Paul Rincon: Hun migrations 'linked to deadly Justinian Plague': "Eske Willerslev, Peter de Barros Damgaard and others... sequenced genomes... recovered DNA from a strain of plague related to the one responsible for the Justinian Plague...
...While the plague was present in north-east Africa, the new research makes an origin in Central and Eastern Asia more likely. The researchers say the plague probably moved westward with the migration of tribes who would become known to Roman chroniclers as the Huns. The Huns were... formed from diverse nomadic groups such as the Scythians and the Xiongnu who forged allegiances to extend their power and territory.... "In some of these Huns, we find the basic form of the Justinian Plague... that killed off millions of people in Europe," said co-author Eske Willerslev....
The Huns probably began their westward movement in the second or third century BC, appearing on the borders of the Roman Empire in the fourth century. They established a short-lived dominion in Europe through the displacement of existing tribal groups and with attacks on the Empire itself. Their ferocity was embodied by Attila, the Hunnic leader who fought numerous military campaigns against Rome.
Co-author of the study Peter de Barros Damgaard told BBC News: "Our strain dates back to [around] 200 AD, so several hundreds of years before the Justinian plague wreaked Europe...
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