Editing Druze (section)

== Origins ==
=== Ethnic origins ===
[[File:Tristram Ellis 002.jpg|thumb|A Druze family of the Lebanon, late 1800s]]
A study carried out by th Israeli Druze historian Kais M. Firro examines various theories about the origins of the Druze, including possible connections to the [[Arameans]], Arabs, [[Itureans]], [[Cuthites]], [[Hivites]], [[Armenians]], [[Persians]], and Turks. Some suggested a European origin.{{sfn|Firro|2023|p=17}} In the 17th century, there was a prevailing belief in France that the Druze were descendants of a lost army of [[European Christian]] [[crusaders]].<ref name="Kossaify 2018">{{cite web|first=Ephrem|last=Kossaify|url=https://www.arabnews.com/Druze|title=Druze: the great survivors How the world's most secretive faith has endured for a thousand years|date =2 July 2018|publisher=rab News Minority Report}}</ref> According to this notion, after the fall of the Christian stronghold of [[Siege of Acre (1291)|Acre in 1291]] and the subsequent persecution by the victorious [[Mamluks]], these crusaders sought refuge in the mountains of Lebanon and settled there permanently.<ref name="Kossaify 2018"/>

According to Firro, two main approaches have been used to trace Druze origins. The first examines religious texts and the ethnic backgrounds of the early Druze leaders. The second focuses on the migration and settlement patterns of ancient peoples and tribes in the Druze regions before the 11th century. The third approach relies on anthropometric studies.{{sfn|Firro|2023|p=17}}

The main proponent of the first approach is historian [[Philip Hitti]], whose theory is a key reference for tracing Druze origins.{{sfn|Firro|2023|p=18}} Hitti proposed that the Druze are a blend of [[Persians]], [[Iraqis]], and [[Persianization|Persianized]] Arabs who adopted new beliefs. He supported this with three arguments: first, the early founders and disseminators of the Druze religion were of [[Persians]] origin; second, some of the Druze religious lexicon is [[Persian language|Persian]]; and third, the native inhabitants of Wadi al-Taym where Druze faith beliefs first spread, were influenced by [[Persian culture|Persian]] and Iraqi or Persianized Arab cultures before 1077.{{sfn|Firro|2023|p=18}} However, [[Martin Sprengling]] criticized Hitti's theory, arguing that not all early Druze leaders were of Persian origin—citing [[Baha al-Din al-Muqtana]] as an example of Arab origin. Sprengling also noted that Wadi al-Taym's inhabitants before 1077 were mostly pure Arab tribes such as the [[Tanukhids]] and [[Taym Allah]] tribe.{{sfn|Firro|2023|p=18}} He concluded that the Druze are mainly a combination of various ethnic groups, with a major influence from Arabs, particularly [[Yaman (tribal group)|southern Arabs]], along with an indigenous mountain population of [[Arameans|Aramaic origin]].{{sfn|Firro|2023|p=19}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sprengling|first1=Martin|title=The Berlin Druze Lexicon|journal=The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures|date=1939|volume=56|issue=4|pages=388–414|doi=10.1086/370557|doi-access=free}}</ref> Additionally, Two English researchers, [[Gertrude Bell]] and [[David Hogarth]], also proposed that the Druze are a blend of Arabs from [[Southern Arabia]] and the mountain-dwelling Aramaeans.{{sfn|Abu-Izeddin|1993|p=10}}
[[File:Jebel el-Druze & Hauran. Kanawat. Druze men & women LOC matpc.17234.jpg|thumb|A photograph from 1938 depicting Druze people from [[Kanawat]] in [[Jabal Druze]] ([[Hauran]]), dressed in their traditional clothing]]
The second approach, used by Druze historians, scholars, intellectuals and clerics, emphasizes the migration and settlement of Arab tribes to highlight the pure Arab lineage of those who adopted Druze beliefs in the 11th century.{{sfn|Firro|2023|p=19}} Proponents argue that the Druze speak a "pure Arab dialect" and are of "pure Arab blood", not mixed with Turkish or other influences, due to their practice of strict [[endogamy]] marriage.{{sfn|Firro|2023|p=19}} This view maintains that most Druze are descended from 12 Arab tribes that migrated to Syria before the Islamic period.{{sfn|Firro|2023|p=19}} It relies on historical records, Druze chronicles, and genealogical trees reconstructed by Druze families to trace their ancestry and settlement in Syria.{{sfn|Firro|2023|p=19}} According to Firro, all Druze historians, scholars and leaders in [[Lebanon]] and [[Syria]] consider the Druze to be Arabs, and this view is accepted by the entire Druze community in those countries.{{sfn|Firro|2023|p=20}} In contrast, while most [[Druze in Israel]] consider themselves Arabs, some Israeli Druze politicians have begun to reject the idea of Arabic racial origin as a component of Druze national identity for political reasons.{{sfn|Firro|2023|p=20}}

According to Firro, the third approach in the research on Druze origins is based on the conclusions of researchers and anthropologists. Studies by [[Felix von Luschan]], Arries and Kappers found that Druze in the Levant, along with their Muslim and Christian counterparts, share the same origins.{{sfn|Firro|2023|p=19}} Similarly, Druze historian [[Nejla Abu-Izzedin]] has concluded that Druze, Christians, and Muslims in the Levant have the same racial background.{{sfn|Firro|2023|p=19}}

According to Druze historian Amin Talea', Druze oral and written traditions recount that twelve Arab tribes converted to Islam and fought alongside Muslim warriors until they were introduced to the Druze religion by preachers sent from [[Egypt]] by the Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. Talea' adds that, over time, the Druze developed a strong sense of their pure Arab origins, believing that, apart from their unique religious practices, their spiritual and material culture closely mirrored that of the broader population of [[Greater Syria]].<ref>Amin Talea', The Origins of the Al Almwahidun Al-Druze, (Beirut: Al Majles El Durzi, 1979), p. 13.</ref>

==== Arabian hypothesis ====
[[File:Buhturid Mount Lebanon.png|thumb|Map of the [[Buhturid]] domains in [[Mount Lebanon]] under [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk]] rule, with the Buhturids, a [[Tanukh]] clan, holding a significant place in Druze history.{{sfn|Abu-Izeddin|1993|p=11}}]]
The Druze faith extended to many areas in the Middle East, but most of the modern Druze can trace their origin to the ''[[Wadi al-Taym]]'' in [[Southern Lebanon]], which is named after an Arab tribe [[Taym Allah]] (or Taym Allat) which, according to Islamic historian [[al-Tabari]], first came from the Arabian Peninsula into the valley of the [[Euphrates]] where they had been [[Christianized]] prior to their migration into Lebanon. Many of the Druze feudal families, whose genealogies have been preserved by the two modern Syrian chroniclers Haydar al-Shihabi and [[Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq]], seem also to point in the direction of this origin. Arabian tribes emigrated via the [[Persian Gulf]] and stopped in Iraq on their route that would later to lead them to Syria. The first feudal Druze family, the [[Tanukhids]], which made for itself a name in fighting the Crusaders was, according to Haydar al-Shihabi, an Arab tribe from [[Mesopotamia]] where it occupied the position of a ruling family and apparently was Christianized.{{Sfn|Hitti|1924}}{{Rp|needed=yes|date=April 2012}}

Travelers like [[Carsten Niebuhr|Niebuhr]], and scholars like [[Max von Oppenheim]], undoubtedly echoing the popular Druze belief regarding their own origin, have classified them as [[Arabs]].{{sfn|Abu-Izeddin|1993|p=10}}

The Arabian hypothesis is widely regarded as the leading explanation for the origins of the Druze people among historians, scholars, intellectuals, and religious leaders within the Druze community.{{sfn|Firro|2023|p=19-20}} This theory suggests that the Druze descended from twelve Arab tribes that migrated to Syria before and during the early Islamic period.{{sfn|Firro|2023|p=19}}{{sfn|Abu-Izeddin|1993|p=10}}{{sfn|Makarim|1974|pp=2–3}} It also serves as the primary framework for understanding their historical and racial origins, as reflected in their oral traditions and written literature. This hypothesis is central to the Druze's self-perception and cultural identity.{{sfn|Abu-Izeddin|1993|p=14}} This view is accepted by the entire Druze community in Syria and Lebanon, as well as by most Druze in Israel.{{sfn|Firro|2023|p=20}} The Arabic language is spoken by the Druze and is also the language in which their sacred texts are written. Scholars who hold this view argue that this linguistic connection underscores the Druze's ethnic Arab identity.

According to Druze historian [[Nejla Abu-Izzedin]], the Druze people are of Arab origin, both culturally and historically.{{sfn|Abu-Izeddin|1993|p=14}} She explains that Druze traditions and narratives consistently trace their roots to [[Arab tribes]] who settled in Syria, some prior to the advent of Islam and others during the [[Muslim conquest of the Levant|Muslim conquest]].{{sfn|Abu-Izeddin|1993|p=10}} Abu-Izzedin further notes that when the Druze community was established, its members were spread across a wide area of Syria. The majority of those who embraced the Druze faith were Arab tribes from the northern region, making the Arab elements of the community predominant.{{sfn|Abu-Izeddin|1993|p=11}} According to Abu-Izzedin, "ethnically", the "Wadi al-Taym has been authoritatively stated to be one of the most Arab regions of [geographical] [[Syria (region)|Syria]]".{{sfn|Abu-Izeddin|1993|p=12}} The area was one of the two most important centers of Druze missionary activity in the 11th century.{{sfn|Abu-Izeddin|1993|p=12}}

Additionally, [[Nejla Abu-Izzedin|Abu-Izzedin]] highlights that the Tanukhids, an Arab tribe, hold a significant place in Druze history.{{sfn|Abu-Izeddin|1993|p=11}} She asserts that the Druze claims of Arab origin were not driven by self-interest, as Arabs were no longer in a dominant position when the Druze community was founded in the 11th century.{{sfn|Abu-Izeddin|1993|p=10-11}} Furthermore, Druze narratives recount their involvement in pivotal events in [[Arab history]].{{sfn|Abu-Izeddin|1993|p=14}} In modern times, the Druze have largely adopted [[Arab nationalism]] and played a notable role in the [[Great Syrian Revolt]] of 1920's.{{sfn|Abu-Izeddin|1993|p=14}}

Druze scholar [[Sami Makarem]] notes that Wadi Taym and [[southern Lebanon]] ([[Jabal Amel]]) were pivotal centers for Druze missionary activity in the 11th century, inhabited by Arab tribes.{{sfn|Makarim|1974|pp=2–3}} He explains that Druze oral traditions and religious documents suggest that most Druze ancestors came from twelve Arab tribes in [[Maarat al-Numan]] during the early period of Islam and its conquests. Later, they migrated and settled in Lebanon.{{sfn|Makarim|1974|pp=2–3}} Makarem highlights the Druze's strong Arab heritage, noting that early Druze followers were predominantly of Arab descent.{{sfn|Makarim|1974|pp=2–3}} He also points out that many tribes settling in the [[Levant]] before Islam came from southern Arabia, including [[Yaman (tribal group)|Yamani]] and [[Qaysi]] tribes. According to Makarem, Druze belief links their ancestry to tribes that lived in [geographical] [[Syria (region)|Syria]], some before Islam and others arriving during the conquest.{{sfn|Makarim|1974|pp=2–3}}

Israeli Druze historian [[Salman Hamud Fallah]] asserted that the Druze people of today originated from the [[Arabian Peninsula]]. He noted that some of their ancestors came from the northern part of the peninsula, while others came from the southern region, specifically [[Yemen]].<ref>Salih Zaher-Eddin, History of the Muslem Al Muwahidun Al Druze (Katar: The Arabic Center for Research and Documentation, 1994), p. 78 [Arabic]</ref> In addition, Israeli Druze historian Yusri Hazran describes the Druze narrative, which holds that twelve Arab tribes migrated into the Syrian region either before the rise of Islam or during the early Islamic period. These tribes were predominantly of [[Yaman (tribal group)|Yamani]] tribes, with the [[Tanukhids]] being the most dominant among them. Subsequently, these tribes adopted the Druze doctrine. Hazran affirms that this narrative is recognized within Druze doctrine and its scriptures.{{sfn|Hazran|2013|p=18}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Routledge Handbook of Minorities in the Middle East |first=Paul S. |last=Rowe |year=2018 |isbn=9781317233794 |page=201 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]}}</ref>

Druze researchers and historians from Israel, such as Kais M. Firro, Rabah Halabi, Munir Fakhr El-Din, and Afifa E. Kheir, confirm that the Druze are Arabs and note that this was not a contentious issue in Israel before 1962.{{sfn|Firro|2023|p=20}}<ref name="Reshaping Druze Particularism in Is"/><ref>{{cite book |title=Codeswitching as an Index and Construct of Sociopolitical Identity: The Case of the Druze and Arabs in Israel |first=Eve A. |last=Kheir |year=2023 |isbn=9789004534803 |page=55 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]]}}</ref> Halabi observes that Israeli policies aimed at granting the Druze a distinct community status and political identity led some Druze to see this separate "Druze-Israeli identity" as an ethnic marker for [[social integration]] within Israeli society.<ref name="Invention of a Nation: The Druze in"/> Firro argues that efforts to create a separate Druze identity distinct from Arabs are politically motivated and lack historical basis, citing Druze religious and historical literature that affirms their Arab heritage.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Druzes in the Jewish State: A Brief History| first=Kais|last=M. Firro|year= 2021| isbn=9789004491915|pages =158–159|publisher=Brill}}</ref> Scholar Michael Cohen adds that, despite the Israeli and Zionist narrative promoting a distinct "Druze ethnic identity", most Druze in Israel view their origins as Arab and consider their Druze identity primarily as religious.<ref>{{cite book|title=The British Mandate in Palestine: A Centenary Volume, 1920–2020| first=Michael|last=J. Cohen|year= 2020| isbn=9780429640483|page =|publisher=Taylor & Francis}}</ref>

==== Druze as a mixture of Western Asian tribes ====
The 1911 edition of [[Encyclopædia Britannica]] states that the Druze are "a mixture of refugee stocks, in which the Arab largely predominates, grafted on to an original mountain population of Aramaic blood".{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=605}}

==== Iturean hypothesis ====
According to Jewish contemporary literature, the Druze, who were visited and described in 1165 by [[Benjamin of Tudela]], were pictured as descendants of the [[Itureans]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Hitti|first=P. K. |title=The Origins of the Druze People and Religion: With Extracts from Their Sacred Writings|year=1966 |publisher=Library of Alexandria |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pYgvLf2GE8YC&q=druze+benjamin+of+tudela&pg=PT10|isbn=978-1-4655-4662-3 }}</ref> an [[Ismaelite]] [[Arab]] tribe, which used to reside in the northern parts of the [[Golan Heights|Golan plateau]] through Hellenistic and Roman periods. The word ''Druzes,'' in an early Hebrew edition of his travels, occurs as ''Dogziyin,'' but it is clear that this is a scribal error.

Archaeological assessments of the Druze region have also proposed the possibility of Druze descending from Itureans,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dar|first=Shimon|date=1988|title=The History of the Hermon Settlements|journal=Palestine Exploration Quarterly|volume=120|issue=1|pages=26–44|doi=10.1179/peq.1988.120.1.26|issn=0031-0328|quote=Heretofore studies of the Ituraeans have been based on historical sources and written history. Archaeological surveys from 1968 to ... Proposes the possibility that the Druze descended from the Ituraeans.}}</ref> who had inhabited [[Mount Lebanon]] and [[Golan Heights]] in late classic antiquity, but their traces fade in the Middle Ages.

=== Genetics ===
{{see also|Genetic history of the Middle East}}
[[Christianity in Lebanon|Lebanese Christians]] and Druze became a genetic isolate in the predominantly [[Islamic world]].<ref>{{harvnb|Haber|Gauguier|Youhanna|Patterson|2013}}. Quote: 1 – "We show that religious affiliation had a strong impact on the genomes of the Levantines. In particular, conversion of the region's populations to Islam appears to have introduced major rearrangements in populations' relations through admixture with culturally similar but geographically remote populations, leading to genetic similarities between remarkably distant populations like Jordanians, Moroccans, and Yemenis. Conversely, other populations, like Christians and Druze, became genetically isolated in the new cultural environment. We reconstructed the genetic structure of the Levantines and found that a pre-Islamic expansion Levant was more genetically similar to Europeans than to Middle Easterners."<br/>2 – "The predominantly Muslim populations of Syrians, Palestinians and Jordanians cluster on branches with other Muslim populations as distant as Morocco and Yemen."<br/>3 – Lebanese Christians and all Druze cluster together, and Lebanese Muslims are extended towards Syrians, Palestinians, and Jordanians, which are close to Saudis and Bedouins."</ref>

In a 2005 study of [[ASPM (gene)|ASPM gene variants]], Mekel-Bobrov et al. found that the [[Israelis|Israeli]] Druze people of the [[Mount Carmel]] region have among the highest rate of the newly evolved ASPM- Haplogroup D, at 52.2% occurrence of the approximately 6,000-year-old allele.<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/309/5741/1720 |title=Ongoing Adaptive Evolution of ASPM, a Brain Size Determinant in Homo sapiens |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |date=9 September 2005 |volume=309 |number=5741 |pages=1720–1722 |doi=10.1126/science.1116815 |pmid=16151010|bibcode=2005Sci...309.1720M |last1=Mekel-Bobrov |first1=N |last2=Gilbert |first2=SL |last3=Evans |first3=PD |s2cid=30403575 |display-authors=etal}}</ref> While it is not yet known exactly what selective advantage is provided by this gene variant, the Haplogroup D allele is thought{{by whom|date=January 2021}} to be positively selected in populations and to confer some substantial advantage that has caused its frequency to rapidly increase.

A 2004 [[DNA]] study has shown that Israeli Druze are remarkable for the high frequency (35%) of males who carry the [[Y-chromosome|Y-chromosomal]] [[Haplogroup L (Y-DNA)|haplogroup L]], which is otherwise uncommon in the Middle East (Shen et al. 2004).<ref name="Shen">{{cite journal |title=Reconstruction of Patrilineages and Matrilineages of Samaritans and Other Israeli Populations From Y-Chromosome and Mitochondrial DNA Sequence Variation |author=Peidong Shen |display-authors=etal |journal=Human Mutation |date=2004 |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=248–260 |url=http://evolutsioon.ut.ee/publications/Shen2004.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050415100251/http://evolutsioon.ut.ee/publications/Shen2004.pdf |archive-date=2005-04-15 |url-status=live |access-date=2 December 2016 |doi=10.1002/humu.20077|pmid=15300852 |s2cid=1571356 }}</ref> This haplogroup originates from [[Prehistory|prehistoric]] [[South Asia]] and has spread from [[Pakistan]] into southern [[Iran]]. A 2008 study done on larger samples showed that L-M20 averages 27% in Mount Carmel Druze, 2% in Galilee Druze, 8% in Lebanese Druze, and it was not found in a sample of 59 Syrian Druze (Slush et al. 2008).<ref name="dna1" />

Cruciani, in 2007, found E1b1b1a2 (E-V13) [a subclade of E1b1b1a (E-M78)] in high levels (>10% of the male population) in Cypriot and Druze lineages. Recent genetic clustering analyses of ethnic groups are consistent with the close ancestral relationship between the Druze and Cypriots, and also identified similarity to the general [[Syrians|Syrian]] and [[Lebanese people|Lebanese]] populations, as well as the major [[Jews|Jewish]] [[Jewish ethnic divisions|divisions]] ([[Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazi]], [[Sephardic Jews|Sephardi]], [[History of the Jews in Iraq|Iraqi]], and [[Moroccan Jews]]) (Behar et al. 2010).<ref name="Behar2010">{{cite journal |author1=Doron M. Behar |author2=Bayazit Yunusbayev |author3=Mait Metspalu |author4=Ene Metspalu |author5=Saharon Rosset |author6=Jüri Parik |author7=Siiri Rootsi |author8=Gyaneshwer Chaubey |author9=Ildus Kutuev |author10=Guennady Yudkovsky |author11=Elza K. Khusnutdinova |author12=Oleg Balanovsky |author13=Olga Balaganskaya |author14=Ornella Semino |author15=Luisa Pereira |author16=David Comas |author17=David Gurwitz |author18=Batsheva Bonne-Tamir |author19=Tudor Parfitt |author20=Michael F. Hammer |author21=Karl Skorecki |author22=Richard Villems |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/44657170 |title=The genome-wide structure of the Jewish people |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |date=July 2010 |volume=466 |doi=10.1038/nature09103 |issue=7303 |pages=238–242 |pmid=20531471 |bibcode=2010Natur.466..238B |s2cid=4307824}}</ref>

Also, a new study concluded that the Druze harbor a remarkable diversity of [[human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup|mitochondrial DNA]] lineages that appear to have separated from each other thousands of years ago. But instead of dispersing throughout the world after their separation, the full range of lineages can still be found within the Druze population.<ref name=dna>{{Citation |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508182219.htm |date=12 May 2008|title=Genetics Confirm Oral Traditions of Druze in Israel |journal=ScienceDaily}}</ref>

The researchers noted that the Druze villages contained a striking range of high frequency and high diversity of the [[Haplogroup X (mtDNA)|X haplogroup]], suggesting that this population provides a glimpse into the past genetic landscape of the [[Near East]] at a time when the X haplogroup was more prevalent.<ref name=dna />

These findings are consistent with the Druze [[oral tradition]] that claims that the adherents of the faith came from diverse ancestral lineages stretching back tens of thousands of years.<ref name=dna /> The [[Shroud of Turin]] analysis shows significant traces of mitochondrial DNA unique to the Druze community.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Uncovering the sources of DNA found on the Turin Shroud |first1=Gianni |last1=Barcaccia |first2=Giulio |last2=Galla |first3=Alessandro |last3=Achilli |first4=Anna |last4=Olivieri |first5=Antonio |last5=Torroni |date=5 October 2015 |journal=[[Scientific Reports]] |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=14484 |doi=10.1038/srep14484|pmid=26434580 |pmc=4593049 |bibcode=2015NatSR...514484B}}</ref>

A 2008 study published on the genetic background of Druze communities in Israel showed highly heterogeneous parental origins. A total of 311 Israeli Druze were sampled: 37 from the [[Golan Heights]], 183 from the [[Galilee]], and 35 from [[Mount Carmel]], as well as 27 Druze immigrants from Syria and 29 from Lebanon (Slush et al. 2008). The researchers found the following frequencies of Y-chromosomal and MtDNA haplogroups:<ref name="dna1">{{cite journal |last1=Shlush |first1=LI |title=The Druze: A Population Genetic Refugium of the Near East |journal=[[PLOS ONE]] |volume=3 |issue=5 |pages=Table S6, e2105 |year=2008 |bibcode=2008PLoSO...3.2105S |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0002105 |pmc=2324201 |pmid=18461126 |display-authors=etal |last2=Behar |first2=DM |last3=Yudkovsky |first3=G |doi-access=free}}</ref>
* Mount Carmel: L 27%, R 27%, J 18%, E 15%, G 12%.
* Galilee: J 31%, R 20%, E 18%, G 14%, K 11%, Q 4%, L 2%.
* Golan Heights: J 54%, E 29%, I 8%, G 4%, C 4%.
* Lebanon: J 58%, K 17%, Q 8%, R 8%, L 8%.
* Syria: J 39%, E 29%, R 14%, G 14%, K 4%.
*Maternal MtDNA haplogroup frequencies: H 32%, X 13%, K 12.5%, U 10%, T 7.5%, HV 4.8%, J 4.8%, I 3.5%, pre HV 3%, L2a3 2.25%, N1b 2.25%, M1 1.6%, W 1.29%.

In a principal component analysis of a 2014 study, Druze were located between Lebanese people and Mizrahi Jews.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lazaridis |first1=Iosif |last2=Patterson |first2=Nick |last3=Mittnik |first3=Alissa |last4=Renaud |first4=Gabriel |last5=Mallick |first5=Swapan |last6=Kirsanow |first6=Karola |last7=Sudmant |first7=Peter H. |last8=Schraiber |first8=Joshua G. |last9=Castellano |first9=Sergi |last10=Lipson |first10=Mark |last11=Berger |first11=Bonnie |last12=Economou |first12=Christos |last13=Bollongino |first13=Ruth |last14=Fu |first14=Qiaomei |last15=Bos |first15=Kirsten I. |display-authors=1 |year=2014 |title=Ancient human genomes suggest three ancestral populations for present-day Europeans |journal=Nature |volume=513 |issue=7518 |pages=409–413 |arxiv=1312.6639 |bibcode=2014Natur.513..409L |doi=10.1038/nature13673 |pmc=4170574 |pmid=25230663 |last16=Nordenfelt |first16=Susanne |last17=Li |first17=Heng |last18=De Filippo |first18=Cesare |last19=Prüfer |first19=Kay |last20=Sawyer |first20=Susanna |last21=Posth |first21=Cosimo |last22=Haak |first22=Wolfgang |last23=Hallgren |first23=Fredrik |last24=Fornander |first24=Elin |last25=Rohland |first25=Nadin |last26=Delsate |first26=Dominique |last27=Francken |first27=Michael |last28=Guinet |first28=Jean-Michel |last29=Wahl |first29=Joachim |last30=Ayodo |first30=George}}</ref>

According to a 2015 study, Druze have a largely similar genome with Middle Eastern Arabs, but they have not married outside of their clans in 1000 years and Druze families from different regions share a similarity with each other that distinguishes them from other Middle Eastern populations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 February 2015 |title=An International Genetic Study Confirms the History of the Druze Community |url=https://www.newswise.com/articles/an-international-genetic-study-confirms-the-history-of-the-druze-community |access-date=2022-08-20 |website=www.newswise.com |language=en}}</ref>

A 2016 study based on testing samples of Druze in the [[Syria (region)|historic region of Syria]], in comparison with ancient humans (including Anatolian and Armenian), and on Geographic Population Structure (GPS) tool by converting genetic distances into geographic distances, concluded that Druze might hail from the [[Zagros Mountains]] and the surroundings of [[Lake Van]] in eastern [[Anatolia]], then they later migrated south to settle in the mountainous regions in Syria, Lebanon and Israel.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Scarlett Marshall |author2=Ranajit Das |author3=Mehdi Pirooznia |author4=Eran Elhaik|title=Reconstructing Druze population history |journal=[[Scientific Reports]] |volume=6 |pages=35837 |date=16 November 2016 |doi=10.1038/srep35837 |pmid=27848937 |pmc=5111078 |bibcode=2016NatSR...635837M}}</ref>

A 2020 study on remains from [[Canaan]]aite (Bronze Age southern [[Levant]]ine) populations suggests a significant degree of genetic continuity in currently Arabic-speaking Levantine populations (including the Druze, Lebanese, [[Palestinians]], and Syrians), as well as in most Jewish groups (including [[Sephardi Jews]], [[Ashkenazi Jews]], [[Mizrahi Jews]], and [[Maghrebi Jews]]) from the populations of the Bronze Age Levant, suggesting that the aforementioned groups all derive more than half of their overall ancestry ([[atDNA]]) from Canaanite / Bronze Age Levantine populations,<ref name="ReferenceD">{{cite journal |vauthors=Agranat-Tamir L, Waldman S, Martin MS, Gokhman D, Mishol N, Eshel T, Cheronet O, Rohland N, Mallick S, Adamski N, Lawson AM, Mah M, Michel MM, Oppenheimer J, Stewardson K, Candilio F, Keating D, Gamarra B, Tzur S, Novak M, Kalisher R, Bechar S, Eshed V, Kennett DJ, Faerman M, Yahalom-Mack N, Monge JM, Govrin Y, Erel Y, Yakir B, Pinhasi R, Carmi S, Finkelstein I, Reich D |title=The Genomic History of the Bronze Age Southern Levant |journal=[[Cell (journal)|Cell]] |volume=181 |issue=5 |date=May 2020 |pages=1146–1157.e11 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2020.04.024 |pmid=32470400 |pmc=10212583 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="NationalGeographic1">{{cite news |last=Lawler |first=Andrew |title=DNA from the Bible's Canaanites lives on in modern Arabs and Jews |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/dna-from-biblical-canaanites-lives-modern-arabs-jews |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602143829/https://api.nationalgeographic.com/distribution/public/amp/history/2020/05/dna-from-biblical-canaanites-lives-modern-arabs-jews |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 June 2020 |date=28 September 2020 |work=[[National Geographic]] |access-date=28 May 2020}}</ref> albeit with varying sources and degrees of admixture from differing host or invading populations depending on each group.
[[File:Principal component analysis of ancient and modern populations.jpg|thumb|Principal component analysis of some ancient and modern populations, including Druze (Almarri, Mohamed A. et al. 2021).]]
In a 2021 study, Druze were a part of the larger Levant-Iraq cluster in a fineSTRUCTURE tree analysis, and overlapped with Lebanese people in a principal component analysis.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2021.07.013 |doi-access=free |pmc=8445022 |pmid=34352227 |title=The genomic history of the Middle East |year=2021 |last1=Almarri |first1=Mohamed A. |last2=Haber |first2=Marc |last3=Lootah |first3=Reem A. |last4=Hallast |first4=Pille |last5=Al Turki |first5=Saeed |last6=Martin |first6=Hilary C. |last7=Xue |first7=Yali |last8=Tyler-Smith |first8=Chris |journal=[[Cell (journal)|Cell]] |volume=184 |issue=18 |pages=4612–4625.e14}}</ref>