30/09/2026
1. A***ns* = the ancient people/language group
2.Arians* = followers of Arius, a 4th-century Christian priest. That's a religious term, not an ethnicity.
What does "A***n" mean? A to Z / A to S*
The word comes from the Indo-Iranian self-name _arya_ meaning "noble" or "honorable". It shows up in the Rigveda and the Gathas of Zoroaster.
Darius the Great also used _Ariya_ in the Behistun inscription. db83
In the 18th-19th century, European scholars used "A***n" to mean all speakers of Indo-European languages. So that included Indo-Iranians, but also Romans, Greeks, Germans, Celts, Slavs, Balts. 7a83db83
Today linguists use "A***n" mainly for the Indo-Iranian branch: the people who spoke early Sanskrit and Old Persian. The idea of a single "A***n race" in a biological sense is not used in modern scholarship. 198a
Where is the origin route / homeland?*
There’s no 100% agreed answer. Scholars have proposed many places. The main ideas:
Central Asia / Pontic-Caspian Steppe*: Max Mueller proposed Central Asia. The Nuttall Encyclopedia said "E. of the Caspian Sea and N. of the Hindu-Kush".
Southern Russia / Eastern Europe*: Nehring said Southern Russia, MacDonnel said Eastern Europe.
Austria-Hungary plains*: Dr. Giles suggested the area bounded by Carpathians, Balkans, Alps.
India / "Out of India"*: Some Indian scholars argue A***ns are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent and languages spread out from there. Others propose Sapta Sindhu/Punjab or Tibet.
Other old ideas*: Arctic Region, Kirghiz steppe, Germany. 0b7bc7a5075e0f8c
The most common academic view today is that Proto-Indo-European speakers lived somewhere on the steppes of Eastern Europe/Central Asia, and then different groups migrated out. db83
The route*: One group went northwest into Europe. Another group went south: some into Iran, some crossed the Hindu Kush into the Indian subcontinent around 2000-1500 BCE. 0f8cdd92
Who were the A***ns?*
In the oldest texts, "Arya" was just how Indo-Iranians called themselves, to distinguish from "non-Arya" neighbors. 0f8c
They were pastoral/agricultural people who spoke early Indo-European languages, worshipped gods, used fire in rituals. From them came two big branches:
Indo-A***ns* → ancestors of many people in northern India
Iranians* → ancestors of Persians, including in the region around Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan dc980b7b
Were Greeks A***ns too?*
In 19th-century usage, yes. Scholars at that time called Greeks "A***ns" because Greek is an Indo-European language with a common root. Old reference books also list Greeks as one of the groups that "started westward" from the parent A***ns. 7a83db83dc98
In modern usage though, we don't usually call Greeks "A***ns." We say Greeks, Iranians, and Indians all descend from different branches of the same Proto-Indo-European family. db83
Note: The N***s later twisted the term and claimed "true A***ns" came from northern Germany and that Greeks/Italians were "hybrid". That’s a political myth, not historical linguistics. 84b5
A***n* = originally a self-name meaning "noble" used by Indo-Iranians
- *Homeland* = debated: Central Asia, steppes, Eastern Europe, or India are the main theories
- *Who* = Indo-Iranian peoples who migrated to Iran and India, and linguistically related to Greeks, Romans, Celts, etc
- *Greeks* = linguistically part of the same Indo-European family, called "A***n" in old 1800s books, but not called that today. db830b7b7a83
Since you're in Tabriz and your home is Chitral — both areas are right on the old migration routes between Iran and South Asia where Indo-Iranian "A***n" groups settled. 0b7b
Want me to go deeper into one part? Like the migration into India, or into Iran, or the language connection between Persian, Pashto, and Sanskrit?