ARYAN ORIGINS
Prof. M.M.Ninan

 

Germans (Anglo-Saxons), Celts, Slavs (Russians.), Kurds, Persians ("Iran" = "Aryan"), Afghans, Aryans of India, etc. form an ethnic continum within a language family which anthropologists and linguists call Indo-Hittite, Hattian, Indo-European, or simply ARYAN.   The ancestors of Aryans were Hamitic tribal clans.

 If the Universal Flood destroyed all mankind except the family of Noah, it is possible to trace all nations from the three descedants of Noah.  The three sons of Noah were Shem, Ham and Japheth. Heth (the ancestor of the Hittites) was a son of Canaan  who was a descendant of Ham,  The flood history is remembered by over 230 tribals all over the world.  So there should be some credibility in the story and the national distribution given in the tenth chapter of Genesis.  This probably is the only record we have in tracing the history of the nations in general to the prehistoric period.
 

Genesis 10

1 Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.

2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

3 And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.

4 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.

 

6  And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.

7  And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.

8   And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.

10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

11  Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,

12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.

13  And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,

14  And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.

15  And Canaan begat Sidon his first born, and Heth,

16  And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,

17  And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,

18  And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.

19  And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.

20  These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.

21 Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.

22 The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.

23 And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.

24 And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.

25 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.

26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,

27 And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,

28 And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,

29 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.

30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.

31 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.

32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.

  According to some, Hamitic clans lived in  Sahel south of the Sahara and were forced to leave because of   climatic changes, and settled in the abandoned forests of Canaan (the Levant) where they hunted and gathered wild grains, and  began to cultivate. Canaan became the exclusive domain of a Hamitic clan. This is only a partial story. If the Zoarostrian Avesta documents can be believed Hittites originally migrated from the Cold Arctic Anatolia peninsula to the  present-day Turkey. They simply got assimilated into the Sumerian civilization and together formed the Aryans. 

History of the Ancient Aryans: Outlined in Zoroastrian scriptures.

(See Vendidad Story)

Iran is the ancient name of Persia, and it is derived from the root "Arya" or Aryan, the Indo-European branch of peoples who settled in that land. The Aryans  of ancient Iran were Mazdayasni Zarathushtris, ie. Worshippers of Ahura Mazda (the name of God in Avestan) as revealed by the ancient prophet Zarathushtra, thousands of years before Christ.

However, all the ancient Zoroastrian scriptures speak of an earlier homeland from where our people came, the lost "Airyane Vaejahi" or seedland of the Aryans. From this homeland, the Indo- Europeans or Aryans moved to upper India,  Iran, Russia and the nations of Europe such as Greece, Italy, Germany, France, Scandinavia, England, Scotland and Ireland.

 

The "Vendidad"   In the first  "Fargad" or chapter, the Golden Age of the ancient Aryans is outlined with their  greatest king, "Yima Kshaeta" (Yam Raj in the Indian Vedas) who banished old age and death. Then, the ice age broke on the ancient home and the Aryans were forced to migrate southwards, to the southeast and the southwest.

Mr. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a great Brahmin (Indian Aryan) scholar of India in the last century studied the Vedas and the Vendidad to find an ancient homeland of the Aryans. The Vedas are scriptures written by the Indo-Europeans or Aryans after they migrated to India. From the descriptions of the weather patterns mentioned in the Vedas, Tilak concluded that the ancient home must be in the Artic regions ie. above present Russia.

 

  Canaan became the exclusive domain of Hamitic clans. In "The History and Geography of Human Genes", Cavalli-Sforza (1994) maps DNA evidence that traces Aryan ancestry to the Near East. The article on “Indo-European Origins” (p129 of American Journal of Physical  Anthropology Vol. 96, #2, Feb., 1995) asserts that  Indo-Europeans entered Europe as the  first farmers of these wild areas. Each of these Hamitic clans became the progenitor of an Indo-European language and of the  Aryan nations (Germans, Kelts, Slavs, etc.) around the world. 

As the Semitic people soon after the  exodus (Genesis 10.18-20) pressured the  Hamitic nations (Hittites, Amorites, etc.)  into leaving the Fertile Crescent?  Canaanites exterminated by Israelites were Hamites (Genesis 10)  Israelites were told by God diligently avoid conflicts with other nations of their own  (Semitic) race (Deuteronomy 2).

 

As the  Semitic herdsmen picked up the use of horses and metal weapons of war, Hamites lost their  military domination over Semitic clans  (Chaldeans,  Hyksos, Hebrews, Arabs, etc.),

When Abraham first came to Canaan that land  was in the hands of the Hittites. (Gen 23:10 Gen 25:9-10).  Esau married women from among the Hittites against the wishes of his mother. David, had Hittites in his army and in his bodyguard (I Kings, 26: 6; II Kings, 11: 6, 1 Sam 26:6 etc.). So we should assume that there were a large number of Hittites living among the Hebrews as loyal participating citizens and in respectable positions.  Bethsheeba, Solomon's mother, perhaps belonged to this race.  Bathsheba’s husband Uriah was a Hittite who lived close to the palace and was a general in the army of David.   David recalled Uriah to come home from the midst of the war so that he will sleep the night with his wife.  But Uriah was an Aryan with strong  martial traditions of the Hittites and refuse to lie with his wife.

2 Sam. 11:9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master's servants and did not go down to his house.
10 When David was told, "Uriah did not go home," he asked him, "Haven't you just come from a distance? Why didn't you go home?"
11 Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!"

The text of III Kings, 10: 28, --. adds that in Solomon's time Israelite merchants bought horses in Egypt and from the Syrian and Hittites.  He also had wives from among the Hittites.    We should conclude from these that the displacement of the Hittites from the land of Israel was a slow process.

Thus the Aryans were forced into fleeing eastward into Asia and westward into Europe where they are now found.

 The root of the race known today as Aryans originated from the  Hittite civilization which dominated mesopotamia from C. 2000 BC to 1200 BC. The Hittite civilization was almost unknown until excavations in the 19th century revealed the extent and importance of culture. In "The History and Geography of Human Genes", Cavalli-Sforza (1994) maps DNA evidence that traces Aryan ancestry to the Near East.

He agrees with Renfrew (1987) in that  Aryan language entered Europe from Anatolia and the Middle East.  p300 (and p280-285 ).  The article on “Indo-European Origins” ( p129 of American Journal of Physical  Anthropology Vol. 96, #2, Feb., 1995) asserts that  Indo-Europeans entered Europe as the first farmers as the best fit.

Though they were originally a group of savage tribes men based on the honor of the person (Aryan - the noble) they adopted the Kingship tradition later for just the same reason as given by the Hebrews.  Their  Kings were warriors who were noted for the ferocity.  Though a list of Kings are mentioned in Avesta and other documents  the only king of note was Suppilulimas (C. 1380-1340 BC). Hitties had very little literature in their early history because of lack of well developed language vocabulary.  The few inscriptions remain undeciphered.  The  achievements of the Hittites primarily were in the  science of war.  They were well versed in the art of war and weaponry  Hittites most remembered for the development of Iron which was used to forge new weapons. They were probably the first to develop the three-wheeled chariot. Hittites also developed many  siege tactics  and techniques which were used throughout the Roman world and also in the early Indian Invasions. Their empire was at its greatest from 1600-1200 BC, and even after the Assyrians gained control of Mesopotamia after 1300 BC, the Hittite cities and territories thrived independently until 717 BC, when the territories were finally conquered by Assyrians .

 

Each of the Hamitic clans became the progenitor of an Indo-European language and of the  Aryan nations (Germans, Kelts, Slavs, etc.) around the world.

 

The Semitic people soon after the  exodus (Genesis 10.18-20) pressured the  Hamitic nations (Hittites, Amorites, etc.)  into leaving the Fertile Crescent.  Canaanites exterminated by Israelites were Hamites (Genesis 10)  Israelites were told by God diligently avoid conflicts with other nations of their own  (Semitic) race (Deuteronomy 2).  In spite of the superiority of Hittite warriors they were routed from the area by the Habirus (Hebrews). Habirus were nomadic shepherds with little or no war experience and no weapons of war.  Even at the time of King Saul, the only swords in the Israelite Kingdom was that of the King and of his son.
1 Sam 13:22 So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.

Yet Yahwh promised the Hebrews the entire Hittite country:

Joshua 1: 4  Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates--all the Hittite country--to the Great Sea on the west.

 In spite of the lack of weapons due to the lack of understanding of metalurgy that is exactly what happened.  We know for certain that the Hittite civilization ended its glory suddenly from the area around  1200 BC.

As the  Semitic herdsmen picked up the use of horses and metal weapons of war  Hamites lost their  military domination to Semitic clans  (Chaldeans,  Hyksos, Hebrews, Arabs, etc.),  The Aryans were forced into  fleeing  eastward into Asia and westward into Europe. 

 

REFERENCES

INDO-EUROPEAN AND THE INDO-EUROPEANS: A RECONSTRUCTION AND HISTORICAL TYPOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF A PROTOLANGUAGE AND PROTOCULTURE. Parts I and 11. Thomas V. Gamkrelidze and Vjacheslav V. Ivanov. Tbilisi State University, 1984.

ARCHAEOLOGY AND LANGUAGE: THE PUZZLE OF INDO-EUROPEAN ORIGlNS. Colin Renfrew. Cambridge University Press, 1988.

RECONSTRUCTING LANGUAGES AND CULTURES: ABSTRACTS AND MATERlALS FROM THE FIRST

INTERNATIONAL INTERDISC1PLlNARY SYMPOSIUM ON LANGUAGE AND PREHISTORY, ANN   ARBOR, NOVEMBER 8-12, 1988. Edited by Vitaly Shevoroshkin. Studienverlag Dr. Norbert Brockmeier, 1989.

IN SEARCH OF THE INDO-EUROPEANS: LANGUAGE, ARCHAEOLOGY AND MYTH. J. P.   Mallory. Thames and Hudson, 1989.

 WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE: INDO-EUROPEANS AND PRE-INDO-EUROPEANS. Edited by John   Greppin and T. L. Markey. Karoma Publishers, Inc., 1990.

The Early History of Indo-European Languages by Thomas V. Gamkrelidze and V. V. Ivanov Scientific American, March 1990, P.110}