Roman Citizens

[Clear]

Do citizens of Ancient Rome have a precise DNA ? If so does it prove they originally came from one of the Ancient Greek city states ?

[TonyV]

Citizens of Ancient Rome had DNA just as we do. Although Ancient Rome is not long ago in evolutionary terms, it is nevertheless too long ago to be of any relevance to people on this forum researching their family history. 

Every Roman citizen had different DNA except for identical twins of course. There is no such thing as "precise DNA" if you mean "exactly the same as each other". I think that you are probably asking the wrong forum for answers to a question like yours however. This thread is all about DNA testing of living people and frequently about trying to track down ancestors.

Ancient DNA is a subject for archaeological genealogists.

[CaroleW]

If you had Googled your question - there are several hits.  Here's one

https://news.stanford.edu/2019/11/07/genetic-history-rome/

[Ruskie]

If you had Googled your question - there are several hits.  Here's one

https://news.stanford.edu/2019/11/07/genetic-history-rome/

I agree that Google is always a good first port of call. 

Many of the answers to the somewhat obscure questions you are asking AnglelJunction, can be found via an internet search.

Though there are a lot of knowledgeable people on rootschat no one will have all the answers to hand, so will need to search on your behalf, which seems slightly pointless. Surely it is easier and quicker for you to Google rather than ask us so we can Google for you?

Through a Google search you are likely to be presented with many results, which you can sort through yourself and select the answer/s that you find most suitable.

As an aside, a Roman citizen may not have been born in Rome.

[Little Nell]

If so does it prove they originally came from one of the Ancient Greek city states ?

No, it doesn't.  The question of Roman citizenship (e.g who was born a Roman citizen, who was granted it) is way too complicated for there to be an easy answer.

I may be British by birth and citizenship, but my ancestry might have Irish, Scottish, Norman French, Germanic, Anglo-Saxon, as well as Roman 'citizens' within it.  This makes it hugely difficult to actually define.  And Ancient Rome was an awful long time ago.  How would I ever get that far back with certainty     I'll just have to accept me as me 

Nell

[Mike in Cumbria]

As a Roman citizen you could have been born in what is now Britain, Syria, Libya, Germany, Spain or many other places without ever having been anywhere near Rome.

[Erato]

This is sort of like asking if Americans have a "precise DNA profile."  Answer:  No, their origins are way too diverse.

[Maiden Stone]

As an aside, a Roman citizen may not have been born in Rome.

As well as that, they may have had no Roman or Italian ethnicity.

A couple of famous examples:

Emperor Lucius Septimus Severus who was born in Leptis Magna which is in present-day Libya. He ruled the empire from Britain. He was the subject of an audio drama "Severus", co-written by Paterson Joseph, who also played the title role, broadcast this afternoon on Radio 4.
https;//www.thecollector.com/septimus-severus/

Saint Paul the Apostle. Born Saul in Tarsus, which is in Turkey.

My Irish grandparents were British citizens (or subjects of H.M. the Queen/King) because Ireland was part of the British Empire when they were born. Some of my older Irish-born cousins also qualify as British citizens. Younger Irish-born cousins qualify through a parent. Some more cousins are British citizens because they live or were born in Northern Ireland. All my other (English) cousins on that side of the family are British citizens by birth but are also eligible to apply for Irish citizenship.