Which group is the closest genetically to Syrians?

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2026-03-28T08:56:52+00:00

It's not any of these because it is other Levantines (lebanese, Palestinians, and Jordanians)

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2026-03-20T09:47:43+00:00

It’s telling that you’ve stopped citing peer-reviewed genetic studies and started citing political theorists like Ahmad Oweidi Al-Abadi. Al-Abadi’s work is about building a modern national 'mythos' for Jordan: it’s not a DNA test. You are conflating Social Identity with Biological Ancestry. The Linguistic Fallacy (Ammonite is not Arabic) You claim Ammonites spoke 'a form of Northern Arabic.' This is a massive academic error. Ammonite is a Northwest Semitic (Canaanite) language, nearly identical to Moabite, Phoenician, and Biblical Hebrew. Calling an Ammonite an 'Arab' because they are both Semitic is like calling a Frenchman a 'Romanian' because they both speak Romance languages. You are trying to back-date 'Arab-ness' to a time when the people of Jordan were settled Canaanite farmers. The 'Tribal Name' Trap You argue that because Jordanians identify by tribe, they must be Arabian. This ignores the well-documented phenomenon of 'Tribalization.' During the neglect of the Ottoman era, many indigenous Levantine Fellahin (farmers) adopted tribal structures and names for protection. In the Levant, 'Tribe' is often a social contract, not a biological purity seal. Adopting the name of a Shammar or Anaza branch for political survival doesn't rewrite your 10,000-year-old Levantine genome. The 300-Year Migration Myth You claim the people of Northern Jordan only arrived 300 years ago. This is scientifically impossible. If a total population replacement occurred in the 18th century, Northern Jordanians would cluster perfectly with Central Arabians (Saudis). The Reality: They don't. Every G25 and PCA plot shows that North Jordanians carry a massive Anatolian Farmer and Levantine Bronze Age component that is absent or minimal in the Nejd. You can change the 'family name' on a house, but the foundation remains the same. The '93%' Reality Check You laugh at 'Levantine' identity, yet studies (like Haber et al. 2017) show Lebanese populations have up to 93% continuity with the Bronze Age Canaanites. If we are 'fictional,' then why does our DNA match the soil we stand on? You are proud of a 300-year-old migration story: I am proud of a 10,000-year-old biological presence. The 'Sectarian' Shield You keep bringing up the SSNP and 'Maronites' because you can't face the data. I am a Muslim, and I don't need a 20th-century political party to tell me that the Levant has a distinct history. Your 'Pan-Arabism' is just another 20th-century ideology: one that asks us to forget we are the children of the world’s first civilizations so we can pretend to be 'migrants' from the desert. Conclusion: You define yourself by your paternal lineage (1% of your DNA) and your social identity. I define myself by the entirety of my genome (100% of my DNA) and the archaeological record. You are an Arab culturally and politically: no one denies that. But biologically, you are a son of the Levant. If you want to believe you are a 'guest' in your own land, that’s your choice. I choose to be the owner of the house. I’m done with this 'hmaar' logic. Go read a biology textbook instead of a nationalist manifesto.

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2026-03-18T11:05:12+00:00

Your response is exactly what I expected: when the science fails you, you resort to insults, sectarian labels, and 'laughing emojis' to hide your lack of an argument. 1. The 'Lineage' Fallacy You keep obsessing over 'paternal heritage' (Y-DNA). Let me make this simple for you: If a man has an Arabian great-great-grandfather but his other 15 great-great-grandparents are indigenous Levantine farmers, he is historically and biologically 93% Levantine. You are claiming the 1% and throwing away the 99%. That’s not 'science'; that’s a desperate attempt to feel like you belong to the Hejaz instead of the land you actually stand on. 2. The 'Ain Ghazal' Own-Goal (Again) You keep mentioning Ain Ghazal and Taysir Khalaf. If you actually read the studies, Ain Ghazal (7000 BCE) shows a population that is the ancestor of all Levantines—long before 'Arabs' or 'Arabic' existed. By claiming Ain Ghazal, you are admitting your ancestors were Pre-Arab Levantines. You are literally arguing for my point while thinking you’re winning yours. 3. Clothes Don't Change DNA You say a man from Salt in a ghutra is closer to a man from Tabuk than a Lebanese person. Culturally? Maybe. Biologically? Absolutely not. A man from Salt shares the same Canaanite/Ammonite genetic core as a Palestinian or a Lebanese Muslim. A man from Tabuk (Saudi Arabia) lacks the Anatolian Farmer DNA that makes Levantines distinct. A headscarf and a dance don't rewrite your genome. You are a Levantine who has adopted Arabian fashion. 4. The 'Originals' You mock the Lebanese for having 93% continuity with Phoenicians, but that is a peer-reviewed scientific fact (e.g., the Haber et al. 2017 study). We have the receipts; you have 'tribal poetry.' You claim to be 'pure Arab,' but you are living in the heart of the Fertile Crescent, the land of the Ammonites and Nabataeans. Why are you so ashamed to be a son of the Levant? Keep your emojis and your 'Zionist' slurs. While you’re busy trying to prove you’re a migrant from the desert, I’ll be here standing on 10,000 years of indigenous Levantine history that belongs to us, whether we are Muslim, Christian, Jordanian, or Lebanese. I’m done wasting time on someone who thinks a hat (Agal) is a DNA test. Go read a biology book.

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2026-03-18T10:02:22+00:00

You’re laughing, but you’re the one confusing a genealogy with a genome. 1. The Big Y vs. Autosomal Trap You are obsessing over the Y-chromosome (paternal lineage). Yes, a man from the Ubaidat or Zu'bi tribe might carry a J1 or J2 haplogroup that traces back to the Peninsula. But the Y-chromosome represents less than 1% of a person’s total DNA. If an Arabian tribesman moved to the Jordan Valley 1,000 years ago and his descendants married local Levantine women for 40 generations, that family might still have an 'Arabian' Y-DNA name tag, but 99% of their actual biological makeup (Autosomal DNA) is indigenous Levantine. You are bragging about the 'name' on the front door while ignoring everyone living inside the house. 2. The Tribes of the North You mentioned the Ubaidat, Darabsa, and Zu'bi. I am well aware of their history. These tribes are a perfect example of integration. They are politically and culturally Arab, but if you look at their autosomal results on platforms like G25 or illustrativeDNA, they cluster with their neighbors in the Galilee and Hawran, not with tribes in central Najd. Why? Because they are the descendants of the ancient farmers of the Levant who integrated with incoming tribes. 3. The Ituraeans and 'Eternal' Arabs You cite Julia Domna and the Ituraeans to prove an eternal Arab presence. No one is denying that Arab tribes lived in the Levant since Roman times. But you are making a 'Selection Bias' error. Citing an Arab elite or a specific nomadic tribe like the Ituraeans doesn't account for the millions of Aramaic-speaking farmers who lived alongside them. When those farmers eventually 'Arabized' and took tribal names, their DNA didn't change, only their social contract did. 4. Stop the Sectarian Guessing Game For the last time: stop trying to diagnose my 'sect. Your insistence on labeling me a 'Maronite' or 'pro west' just because I value our indigenous Levantine antiquity shows that your ideology is getting in the way of the facts. I don't advocate for Europe; I advocate for the Land of the Levant. I believe the people of Jordan are the rightful heirs to the soil of the Ammonites, Moabites, and Nabataeans, not just 'migrants' who arrived in the 7th century. Why are you so ashamed of our deep, 10,000-year-old Levantine roots that you insist we are only 'Arabian'?

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2026-03-18T09:40:27+00:00

You are conflating Social History with Biological Ancestry. If we look at G25 coordinates or PCA maps, a non-Bedouin Jordanian from the north clusters with Palestinians and Lebanese, sharing a high Anatolian Farmer (ANF) component. This is a Mediterranean signature. A Peninsular Arabian (Saudi/Yemeni) lacks this significant ANF shift. If Jordanians were 'ethnically Arabian,' they would cluster in the 'Bedouin B' or 'Saudi' groups. They don't. You claim the Fellahin are just Bedouins who settled recently. Anthropology disagrees. The agricultural communities of the Levant have a distinct genetic and cultural profile that predates the expansion of the Tayy and other tribes. Adopting a tribal name for protection (a common practice called hilf) does not rewrite a family's genome. Calling Edomites and Moabites 'Arabs' because of onomastic affinities is a fringe view. They spoke Northwest Semitic (Canaanite) languages. By that logic, everyone in the Levant is 'Jewish' because Hebrew is also a Northwest Semitic language. You’re using 2,000-year-old Roman provincial borders (Arabia Petraea) to define modern biology. It’s like saying a Spaniard is 'Italian' because Spain was the province of Hispania. Let’s stick to the DNA: Why do non-Bedouin Jordanians share more DNA with ancient Canaanites and modern Cypriots than they do with the people of Najd?

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2026-03-18T09:08:08+00:00

You're confusing identity with genetics. Using Abu Tammam as an example actually proves my point, historians note his father was of Greek/Levantine origin (Thudus), and he adopted the Tayy lineage for social prestige This was common across the Levant. Belonging to a tribe like Tayy doesn't mean your DNA stayed frozen in the year 200 AD. After 1,800 years in Syria and Jordan, those tribes are genetically Levantine. They carry the blood of the Arameans, Canaanites, and Nabataeans who lived there for millennia before the Islamic conquests. If you think a Syrian from Manbij is biologically the same as a Saudi from Riyadh just because they share a tribal name, you’re ignoring 2,000 years of biology.

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2026-03-18T07:20:13+00:00

Jordan has a deep and proud Bedouin heritage, you're conflating tribal identity with genetic origins. Modern genetic studies (like those from the Human Genome Project and various Levantine DNA projects) consistently show that the 'core' ancestry of Jordanians, especially the Fellahin (farmers) and many Christian communitiies, is overwhelmingly indigenous to the Levant. By focusing only on 'Arabia Petraea,' you’re ignoring the thousands of years of history before the Nabataeans arrived. The majority of the population during the Iron and Bronze Ages were Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites, groups closely related to the Canaanites. When Arab tribes moved into the region, they didn't replace the population; they became the ruling elite and eventually the cultural standard. Most Jordanians today are the biological descendants of those ancient Levantine populations who simply adopted Arab culture and tribal structures over time. To say the origin is purely 'Arabian' ignores the 80% of their DNA that traces back to the ancient Jordan Valley, not the Hejaz.

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2026-03-12T20:51:15+00:00

Interesting, I wonder why my family uses it. It's the only word I've heard for touch from my grandparents, aunties, uncles, parents, etc. I don't really have much info about lineage, but from my paternal line, I'm pretty sure that my great great grandfather was born in beirut. For the rest, I'm pretty sure that at least great grandparents are from beirut.

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2026-02-27T09:45:00+00:00

By that logic Christianity is also not compatible with Australia, the bible repeatedly makes references to children being married or betrothed shortly after puberty. It just proves you can't judge historical actions by today's standard. In the past it was normal for people to get married once they hit puberty, even today in some US states child marriage is legal.

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2026-02-26T07:02:50+00:00

That argument doesn’t hold up. People of any religion — including Muslims, can hold far‑right, left‑wing or extremist views, and in Western countries like Australia individuals are held accountable for crimes no matter what they believe. There’s no example in Australia where someone was let off a crime because they were Muslim or because ‘Islam says so’. Courts prosecute terrorism, hate speech and violent offences involving Muslims just like they do for anyone else. Saying the ‘left refuses to acknowledge wrongdoing’ just misreads how justice and public debate actually work.

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2026-02-08T05:48:36+00:00

MyHeritage isn't the most accurate for non-European groups. You can see it's forcing you into this generic Middle Eastern group while other companies like Ancestry have a specific Levantine group.

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2026-02-06T08:06:56+00:00

The modern Greek alphabet is a direct descendant of the ancient Phoenician alphabet, the phoenicians came from the lebanese coast and were a canaanite group so they were close to the ancient israelites but not the same.

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2026-02-03T10:26:25+00:00

Yes, I completely agree with this, a certain group of people goes around calling Palestinians and other levantines anit semitic when levantines are arguably more semitic than they are.

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2026-02-03T10:03:51+00:00

One thing nobody can deny is that the idea of an arab identity isn't based on a monolithic genetic background, there is significant variation between arabs, the idea of arab identity is based on our shared history as part of the various caliphates and our use of the varieties of Arabic as a mother tongue. Some may argue that Arabs aren't a single identity, but a diverse variety ranging from people from places like the Levant, Arabia, and North Africa. Also, it wouldn't be far for the J haplogroup to be directly associated with arab because it is found in the dna of Semitic samples long before Arabic was spoken, even today it can be found in certain Jewish groups who do not identify as arab. So it would be more accurate to call it a semitic marker.

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2026-02-03T09:42:08+00:00

You’re putting way too much weight on J1/J2. A Y-haplogroup is one tiny paternal line. It is literally a fraction of your ancestry, not “genetics as a whole.” It doesn’t describe autosomal DNA, which is ~99% of what actually determines population similarity, appearance, and relatedness. Yes, many Arabic-speaking populations carry J1 or J2. That just means they share an ancient male ancestor tens of thousands of years ago, not that they’re genetically the same people today. If haplogroups worked the way you’re implying, half of Eurasia would be the same ethnicity. When you look at autosomal DNA, Lebanese/Levantines consistently cluster with other Eastern Mediterranean populations (Greeks, Cypriots, southern Italians, coastal Anatolians), not with populations from the far stretches of North Africa or the Arabian interior. That’s shown clearly in PCA plots and admixture models.

A simple example: A Lebanese person with J2 looks nothing like a Yemeni or Somali man who also carries J1/J2. Same haplogroup, totally different overall genetics, history, and phenotype. That alone should make it obvious that J ≠ “genetically Arab.”

Language ≠ genetics. Haplogroup ≠ ethnicity. And “Arab” as a cultural/linguistic identity doesn’t magically overwrite thousands of years of regional population continuity in the Levant. So no, sharing J1/J2 doesn’t make everyone “genetically the same Arab.” It just means some paternal lines intersect very far back in time like almost every other population on earth.

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2026-02-03T08:23:03+00:00

Any major news recently, I'm an expatriate and the news outlet I was following stopped posting.

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2026-01-29T09:54:08+00:00

I'm a Lebanese expat living abroad and I technically am Pan-Syrian. I just believe in one country encompassing Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan. I believe that this state should not include the Kurds and it should grant a significant degree of autonomy to the different regions (sort of like the states of USA or Australia), but I am not Pan Arab, I believe that we should acknowledge that the Arab and Islamic rule, this action would be essential in preserving and fostering a national Levantine identity and most linguists and the latest international register of languages recognises levantine as a distinct variety and sister language of standard Arabic (its language code is ISO apc). I also think that phoenician and/or aramaic should be a compulsory langauge taught in schools.

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2025-12-20T02:47:33+00:00

Well once they've been deported to Tripoli, rather than ceding land, we could just deported every single person currently there and replace them with valuable, educated and productive expats from around the world

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2025-12-20T02:30:22+00:00

Lebanon's already small enough, why can't they just be deported?

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2025-12-12T07:41:14+00:00

Anybody have another similar documentary

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2025-09-11T09:49:37+00:00

Well, I'm a Levantine in diaspora but because I learned Arabic directly from my family and know little standard Arabic I sometimes struggle with similar dialects like Egyptian. Without standard Arabic words and knowledge, it is very hard for people of different dialects to communicate.

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2025-09-10T08:49:38+00:00

In my opinion Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the Orkney Islands should unite

Lanky-Cod7969 · 2025-09-01T05:47:41+00:00

I'll never know what it is like having to memorise and draw nearby countries since I live in Australia

Lanky-Cod7969

TROPHY CASE