Aryan is an English word derived from the Indo-Aryan Vedic Sanskrit and Iranian Avestan terms ari-, arya-, ārya-, and/or the extended form aryāna-. The Old Persian ariya- is a cognate as well. Beyond its use as the ethnic self-designation of the Proto-Indo-Iranians, the meaning "noble" has been attached to it in Sanskrit. During the 19th century, following Max Müller's 'Aryan invasion theory', the term gained an added meaning, being used in the West to refer to what are now called the 'Prot ...

Including:

• Aryan - Etymology and History of the Term
• Aryan - Proto-Indo-European
• Aryan - Indo-Iranian
• Aryan - Indo-Aryan
• Aryan - Iranian
• Aryan - Racist connotations

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The Aryan race was a term used in the nineteenth century by European racial theorists who believed strongly in the division of humanity into biologically distinct races with differing characteristics. Such writers took the view that the Proto-Indo-Europeans consituted a specific race that had expanded across Europe, Iran and India. This meaning was, and still is, common in theories of racial superiority which were embraced by Nazi Germany. This usage tends to merge the Avestan/Sanskrit meaning of "noble" or "elevated" with the idea of distin ...

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Aryan, Aryan - Etymology and History of the Term, Aryan - Proto-Indo-European, Aryan - Indo-Iranian, Aryan - Indo-Aryan, Aryan - Iranian, Aryan - Racist connotations

Read more here: » Aryan: Encyclopedia II - Aryan - Racist connotations

Indo-Iranian arya- descends from PIE *ar-yo-, a yo-adjective to a root *ar "to assemble skillfully", present in Greek harma "chariot", Latin ars "art" etc. The adjective *aryo- was suggested as ascending to Proto-Indo-European as the self-designation of the speakers of Proto-Indo-European itsel ...

See also:

Aryan, Aryan - Etymology and History of the Term, Aryan - Proto-Indo-European, Aryan - Indo-Iranian, Aryan - Indo-Aryan, Aryan - Iranian, Aryan - Racist connotations

Read more here: » Aryan: Encyclopedia II - Aryan - Etymology and History of the Term

Main article: Indo-Iranians. The most probable date for Proto-Indo-Iranian unity is roughly around 2500 BC. In this sense of the word Aryan, the Aryans were an ancient culture preceding both the Vedic and Iranian cultures. Candidates for an archaeological identification of this culture are the Andronovo and/or Srubnaya Archaeological Complexes. Aryan - Indo-Aryan. See also Arya, Indo-Aryans, Indo-Aryan ...

See also:

Aryan, Aryan - Etymology and History of the Term, Aryan - Proto-Indo-European, Aryan - Indo-Iranian, Aryan - Indo-Aryan, Aryan - Iranian, Aryan - Racist connotations

Read more here: » Aryan: Encyclopedia II - Aryan - Indo-Iranian

Max Müller and other 19th century linguists (see also Indo-European studies) theorised that the term *arya was used as the self-description of the Proto-Indo-Europeans. The nomadic Iranians of the north western steppes, however, especially those settled in Europe, are extensively covered by the classical writers; they are also attested in a very large number of archaeological excavations in Eastern Europe; these Iranian peoples are known in the West as Cimmerians, Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans, and finally Ossets; it must be em ...

See also:

Aryan, Aryan - Etymology and History of the Term, Aryan - Proto-Indo-European, Aryan - Indo-Iranian, Aryan - Indo-Aryan, Aryan - Iranian, Aryan - Racist connotations

Read more here: » Aryan: Encyclopedia II - Aryan - Proto-Indo-European