Aryas

Aryas refers to the plural form of the term ārya, used in ancient Indian and Iranian texts to denote a culturally defined group rather than a single, fixed ethnicity. The word derives from Proto-Indo-Iranian *arya- meaning "noble, respected, of good birth," and it functioned as a self-designation for communities that identified with a noble or dharmic cultural code.

In Indian literature, ārya appears in the Vedic corpus and later Sanskrit writings as a designation for those who uphold Vedic culture and dharma. It is often used to describe noble, civilized, or cultured people and can function as a social or religious category rather than a strict ethnic label. The feminine form āryā denotes a noble woman. The term’s use in ancient India varies by context and period.

In Iranian contexts, cognate forms such as airya- appear in Avestan, and arya- occurs in Old Persian. The self-designation of Iranian-speaking peoples is linked in some sources to the broader ethnolinguistic identity that would become associated with the term Iran itself—often interpreted as "Land of the Aryans." The usage across Iranian texts reflects a similar emphasis on noble or distinguished lineage within a linguistic and cultural framework.

Modern scholarship treats Aryas as part of the broader Indo-Iranian linguistic and cultural sphere. The older concept of a single "Aryan race" has been discredited; scholars prefer to speak of Indo-Iranian peoples or Aryan languages when referring to historical groups and language families. Today, the term Aryas is primarily of historical and philological interest, not a designation for a contemporary population.