Arya (Avestan:𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀,airiia;Old Persian:𐎠𐎼𐎡𐎹,ariyaʰ;[1]Middle Persian:𐭠𐭩𐭫,er;[2]Parthian:𐭀𐭓𐭉,ary;Bactrian:αρια,aria) was theethnonym used byIranians during the earlyHistory of Iran.[3] In contrast tocognates ofArya used by theVedic people andIranicsteppe nomads, the term is commonly translated using the modern ethnonym Iranian.[4][5][6]
During Old Iranian times, the term was connected with one'slineage, with speaking anIranian language and with the worship ofAhura Mazda.[7] Being an Arya, therefore, had ethnic, linguistic and religious aspects.[8] During the Middle Iranian period, it acquired a distinct political aspect through the concept of Eran Shahr (Aryas' dominion).[9] Arya was also contrasted withAnarya (Avestan:𐬀𐬥𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀,anairiia;Middle Persian:𐭠𐭭𐭩𐭥,aner), denoting non-Iranian lands and peoples.[10]
After theIslamic conquest of Iran, the ethnonym fell out of use, but the termEran experienced a revival during theIranian Renaissance, now as atoponym forGreater Iran.[11] The modern ethnonym Iranian is aback-formation from the toponym Eran, itself a back-formation from the older Arya.[12]
The term Arya in different Iranian languages is assumed to derive from an unattestedProto-IranianÁryah, itself derived fromProto-Indo-IranianÁryas. As an ethnonym, it is also found in otherIndo-Iranian peoples.[13] In Ancient India, the term Arya (Sanskrit:आर्य,ārya) is found as a self-designation of the people of the Vedas. On the other hand, no general ethnonym is found among theIranicsteppe nomads, but a derivation of Arya appears as a self-designation of theAlans, which attest to the continued presence of the term in thesteppe regions as well.[14]
TheProto-Indo-Iranian people weremobile pastoralists who lived in theEurasian steppe during the MiddleBronze Age.[15] They are connected with theAndronovo andSintashtaarcheological cultures.[16] Already during the Late Bronze Age, the Indo-Iranian unity began to split and duringantiquity a number of culturally distinct Indo-Iranian subgroups had emerged.[17] There is no generally accepted terminology in modern scholarship that fully captures this situation, but those Indo-Iranian tribes thatmigrated into India are generally referred to asIndo-Aryans.[18] However, subgroupings for the individualIranophone groups vary in the literature. A common demarcation is based on the cultural and religious differences that developed between the groups which maintained their mobile, pastoral lifestyle in the Eurasian steppe and those groups which moved southward intoGreater Iran and underwent a process ofsedentarization andcultural change. The former are sometimes referred to as Iranic, i.e., speaking an Iranian language, while the term Iranian may be reserved for groups associated withIran in a historical and cultural sense.[19] The latter are sometimes further subdivided intoEastern andWestern Iranians based on linguistic criteria.[17]
A distinct identity of the Arya in Greater Iran is already present in theAvesta, i.e., the collection of sacred texts inZoroastrianism.Jean Kellens for example notes, how the Avesta describes a commoncreation myth through the primordial manGayomart, ashared history through thePishdadian andKayanian dynasties, a pronouncedin-group and out-group dichotomy through the enmity between theTuryas and Aryas, as well as ashared religious practice through the worship ofAhura Mazda; elements which are not found in other Indo-Iranian groups.[20] Likewise,Elton L. Daniel notes how "many customs of the Avestan people seem to have been almost deliberately designed to reinforce asense of identity as a people apart from thenon-Aryans and even otherAryans."[21]
TheAvesta, i.e., the collection of canonical texts ofZoroastrianism, provides the single largest literary source on the Old Iranian period. As regards the geographical boundaries of the Avesta, theplace names show that the Aryas lived in the eastern portions ofGreater Iran.[22] As regards its chronology, the different parts of the text are assumed to have been produced, revised and redacted over a long period of time and therefore reflect a large time span of possibly several centuries.[23] There are no dateable events in the Avesta, but the complete lack of any discernible influence by thePersians orMedes makes a time frame after the 5th century BCE for most of the texts unlikely.[24][25][26] Most scholars, therefore, assume that the bulk of the Old Avestan material reflects the end of the second millennium BCE and the Young Avestan portion reflects the first half of the first millennium BCE.[27][28][29]
The Old Avestan portion of the text, assumed to be authored byZarathustra and his immediate followers, only contains a reference toAiryaman, which has an unclear connection to Arya.[30] The Young Avestan portion of the text, however, frequently use the term Arya as theendonym of the Avestan people.[20] Next to its singularnominative form (airiia), the word appears in the plural (aire,Aryas), in thelocative singular (airiiene,place where the Arya), the locative plural (airiio,place where the Aryas), thegenitive plural (airiianąm,Aryas' orof the Aryas)[note 1] or as an adjective (airiianəm,Arya).[31]
In the Avesta, the ethnonym Arya qualifies a number of toponyms, most prominentlyAiryanem Vaejah (airiianəm vaēǰō, the Arya expanse). This place name appears in a number of mythical passages but may also refer to a real-world place depending on the context.[32] The toponym Aryoshayana (airiio.shaiianem, place where the Aryas dwell) appears only one time in theMihrYasht. In this text, it is used as an umbrella term for a number of eastern regions centered on northernAfghanistan andTajikistan.[33] The Avesta also refers several times to the Airyanam Dahyunam (airiianąm dahyunąm,Aryas' lands). In theFrawardin Yasht, these lands are contrasted with the lands of the Turyas, Sairimas, Dahas and Sainus. TheTuryas are the Turanians from laterlegends and are typically located beyond theOxus river. The Sairimas have been connected to theSarmatians andSauromatians based on linguistic similarities.[34] Likewise, the Dahas may be related toDahaes or to theDasas known from theVedas.[35] The identity of the Sainus, however, is unknown. In general, scholars assume that these ethnonyms refer toIranicsteppe nomads living in theEurasian steppe to the north.[36][37] An Iranic identity of these groups may be remembered in the legends surrounding the mythical kingThraetaona, who divided the world among his three sons: The oldest sonTur (Turya) was given the north and east, the second sonSarm (Sairima) was given the west, and the youngest sonIraj (Arya) was given the south.[38]
The Avesta also conveys a cleardichotomy between the Aryas and their enemies, the Turyas, through a number of stories.[39] They center around the attempts of the Turyas and their mythical KingFranrasyan to acquire theKhvarenah of the Aryas (airiianąm xᵛarənō). The fighting between the two peoples stops for some time whenErekhsha (Ǝrəxša), described as the "most swift-arrowed of the Aryas" (xšviwi išvatəmō airiianąm), manages to shoot an arrow as far as theOxus river, which from then on marks the border between Iran and Turan.[31]Kavi Xosrau, described as the "hero of the Aryas" (arša airiianąm), eventually manages to kill Franrasyan with the help of "all the Aryas" at the "white forest" (vīspe.aire.razuraya.[40] These stories and its characters occur prominently in many later Iranian texts like theBahman-nameh, theBorzu Nama, theDarab-nama, and theKush Nama. However, their most significant impact comes from forming the core the Iraniannational epic, theShahnameh, thus becoming a crucial element of Iranian identity.[41]
During theAchaemenid period, the firstepigraphically attested references to the ethnonym Arya appear. By the late 6th–early 5th century BCE, the Achaemenid kingsDarius the Great and his sonXerxes I produced a number of inscriptions in which they use the term. In those inscriptions, Arya has linguistic, ethnic and religious connotations.[42]
In the trilingual (Old Persian,Akkadian, andElamite)Behistun inscription, authored by Darius during his reign (522 – 486 BCE), Old Persian is called Arya, indicating it to be an umbrella term for Iranian languages.[43] Furthermore the Elamite version of the inscription portrays theZoroastrian supreme godAhura Mazda as the "god of the Aryas" (ura-masda naap harriia-naum).[44] In addition to this linguistic and religious use, Arya also appears on some inscriptions by Darius and Xerxes, where they describe themselves as "anAchaemenid, aPersian, son of a Persian, and an Arya, of Arya lineage". This expression has been interpreted as outward going circles ofkinship, beginning with the inner clan (Achaemenids), then the tribe (Persians) and finally the outmost nation (Arya).[45] However, Arya in this phrase has also been interpreted as expressing a connection to the cultural and religious traditions of the Aryas of the Avesta.[46]
During the Achaemenid period, we also get the first outside perspective on the ethnonym. In his Histories,Herodotus provides a number of information on theMedes. Herodotus reports that, in the past, the Medes used to be calledArioi, i.e., Aryas. He also names the Arizantoi as one of the six tribes composing the Medes. This is interpreted as*arya-zantu ('of Arya lineage').[47]
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The Achaemenid empire ended with theconquest ofAlexander the Great, after whichGreater Iran became part of theHellenistic world. This substantially increased the knowledge of Greek authors of those eastern regions. The GreekpolymathEratosthenes describes those regions in hisGeographica. The work is now lost but cited by the historian and geographerStrabo in his ownGeographica.[48] In those books, Eratosthenes and Strabo (Strab. 15.2.8) identify the country ofAriana, i.e., the country of the Aryas. Ariana covers most of eastern Greater Iran and coincides to a significant degree with thearea delineated in the Avesta.[49] In hisBibliotheca historica, the ancient Greek historianDiodorus Siculus namesZarathustra as one of theArianoi.[43]
TheParthian period saw the IranianParthians gain control over most of Greater Iran. This did, however, only lead to a limited revival of Iranian culture, as the Arsacid ruling dynasty had an overall cosmopolitan approach and patronized bothIranian andHellenistic elements. Consequently, the main reference to the ethnonym Arya during the Parthian period is found inBactria, which was not part of their empire. In theRabatak inscription, Arya is used as the name of theBactrian language, showing its continued use as an umbrella term forIranian languages. This linguistic aspect of Arya, therefore, parallels the one described inBehistun inscription byDarius the Great several centuries earlier.[43] Likewise, Strabo quotes in hisGeographica (Strab. 15.2.8) Eratosthenes, who observed that the people ofPersia,Media,Sogdia andBactria all speak nearly the same language.
TheSassanian period saw a pronounced resurgence ofIranian culture andreligion and its close interaction with political power under the influential Zoroastrian high priestKartir on one side and a number of Sassanian kings on the other side.[50] Arya appears inMiddle Persian as𐭠𐭩𐭫 (er) and inParthian as𐭀𐭓𐭉 (ary), most prominently inShapur I's inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht.[51] In this inscription and on a number of coins byBahram II, Arya appears jointly with the termMazdayasna, indicating a close connection between the political and religious sphere.[52]
The Sassanian period also saw the emergence of Arya as a political term in the form of Eran (𐭠𐭩𐭥𐭠𐭭,ērān) and Eran Shahr (𐭠𐭩𐭥𐭠𐭭𐭱𐭲𐭥𐭩,ērān šahr). Here, Shahr (𐭱𐭲𐭥𐭩,šahr) goes back toAvestanKshatra (𐬑𐬱𐬀𐬚𐬭𐬀,xšaθra) with the meaning rule, dominion or control.[53] Eran already appears underArdashir I asShahan Shah Eran (King of Kings of the Aryas), whereasShahan Shah Eran Shahr (King of Kings of the Dominion of the Aryas) appears inKartir's inscription at Naqsh-e Rajab and several royal inscriptions starting withShapur I and continuing with his successors.[54][55] Initially, the term Eran was still understood to be thegenitiveplural ofēr with thecase ending-ān.[56] However, Middle Persian saw the gradual loss of case endings and their replacement withparticles. As a result, the qualifierEran became increasingly interpreted as an actualplace name, i.e., expressions likeShahan Shah Eran andShahan Shah Eran Shahr becameKing of Kings of Eran andKing of Kings of the Dominion of Eran, respectively.[11][note 2]
After theIslamic conquest of Iran, Arya and its derivatives fell out of use, possibly due to their perceived connection with the Zoroastrian religion.[57] However, the 9th century saw arevival of Iranian national sentiment, with a number of local Iranian dynasties coming to power.[58] During this time, the terms Eran and Eran Shahr saw a resurgence, but were now generally understood as purely geographical terms. This can be seen above all in the emergence ofPersianایرانی (irâni, Iranian), as aback formation fromایران (irân, Iran).[59] Persianirâni, therefore, replaced the Pre-Islamic Arya and its derivatives as the ethnonym of the Iranian peoples and became the origin of EnglishIranian and its cognates in other Western languages.
The modern period in the history of Iran saw the rise ofIranian nationalism and with it a renewed focus on the ancient national past of thepre-Islamic Iran.[60] This became institutionalized when in 1935Reza Shah, founder of thePahlavi dynasty, issued a decree thatchanged the name, used for international correspondence, from Persia to Iran. His successorMohammad Reza Pahlavi officially used of the title ofAryamehr (Persian:آریامهر,light of the Aryas), making it the first time since theSassanian period that the ethnonym Arya was used.
All of the above observations would indicate a date for the composition of the Videvdat list which would antedate, for a considerable time, the arrival in Eastern Iran of the Persian Acheamenids (ca. 550 B.C.)
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