Who were the Aryans? Where did they come from? Did they always live in India? The Aryan problem has been attracting fresh attention in academic, social and political arenas. This book identifies the main traits of Aryan culture and follows the spread of their cultural markers. Using the latest archaeological evidence and the earliest known Indo-European inscriptions on the social and economic features of Aryan society, the distinguished historian, R. S. Sharma, throws fresh light on the current debate on whether or not the Aryans were the indigenous inhabitants of India. This book is essential reading for those interested in the history of India and its culture.

Few themes in history have had as strong a hold on people's imagination. Fewer still have managed to alter the course of civilization. This is Charles Allen's definitive account of the Aryans, offering a grand sweep of language, mythology, contested histories and conflict. Spanning continents, cultures and societies: from the Russian steppe to the Indus valley, the Iliad to the Mahabharata, Greek to Sanskrit, Putin to Trump, and Müller to Vivekananda, Aryans astonishes with its scope. Allen, true to a style that has endeared him to a legion of admirers, weaves a narrative that is startling and illuminating. Product of a great investigation and meticulous scholarship, , Allen's last book, is his crowning achievement and marks the end of an illustrious career. 'PRAISE FOR COROMANDEL 'Coromandel is lively and its stories well chosen.' – The Economist 'An engaging and meaningful account of a very long and complex history.' – Times Literary Supplement '[Makes] history interesting by combining natural storytelling vim with a magpie-sharp eye for shiny detail.'– India Today PRAISE FOR ASHOKA 'Like an explorer in a jungle, stripping away the foliage from a long-forgotten city, Charles Allen brings to light the most extraordinary ruler in Indian history.'– Tom Holland, author of Rubicon 'A labour of love and notable scholarship, Charles Allen's Ashoka is a fitting testament to a forgotten epic of discovery. . . All who relish India's antiquity should read this book.' – John Keay, author of Midnight's Descendants 'Read this and you will see how absorbing history can be.'– Lord Meghnad Desai, author of Rediscovery of India

The question of the original home of the Aryans and their migrations to India is only part of the problem of their “elusiveness.” Their subsequent assimilation and nativization in India also contributed to this elusive quality. This socio-cultural process can be traced through a study of their gods, rituals, and philosophy. Thus changes in the nature and function of Ṛgvedic gods; the appearance of upstart gods in the late Ṛgvedic period; the elaboration of the soma ritual with elaborate supplementary rituals; the introduction of the new ritual of Agnicayana; the rise of the eschatology of “punarjanma” (rebirth) and “saṁsāra” (eternal return) based on “karma”; and the ideal of “mukti”, or liberation from life, in place of the former ideal of a life of “śaradaḥ śatam” (a hundred autumns) are symptoms of, as well as a witness to, the transformation of the original identity of the Aryans as revealed in the Family Books of the Ṛgveda. This cultural transformation is no less significant than the “Yakṣa praṣṇa” (knotty question) of their original home and their “indubitable” archaeological traces. The book addresses itself to both these questions, and, for that purpose, takes another look at some of the archaeological material and Aryan life and thought as reflected in Vedic literature.

Annotation The question of the original home of the Aryans and their migrations to India is only part of the problem of their "elusiveness." Their subsequent assimilation and nativization in India also contributed to this elusive quality. This socio-cultural process can be traced through a study of their gods, rituals, and philosophy. Thus changes in the nature and function of ásgvedic gods; the appearance of upstart gods in the late ásgvedic period; the elaboration of the soma ritual with elaborate supplementary rituals; the introduction of the new ritual of Agnicayana; the rise of the eschatology of "punarjanma" (rebirth) and "saáusÄura" (eternal return) based on "karma"; and the ideal of "mukti", or liberation from life, in place of the former ideal of a life of "Å>aradaá Å>atam" (a hundred autumns) are symptoms of, as well as a witness to, the transformation of the original identity of the Aryans as revealed in the Family Books of the ásgveda. This cultural transformation is no less significant than the "Yaká£a praá£á++a" (knotty question) of their original home and their "indubitable" archaeological traces. The book addresses itself to both these questions, and, for that purpose, takes another look at some of the archaeological material and Aryan life and thought as reflected in Vedic literature.

During the 1930s, in the build up to the Second World War, the Nazis established a band of specialists, the SS-Ahnenerbe, under the command of Heinrich Himmler and Hermann Wirth. Their aim was nothing less than to prove the superiority of the Aryan race, and with it the unique right of the German people to rule Europe. The occult figured as a key feature in many of these increasingly desperate quack research efforts. Part science, part espionage, and part fantasy. Archaeological expeditions were sent to Iceland, Tibet, Kafiristan, North Africa, Russia, the Far East, Egypt, and even South America and the Arctic. The Nazi Ancestral Heritage Societys chief administrator was Dr Wolfram Sievers, who cruelly conducted medical experiments on prisoners in concentration camps, and was responsible for the looting of historic artefacts considered Germanic for return to Germany. He rewarded those academics that took part with high military office, whilst those academics who contradicted or criticized the SS-Anenerbe were carted off to concentration camps where they faced certain death. This book tells the true history of the real life villains behind the Indiana Jones movies. Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction!

Western scholars have argued that Indian civilization was the joint product of an invading Indo-European people--the "Indo-Aryans"--and indigenous non-Indo European peoples. Although Indian scholars reject this European reconstruction of their country's history, Western scholarship gives little heed to their argument. In this book, Edwin Bryant explores the nature and origins of this fascinating debate.