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Aryan

Self-designation used by ancient Indo-Iranian peoples

Also known as Aryans

Instance of: historical ethnic group
Subclass of: Indo-Aryan peoples

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

Aryan, or Arya, is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood in contrast to nearby outsiders, whom they designated as non-Aryan. In ancient India, the term was used by the Indo-Aryan peoples of the Vedic period both as an endonym and in reference to a region called Aryavarta, where their culture emerged. Similarly, according to the Avesta, the Iranian peoples used the term to designate themselves as an ethnic group and to refer to a region called Airyanem Vaejah, which was their mythical homeland. The word stem also forms the etymological source of place names like Alania and Iran.

Overview

All data

28 statements · 14% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Named after: arya
Permanent duplicated item: Q27132613
Said to be the same as: Indo-Iranians
Different from: Aryan race

Data quality

statements

14%

externally sourced

Source last edited July 10, 2026. AIDb refreshes this page daily.

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AIDb. (2026). Aryan (Q179733). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/aryan-Q179733