Genetic Identification of Members of the Prominent Báthory Aristocratic Family

The Báthory family was one of the most powerful noble families in the medieval Hungarian Kingdom. Their influence peaked during the Ottoman occupation of Hungary, when the only partially autonomous region of the country was Transylvania under Turkish protectorate. Several members of the family became Princes of Transylvania, and one of them, István Báthory, was also elected as the King of Poland. We hereby present the first genetic data about this extinct family. Archaeological excavations in Pericei, a settlement now part of Romania, revealed the former family chapel of the Báthory family. Through this work, two Báthory family members were successfully identified among the 13 remains found at the site. The Y-chromosome haplogroup R-S498 corresponds to historical documents describing the family's German (Swabian) origins. Their genomic composition also indicates a family of Germanic origin that intermixed with the medieval Hungarians.