Mister Terrific
It’s in the name
Nubian Mercenary found in Roman Balkan
!(9oy1sz34182f1 "Excavation of Nubian Mercenary from Grave G-103, Pirivoj Necropolis, Viminacium Serbia")
In the study “A genetic history of the Balkans from Roman frontier to Slavic migrations”, there is an interesting outlier from Viminacium, the capital of Roman Province Moesia (modern day Serbia). He has unusually high levels of African ancestry, exceeding what is typical of North Africans and distinct from all other remains analyzed. In the current ancient DNA database, this is the oldest Sub-Saharan African sample found outside of Africa
Viminacium was one of the largest urban centers in the Balkans during the Roman era, with a population that may have reached 40,000. Due to its size and historical significance, Viminacium holds the highest number of burials among Roman archaeological sites which increases the chance of encountering outliers like this one.
[b]Our newly reported data also revealed sporadic long-distance mobility. Three men who likely lived in the 2nd or 3rd centuries CE fell outside European and Near Eastern variability (Figure S1), close to present-day and ancient Africans. I15499 (Viminacium Pirivoj) could be modeled using only ancient East African populations.
Two North Africans and one East African (I15499) were found among the Viminacium remains that were successfully sequenced. I15499 carried maternal haplogroup L2a1j and paternal haplogroup E1b1b E-V32. Both of these haplogroups are commonly found among modern East Africans. As for how he would have looked like, his genetics would suggest an appearance similar to modern [Nubians][/b]
(https://live.staticflickr.com/2818/9383924339_2ff9c37db0.jpg) and [other East Africans](https://dims.apnews.com/dims4/default/99293bb/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x2017+0+0/resize/599x403!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstorage.googleapis.com%2Fafs-prod%2Fmedia%2F1f36bb54f9064b258ebecf87536767c5%2F3000.jpeg). His autosomal ancestry is genetically derived from admixture between two early northeastern African-related ancestries from Sudan and Northern Africa/Levant.
**Who is he then?**
>Isotopic analysis of tooth roots showed that he was also an outlier with respect to dietary habits during childhood (Figure 2B), with elevated d15N and d13C values indicating the likely consumption of marine protein sources,38 unlike individuals from Pirivoj and other necropolises whose values (Figure 2B) were similar to the Roman-Period population.
He spent his early years not in Serbia but somewhere else, potentially along the coast of the Mediterranean or Red Sea.
>Archeological examination of I15499’s grave found an oil lamp depicting an eagle, the symbol of Roman legion (Figure S2C). Although lamps are a common finding in Viminacium graves, not many depict military iconography. We hypothesize that this male was a Roman legionary or auxiliary stationed at Viminacium. We cannot determine if he was a Roman citizen, although auxiliary military service for a prolonged period of time resulted in citizenship. Historical evidence also points to African recruits being tapped to reinforce the Roman Danube
His remains are dated to 150 AD which aligns with his grave goods such as the 1st century Jupiter-themed oil lamp. Considering genetics and archaeological evidence, I15499 was a Nubian Mercenary from Roman Egypt who died due to unknown causes and was buried in a Roman necropolis. A Nubian would be the most likely Sub-Saharan African to have left Africa. This remain shows the cosmopolitan nature of Viminacium and potentially other Roman cities which hosted migrants from far away lands.
Source: [https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.30.458211v1.full](https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.30.458211v1.full) and [https://reich.hms.harvard.edu/sites/reich.hms.harvard.edu/files/inline-files/2023\_Olalde\_Carrion\_Cell\_Balkans.pdf](https://reich.hms.harvard.edu/sites/reich.hms.harvard.edu/files/inline-files/2023_Olalde_Carrion_Cell_Balkans.pdf)
!(9oy1sz34182f1 "Excavation of Nubian Mercenary from Grave G-103, Pirivoj Necropolis, Viminacium Serbia")
In the study “A genetic history of the Balkans from Roman frontier to Slavic migrations”, there is an interesting outlier from Viminacium, the capital of Roman Province Moesia (modern day Serbia). He has unusually high levels of African ancestry, exceeding what is typical of North Africans and distinct from all other remains analyzed. In the current ancient DNA database, this is the oldest Sub-Saharan African sample found outside of Africa
Viminacium was one of the largest urban centers in the Balkans during the Roman era, with a population that may have reached 40,000. Due to its size and historical significance, Viminacium holds the highest number of burials among Roman archaeological sites which increases the chance of encountering outliers like this one.
[b]Our newly reported data also revealed sporadic long-distance mobility. Three men who likely lived in the 2nd or 3rd centuries CE fell outside European and Near Eastern variability (Figure S1), close to present-day and ancient Africans. I15499 (Viminacium Pirivoj) could be modeled using only ancient East African populations.
Two North Africans and one East African (I15499) were found among the Viminacium remains that were successfully sequenced. I15499 carried maternal haplogroup L2a1j and paternal haplogroup E1b1b E-V32. Both of these haplogroups are commonly found among modern East Africans. As for how he would have looked like, his genetics would suggest an appearance similar to modern [Nubians][/b]
(https://live.staticflickr.com/2818/9383924339_2ff9c37db0.jpg) and [other East Africans](https://dims.apnews.com/dims4/default/99293bb/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x2017+0+0/resize/599x403!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstorage.googleapis.com%2Fafs-prod%2Fmedia%2F1f36bb54f9064b258ebecf87536767c5%2F3000.jpeg). His autosomal ancestry is genetically derived from admixture between two early northeastern African-related ancestries from Sudan and Northern Africa/Levant.
**Who is he then?**
>Isotopic analysis of tooth roots showed that he was also an outlier with respect to dietary habits during childhood (Figure 2B), with elevated d15N and d13C values indicating the likely consumption of marine protein sources,38 unlike individuals from Pirivoj and other necropolises whose values (Figure 2B) were similar to the Roman-Period population.
He spent his early years not in Serbia but somewhere else, potentially along the coast of the Mediterranean or Red Sea.
>Archeological examination of I15499’s grave found an oil lamp depicting an eagle, the symbol of Roman legion (Figure S2C). Although lamps are a common finding in Viminacium graves, not many depict military iconography. We hypothesize that this male was a Roman legionary or auxiliary stationed at Viminacium. We cannot determine if he was a Roman citizen, although auxiliary military service for a prolonged period of time resulted in citizenship. Historical evidence also points to African recruits being tapped to reinforce the Roman Danube
His remains are dated to 150 AD which aligns with his grave goods such as the 1st century Jupiter-themed oil lamp. Considering genetics and archaeological evidence, I15499 was a Nubian Mercenary from Roman Egypt who died due to unknown causes and was buried in a Roman necropolis. A Nubian would be the most likely Sub-Saharan African to have left Africa. This remain shows the cosmopolitan nature of Viminacium and potentially other Roman cities which hosted migrants from far away lands.
Source: [https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.30.458211v1.full](https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.30.458211v1.full) and [https://reich.hms.harvard.edu/sites/reich.hms.harvard.edu/files/inline-files/2023\_Olalde\_Carrion\_Cell\_Balkans.pdf](https://reich.hms.harvard.edu/sites/reich.hms.harvard.edu/files/inline-files/2023_Olalde_Carrion_Cell_Balkans.pdf)
