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West Mediterranean y-chromosome
Topic Started: Feb 15 2007, 02:24:43 AM (677 Views)
black man
The Right Hand
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2007:
"Influences of the European Kingdoms of Late Antiquity on the Basque Country
An Ancient-DNA Study"
A. Alzualde, N. Izagirre, S. Alonso, N. Rivera, A. Alonso, A. Azkarate, and C. de la Rúa
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/CA/journa...5.abstract.html

As for comments on the paper, see Dienekes' blog:
http://dienekes.blogspot.com/2007/02/ancient-basque-dna.html

2005:
"Analysis of Y-chromosome Variability and its Comparison with mtDNA Variability Reveals Different Demographic Histories Between Islands in the Azores Archipelago (Portugal)"
Montiel et al.
link

"The Y-chromosomal Heritage of the Azores Islands Population"
P. R. Pacheco
link
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Maju
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sorgina
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The Duchy of Vasconia was founded by Merovingian Franks in the early 7th century by the margins of the river Garonne, though its full extension is uncertain, as a march against independent Basque tribes. What is clear is that both Franks and Goths called the region between the Ebro and Garonne rivers Vasconia or Wasconia (i.e. Country of the Basques) from where Gascony. In the apogee of Merovingian domain it is likely that all or most of the Basque Country, including regions south and west of the modern border at the Bidasoa river were under Frankish domain. Gothic control never seems to have been profound instead, rather remaining by the southern margin of the Ebro, where they had constituted the Duchy of Cantabria.

By the middle of that century, the Duchy of Vasconia became virtually independent in personal union with the Duchy of Aquitaine (Tolouse and the region between the Garonne and the Loire) until, after the Muslim invasions, Aquitaine succumbed to the Carolinigian Franks and Vasconia started a new dynasty, at times submitted to the Carolingians and most of the time in fact rebellious. Eventually Carolingians gave the Duchy to the Count of Bordeaux but the national dynasty remained in the south, first as rebels, then as "Counts of Vasconia Citerior", then rebels again and then restored as Dukes of Vasconia (i.e. Gascony). Relatives of these founded the Kingdom of Pamplona and the Emirate of Tudela.

In 824 was the third battle of Roncevaux Pass, when the monarchs of Tudela and Pamplona together defeated a Frankish invasion led by the Count of Auvergne, who was sent to Cordoba to be executed. With him was Count Aznar of Vasconia Citerior, who, because of being a relative (and maybe having helped to forge the ambush, who knows?) was spared. His heir Sans liberated all northern Vasconia (Gascony).

So yes, there's little doubt that Merovingian and Carolinigian Franks exerted intermitent control on Vasconia and that Frankish/Aquitanian cultural influence had to be strong in that period, specially in the many decades of personal union with strongly romanized (but not exactly "Frankish") Duchy of Aquitaine.

Aquitaine (medieval Aquitaine between the Garonne and the Loire) was originally a Visigothic domain (who had their first capital there, in Tolouse) and remained never fully integrated with the Frankish kingdom but rather promt to support any sort of rebellion. The Duchy was, as mentioned, virtually independent for almost one century, and later, along with other regions of southern France, it would feed the Cathar heressy, then become the main stronghold of the Angevin empire and finally be the homeland of most French Hugenots. Even during the French revolution former Aquitaine (then known as Guyenne) and Gascony became strongholds of conservatism, reaction and federalism.

I mention this because there's a tendency by many to consider France as a historical and cultural unity and that's clearly wrong. France should be considered divided in several macro regions: NW (France proper), NE (fromerly Germany), SW (formerly Aquitaine and Vasconia) and SE (Occitania proper) - plus Brittany and Corsica. France may have been a political unity in name since the Franks but really its real unity wasn't achieved at least until the end of the Hundred Years' War. Additionally, pre-history (UP and late prehistory) shows very different patterns for the different regions of France, what should mean different genetic clusters for instance.
Chaos never died,
the Empire was never founded.
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black man
The Right Hand
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(updated links to Portuguese studies above)
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