Aryan

Aryan

Aryan (; Indo-Iranian *arya) is a term which was originally used as a self-designation by Indo-Iranian peoples in ancient times, in contrast to "non-Indo-Aryan" or "non-Iranian" peoples. The idea of being an Aryan was religious, cultural and linguistic, not racial. Although the root *h₂er(y)ós ('a member of one’s own group', in contrast to an outsider) is most likely of Proto-Indo-European (PIE) origin, the use of Arya as an ethno-cultural self-designation is only attested to among Indo-Iranian peoples, and it is not known if PIE speakers had a term to designate themselves as a group.In Ancient India, the term ā́rya- was used by the Indo-Aryan speakers of the Vedic period as a religious label for themselves, as well as the name of the geographic region which was known as Āryāvarta, where the Indo-Aryan culture emerged. Similarly, ancient Iranian peoples used the term airya- as an ethnic label for themselves and they also used it in reference to their mythical homeland, Airyanem Vaejah, which is mentioned in the Avesta scriptures. The root also forms the etymological source of the place names Iran and Alania.In the 1850s the term "Aryan" was adopted as a racial category by French writer Arthur de Gobineau. Through the works of Houston Stewart Chamberlain, Gobineau's ideas later influenced the Nazi racial ideology. The atrocities committed in the name of this racial ideology have led academics to avoid the term "Aryan", which has been replaced in most cases by "Indo-Iranian", with only the South Asian branch still being called "Indo-Aryan."

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