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Aryans

Aryans in the crossword dictionary

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. D.N. Ushakov

aryans

Aryans, units. Aryan, Aryan, m. (from Sanskrit arya - noble).

Common name for Indian and Iranian groups of Indo-Europeans.

The same as the Indo-Europeans.

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. S.I.Ozhegov, N.Yu.Shvedova.

aryans

Ev, ed. Aryan, -ytsa, m.

The name of the peoples belonging to the eastern branch of the Indo-European family of languages.

In the terminology of racism, a representative of the "higher racial type"white people. To f. Aryan, - and.

adj. Aryan, th, th.

New explanatory and derivational dictionary of the Russian language, T. F. Efremova.

aryans

pl. Representatives, from the point of view of the racists, of the Aryan - Nordic - race.

Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1998

Aryans

outdated name of Indo-Iranian peoples; see Arias.

Wikipedia

Aryans (National Socialism)

Aryans or Aryan race(the term comes from the word "arias" (Old Ind. ā́rya-, Avest. airya-, Old Pers. ariya-), which meant "worthy, respected, noble" in ancient Sanskrit) - a pseudoscientific term put forward in mid XIX centuries by the authors of racial theories and widely used by the German National Socialists.

Originally, the Aryan race was understood as a subtype Caucasian race, better known as the "Nordic race". The term was introduced by Joseph Gobineau in his Experiment on the Inequality of Human Races (1855) ..

V scientific literature the term fell out of use in the first half of the 20th century and is no longer used. The pseudoscientific nature of the term is derived from a mixture of linguistic and anthropological characteristics, since in linguistics Indo-Iranian languages ​​are now called Aryan, and at the time of the appearance of the term, Indo-European languages ​​in general; but the carriers of both those and others do not have a common physical properties and do not form any race. Thus, the speakers of the Aryan languages ​​are such anthropologically different peoples as the Iranians and Indians. Anthropological diversity among carriers of all Indo-European languages much higher.

According to the fashionable on turn of XIX-XX centuries theories, which later formed the basis of Nazi ideology, the ancestral home of the "Aryans". Thus, Adolf Hitler wrote:

The "Aryan race" was contrasted with the "Semitic race" in the person of the Jews first of all, hence the term anti-Semitism. At the same time, the "Semitic race" was attributed to a purely negative qualities who made it, in the view of the racists, the direct opposite of the "Aryan race".

Aryans (disambiguation)

Aryans- ambiguous concept:

• The Aryans, or the Aryan race, is a pseudoscientific term coined in the mid-19th century by the authors of racial theories and widely used by the German National Socialists.
• Aryans or Aryans - the name of the peoples speaking the languages ​​of the Aryan group of the Indo-European family, derived from the self-name historical peoples Ancient Iran and Ancient India
• "Aryans" is the colloquial name of the members and fans of the rock group "Aria"

Examples of the use of the word Aryans in literature.

initially aryans appeared in the European zone of Scandinavia and the Balticum, that is, mainly in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland.

Some Indians believed that aryans came from the White Island, Sveta-dvipa, which, according to their ideas, was in the Far North.

However, the brilliant poetry, wonderful imagery and sublime philosophy of the later epics, which were inherited by aryans who conquered this country go back to the concepts inherent in cosmic wisdom, acquired over the countless centuries of human exploration of space.

While the race Mediterranean Sea, Semites and aryans recognized as standing at almost the same level, the Celtic-Slavs are much lower than everyone else.

He is even ready to agree with I-sa-a-com de la Pereira that aryans were created one day before the Semites.

In his Experience on the Inequality of Human Races (1855). Gobineau defined by this term the fair-haired and blue-eyed representatives of the white race, whom he regarded as the highest stage of this race and, therefore, of all mankind.

In the scientific literature, the term fell out of use in the first half of the 20th century and is no longer used. The pseudoscientific nature of the term is derived from a mixture of linguistic and anthropological characteristics, since in linguistics Indo-Iranian languages ​​are now called Aryan, and at the time of the appearance of the term, Indo-European languages ​​in general; but the carriers of both those and others do not have general physical properties and do not form any race. So, the speakers of the Aryan languages ​​are such anthropologically different peoples as Ossetians, Persians, Tajiks, Gypsies, Indians and Veddas (the latter are generally Australoids). Anthropological diversity among speakers of all Indo-European languages ​​is much higher.

According to the theories fashionable at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, which later formed the basis of Nazi ideology, the ancestral home of the "Aryans" (Indo-Europeans) is Northern Europe, and it was there that the most "pure Aryan racial type" was preserved, while the inhabitants of other countries are the fruit of a mixture of "Aryans "With the natives. Hence followed the conclusion about the racial superiority of the inhabitants Northern Europe, allegedly being the purest and most perfect bearers of the "Aryan spirit" (to which, in turn, all the achievements of European culture were attributed). So, Adolf Hitler said:

The "Aryan race" was contrasted with the "Semitic race" in the person of the Jews first of all, hence the term anti-Semitism. At the same time, purely negative qualities were attributed to the "Semitic race", which made it, in the view of the racists, the direct opposite of the "Aryan race".

see also

Links

Notes (edit)

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

• Arik B.
• Arik Benado

See what the "Aryan race" is in other dictionaries:

ARYAN RACE- a term used in racist concepts to denote the highest racial type of blond Aryans (Aryans), the founders of a great civilization (see Racism) ... Big encyclopedic Dictionary

Aryan race- a term used in racist concepts to denote the "higher" racial type of blond Aryans (Aryans), the founders of a great civilization (Racism). Political Science: Dictionary reference book. comp. Prof. Paul Sanzharevsky I.I .. 2010 ... Political science. Dictionary.

aryan race- a term used in racist concepts to denote the "higher" racial type of the Aryans (Aryans) (see Racism). * * * ARYAN RACE ARYAN RACE, a term used in racist concepts to denote the "higher" racial type of blond ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Aryan race- A pseudoscientific term coined in the middle of the 19th century by the authors of reactionary racial theories. The falsity of the term lies in the confusion of the concepts of linguistic and racial classification. In linguistics, Indo-Iranian languages ​​were called Aryan. But their carriers are not ... ... Encyclopedia of the Third Reich

Aryan race- a pseudoscientific term put forward in the middle of the 19th century. the authors of reactionary racial "theories". The falsity of the term lies in the confusion of the concepts of linguistic and racial classification. In linguistics, Indo-Iranian languages ​​are called Aryan. But their carriers ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Root race- This article needs to be completely rewritten. There may be explanations on the talk page ... Wikipedia

Mediterranean race- the currently accepted designation of those tribes that, according to Blumenbach's terminology, belonged to the Caucasian race (see). All Europeans belong to the S. race, as far as they are not Mongolian, all North Africans, as far as they are not included in ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

RACIAL-ANTHROPOLOGICAL SCHOOL- (or anthroposociology) is one of the most influential schools in sociology and anthropology, second half. 19 n. 20 century; main the idea of ​​the decisive influence of the racial factor on the history. and cultural development peoples. R. a. NS. formed in conditions of growth ... ... Encyclopedia of Cultural Studies

Vril Society- Check neutrality. The talk page should have details ... Wikipedia

mein kampf- (Mein Kampf My Struggle), a book by Hitler in which he spelled out his political agenda. In Nazi Germany, Mein Kampf was considered the bible of National Socialism, she gained fame even before it was published, and many Germans believed ... Encyclopedia of the Third Reich

Books

• Aryan Hyperborea. Cradle of the Russian World, Pavlishcheva Natalia Pavlovna. A new book from the author of the bestselling books "10 thousand years of Russian history. Forbidden Russia" and "Velesova Russia. Chronicle of Ice and Fire". New evidence of the antiquity and primogeniture of our Fatherland. ...

Many European and Eastern languages ​​are close to each other. They all belong to the same "Aryan" or Indo-European language family. However, historians are still arguing whether the "Aryans" really existed.

Aryan etymology

Aryans - the ancient peoples of India and Iran, who spoke the Aryan languages ​​included in the Indo-European language family... The etymology of their self-designation is very mysterious. In the 19th century, a hypothesis was put forward that the ethnonym “Aryan” came from the words “nomad” or “farmer”. Already in the XX century, scientists believed that the Indo-European ar-i̯-o- means “one who is hospitable to ari”, and “ari” can be translated from ancient Indian as “friend” or, conversely, “enemy” (the opposite meaning of one and the same the same words or related words are characteristic of ancient languages).

The unifying meaning can also be "a fellow tribesman from a foreign clan", since he could be both a friend and an enemy. Thus, the concept of "Aryans" denoted a person who is part of the ethnic totality of the various tribes of the Aryans. The hypothesis is confirmed by the presence in the Vedic pantheon of the god Aryaman, who is responsible for friendship and hospitality.

Another vector of etymological research leads us to a different meaning of the word "Aryan" - "free-born" and "noble", which came from the Semitic languages. It is possible that rudiments of this word survived in the Old Irish language, in which "aire" is translated as "noble" or "free", as well as in some others.

Where did the arias come from

Recent studies show that the ancient ancestors were originally a single people, and only in the second millennium BC they split into two branches - Iranian and Indo-Aryan. The word "Iran" itself has a connection with the word "Aryan", and means "land of the Aryans". It is important to take into account that modern Iran is only a small area on the map of those vast territories that were occupied by the ancient Iranian peoples: the Iranian plateau, middle Asia, Kazakhstan, steppes north of the Caucasus and the Black Sea and others. In addition, the commonality of the Indo-Aryan and Iranian branches proves the similarity of the sacred texts - the Iranian Avesta and the Indian Vedas. To date, there are several versions about where the Arias came from.

According to the linguistic hypothesis, the Aryans migrated to India and settled there around 1700-1300. BC. The version is based on the study of ancient languages ​​and customs reflected in historical sources... Linguistics shows that India was not the homeland of the Aryans - as a rule, in the region of origin of any language family there are many different languages ​​and dialects of the same family, and in India there is only one Indo-Aryan branch of languages. Central and Eastern Europe on the contrary, there are hundreds of varieties of Indo-European languages. It is logical to assume that it was here that the Indo-European family of languages ​​and peoples originated. In addition, having come to India, the Aryans encountered its indigenous population, speaking the languages ​​of another family, for example, Munda (Austro-Asiatic family) or Dravidian - languages ​​from which archaic borrowings in Sanskrit were taken.

Most recognized on this moment - barrow hypothesis... According to her, the ancestral home of the Indo-Europeans was the Volga and Black Sea lands, on which archaeologists recorded the Yamnaya culture. Its representatives were the first to build war chariots, which allowed them to seize more and more territories and spread their influence over the entire Eurasian continent.

Pseudoscientific speculation

In addition to academic versions, there are dozens of fantastic ones: that the Aryans are, in fact, the inhabitants of the mythical Hyperborea, who came from the Arctic; that they are the direct ancestors of Germans, Russians, or someone else. As a rule, such theories are in demand among nationalist communities for building a pseudo-history of a certain people. The main goal is to "extend" the history of their country.

Aryan culture

The Aryans or Indo-Iranians left a rich cultural heritage. In addition to the most important written heritage, such as the Vedas and Avesta, the later Mahabharata and Ramayana, the Aryans also left monuments material culture... Originally a semi-nomadic people, they focused on breeding cows and horses. The main weapon of the Aryans was arrows. These peoples were familiar with irrigation systems, forging copper and gold products.

The Aryan family was patriarchal, in each family, in addition to the head of the family, there were other members, slaves and cattle. Families united in clans, communities and tribes, sometimes at war with each other. That three-class social system, which became widespread in ancient Iranian and Indian societies, was not as strongly developed among the Aryans, however, its main features were present. The top of the hierarchy was made up of priests, future brahmanas, and aristocratic kshatriyas who ruled common people... The Aryans were a warlike people, mining land in search of new lands and pastures.

Origin

The origin of races until the 19th century was a historical mystery. However, at the beginning of the century, scientists discovered the commonality of many European languages ​​with the languages ​​of India and Iran. All these languages ​​were called Aryan language family- later it will be called Indo-European. The self-name of the peoples of ancient India and Iran - Aryans, was mistakenly understood as common name of all Indo-European tribes, and archaeologists soon found the so-called Yamnaya culture, which, thanks to the construction of war chariots, quickly expanded its linguistic, cultural and political influence from a small plot within the boundaries of some lands modern Poland, Ukraine and the south of Russia to the scale of an entire empire - from Portugal to Sri Lanka. Despite the fact that no separate race of the Aryans existed, and the mixing of physiological signs with linguistic ones was pseudoscientific (the speakers of Indo-European languages ​​included the very different peoples of Tajikistan, Persia, the Gypsies and even the Veddas, who are Australoids), scientists began to believe that the commonality of languages ​​is equal to the commonality of racial. The well-known mistake of the German researcher Max Müller, who inadvertently referred to the non-existent "Aryan race", led to the spread of the scientific world opinions about the existence of the Aryan race, and later the emergence of Nazi racial theories.

S. V. Khatuntsev

"Aryan" problem - the problem of origin and ancestral home, cultural role and historical heritage Aryan tribes has occupied the world science for more than two centuries. Who are the Aryans-Aryans?

Aryan is the name given to peoples who speak the languages ​​of the Iranian and Indian groups of the Indo-European language family, as well as the Kafirs (Nuristanis) and Dardas. Their ancestors had a common name - "arya", "aryana", similar culture and way of life, lived in the same territory, but several millennia ago they left their cradle and began to move to lands far from each other; gradually the Aryan unity disintegrated. At present, the peoples of the Iranian group live in Ossetia, Tajikistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Pakistan, as well as in neighboring countries. Representatives of Indo-Aryan ethnic groups inhabit India - mainly its central and northern regions, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, east and south of Pakistan. Migrants, descendants of the Indo-Aryans, formed large colonies in Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia, the Mauritius Islands in the Indian and Fiji in Pacific oceans, in the West Indies (Caribbean) and in Guiana, in South Africa and on the coast East Africa... A considerable number of them settled in North America and in Europe. Dardis and Nuristanis live in Kashmir and in the provinces of Afghanistan and Pakistan adjacent to Kashmir. The total number of Aryo-speaking peoples is about 1 billion people, they make up about one seventh of the total population of the Earth. Of this billion Indo-Aryans, there are approximately 900 million, Iranians - more than 90 million, Darda and Nuristanis - 5-6 million.

The ancient Aryans created three highly developed and peculiar civilizations - Persian, Indo-Gangetic and Turano-Scythian, had a significant impact on the cultures of Western Asia and Southeast Asia, the Caucasus, China, Turkic, Mongolian, Slavic and Ugric peoples. Their contribution to the treasury of the spiritual values ​​of mankind is unusually weighty. Indo-Iranian Aryans burst into world history at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. - in an era when the great civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Harappa (the Indus Valley) and the islands of the Eastern Mediterranean (the Cretan-Mycenaean world) were experiencing a deep internal crisis. The tribes of the Aryan root contributed to the renewal of ancient societies, gave a powerful impetus to the world cultural and historical process. For two millennia - up to the III-IV centuries AD. - they were in charge actors world history- until they got old and gave way to younger peoples.

Among the Indo-Europeans, the "Aryans" were not isolated, devoid of family ties group. Slavic, Baltic (Letto-Lithuanian), as well as Armenian and Ancient Greek languages ​​are close to their dialects. The speakers of these languages ​​had with the Indo-Iranians many in common, going back to a single original source, ethnographic characteristics, cult-mythological ideas, psychological traits... This indicates that the ancestors of the Greeks and Armenians, Balto-Slavs and Indo-Iranians constituted one cultural and historical block in ancient times. However, the proto-Greeks and proto-Armenians separated from this bloc very early and did not maintain such close family ties with the Indo-Iranians as the ancestors of the Balto-Slavs. Much farther than the peoples listed above, are the carriers of other Indo-European dialects, in particular, the Germans and Celts, from the Aryans. Therefore, the Slavs and Balts (Lithuanians and Latvians) have much more reason to be called Aryans than the Germans, Scandinavians, French and other European peoples.

What was the ancient Aryan society like? The study of various sources allows us to assert that long before the start of large-scale migrations, the Indo-Iranians were shepherd tribes. The cornerstone of their public life was a large patriarchal family typical of the pastoralist peoples of Eurasia. The economy was based on the breeding of large cattle and horses. The number of cows and bulls was the main criterion material well-being and wealth, the cow was considered the best sacrifice the gods could ever wish for. The basis of the military power of the Aryans was combat cavalry, magnificent chariots. A thoroughbred horse was worth a whole herd of ordinary horses. All other animals were inferior in importance to cows and horses, and in addition to them, the Indo-Iranians bred goats, sheep, and two-humped camels. Pig breeding was almost unknown to them, it was considered a low-honor business, pigs were not sacrificed to the gods. The Aryans were also engaged in agriculture, but it was a secondary occupation for them.

The Indo-Iranian tribes were semi-sedentary; once every few years they moved their villages to a new place, which, as a rule, were not far from the former camp. The Arians did not know the potter's wheel, they sculpted ceramics "by hand" and burned them not in a furnace, but in special pits or on a fire. Their ritual dishes were made of wood.

The Indo-Iranians lived in large houses recessed into the ground, used dwellings on wheels - like wagons or wagons, knew many metals and alloys - copper, gold, silver, bronze, made weapons and utensils from them. The Aryans were well versed in the art of woodworking, it was they who perfected the technique of building chariots.

The Indo-Iranians were warlike people, war booty - cattle, pastures, captives - was one of the most important sources of their well-being. Wars were fought almost constantly - both between the Indo-Iranians themselves, and between them and other peoples.

The Aryans were experienced gatherers of wild honey, and it was an essential element of their diet. The main food for them was fresh cow's milk and products obtained from it: sour milk and butter, as well as cereal dishes like porridge and boiled meat. For various rituals and religious celebrations, the Indo-Iranians made "sauma" - a drink that led to a state of sacred ecstasy. On secular holidays, public and family, the intoxicating "sura" was used. These festivals opened with equestrian competitions, followed by a collective feast.

Arias wore leather pants, boots and jackets, as well as a headdress - clothing that later became traditional for the mass of Eurasian nomads.

The Indo-Iranians either cremated their dead, or buried them under mounds, or (much less often) left them to the will of the elements and the devourers fell on the territory of the burial grounds designated for this purpose.

The earliest Aryans did not know specialized, market-oriented handicrafts, monetary trade and cities, did not build any fortresses, nor palaces, nor temples, and probably did not have any cult images or writing.

In their midst, three social groups which were called "flowers". The most numerous of the "flowers" were community members-cattle breeders. The second group was represented by warriors, the third - by priests. They were the most revered social stratum. Warriors-priests were considered kings, "sons of the Sun", crowning the entire system social organization the Aryans and who headed individual tribes and tribal unions.

Various branches of the Aryans created great monuments of ancient religious thought, the Indo-Aryans - the Vedas, the southern Iranians - the Avesta. Judging by these monuments, they worshiped a host of gods, considering, at the same time, that behind all the variety of life phenomena there is a single and eternal Primordial Foundation, the spiritual and creative principle that created this world, God the Absolute. Each of their many gods embodied different aspects this Absolute.

There were very few female deities in the Indo-Iranian pantheon; a harsh patriarchy reigned in it. The gods of the Aryans were the gods of the shepherds. Their most frequent epithets are "the lord of vast pastures", "the one who sends the wealth of the horse," and so on. The gods were asked to irrigate pastures, to donate herds of horses and bulls. In Indo-Iranian hymns, the gods were depicted riding horse-drawn chariots, their most important function was to protect livestock from demons or their servants in the earthly world.

Sacrifices were the main elements of the religious practice of the Aryans. Sacrifices were made not only to the gods, but also to the ancestors. In addition to animals, the gods were offered ghee (ghee), saum and milk. In honor of the ancestors, mounds with stone altars were erected.

The cult of the horse was extremely developed among the Indo-Iranians; along with it, there probably existed the cult of the beaver, which was less widespread among them.

The worship of fire and worship of the Sun was also an essential component of the religion of the Aryans. It is possible that the very name "arya" goes back to the ancient name of the Sun - Svar, Svara.

In the Indo-Iranian environment, a sacred mythopoetic language was formed, which was used when performing rituals and addressing the gods. The poetics of the Aryans were based on cattle-breeding terms. Images of a cow, a bull and a horse permeate the Indian Vedas and the Iranian Zend-Avesta. On their basis, the entire symbolic system of religious texts is built, shimmering with alliterations and hidden meanings using a large number of epithets and synonyms. Only in the "Rig Veda" - the main of the "Vedas" - to designate key images- horse, bull and cow are used at least 10 - 15 different synonyms.

Where is the ancestral home of the Aryans, which the peoples of the Indian branch called "Arya Varta", the peoples of the Iranian branch - "Aryana Veja", i.e. "Aryan expanse"?

As already mentioned, the search for it has been going on for more than two centuries, but there is still no consensus about where it is in science. The Aryan cradle was sought in the Himalayas and in India, in the Middle East and Central Asia, in Europe and the Caucasus, in the Arctic and in Tibet. Supporters of the most authoritative and well-grounded point of view believe that it was located in the strip from the Carpathians to the Volga.

It is known that the ancestral home of the Aryans occupied the eastern part of the common Indo-European hearth, was in a zone of temperate, relatively dry and continental climate, and abounded in open extended spaces. All this seems to be evidence in favor of the localization of the Aryan ancestral home precisely in the steppes and forest-steppes of the Great Russian Plain, but many facts suggest that it was located to the east - on the slopes of the Urals and in the Trans-Urals.

Many European and Eastern languages ​​are close to each other. They all belong to the same "Aryan" or Indo-European language family. However, historians are still arguing whether the "Aryans" really existed.

Aryan etymology

The Aryans are the ancient peoples of India and Iran who spoke the Aryan languages ​​that are part of the Indo-European language family. The etymology of their self-designation is very mysterious. In the 19th century, a hypothesis was put forward that the ethnonym “Aryan” came from the words “nomad” or “farmer”. Already in the XX century, scientists believed that the Indo-European ar-i̯-o- means “one who is hospitable to ari”, and “ari” can be translated from ancient Indian as “friend” or, conversely, “enemy” (the opposite meaning of one and the same the same words or related words are characteristic of ancient languages).

The unifying meaning can also be "a fellow tribesman from a foreign clan", since he could be both a friend and an enemy. Thus, the concept of "Aryans" denoted a person who is part of the ethnic totality of the various tribes of the Aryans. The hypothesis is confirmed by the presence in the Vedic pantheon of the god Aryaman, who is responsible for friendship and hospitality.

Another vector of etymological research leads us to a different meaning of the word "Aryan" - "free-born" and "noble", which came from the Semitic languages. It is possible that rudiments of this word survived in the Old Irish language, in which "aire" is translated as "noble" or "free", as well as in some others.

Where did the arias come from

Recent studies show that the ancient ancestors were originally a single people, and only in the second millennium BC they split into two branches - Iranian and Indo-Aryan. The word "Iran" itself has a connection with the word "Aryan", and means "land of the Aryans". It is important to take into account that modern Iran is only a small area on the map of those vast territories that were occupied by the ancient Iranian peoples: the Iranian plateau, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, the steppes north of the Caucasus and the Black Sea, and others. In addition, the commonality of the Indo-Aryan and Iranian branches proves the similarity of the sacred texts - the Iranian Avesta and the Indian Vedas. To date, there are several versions about where the Arias came from.

According to the linguistic hypothesis, the Aryans migrated to India and settled there around 1700-1300. BC. The version is based on the study of ancient languages ​​and customs reflected in historical sources. Linguistics shows that India was not the homeland of the Aryans - as a rule, in the region of origin of any language family there are many different languages ​​and dialects of the same family, and in India there is only one Indo-Aryan branch of languages. In contrast, in Central and Eastern Europe, there are hundreds of varieties of Indo-European languages. It is logical to assume that it was here that the Indo-European family of languages ​​and peoples originated. In addition, having come to India, the Aryans encountered its indigenous population, speaking the languages ​​of another family, for example, Munda (Austro-Asiatic family) or Dravidian - languages ​​from which archaic borrowings in Sanskrit were taken.

The most recognized at the moment is the kurgan hypothesis. According to her, the ancestral home of the Indo-Europeans was the Volga and Black Sea lands, on which archaeologists recorded the Yamnaya culture. Its representatives were the first to build war chariots, which allowed them to seize more and more territories and spread their influence over the entire Eurasian continent.

Pseudoscientific speculation

In addition to academic versions, there are dozens of fantastic ones: that the Aryans are, in fact, the inhabitants of the mythical Hyperborea, who came from the Arctic; that they are the direct ancestors of Germans, Russians, or someone else. As a rule, such theories are in demand among nationalist-minded communities for building a pseudo-history of a certain people. The main goal is to "extend" the history of their country.

Aryan culture

The Aryans or Indo-Iranians left a rich cultural heritage. In addition to the most important written heritage, such as the Vedas and Avesta, the later Mahabharata and Ramayana, the Aryans also left monuments of material culture. Originally a semi-nomadic people, they focused on breeding cows and horses. The main weapon of the Aryans was arrows. These peoples were familiar with irrigation systems, forging copper and gold products.

The Aryan family was patriarchal, in each family, in addition to the head of the family, there were other members, slaves and cattle. Families united in clans, communities and tribes, sometimes at war with each other. The three-class social system that became widespread in ancient Iranian and Indian societies was not as strongly developed among the Aryans, however, its main features were present. The top of the hierarchy was made up of priests, future brahmanas, and aristocratic kshatriyas who ruled over the common people. The Aryans were a warlike people, mining land in search of new lands and pastures.

The origin of the "Aryan race"

The origin of races until the 19th century was a historical mystery. However, at the beginning of the century, scientists discovered the commonality of many European languages ​​with the languages ​​of India and Iran. All these languages ​​were called the Aryan language family - later it will be called Indo-European. The self-name of the peoples of ancient India and Iran - Aryans, was mistakenly understood as a common name for all Indo-European tribes, and archaeologists soon found the so-called Yamnaya culture, which, thanks to the construction of war chariots, quickly expanded its linguistic, cultural and political influence from a small area within the boundaries of some lands of modern Poland, Ukraine and southern Russia to the scale of an entire empire - from Portugal to Sri Lanka.

Despite the fact that no separate race of the Aryans existed, and the mixing of physiological signs with linguistic ones was pseudoscientific (the speakers of Indo-European languages ​​included the very different peoples of Tajikistan, Persia, the Gypsies and even the Veddas, who are Australoids), scientists began to believe that the commonality of languages ​​is equal to the commonality of racial. The well-known mistake of the German philologist Max Müller, who inadvertently referred to the non-existent "Aryan race", led to the spread in the scientific world of the opinion about the existence of the Aryan race, and later the emergence of Nazi racial theories.