Aryan

Aryan or Arya (/ˈɛəriən/;^[1] Proto-Indo-Iranian: *arya) is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*an-arya).^[2]^[3] In Ancient India, the term ā́rya was used by the Indo-Aryan speakers of the Vedic period as an endonym (self-designation) and in reference to a region known as Aryavarta (Āryāvarta; 'Land of the Aryans'), where the Indo-Aryan culture emerged.^[4] In the Avesta scriptures, ancient Iranian peoples similarly used the term airya to designate themselves as an ethnic group, and in reference to their mythical homeland, Airyanem Vaejah (Airyanəm Vaēǰah; 'expanse of the Aryas' or 'stretch of the Aryas').^[5]^[6] The stem also forms the etymological source of place names such as Alania (*Aryāna-) and Iran (*Aryānām).^[7]

Although the stem *arya may be of Proto-Indo-European (PIE) origin,^[8] its use as an ethnocultural self-designation is only attested among Indo-Iranian peoples and there is no evidence of its use as an ethnonym among 'Proto-Indo-Europeans'. In any case, scholars point out that, even in ancient times, the idea of being an Aryan was religious, cultural, and linguistic, not racial.^[9]^[10]^[11]

In the 1850s, the term 'Aryan' was adopted as a racial category by the aristocratic French writer Arthur de Gobineau, who, through the later works of his followers such as Houston Stewart Chamberlain, influenced the Nazi racial ideology.^[12] Under Nazi rule (1933–1945), the term officially applied to most inhabitants of Germany excluding Jews, Roma, and Slavs (mostly Slovaks, Czechs, Poles and Russians).^[13]^[14] Those classified as 'non-Aryans,' especially Jews,^[15] were discriminated against before suffering the systematic mass killing known as the Holocaust^[13] and the Porajmos. The atrocities committed in the name of Aryanist supremacist ideologies have led academics to generally avoid using 'Aryan' as a stand-alone ethnolinguistic term, which has been replaced in most cases by 'Indo-Iranian', although the Indic branch is still known as 'Indo-Aryan'.^[16]

^ "Aryan". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Witzel 2001, pp. 4, 24.
^ Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Gnoli was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Mallory was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Bryant 2001, pp. 60–63.
^ Witzel 2001, p. 24: "Arya/ārya does not mean a particular people or even a particular 'racial' group but all those who had joined the tribes speaking Vedic Sanskrit and adhering to their cultural norms (such as ritual, poetry, etc.)"
^ Anthony 2007, p. 408: "The Rigveda and Avesta agreed that the essence of their shared parental Indo-Iranian identity was linguistic and ritual, not racial. If a person sacrificed to the right gods in the right way using the correct forms of the traditional hymns and poems, that person was an Aryan."
^ Anthony 2007, pp. 9–11.
^ ^a ^b Gordon, Sarah Ann (1984). Hitler, Germans, and the "Jewish Question". Mazal Holocaust Collection. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. p. 96. ISBN 0-691-05412-6. OCLC 9946459.
^ Longerich, Peter (2010). Holocaust : the Nazi persecution and murder of the Jews. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 83, 241. ISBN 978-0-19-280436-5. OCLC 610166248.
^ "Aryan | Arian, adj. and n." Oxford English Dictionary. 2020. Under the Nazi régime (1933–45) applied to the inhabitants of Germany of non-Jewish extraction. cf. 1933 tr. Hitler's Mein Kampf in Times 25 July 15/6: 'The exact opposite of the Aryan is the Jew.' 1933 Education 1 Sept. 170/2: 'The basic idea of the new law is that non-Aryans, that is to say mainly Jews...'
^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1] "Aryan". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.

[:3-2] Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:4-3] Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[FOOTNOTEWitzel20014,_24-4] Witzel 2001, pp. 4, 24.

[:5-5] Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Gnoli-6] Cite error: The named reference Gnoli was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Mallory-7] Cite error: The named reference Mallory was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:2-8] Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[FOOTNOTEBryant200160–63-9] Bryant 2001, pp. 60–63.

[:0-10] Witzel 2001, p. 24: "Arya/ārya does not mean a particular people or even a particular 'racial' group but all those who had joined the tribes speaking Vedic Sanskrit and adhering to their cultural norms (such as ritual, poetry, etc.)"

[:1-11] Anthony 2007, p. 408: "The Rigveda and Avesta agreed that the essence of their shared parental Indo-Iranian identity was linguistic and ritual, not racial. If a person sacrificed to the right gods in the right way using the correct forms of the traditional hymns and poems, that person was an Aryan."

[FOOTNOTEAnthony20079–11-12] Anthony 2007, pp. 9–11.

[:7-13] Gordon, Sarah Ann (1984). Hitler, Germans, and the "Jewish Question". Mazal Holocaust Collection. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. p. 96. ISBN 0-691-05412-6. OCLC 9946459.

[14] Longerich, Peter (2010). Holocaust : the Nazi persecution and murder of the Jews. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 83, 241. ISBN 978-0-19-280436-5. OCLC 610166248.

[15] "Aryan | Arian, adj. and n." Oxford English Dictionary. 2020. Under the Nazi régime (1933–45) applied to the inhabitants of Germany of non-Jewish extraction. cf. 1933 tr. Hitler's Mein Kampf in Times 25 July 15/6: 'The exact opposite of the Aryan is the Jew.' 1933 Education 1 Sept. 170/2: 'The basic idea of the new law is that non-Aryans, that is to say mainly Jews...'

[:6-16] Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]