Aryan
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
Aryan is the name that an ancient people of Iran called themselves. Descendants of the Aryans include speakers of the Persian language and of Hindi, a language of India. About three thousand years ago, both Iranians and Indians used the name Aryan to mean their shared ancestors, as well as "nobles."
[change] Nazism
In the 19th century, some Europeans began to use this name for the Nordic peoples of Europe, as a "pure," "noble" and "superior" race they claimed were descended from the original Aryans.
The theory that the Aryans first came from Europe became especially accepted in Germany. It was widely believed that the "Vedic Aryans" were the same people as the Goths, Vandals and other ancient Germanic peoples who brought the Western Roman Empire to an end. This idea was often mixed with anti-Semitic ideas.
The idea of racism that this means has been put aside by modern scientists, who also disagree with the idea that the original Aryans ever lived in Europe. However, this Master Race theory became a main idea for Nazis.