Nazism used the Swastika as a symbol in the 20th century. Earlier, the symbol meant "good luck". This Iranian necklace was dug up from Gilan, Iran, first millennium BC, National Museum of Iran. The original Indo-Iranian meaning of good luck, good fortune or well being is linked to it.
**Aryan** is the name that an ancient people speaking Indo-Iranian languages gave to themselves. Descendants of the Aryans include speakers of Sanskrit and Avestan which are related to the Indo-European languages. Ancient Persians and Vedic peoples used the name *Aryan* to mean nobles. The name "Iran" itself means the *Land of the Aryans*.

The Avestan name *Airiianəm vaēǰō* "Aryan expanse", is a reference in the Zoroastrian Avesta (Vendidad, Fargard 1) to the Aryans’ mother country and one of Ahura Mazda's "sixteen perfect lands". Other Avestan names are *airyō.šayana*, the "Aryan people", and *airyā daiŋˊhāvā* "the Aryan lands". These names were known to old Greek writers as *Ariana*. Also the Sanskrit name *Aryavarta* "abode of the Aryans", was a region in north of today's India. The Middle Persian name of the Sassanian Empire, an empire that ruled Persia from the 3rd century to the 7th century, was *Eran-shar* meaning the *Aryan Empire*. Today, the name *Iran* is simply the Persian word for *Aryan*.

Sanskrit is the oldest written language of the Indo-European family of languages. The Vedas are composed in this language. Some portions of the Rigveda are thought to be the oldest writing in any Indo-European language.

Aryan equated with Indo-European
--------------------------------

In the late 18th century, Europeans began using the term *Aryan* to refer to the original prehistoric Proto-Indo-Europeans and their descendents up to the present day (i.e. the Indo-European peoples—those Caucasians who are speakers of the Indo-European languages). This was the most common definition of *Aryan* in the 19th century and early 20th century.

Nazism
------

In the late 19th century, some Europeans began to use the name *Aryan* for only the Nordic peoples of Europe (one branch of the Indo-European peoples), as a "pure," "noble" and "superior" race they claimed were descended from the original Aryans.

The theory that the Aryans first came from Europe became especially accepted in Germany. It was widely believed that the "Vedic Aryans" were the same people as the Goths, Vandals and other ancient Germanic peoples who brought the Western Roman Empire to an end. This idea was often mixed with anti-Semitic ideas. The Master Race theory became a main idea for Nazis. After the Nazis took power in Germany in 1933, these ideas led to horrible persecutions of the Jews which culminated in the Holocaust.

Modern view
-----------

The idea of racism that the Nazi theory means has been totally put aside by modern scientists, some of whom also disagree with the idea that the original Aryans ever lived in Europe. Most other scientists do maintain that the original Proto-Indo-Europeans did live about 5,000 years ago in the area in Europe east of Ukraine and north of the Caucasus Mountains and that the original Aryans (the *Indo-Iranians* or eastern branch of the Indo-European peoples) did migrate east to Iran and India from there, and the original ancestors of the modern *European peoples* (the western or *European* branch of the Indo-European peoples) did migrate west from there. This is called the Kurgan hypothesis.

Related pages
-------------

* Indo-European languages
* Indo-Iranian people
* Race (sociology)
* Apartheid
* Nazis
* Discrimination
* Celts

Further reading
---------------

* Aryans, Harvesters and Nomads (Thursday July 6 2.00 –5.00) Convenor: Prof. Asko Parpola: Department of Asian & African Studies University of Helsinki

Other websites
--------------

* Who Were the Aryans? Archived 2013-10-26 at the Wayback Machine
* History of the Ancient Aryans

| * v
* t
* e
Aryans |
| --- |
| Proto-Indo-Europeans - Proto-Indo-European language - Indo-European - Indo-European languages |
| People | 
* Iranian people
* Indo-Aryan (Indian people)
* Indo-Iranian (Aryan people)

 |
| Language | 
* Iranian languages
* Indo-Aryan languages ​​(Indian languages)​​
* Indo-Iranian languages ​​(Aryan languages)

 |
| Geography | 
* Greater Iran
* Greater India

 |
| Zoroastrianism - Hinduism - Mithraism - Buddhist religion - Manichaeism - Zurvanism |