Chariot - Egyptian. The chariot, together with the horse itself, was introduced to Egypt during the reign of the Hyksos dynasty in the 16th century BC. In the remains of Egyptian and Assyrian art there are numerous representations of chariots, from which it may be seen with what richness they were sometimes ornamented. The chariots of the Egyptians and Assyrians, with whom the bow was the principle arm of attack, were richly mounted with quivers full of arrows. The Egyptians invented the yoke saddle for their chariot horses in ca. 1500 BC. The best preserved examples of Egyptian chariots are th ...

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Chariot, Chariot - Early forms, Chariot - Indo-Iranians, Chariot - China, Chariot - Ancient Near East, Chariot - Egyptian, Chariot - Hittite, Chariot - Mycenaean, Chariot - Chariots in the Bible, Chariot - Iron Age Mesopotamia, Chariot - Northern Europe, Chariot - Central and Western Europe, Chariot - Classical Antiquity, Chariot - Greece, Chariot - Roman Empire, Chariot - Russian Tachanka, Chariot - Additional Bibliography

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During the 19th century, it was commonly believed that the Aryan race originated in the southwestern steppes of present-day Russia, and including the Caucasus Mountains. The Steppe theory of Aryan origins was not the only one circulating during the nineteenth century, however. Many British, American and German scholars argued that the Aryans originated in ancient Germany or Scandinavia, or at least that in those countries the original Aryan et ...

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Aryan race, Aryan race - Origin of the concept, Aryan race - The culture of the Aryans, Aryan race - Imperialist nationalistic and Nazi uses of the term, Aryan race - British Raj, Aryan race - Theosophy, Aryan race - Nazism, Aryan race - Quotations

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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 ...

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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

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The Indo-Iranians expanded widely into Central Asia from the Ural River in the west to the Tian Shan in the east, taking over the area occupied by the earlier Afanasevo culture, and defined by Transoxiana and the Hindu Kush (mountains) in the south. This region would later become for the most part exclusively Iranian. Their history becomes sensational with their invention of the horse-drawn chariot. Indo-Iranians - First wave. Main articleSee also:

Indo-Iranians, Indo-Iranians - Origin, Indo-Iranians - Expansion, Indo-Iranians - First wave, Indo-Iranians - Second wave, Indo-Iranians - Associated archaeological cultures, Indo-Iranians - Sources

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The various subgroups of the Indo-European family include (in historical order of their first attestation): Anatolian languages — earliest attested branch, from the 18th century BC; extinct, most notable was the language of the Hittites. Indo-Iranian languages, descending from a common ancestor, Proto-Indo-Iranian Indo-Aryan, including Sanskrit, attested from the 2nd millennium BC Iranian languages, attested from roughly 1000 BC, including Avestan and Persian. Greek language — ...

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Indo-European languages, Indo-European languages - Classification, Indo-European languages - Satem and Centum languages, Indo-European languages - Suggested superfamilies, Indo-European languages - History, Indo-European languages - Kurgan hypothesis, Indo-European languages - Competing hypotheses, Indo-European languages - Sound changes

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According to Jain beliefs, the universe was never created, nor will it ever cease to exist. It is eternal but not unchangeable, because it passes through an endless series of cycles. Each of these upward or downward cycles is divided into six world ages (yugas). The present world age is the fifth age of one of these "cycles", which is in a downward movement. These ages are known as "Aaro" as in "Pehela Aara" or First Age, "Doosra Aara" or Second Age and so on. The last one is the "Chhatha Aara" or Sixth Age. ...

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Jainism, Jainism - Overview of Jain Dharma, Jainism - Universal History and Jain Cosmology, Jainism - Beliefs and practices, Jainism - Jain Symbols, Jainism - Jain Literature, Jainism - Jain Worship and Rituals, Jainism - Digambar and Shvetambar Traditions, Jainism - Geographical spread and influence, Jainism - Jain Contributions to Indian Culture, Jainism - Jainism and Indian Archaeology, Jainism - Holy sites, Jainism - Jain Temples in the West, Jainism - Holy days, Jainism - Jainism and other religions

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Witzel's analysis of the Vedic dialects have been praised as "a breakthrough in Vedic Studies" by Frits Staal [6], Professor of philosophy and South Asian studies. Witzel has defended theories of the Indo-Aryan migration against Hindutva claims [7] equating Vedic civilization with the Indus Valley civilization, involving claims of decipherment of the Indus Script (Farmer, Sproat, Witzel 2004). ...

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Michael E. J. Witzel, Michael E. J. Witzel - Work, Michael E. J. Witzel - Controversy

Read more here: » Michael E. J. Witzel: Encyclopedia II - Michael E. J. Witzel - Work

Sarasvati River - Rig Veda. The Hindu Vedas mention a river named Sarasvatī. In Sanskrit saras means a pool or water body, and vatī (from vntī, the female form of the -vant suffix) means "she having lots of pools". Sarasvati was the biggest and most important of the seven holy rivers of the Rig Veda. In the Rig Veda the Sarasvati River is mentioned over 60 times (e.g. Rig Veda 2.41.16; 6.61.8-13; 1.3.12.), and there are sever ...

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Sarasvati River, Sarasvati River - The Sarasvati River in Hindu texts, Sarasvati River - Rig Veda, Sarasvati River - Other Hindu texts, Sarasvati River - The present-day Sarasvati, Sarasvati River - Helmand river, Sarasvati River - Bibliography

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From the time of its compilation, the text has been handed down in two versions: The Samhitapatha has all Sanskrit rules of sandhi applied and is the text used for recitation. The Padapatha has each word isolated in its pausa form and is used for memorization. The Padapatha is, as it were, a commentary to the Samhitapatha, but the two seem to be about co-eval. The original text as reconstructed on metrical grounds lies somewhere between the two, but closer to the Samhitapatha ("original" in the sense that it aims to recover the hymns in the form of their composition ...

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Rigveda, Rigveda - Text, Rigveda - Books, Rigveda - Translations, Rigveda - Internal evidence, Rigveda - Hindu tradition, Rigveda - More recent Indian views, Rigveda - Editions, Rigveda - Translations, Rigveda - Bibliography

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Even in the Rigveda, Soma is described as growing far away, in the mountains, and has to be purchased from travelling traders. This is connected with the Indo-Aryan migration model, i.e. the plant supposedly grew in the homeland of the Indo-Iranians, probably the Hindukush, but the migration of the Aryans into the Punjab removed them from the area of its occurrence, and it had to be imported. Later, knowledge of the plant was lost altogether, and Indian ritual reflects this, in expiatory prayers apologizing to the gods for the use of a substitute pla ...

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Soma, Soma - Etymology, Soma - Soma in Indian tradition, Soma - Vedas, Soma - Other Hindu texts, Soma - Hinduism, Soma - Persian Haoma, Soma - Candidates for the Soma plant, Soma - Hallucinogenic, Soma - Ephedra, Soma - Archaeological evidence

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The reconstruction of the history of Vedic India is based on text-internal evidence, and on matching information from the texts with archaeological evidence. Linguistically, the Vedic texts could be classified in five chronological strata: 1. Rigvedic: The Rigveda is by far the most archaic of the Vedic texts preserved, and it retains many common Indo-Iranian elements, both in language and in content, that are not present in any other Vedic texts. Its creation must have taken place over several centuries, and apart from ...

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Vedic civilization, Vedic civilization - Overview, Vedic civilization - Rigvedic period, Vedic civilization - Political organization, Vedic civilization - Society and economy, Vedic civilization - Vedic Religion, Vedic civilization - The later Vedic period, Vedic civilization - Kingdoms, Vedic civilization - Society

Read more here: » Vedic civilization: Encyclopedia II - Vedic civilization - Overview

In the Romany language, Rom means a man or a a person. However, two other names are often used—English Gypsies and German Zigeuner and its many derivations (e.g. Norwegian Sigøyner or Russian Цыган)—but both are now considered offensive despite common use. Rom is derived from Sanskrit dom which means a person. In some languages, like Syrian or Armenian, dom is still used. Gypsies or Gipsies derives from the erroneous belief amongst outsiders that the Roma origina ...

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Roma people, Roma people - Name, Roma people - Language, Roma people - History, Roma people - People, Roma people - Genetics, Roma people - Rejection, Roma people - Eastern Europe, Roma people - Roma society, Roma people - Religion, Roma people - Music, Roma people - Fictional representations of Roma, Roma people - Groups with similar lifestyles

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The site is generally dated to the 17th century BC. Earlier dates, up to the 20th century BC, have been proposed. It was a settlement of the Sintashta-Petrovka culture, associated with Indo-Iranians. The site was discovered in 1987 by a team of Chelyabinsk scientists who were preparing the area to be flooded in order to create a reservoir, and examined in rescue excavations led by Gennadii Zdanovich. At first their findings were ignored by Soviet authorities, who planned to flood the site as they had flooded Sarkel earlier, but the at ...

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Arkaim, Arkaim - The site, Arkaim - Speculations, Arkaim - Swastika City, Arkaim - Observatory

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The reconstruction of the history of Vedic India is based on text-internal evidence, and on matching information from the texts with archaeological evidence. Linguistically, the Vedic texts could be classified in five chronological strata: Rigvedic. The Rigveda is by far the most archaic of the Vedic texts preserved, and it retains many common Indo-Iranian elements, both in language and in content, that are not present in any other Vedic texts. Its creation must have taken place over several centuries, and apart from the ...

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Vedic civilization, Vedic civilization - Overview, Vedic civilization - Rigvedic period, Vedic civilization - Political organization, Vedic civilization - Society and economy, Vedic civilization - Vedic Religion, Vedic civilization - The later Vedic period, Vedic civilization - Kingdoms, Vedic civilization - Society

Read more here: » Vedic civilization: Encyclopedia II - Vedic civilization - Overview

The word arya first appears in the Rigveda and the Gathas around 1500 BCE, with the meaning of "noble person", though also with an ethnic significance. The word is also attested in Old Persian inscriptions and other Persian sources from c. 500 BCE onwards that refer to an Aryan lineage or nation. The word Iran is derived from the word Aryan. India is also referred to as Aryavarta, which means "the Land of Aryans". Because these peoples were the most ancient known speakers of "Indo-European" languages, the word Aryan was ...

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Aryan race, Aryan race - Origin of the concept, Aryan race - The culture of the Aryans, Aryan race - Imperialist nationalistic and Nazi uses of the term, Aryan race - British Raj, Aryan race - Theosophy, Aryan race - Nazism, Aryan race - Quotations

Read more here: » Aryan race: Encyclopedia II - Aryan race - Origin of the concept

During the 19th century, it was commonly believed that the Aryan race originated in the southwestern steppes of present-day Russia, and including the Caucasus Mountains. The Steppe theory of Aryan origins was not the only one circulating during the nineteenth century, however. Many British, American and German scholars argued that the Aryans originated in ancient Germany or Scandinavia, or at least that in those countries the original Aryan e ...

See also:

Aryan race, Aryan race - Origin of the concept, Aryan race - The culture of the Aryans, Aryan race - Imperialist, nationalistic and Nazi uses of the term, Aryan race - British Raj, Aryan race - Theosophy, Aryan race - Nazism, Aryan race - Quotations

Read more here: » Aryan race: Encyclopedia II - Aryan race - Imperialist, nationalistic and Nazi uses of the term

The origin of the Vedic civilization and its relation to the Indus Valley civilization and related cultures and an Indo-Aryan migration and the Gandhara Grave culture remains controversial and politically charged in Indian society; see the Aryan Invasion Theory for details. The Rigveda is primarily a collection of religious hymns, and allusions to, but not explanation of, various myths and stories, mainly in the younger books 1 and 10. The oldest hymns, probably in books 2–7, although some people hold book 9, the Soma Mandala, to be even m ...

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Vedic civilization, Vedic civilization - Overview, Vedic civilization - Rigvedic period, Vedic civilization - Political organization, Vedic civilization - Society and economy, Vedic civilization - Vedic Religion, Vedic civilization - The later Vedic period, Vedic civilization - Kingdoms, Vedic civilization - Society

Read more here: » Vedic civilization: Encyclopedia II - Vedic civilization - Rigvedic period

Various sculptures, seals, pottery, gold jewelry, and anatomically detailed figurines in terracotta, bronze, steatite have been found at the excavation sites. A number of bronze, terracotta, and stone figurines of girls in dancing poses reveal the presence of some dance form. Sir John Marshall is known to have reacted with surprise when he saw the famous Indus bronze statuette of the slender-limbed "dancing girl" in Mohenjo-daro: "… When I first saw them I found it difficult to believe that they were prehistoric; they s ...

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Indus Valley Civilization, Indus Valley Civilization - Overview, Indus Valley Civilization - Settlements, Indus Valley Civilization - Predecessors, Indus Valley Civilization - Emergence of Civilization, Indus Valley Civilization - Cities, Indus Valley Civilization - Science, Indus Valley Civilization - Arts and Culture, Indus Valley Civilization - Trade, Indus Valley Civilization - Agriculture, Indus Valley Civilization - Writing or Symbol System, Indus Valley Civilization - Geography, Indus Valley Civilization - Decline collapse and legacy, Indus Valley Civilization - Bibliography

Read more here: » Indus Valley Civilization: Encyclopedia II - Indus Valley Civilization - Arts and Culture

It has been suggested that while still in India the Roma people belonged to the Hindu religion, this theory being supported by the Romany word for "cross", trushul, which is the word which describes Shiva's trident. Roma have usually adopted the dominant religion of the host country while often preserving their particular belief systems and indigenous religion and worship. Most Eastern European Roma are Catholic, Orthodox or Muslim. Those in Western Europe and the United States are mostly either Catholic or Protestant. Most in ...

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Roma people, Roma people - Name, Roma people - Language, Roma people - History, Roma people - People, Roma people - Genetics, Roma people - Rejection, Roma people - Former communist countries, Roma people - Roma society, Roma people - Religion, Roma people - Music, Roma people - Fictional representations of Roma, Roma people - Groups with similar lifestyles

Read more here: » Roma people: Encyclopedia II - Roma people - Religion

In addition to their own Roma music, which is very relevant within the Eastern European folk such as the Zards from Hungary, Russia and Romania, the style and performance practices of Roma musicians have influenced European classical music works such as the Hungarian Rhapsodies and other works of Franz Liszt and the Hungarian dances of Johannes Brahms. From quick-tempo or tragic Gypsy violins, small mandolins, drums, wooden spoons used as castanets and harmonious cymbalomss are born Eastern European Zards as the basic ro ...

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Roma people, Roma people - Name, Roma people - Language, Roma people - History, Roma people - People, Roma people - Genetics, Roma people - Rejection, Roma people - Former communist countries, Roma people - Roma society, Roma people - Religion, Roma people - Music, Roma people - Fictional representations of Roma, Roma people - Groups with similar lifestyles

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In Europe, where the settled lifestyle has long been the norm, other non-Indo-Iranian nomadic peoples (not originating in India), have also been labelled Gypsies for convenience or by accident. In Germany, Switzerland, France and Austria there also exist so-called white gypsies who are known under the names of Jenische (German spelling), Yéniche (French spelling), and Yenish or Yeniche (English spellings). Their language seems to be grammatically identical with other (Swiss) German dialects; the origin of the lexicon however, incorporates Germ ...

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Roma people, Roma people - Name, Roma people - Language, Roma people - History, Roma people - People, Roma people - Genetics, Roma people - Rejection, Roma people - Former communist countries, Roma people - Roma society, Roma people - Religion, Roma people - Music, Roma people - Fictional representations of Roma, Roma people - Groups with similar lifestyles

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Estimates suggest that there are approximately 8 to 10 million Roma worldwide [2]. It's estimated that between 7 and 10 million Roma live in Europe. The largest numbers of Roma are found in the Balkan peninsula of southeastern Europe, in central Europe, the United States, South America, Russia, and successor republics of the USSR. Smaller numbers are scattered throughout western Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Countries where Roma populations exceed half a million are Romania, Hungary, the countries of former Yugoslavia, Sp ...

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Roma people, Roma people - Name, Roma people - Language, Roma people - History, Roma people - People, Roma people - Genetics, Roma people - Rejection, Roma people - Former communist countries, Roma people - Roma society, Roma people - Religion, Roma people - Music, Roma people - Fictional representations of Roma, Roma people - Groups with similar lifestyles

Read more here: » Roma people: Encyclopedia II - Roma people - People