The Aryan homeland?

Question

Hi, I have a question. Did the aryans start out in India or the Caucasus mountains? I've heard people saying different things, its pretty confusing..

Answer 1

When you use the word Aryan, I assume that you meant to ask about what are far, far more often referred to as Indo-Europeans. Their homeland is still open to debate, but the Caucasus is a good candidate. No anthropologists believe that the Indo-Europeans originated in India. They migrated to that area, in company with the ancestors of the Persians, some 4,000 years ago.

Answer 2

The first known remaning documented reference to "Aryan Race" was by Cyrus the Great in his proclamation to the people's of Persia, the famous document that allowed for all slaves to be free, all religion to be practised, and that the ruling class should have a limited role in the dictatorship of the common people.

The word itself, by it's original definition (from Buddhism in Northern India) defines more of a culture and lifestyle than it does a particular ethnic group. In it's base, it means "wise, sophisticated, beyond that of the primal animal". When Cyrus used the word, he meant roughly the same thing. His words have been translated as "I am Cyrus the Great, Shahenshah (King of Kings), of the Aryan Race". Just as well, he meant "Of a Noble Bloodline", someone who was educated, regal, and not a barbarian by the old definition.

Aryan as a definition of Nordic Race was pretty much started when the European middle class of the 17th Century began to travel to the East, and they were shocked to discover that there were groups of people in Iran, Afghanistan and Khorasan who were often blue eyed, blonde and fair skinned. This is when they theorised the "Aryan Invasion Theory", to suggest that it was fair skinned and tall people who once conquered India and ruled from Persia. They also theorised (partially correctly) that these Iranians were ancestors of the Europeans. Unfortunately, Nordic features are primarily a product of environmental factors.

Answer 3

The earliest references to the Aryans indicate they settled in Northern India and what is, today, Iran. But that is where they settled, not where they came from. That has never been absolutely determined. What is known is that they are a very old civilization.

Answer 4

Dude, there is no Aryan homeland. We all just got lighter as we ventured north from the equator. A long, drawn out process that has to do with lack of sunlight and the need to keep warm.

Answer 5

Do an internet search there seems to be quite a bit of interesting info on this subject.