You may have heard of the Aryans who invaded India thousands of years ago. The Aryans were a tribal and nomadic people who lived far away in Euro-Asia. They were unquestionably a tough people, and were fierce warriors.
The Aryan culture was oriented around warfare, and they were very good at it. They were superb horsemen and rushed into battle in chariots. The Aryans were ruled over by a war chief, or Rajan.
Somewhere in the early centuries of the second millennium BC, the Aryans began to migrate southwards in waves of steady conquest across the face of Persia, and the lands of India. There, they would take on the name ‘superior’ or ‘noble’ to distinguish themselves from the people they conquered. Their name is derived from the Indo-European root word, ‘ar’, meaning ‘noble’.
The Aryans first settled along the Indus River, in the same place where the Harappan people had lived. They settled down, and mixed with the local Indian people. They lived there from about 1500 to 800 BC. It seems to be around this time that the caste system began in India.
About 800 BC, the Aryans learned how to use iron for weapons and tools. Once the Aryans learned how to use iron, they used their new weapons to conquer more of India, and moved to the south and east into the Ganges river valley. The Aryans are also called Vedic people since they composed some important books that describe the life and religion of those days, known as the Vedas.
Picture Credit : Google