A new study conducted by geneticists from the University of Leicester has revealed that millions of modern Asian men have descended from Mongolian warlord Genghis Khan and 10 other powerful dynastic leaders.

According to reports, the researchers from the university based in Leicester had examined male-specific Y chromosome in over 5,000 men from Asia belonging to about 127 populations. The Y chromosome, which is passed to son from father, is very rare. The researchers found 11 types of Y-chromosome that were common across the samples. After that, the researchers studied the histories of the Y-chromosome types.

The researchers said the two most common male lineages have been ascribed to a famous historical figure, Genghis Khan, and another less famous figure, Giocangga. According to them, they found genetic link through a series of male ancestors to both Genghis Khan and Giocangga, and nine other dynastic leaders.

Mark Jobling, geneticist from Leicester's Department of Genetics and lead author of the study, said that the youngest lineages that the researchers found originated in the last 1700 years. The youngest lineages were found in pastoral nomadic populations.

Jobling said, “For these lineages to become so common, their powerful founders needed to have many sons by many women, and to pass their status on to them. The sons, in turn, could then have many sons, too. It's a kind of trans-generation amplification effect.”

Patricia Balaresque, first author of the study, said it is very difficult to find the ancestors responsible for these lineages. For that, it is necessary to find their remains and analyze their ancient DNA.

The study also stated that the 11 powerful dynastic leaders had lived about 4,000 years ago. The study has been funded by the Wellcome Trust and published in the journal European Journal of Human Genetics.