before the appearance of the Huns north and west of the Black Sea.

The research has also demonstrated that only a small fraction of the analyzed individuals from the Hun period had East Asian ancestry. Instead, most of the newly arrived population in Europe at that time was of diverse origin, suggesting a complex process of interaction and mobility rather than a homogeneous mass migration. These findings help clarify the population dynamics that shaped Eurasian history during Late Antiquity.

The Huns burst into Europe in the 370s AD, establishing a short-lived but influential empire. For years, historians have debated whether the Huns were direct descendants of the Xiongnu Empire. Since that empire dissolved around AD 100, there was a 300-year gap before the appearance of the Huns in Europe. To address this issue, a team of researchers analyzed the DNA of 370 individuals who lived between the 2nd century BC and the 6th century AD in key regions such as the Mongolian steppes, Central Asia, and the Carpathian Basin.

huns xiongnu origin
Distribution of eastern cultural features in the Carpathian Basin in the 5th century and the archaeological sites of the newly sequenced individuals for this study. Credit: G.A. Gnecchi-Ruscone et al.

Specifically, the study included 35 recently sequenced genomes from archaeological sites dating to the 3rd and 4th centuries in Kazakhstan and contexts from the 5th and 6th centuries in the Carpathian Basin. Among them, notable burials from the Hun period displayed “eastern” or “steppe” characteristics, traits associated with nomadic traditions.

The project was carried out under the HistoGenes initiative, funded by the ERC Synergy Grant (No. 856453) and led by an interdisciplinary team of geneticists, archaeologists, and historians from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. The results were revealing: after the arrival of the Huns, no large community of Asian origin was detected in the Carpathian Basin. However, a specific subset of individuals was identified in “eastern” burials that bore an East Asian genetic signature.

One of the most remarkable findings was the discovery of genealogical connections between certain individuals from the Hun period in Europe and high-ranking figures of the late Xiongnu Empire. According to Guido Alberto Gnecchi-Ruscone, co-author of the study and a member of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, it was surprising to discover that a few individuals from the Hun period in Europe share identical DNA segments with some members of the late Xiongnu imperial elite. This connection includes an individual buried in the largest terrace tomb discovered to date in a Xiongnu context.

These links suggest that some of the Huns in Europe may trace their lineage to important Xiongnu burials in the Mongolian steppes. However, the archaeogenetic profile of most individuals from the Hun and post-Hun periods in the Carpathian Basin proves to be much more diverse. Zsófia Rácz, co-author of the study and a member of Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, states: The DNA and archaeological evidence reveal a mosaic of ancestries, pointing to a complex process of mobility and interaction rather than mass migration.

huns xiongnu origin
Excavation photo of the Hun-period “eastern-type” burial from Budapest, Népfürdő Street (Hungary). Credit: Boglárka Mészáros / BHM Aquincum Museum

This study also highlights that the population of the Hunnic Empire in Europe was genetically heterogeneous and that the “eastern” burials from the 5th century in Central Europe reflect both cultural and genetic diversity.

One of the most revealing aspects of the research is the comparison between the arrival of the Huns and that of the Avars two centuries later. Walter Pohl, co-author of the study and a member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, notes that the Avars arrived directly in Europe after the destruction of their empire in East Asia by the Turks, and many of their descendants retained significant East Asian ancestry until the late 8th century. In contrast, the ancestors of Attila’s Huns took several generations to move westward and mixed with various populations across Eurasia.

These discoveries provide new insights into how past societies in the Carpathian Basin adapted and transformed in response to the arrival of new groups. Zuzana Hofmanová, co-author of the study and a member of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, explains that although the Huns drastically transformed the political landscape, their genetic impact, outside of certain elite burials, was limited. Overall, the population continued local traditions and predominantly retained a European origin, with certain steppe influences integrated.

Finally, Johannes Krause, director of the Department of Archaeogenetics at the Max Planck Institute, emphasizes that this study demonstrates how cutting-edge genetic research, combined with rigorous archaeological and historical analysis, can resolve long-standing debates about the composition and origin of ancient populations. While many questions remain, this work provides solid evidence of the direct links between the Huns in Europe, the steppes, and the Xiongnu Empire, expanding our understanding of the dynamic networks that connected Eurasia in Antiquity.

SOURCES

Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

Guido Alberto Gnecchi-Ruscone, Zsófia Rácz, et al., Ancient genomes reveal trans-Eurasian connections between the European Huns and the Xiongnu Empire. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2025; 122 (9) DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2418485122

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