Aryan - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

# Aryan

### From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aryan is the name that an ancient people of Iran called themselves. Descendants of the Aryans include speakers of Persian language and Hindi. About three thousand years ago, Iranians and Indians used the term Aryan to refer both to their common ancestors as well as to "nobles."

In the 19th century some Europeans began to apply the term to Nordic peoples of Europe as a "pure," "noble" and "superior" race descended from the original Aryans. They believed that the orginal Aryans lived in northern Europe before some of them moved to Iran and India. The racist implications have been discounted by modern scientists, who also disagree with the idea that the Aryans originally lived in Europe. However, this Master Race theory became a central principle under the Nazis, some of whom even believed that the Aryans could be traced back to the legendary civilization of Atlantis.

Due to the racist use of the term under the Nazis, the term Aryan is often avoided, except by linguists and historians.

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Categories: Asian people | European people

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