What exactly is an Aryan?

Well, here’s a definition that comprises several groups of people.

Aryan

–noun

1. Ethnology. a member or descendant of the prehistoric people who spoke Indo-European.
2. (in Nazi doctrine) a non-Jewish Caucasian, esp. of Nordic stock.
3. (formerly) Indo-European.
4. (formerly) Indo-Iranian.

–adjective

5. of or pertaining to an Aryan or the Aryans.
6. (formerly) Indo-European.
7. (formerly) Indo-Iranian.

I JUST learned this is history class yesterday.

An Aryan was a person belonging to a culture in Babylon who invaded India. Their language is the root of all European languages, except Hungarian.

Point of interest: The Aryans were also a sect of Christianity followed by the Visigoths. They were crushed by the Catholics at some point when they were being pushed out of Spain.

This business of a supposed migration of groups from the Caspian region to the Indian sub-continent is heavily disputed. This theory developed in the 19th century based mostly on linguistic evidence, but other lines of research have failed to substantiate this idea:

Archeological evidence- “Current archaeological data do not support the existence of an Indo-Aryan or European invasion into South Asia any time in the pre- or protohistoric periods. Instead, it is possible to document archaeologically a series of cultural changes reflecting indigenous cultural developments from prehistoric to historic periods” The vast majority of the professional archaeologists Bryant (2001) interviewed in India insisted that there was no convincing archaeological evidence whatsoever to support any claims of external Indo-Aryan origins. Kenoyer (as cited in Bryant 2001:231) and Shaffer (as cited in Bryant 2001:232) argue that current evidence does not support an invasion of South Asia in the pre- or proto-historic periods.

Anthropological/genetic evidence- “Biological anthropologists remain unable to lend support to any of the theories concerning an Aryan biological or demographic entity.” “It is not necessary, based on the current evidence, to look beyond South Asia for the origins of the paternal heritage of the majority of Indians at the time of the onset of settled agriculture. The perennial concept of people, language, and agriculture arriving to India together through the northwest corridor does not hold up to close scrutiny.” ”“Indian tribal and caste populations derive largely from the same genetic heritage of Pleistocene southern and western Asians and have received limited gene flow from external regions since the Holocene.” source of quotes

This theory played into !9th century ideas about the dominance of superior European cultures over “primitive” (and dark) peoples. The word “arya” is used in Sanskrit as an honorific and is applied to certain (non-ethnic) groups in recognition of their merits. This term was mistakenly thought by European scholars to refer to this presumed invading force, so they began calling them “Aryans”.

Not particularly the answer…but interesting fact. Iran translates into “land of the Aryans” and the name was only changed to Iran in 1935 by the Shah who really admired Hitler.

Just random trivia.

Wasn’t Iran called “Persia” before Iran? Anyway, I’m still confused. Are Aryans Persians, Germans, Scandinavians, Indians…?

@rawpixels yup it was…and many Iranians still refer to themselves as Persians :).

“Aryan, a word nowadays referring to the blond-haired, blue-eyed physical ideal of Nazi Germany, originally referred to a people who looked vastly different. Its history starts with the ancient Indo-Iranians, peoples who inhabited parts of what are now Iran, Afghanistan, and India.”

@rawpixels You’re rightly confused, because “aryan” is quite possibly (not to say “probably”) a made-up ethnicity.

@Harp is correct, it is from what I have read, a mix of various ethnicities. I also think your confusion stems from the bastardizing of the word by Hitler so that now in every day dialect it is meant to describe something other than it was originally meant to.

The swastika was also stolen by the Nazis. Damn Nazi thieves! :)

Actually, Aryan in reference to both the blonde-haired, blue-eyed European ideal and the Indians (I’m not sure about the others) is correct. There are a number of Indians that have very fair complexions in the north. Even Indians from further south can have these attributes. look at Ashiwara Rai (sp). She has very light skin and naturally bright blue eyes, but she is one hundred percent Indian.

Aishwarya is not a full-blooded Indian. The fairskinned Indian was basically spawned due to the invasion of Hindustan by England and the travelling Portuguese traders. Far Northerners, closest to China have a more Asian look as well. Most Bollywood stars are partially Indian – a large bulk of them with some English or Portuguese heritage – Aishwarya’s grandmother was Portuguese. Harp is correct off course, the use of Aryan has been totally obscured and mis-represented… but hey, if the shoe fits. I’ve just come from the Aryan Nations website… you should check it out… madness in motion – aryan-nations.org. Talk about near K3,