| The term Aryan originates with the Indo-Iranian self-designation arya, attested in the ancient texts of Hinduism and Zoroastrianism, the Rigveda and the Avesta. In the 18th century, the most ancient known Indo-European languages were those of the Indo-Iranians' ancestors. The word Aryan was adopted to refer not only to the Indo-Iranian people, but also to native Indo-European speakers as a whole, including the Albanians, Armenians, Greeks, Latins, and Germans. It was soon recognised that Balts, Celts, and Slavs also belonged to the same group. It was argued that all of these languages originated from a common root — now known as Proto-Indo-European — spoken by an ancient people who must have been the original ancestors of the European, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan peoples. The ethnic group composed of the Proto-Indo-Europeans and their modern descendants was termed the Aryans. ARyans did NOT originate in India, nor did their solar cross symbol (swastika 卐), pre-dating Sanskrit itself, which is part of the Indo-European/Indo-Iranian (Indo-Aryan) language tree. |
