Aryan Myth
A 20th-century nationalist narrative framing Iranians as of 'Aryan' descent; a concept now regarded as scientifically contested and politically charged.
Read in context →At a glance
- Ancient meaning
- Indo-Iranian linguistic-ethnic self-name
- 19th-c. distortion
- Race theory (scientifically rejected)
- Status
- Contested
Detail
The 'Aryan myth' refers to a body of beliefs and narratives about 'Aryan' descent and its supposed special status, formed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The word 'Arya' was originally an ancient linguistic-ethnic self-designation used by Indo-Iranian peoples (the name 'Iran' derives from it) and appears in Avestan texts and Achaemenid inscriptions. This historical usage must be distinguished from the nineteenth-century 'Aryan race theory,' which wrongly recast Indo-European linguistics as a 'superior race' and later culminated catastrophically in Nazi ideology. In Iran, elements of this narrative were used in the Pahlavi era to reinforce nationalism and ties to the West. Scholars today draw a clear line between the linguistic-historical meaning of the term and its racist application, which is scientifically discredited. (Contested topic: to be treated with caution and neutrality.)
Related entities
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Iranica — 'Aryans' / 'Aryā'
- L. Poliakov, 'The Aryan Myth'
- Britannica — 'Aryan'