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what are the aryans?
Aryan, name given to a people who were said to speak Indo-European language and who were thought to have settled in prehistoric times in ancient Iran and the northern Indian subcontinent. The theory of an “Aryan race” appeared in the mid-19th century and remained prevalent until the mid-20th century. According to the hypothesis, these probably light-skinned Aryans were the group who invaded and conquered ancient India from the North and whose literature, religion, and modes of social organization subsequently shaped the course of Indian culture, particularly the Vedic religion that informed and was eventually superseded by Hinduism. The term Aryan originates from the Sanskrit word "arya", in origin an ethnic self-designation, in Classical Sanskrit meaning "honourable, respectable, noble".


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