Aryan 3261 225270348 2008-07-12T20:23:40Z Dbachmann 86857 irrelevant {{sprotected2}} {{dablink|For Hindu, Zoroastrian and other spiritual interpretations, see [[Arya]]. For the Bollywood film, see [[Aryan (film)]]. For other uses, see [[Aryan (disambiguation)]].}} '''Aryan''' is an [[English language|English]] word derived from the [[Sanskrit]] "[[Ārya]]" meaning "noble" or "honorable".<ref><Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/aryan.</ref><ref>for the Sanskrit term, [[Monier-Williams]] has: "a respectable or honourable or faithful man, an inhabitant of Âryâvarta; one who is faithful to the religion of his country; name of the race which immigrated from Central Asia into Âryâvarta (opposed to ''an-arya, [[dasyu]], daasa''); in later times name of the first three castes (opposed to ''[[shudra]]''); a man highly esteemed; a master; Âryan, favourable to the Âryan people; behaving like an Âryan, worthy of one, honourable, respectable, noble; of a good family; excellent; wise; suitable"</ref> The [[Avestan]] cognate is "Airya" and the [[Old Persian]] equivalent is "Ariya". It is widely held to have been used as an ethnic self-designation of the [[Proto-Indo-Iranians]]{{fact|date=May 2008}}. Since, in the 19th century, the Indo-Iranians were the most ancient known speakers of Indo-European languages, the word Aryan was adopted to refer not only to the Indo-Iranian people, but also to Indo-European speakers as a whole{{fact|date=May 2008}}. In [[Europe]], the concept of an [[Aryan race]] became influential in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as [[linguists]] and [[ethnologists]] argued that speakers of these [[Indo-European languages]] constitute a distinctive race, descended from an ancient people, who were referred to as the "primitive Aryans", but are now known as [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-Europeans]]. In [[linguistics]], Aryan is most often used in the context of the sub-branch of [[Indo-Iranian languages]] referred to as [[Indo-Aryan languages]]. == Etymology == [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] (PIE) {{PIE|*ar-yo-}}, a ''yo-''adjective to a root {{PIE|*ar}} "to assemble skillfully", present in Greek ''harma'' "chariot", Greek ''aristos'', (as in "[[aristocracy]]"), Latin ''ars'' "art", etc. [[Proto-Indo-Iranian]] ''[[Aša|*ar-ta-]]'' was a related concept of "properly joined" expressing a religious concept of [[Cosmos|cosmic]] order. The adjective ''*aryo-'' was suggested as ascending to Proto-Indo-European times as the self-designation of the speakers of the [[Proto-Indo-European language]] itself. It was suggested that other words such as ''[[Éire]]'', the Irish name of [[Ireland]], and ''Ehre'' (German for "honour") were related to it, but these are now widely regarded as untenable,<ref>[http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v2f7/v2f7a010.html Encyclopaedia Iranica - ''Aryans'']</ref> and while ''{{PIE|*ar-yo-}}'' is certainly a well-formed PIE adjective, there is no evidence that it was used as an ethnic self-designation outside the Indo-Iranian branch. In the 1850s [[Max Müller]] theorized that the word originated as a denotation of farming populations, since he thought it likely that it was related to the root {{PIE|*arh<sub>3</sub>}}, meaning "to plow"; thus ''Aryans'' would be ''those who plow''. Other 19th century writers, such as Charles Morris, repeated this idea, linking the expansion of PIE speakers to the spread of agriculturalists. Most linguists now consider {{PIE|*arh<sub>3</sub>}} to be unrelated. The Proto-Iranian form ''*Aryāna-'' appears as ''[[Airyanem Vaejah|Æryānam Väejāh]]'' "expanse of the ''Aryans''" in [[Avestan]], in [[Middle Persian]] as ''Ērān'', and in [[Modern Persian]] as ''Īrān.'' Similarly, Northern India was referred to by the [[tatpurusha]] ''[[Aryavarta]]'' "''Arya''-abode" in ancient times. ===Semantics of Sanskrit ''arya''=== {{main|Arya}} According to Paul Thieme (1938), the [[Vedic Sanskrit|Vedic]] term ''arya-'' in its earliest attestations has a meaning of "stranger", but "stranger" in the sense of "potential guest" as opposed to "barbarian" ([[mleccha]], [[dasa]]), taking this to indicate that ''arya'' was originally the ethnic self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. ''Arya'' directly contrasts with ''Dasa'' or ''Dasyu'' in the [[Rigveda]] (e.g. RV 1.51.8, ''{{IAST|ví jānīhy âryān yé ca dásyavaḥ}}'' "Discern thou well Aryas and Dasyus"). This situation is directly comparable to the term [[Names of the Greeks|Hellene]] in Ancient Greece. The [[Middle Indic]] interjection ''arē!'', ''rē!'' "you there!" is derived from the vocative ''arí!'' "stranger!". The Sanskrit lexicon [[Amarakosha]] (c. AD 450) defines ''[[Arya]]'' as ''{{IAST|mahākula kulīnārya}}'' "being of a noble family", ''{{IAST|sabhya}}'' "having gentle or refined behavior and demeanor", ''{{IAST|sajjana}}'' "being well-born and respectable", and ''{{IAST|sādhava}}'' "being virtuous, honourable, or righteous". <!-- essentially a bunch of synonyms; महाकुल कुलीनार्य सभ्य सज्जन साधवः--> In Hinduism, the religiously initiated [[Brahmin]], [[Kshatriya]] and [[Vaishya]]s were ''arya'', a title of honor and respect given to certain people for noble behaviour. This word is used by [[Hindus]], [[Buddhists]], [[Jains]] and [[Zoroastrians]] to mean ''noble'' or ''spiritual''.<ref>[http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/01368/web/html_pre_pg-3.html ThinkQuest : Site Unavailable<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, for example, [[Four Noble Truths]] ([[Pali]]: ''Cattāri ariyasaccāni'', [[Sanskrit]]: ''Catvāri āryasatyāni''), and [[Noble Eightfold Path]] ([[Pāli language|Pāli]]: ''{{IAST|Ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo}}''; [[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]]: ''{{IAST|Ārya 'ṣṭāṅga mārgaḥ}}''). ==Indo-European== [[Max Müller]] and other 19th century linguists theorized that the term ''*arya'' was used as the self-description of the [[Proto-Indo-Europeans]], who were often referred to at this time as the "primitive Aryans". By extension, the word came to be used in the West for the [[Indo-European studies|Indo-European speaking peoples]] as a whole. Besides Müller for example H. Chavée in 1867 uses the term in this sense (''aryaque''), but this never saw frequent use in linguistics, precisely for being reserved for "Indo-Iranian" already. G. I. Ascoli in 1854 used ''arioeuropeo'', viz. a compound "Aryo-European" with the same rationale as "Indo-European", the term now current, which has been in frequent use since the 1830s. Nevertheless, the use of Aryan as a synonym for Indo-European became widespread in non-linguistic and popular usage by the end of the nineteenth century. Use of "Aryan" for "Indo-European" in academia was obsolete by the 1910s: B. W. Leist in 1888 still titles ''Alt-Arisches Jus Gentium'' ("Old Aryan [meaning Indo-European, not Indo-Iranian] ''[[Ius Gentium]]''"). P. v. Bradke in 1890 titles ''Methode und Ergebnisse der arischen (indogermanischen) Altterthumswissenschaft'', still using "Aryan", but inserting an explanatory bracket. Otto Schrader in 1918 in his ''Reallexikon der indogermanischen Altertumskunde'' under the entry ''Arier'' matter-of-factly discusses the Indo-Iranians, without any reference to a possible wider meaning of the term. According to [[Michael Witzel]] in his paper ''Autochthonous Aryans? The Evidence from Old Indian and Iranian Texts'', "the use of the word Arya or Aryan to designate the speakers of all Indo-European (IE) languages or as the designation of a particular ''race'' is an aberration of many writers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and should be avoided."<ref>[http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/EJVS-7-3.pdf Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies]</ref> ==Indo-Iranian==<!-- This section is linked from [[Persian people]] --> {{main|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 Avestan cultures. Candidates for an archeological identification of this Indo-Iranian culture are the [[Andronovo]] and/or [[Srubnaya]] Archeological Complexes. [[Out of India Theory|India]], [[Anatolian hypothesis|Anatolia]] and [[Central Asia]] have also been suggested as possible [[Urheimat|homelands]] for this culture. In linguistics, the term ''Aryan'' currently may be used to refer to the [[Indo-Iranian language|Indo-Iranian language family]]. To prevent confusion because of its several meanings, the linguistic term is often avoided today. It has been replaced by the unambiguous terms ''Proto-Indo-European'', ''Proto-Indo-Iranian'', ''Indo-Iranian'', ''Iranian'' and ''Indo-Aryan''. The [[Proto-Indo-Iranian]] language evolved into the family of [[Indo-Iranian languages]], of which the oldest-known members are [[Vedic Sanskrit]], [[Avestan]] and another Indo-Iranian language, known only from loan-words found in the [[Mitanni]] language. ===Indo-Aryan=== {{main|Indo-Aryans|Indo-Aryan languages}} {{See also|Arya#Hinduism}} {{See also|Indo-Aryan migration}} There is evidence of an Indo-Aryan language in [[Mesopotamia]] around 1500 BC in the form of loanwords in the [[Mitanni]] dialect of Hurrian, the speakers of which, it is speculated, may have once had an Indo-Aryan ruling class{{fact|date=May 2008}}. At around the same time, the Indo-Aryans associated with the [[Vedic civilization]], which dates back to the same period. They are sometimes called Vedic Aryans because it is believed that they brought the [[Vedas]] to the [[Indian subcontinent]]{{fact|date=May 2008}} after the Aryans migrated into that region (this theory is contrary to the [[Out of India Theory]]). In [[ancient India]], the term [[Aryavarta]], meaning "''abode of the Aryans''", was used to refer to the northern Indian subcontinent{{fact|date=May 2008}}. Indo-Aryans are spread over most of the northern, eastern, western and central parts of the [[Indian subcontinent]] and in the islands of [[Sri Lanka]] and the [[Maldives]]. Indo-Aryan languages that exist outside the Indian subcontinent include [[Romani]], the language of the [[Roma people]], often known as "Gypsies", [[Parya]], used in [[Tajikistan]], [[Jataki]], used in [[Ukraine]], and [[Domari]] which is used in the Middle East. ===Iranian=== {{main|Iranian peoples|Iranian languages}} Since ancient times, [[Persian people|Persians]] have used the term ''Aryan'' as a racial designation in an ethnic sense to describe their [[Kinship and descent|lineage]] and their [[language]], and this [[tradition]] has continued into the present day amongst modern [[Iranian Peoples|Iranians]] <ref>[[Encyclopedia Iranica]], p. 681, ''Arya''</ref>. In fact, the name [[Iran]] is a cognate of Aryan and means ''"Land of the Aryans."'' <ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/61/99/A0449900.html The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000]</ref> <ref>http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/february/indoIranianBranch.html</ref> <ref>[http://imp.lss.wisc.edu/~aoliai/languagepage/iranianlanguages.htm Persian<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> However, many of these usages are also intelligible if we understand the word Aryan in its sense of "noble" or "Spiritual". [[Image:Swastika iran.jpg|thumb|This Iranian necklace was excavated from [[Gilan]], [[Iran]] (1st millennium BCE, [[National Museum of Iran]]). Because of evidence of its use in several Indo-European cultures the swastika came to be identified as "the oldest Aryan symbol" by several writers in the late 19th century.<ref>Thomas Wilson, curator of the Department of Prehistoric Anthropology, U.S. National Museum, wrote in 1894 that "it is believed by some to have been the oldest Aryan symbol", ''The Swastika: the earliest known symbol, and its migration'', Report of the U. S. National Museum, p.770</ref>]] [[Darius the Great]], King of [[Persian Empire|Persia]] (521–486 BC), in an inscription in [[Naqsh-e Rustam]] (near [[Shiraz, Iran|Shiraz]] in present-day [[Iran]]), proclaims: ''"I am [[Darius]] the great King… A [[Persia]]n, son of a Persian, an Aryan, having Aryan lineage..."'', although Herodotus claims that it was the [[Medes]] who were the Aryans, having changed their name after the arrival of [[Medea]] and potentially her son [[Medus]]<ref>[[Hesiod]] ''Theogony'' 1000-2</ref> on the Iranian plateau.<ref>[[Herodotus]] ''Histories'' VII.62i</ref> He also calls his language the "Aryan language," commonly known today as [[Old Persian language|Old Persian]]. According to the Encyclopedia Iranica, "the same ethnic concept was held in the later centuries" and was associated with "nobility and lordship." (p. 681) The word has become a [[term of art|technical term]] in the [[theology|theologies]] of [[Zoroastrianism]], but has always been used by [[Iran]]ians in the ethnic sense as well. In 1967, Iran's [[Pahlavi]] [[dynasty]] (overthrown in the 1979 Iranian revolution) added the title [[Aryamehr|Āryāmehr]] ''"Light of the Aryans"'' to those of the [[monarch]], known at the time as the [[Shah]]anshah (''King of Kings''). The term "Airya-shayana" (''abode of the Aryans'') has also been used in the Avesta referring to all the lands where the Aryans dwell. "Iranian Glory" (''Airyana Khvarenah'') occurs in the Avesta 23 times. The term also remains a frequent element in modern Persian personal names, including ''Arya'' and '''Aryan''' (boy's and girl's name), ''Aryana'' (a common surname), ''Iran-Dokht'' (''Aryan daughter'', a girl's name),''Aryanpour'' (or ''Aryanpur'', a surname), ''Aryamane'', ''Ary'' among many others. The terms "Aryan" and "Iranian" are sometimes used interchangeably, as in the Iranian bank chain, Aryan Bank. ==Racial connotations== {{main|Aryan race}} <!-- 12/1/07 - Revised section for consistency with [[Aryan race]], its text and sources, also removed chunks of original research and added referenced material from the article. See comments inside text. NOTE: THE SECTION STILL CONTAINS ORIGINAL RESEARCH THAT NEEDS TO BE DEALT WITH --> <!-- 2/10/08 (m/d/y) - It's been three months now, and theres no improvements on the original research and sentimental sentences. Needs cleaning up. Needs a complete revision. --> Because of [[ethnolinguistics|ethnolinguistic]] arguments about connections between peoples and cultural values, "Aryan" peoples were often considered to be distinct from [[Semitic]] peoples. By the end of the nineteenth century "Aryan" was used as a [[synonym]] for [[Indo-European]], and this popular usage persists even after some academic authors have condemned such usage because of its negative connotations derived from the [[Nazism|Nazi]] era. In linguistics, it is still used in the context of the sub-branch of [[Indo-Iranians]] referred to as [[Indo-Aryans]], all though that usage has also been condemned and proposed to be replaced by the term [[Indic languages]]. The "Aryan race" was a term used in the early 20th century by European racial theorists who believed strongly in the division of humanity into biologically distinct races with differing characteristics. Such writers believed that the Proto-Indo-Europeans constituted a specific race that had expanded across parts of Europe, [[Iran]] and small parts of northern India. This usage tends to merge the Sanskrit meaning of "noble" or "elevated" with the idea of distinctive behavioral and ancestral ethnicity marked by language distribution. From the late 19th century, a number of writers had argued that the Proto-Indo-Europeans had originated in Europe. Their opinion was received critically at first, but was widely accepted by the end of the nineteenth century. By 1905 [[Hermann Hirt]] in his ''Die Indogermanen'' (Hirt consistently used ''Indogermanen'', not ''Arier'', to refer to the Indo-Europeans) claimed that the scales had tilted in favour of the hypothesis, in particular claiming the plains of northern Germany as the ''[[Urheimat]]'' (p. 197) and connecting the "blond type" (p. 192) with the core population of the early, "pure" Indo-Europeans. This argument developed in tandem with [[Nordicism]], the theory that the "Nordic race" of fair-haired north Europeans were innately superior to other peoples. The identification of the Proto-Indo-Europeans with the north German [[Corded Ware]] culture bolstered this position. This was first proposed by [[Gustaf Kossinna]] in 1902, and gained in currency over the following two decades, until [[V. Gordon Childe]] who in his 1926 ''The Aryans: a study of Indo-European origins'' concluded that "the Nordics' superiority in physique fitted them to be the vehicles of a superior language" (a belief which he later regretted having expressed). The idea became a matter of national pride in learned circles of Germany, and was taken up by the Nazis. According to [[Alfred Rosenberg]]'s ideology the "Aryan-Nordic" (''arisch-nordisch'') or "Nordic-Atlantean" (''nordisch-atlantisch'') race was thus a [[master race]], at the top of a racial hierarchy, pitted against a "[[Jewish]]-[[Semitic]]" (''jüdisch-semitisch'') race, deemed to be a racial threat to Germany's homogeneous Aryan civilization, thus rationalizing Nazi [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitism]]. Nazism portrayed their interpretation of an "Aryan race" as the only race capable of, or with an interest in, creating and maintaining culture and civilizations, while other races are merely capable of conversion, or destruction of culture. These arguments derived from late nineteenth century racial hierarchies. Some Nazis were also influenced by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]]'s ''[[The Secret Doctrine]]'' (1888) where she postulates "Aryans" as the fifth of her "[[Root Race]]s", dating them to about a million years ago, tracing them to [[Atlantis]], an idea also repeated by Rosenberg, and held as doctrine by the [[Thule Society]]. Such theories were used to justify the introduction of the so-called [[Nuremberg laws|"Aryan laws"]] by the Nazis, depriving "non-Aryans" of citizenship and employment rights, and prohibiting marriage between Aryans and non-Aryans. Though [[Mussolini]]'s [[fascism]] was not originally characterised by explicit anti-Semitism, he too eventually introduced laws pressed upon him by Hitler, prohibiting mixed-race marriages between "Aryans" and Jews. Because of historical [[racism|racist]] use of ''Aryan'', and especially use of ''Aryan race'' in connection with the [[propaganda]] of [[Nazism]], the word is sometimes avoided in the West as being tainted, in the same manner as the [[swastika]] symbol. Currently, India and Iran are the only countries to use the word ''Aryan'' in a demographic denomination. Aryan is also a common male name in [[India]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[Iran]]. ==See also== * [[Aryan race]] * [[Aryanization]] * [[Aryavarta]] * [[Airyanem Vaejah]] * [[Indigenous Aryans]] * [[Proto-Indo-Europeans]] * [[Indo-Iranian languages]] * [[Indo-Iranians]] * [[Indo-Aryans]] * [[Iranian peoples]] ==Notes== {{Reflist}} ==References== *[[Paul Thieme]], ''Der Fremdling im Rigveda. Eine Studie über die Bedeutung der Worte ari, arya, aryaman und aarya'', Leipzig (1938). * Vyacheslav V. Ivanov and Thomas Gamkrelidze, The Early History of Indo-­European Languages, Scientific American, vol. 262, N3, 110­116, March, 1990 * A. Kammenhuber, "Aryans in the Near East," Haidelberg, 1968 ==Further reading== *Vyacheslav V. Ivanov and Thomas Gamkrelidze, The Early History of Indo-­European Languages, Scientific American, vol. 262, N3, 110­116, March, 1990 *A. Kammenhuber, "Aryans in the Near East," Haidelberg, 1968 *Arvidsson, Stefan (2006), ''Aryan Idols: Indo-European Mythology as Ideology and Science,'' translated by Sonia Wichmann, Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. *Poliakov, Leon (1974). ''The Aryan Myth: A History of Racist and Nationalistic Ideas In Europe.'' Translation of ''Le mythe aryen'', 1971. ==External links== {{wiktionary|Aryan}} *[http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/pies/pdfs/IESV/1/VVI_Horse.pdf The great Indo-European and ancient Near East scholar Vyacheslav Ivanov.] (Vyacheslav Ivanov) *[http://www.sindhudesh.com/sindhudesh Sindhudesh.com] *[http://www.vedabase.net/a/arya Occurrence of "Arya" in Hindu scriptures] *[http://kpearson.faculty.tcnj.edu/Dictionary/aryan.htm Etymological study] *[http://www.payvand.com/news/05/dec/1190.html Aryanism in Tajikistan] *[http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/05_01/Indo-European.shtml Genetic evidence suggests European migrants may have influenced the origins of India's caste system] *[http://www.hindubooks.org/david_frawley/myth_aryan_invasion/aryan_as_race_or_language/page1.htm Aryan as a race or language], By David Frawley, American Institute of vedic Studies. *[http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/01368/web/html_pre_pg-3.html India through the Ages] *[http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/EJVS-7-3.pdf Autochthonous Aryans? The Evidence from Old Indian and Iranian Texts], By Michael Witzel, Harvard University. *[http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/ancient/aryan/aryan_frawley_1.html The Aryan-Dravidian Controversy] Article by David Frawley [[Category:Ancient peoples]] [[Category:Indo-Iranian peoples]] [[Category:Eurasian nomads]] [[Category:Esoteric anthropogenesis]] [[Category:Indo-European mythology]] [[ar:آريون]] [[be:Арыі]] [[cs:Árijové]] [[da:Arier]] [[de:Arier]] [[et:Aarjalased]] [[es:Arios]] [[eo:Arjoj]] [[fa:آریایی]] [[fr:Aryens]] [[hi:आर्य]] [[is:Aríi]] [[kn:ಆರ್ಯರು]] [[ml:ആര്യന്‍]] [[ms:Arya]] [[nl:Ariërs]] [[ja:アーリア人]] [[no:Ariere]] [[ps:اريايي]] [[pl:Ariowie]] [[pt:Arianos]] [[ro:Arian]] [[ru:Арии]] [[simple:Aryan]] [[sk:Árijci]] [[fi:Arjalaiset]] [[sv:Arier]] [[ta:ஆரியர்]] [[tr:Aryan]] [[uk:Арії]] [[zh:雅利安人]]