Line J2 among Kazakhs: a line of the Caucasus and the Middle East
The fourth largest paternal line among Kazakhs is J2: 6% of the corpus. In the Caucasus and the Middle East it is one of the main lines — among the Ingush, Chechens, Kurds. Among Kazakhs it is notable in several tribes but dominates in none.
The line of the Middle East
J2 is a line 27,600 years old, and most of its carriers live between the Caucasus, Anatolia and Iran. In Central Asia the settled peoples have more of it than the nomadic ones:
| People | Line share |
|---|---|
| Ingush | 88% |
| Chechens | 46% |
| Georgians | 32% |
| Kurds | 28% |
| Hazara | 27% |
| Tajiks | 16% |
| Uzbeks | 14% |
| Uyghurs | 11% |
| Turkmen | 7% |
| Kazakhs | 6% |
Tribes on line J2
J2 is notable in 7 tribes, highest among the Kozha estate and Zhetiru:
| Tribe | Line share |
|---|---|
| Kozha | 21% |
| Zhetiru | 17% |
| Tarakty | 13% |
| Jalayir | 10% |
| Kypshak | 10% |
| Dulat | 10% |
| Kangly | 7% |
Two branches among Zhetiru
Among Zhetiru all tested J2 is the western branch, 19,000 years old, the same as among the peoples of the Caucasus and Iran. Inside it Zhetiru stand on two branches that split at its very root: 68% of the tested carriers are on the first, the rest on the second.
J-M410 - The first branch 17,900 years ago
J-PF5008 - The second branch 17,800 years ago
J-PF4610
Part of the J2 tree.
Sources
Khussainova et al. 2022; Zhabagin et al. 2020, 2021, 2024; Zhunussova et al. 2025; open Y-DNA data.
Your J2 — which of the tribes does it converge with most closely, and when did its branch come to the Steppe?
The full tree of a line with the ages of all its branches, the distribution of clan lines inside each tribe, and comparison of tribes with one another — in the app.