Aryan , name originally given to a people who were said to speak an archaic Indo-European language and who were thought to have settled in prehistoric times in ancient Iran and the northern Indian subcontinent. Since the late 20th century, a growing number of scholars have rejected the concept of an Aryan race. Aryan is a designation originally meaning “civilized”, “noble”, or “free” without reference to any ethnicity. “ Aryan ” traditionally refers to speakers of Indo-Iranian languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family. Theories include the Pontic-Caspian Steppe (modern-day Ukraine/Russia) and Central Asia as the Aryans ’ place of origin. It is regarded by many that the Aryans crossed the Hindu Kush Mountains and migrated into the Indian subcontinent by 1500 BCE while several others believe that Aryans are indigenous to India.
