The Indo-European Journey: Stories of the Indo-Europeans, Indo-Iranians (aka Aryans), Indo-Aryans, Harappa, and the RigVedic Era




๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐•€๐•Ÿ๐••๐• -๐”ผ๐•ฆ๐•ฃ๐• ๐•ก๐•–๐•’๐•Ÿ ๐•๐• ๐•ฆ๐•ฃ๐•Ÿ๐•–๐•ช: ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐•Š๐•–๐•ง๐•–๐•Ÿ โ„๐•š๐•ง๐•–๐•ฃ๐•ค ๐•Š๐•–๐•ง๐•–๐•Ÿ ๐•Š๐•ฅ๐• ๐•ฃ๐•š๐•–๐•ค


Welcome to The7Rivers! The Indo-European Journey is a 77-episode story of the Indo-Europeans, Indo-Iranians aka Aryans, Iranics/Zoroastrians (including the Parsis), Indo-Aryans, Mitanni-Aryans, Harappa (aka the Indus Valley Civilization), and the RigVedic Era.   The narrative tries to capture some of the thrills, drama, and romance of history. It’s enriched with myths, folk tales, ancient poetry, and fascinating human-interest stories.  


The Indo-European Journey consists of several hundred Seven Rivers videos, Seven Rivers articles, and recommended readings (see the Journey Outline below). "The Journey" is meant to be an easy-to-understand introduction, but you can learn more from the recommended readings that are all available online.  You can follow the Journey by Unit or by Story. There are ten units, listed below. For those who would rather read than watch, downloadable PDFs of the videos scripts are also available. There are seven Stories (The7Rivers Seven Stories) that are implemented as playlists on The7Rivers YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/c/The7Rivers/). Each week we will premiere a video or reading and place a link to it in its synopsis below. If a synopsis does not have a link, that video or reading is yet to be released. If you find this subject matter interesting, you are welcome to join The7Rivers group on Facebook (www.facebook.com/groups/The7Rivers). 


FREE EDUCATIONAL USE: You are welcome to use the videos and their scripts (PDFs) for non-profit educational purposes at no cost as long as they are duly credited as "Courtesy and (c) Seven Rivers, www.the7rivers.com and www.youtube.com/c/The7Rivers/", including the links to our website and YouTube channel as indicated. The materials are believed to be well-researched but offered as-is. The user alone is responsible for their content.


๐•‹๐•™๐•–๐ŸŸโ„๐•š๐•ง๐•–๐•ฃ๐•ค ๐•Š๐•–๐•ง๐•–๐•Ÿ ๐•Š๐•ฅ๐• ๐•ฃ๐•š๐•–๐•ค ๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•”๐•๐•ฆ๐••๐•–:

(look for them on The7Rivers YouTube channel)

  • ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐•€๐•Ÿ๐••๐• -๐”ผ๐•ฆ๐•ฃ๐• ๐•ก๐•–๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•ค
  • ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐•€๐•Ÿ๐••๐• -๐•€๐•ฃ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•š๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•ค (๐•’๐•œ๐•’ ๐”ธ๐•ฃ๐•ช๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•ค)
  • ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐•€๐•ฃ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•š๐•”๐•ค/โ„ค๐• ๐•ฃ๐• ๐•’๐•ค๐•ฅ๐•ฃ๐•š๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•ค (๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•”๐•๐•ฆ๐••๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•˜ ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– โ„™๐•’๐•ฃ๐•ค๐•š๐•ค): Play videos
  • ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐•„๐•š๐•ฅ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•Ÿ๐•š: ๐•€๐•Ÿ๐••๐• -๐”ธ๐•ฃ๐•ช๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•ค ๐• ๐•— ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– ๐•„๐•š๐••๐••๐•๐•– ๐”ผ๐•’๐•ค๐•ฅ
  • ๐•‹๐•’๐•๐•–๐•ค ๐•—๐•ฃ๐• ๐•ž ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– ๐•€๐•Ÿ๐••๐•ฆ๐•ค
  • โ„๐•’๐•ฃ๐•’๐•ก๐•ก๐•’ (๐•’๐•œ๐•’ ๐•€๐•Ÿ๐••๐•ฆ๐•ค ๐•๐•’๐•๐•๐•–๐•ช โ„‚๐•š๐•ง๐•š๐•๐•š๐•ซ๐•’๐•ฅ๐•š๐• ๐•Ÿ) ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•• ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– โ„๐•š๐•˜๐•๐•–๐••๐•š๐•” ๐”ผ๐•ฃ๐•’
  • โ„̣๐•ฅ๐•’, ๐”ป๐•™๐•’๐•ฃ๐•ž๐•’, ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•• ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– ๐”ป๐•š๐•ง๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•–

๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐•๐• ๐•ฆ๐•ฃ๐•Ÿ๐•–๐•ช ๐•†๐•ฆ๐•ฅ๐•๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•–

๐•Œโ„•๐•€๐•‹ ๐Ÿ™: โ„š๐•ฆ๐•–๐•ค๐•ฅ ๐•—๐• ๐•ฃ ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– โ„™๐•€๐”ผ โ„๐• ๐•ž๐•–๐•๐•’๐•Ÿ๐••


๐”ธ๐•Ÿ ๐•€๐•Ÿ๐•ง๐• ๐•”๐•’๐•ฅ๐•š๐• ๐•Ÿ:
"๐”ฝ๐• ๐•ฃ ๐•€๐•Ÿ๐••๐•ฃ๐•’ ๐•Š๐•ฆ๐•ฃ๐•–๐•๐•ช ๐•€๐•ค ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– ๐”ฝ๐•ฃ๐•š๐•–๐•Ÿ๐•• ๐• ๐•— ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– ๐•‹๐•ฃ๐•’๐•ง๐•–๐•๐•–๐•ฃ" 
As we get ready to embark on "The Indo-European Journey", it’s apropos to invoke Lord Indra in his capacity as the traveler's friend. As Rohitashva roams the forest, year after year, looking for a volunteer to take his place in the sacrifice promised by his father to Varuna, Indra exhorts him to "wander, wander". Read article.


๐Ÿ™.๐Ÿ™. โ„™๐•๐•’๐•ช๐•๐•š๐•ค๐•ฅ | ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐•€๐•Ÿ๐••๐• -๐”ผ๐•ฆ๐•ฃ๐• ๐•ก๐•–๐•’๐•Ÿ ๐•๐• ๐•ฆ๐•ฃ๐•Ÿ๐•–๐•ช: ๐”ธ๐•Ÿ ๐•€๐•Ÿ๐•ฅ๐•ฃ๐• ๐••๐•ฆ๐•”๐•ฅ๐•š๐• ๐•Ÿ

A series of short videos (under one minute) that offer an introduction to the Indo-European Journey.



๐Ÿ™.๐Ÿš. ๐”ป๐•š๐•ค๐•”๐• ๐•ง๐•–๐•ฃ๐•ช ๐• ๐•— ๐•€๐•Ÿ๐••๐• -๐”ผ๐•ฆ๐•ฃ๐• ๐•ก๐•–๐•’๐•Ÿ ๐•ƒ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•˜๐•ฆ๐•’๐•˜๐•–๐•ค | 7-1/4 min.

It was the West’s discovery of Sanskrit that led to the recognition that 445 of the world’s languages  are descended from a single prehistoric mother language called the Proto-Indo-European. 



Video: ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐•€๐•Ÿ๐••๐• -๐”ผ๐•ฆ๐•ฃ๐• ๐•ก๐•–๐•’๐•Ÿ ๐•ƒ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•˜๐•ฆ๐•’๐•˜๐•– ๐”ฝ๐•’๐•ž๐•š๐•๐•ช


This entertaining 1-1/2 min. video illustrates the subfamilies that are part of the Indo-European (IE) Language Family. 


READING: Part One of The Horse, The Wheel, and Language by David Anthony. You can read the 2007 edition online at the Internet Archive.


๐Ÿ™.๐Ÿ›. ๐•๐•’๐•ž๐•Ÿ๐•’๐•ช๐•’: ๐•ƒ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•• ๐• ๐•— ๐”ฝ๐•’๐•š๐•ฅ๐•™ ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•• ๐•๐•–๐•ฃ๐•ค๐•– | 8-1/4 min.

Religion and poetry were intertwined with everyday life in the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) homeland. Indo-European myth and poetry played a key role in helping us understand the PIE culture.


Watch videoRead script.


READINGS: Vassilkov's 2014 article in the Armenian Journal of Near Eastern Studies"Some Observations on the Indian and the Mesopotamian Flood Myths". Also, Dumรฉzil's 1988 book: Mitra-Varuna: An Essay on Two Indo-European Representations of Sovereignty. If you enjoyed the excerpt from the Mahabharata included in the video, you may want to check out the 1863 anthology of Indian Epic Poetry by Monier-Williams. 


๐Ÿ™.๐Ÿœ. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– โ„š๐•ฆ๐•–๐•ค๐•ฅ  | 6-3/4 min.

Linguists, mythologists, archaeologists, geneticists, and other disciplines have worked together for over 200 years to discover the “Urheimat”, the original homeland, of the Proto-Indo-Europeans (PIE). 



READING: Chapters 7-14 of The Horse, The Wheel, and Language by David Anthony. You can read the 2007 edition online at the Internet Archive.


๐Ÿ™.๐Ÿ. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐•Š๐•ฅ๐• ๐•ฃ๐•ช ๐•š๐•Ÿ ๐•†๐•ฆ๐•ฃ ๐”ปโ„•๐”ธ | 6 min.

Our genetic history is encoded in our DNA, and it takes just a few very easy-to-understand concepts — that are explained in this video — to learn to "read" that history like a pro!


๐Ÿ™.๐Ÿž. ๐•„๐•š๐•˜๐•ฃ๐•’๐•ฅ๐•š๐• ๐•Ÿ๐•ค ๐•‹๐•™๐•’๐•ฅ ๐•Š๐•™๐•’๐•ก๐•–๐•• ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– โ„™๐•–๐• ๐•ก๐•๐•– ๐• ๐•— ๐•Š๐• ๐•ฆ๐•ฅ๐•™ ๐”ธ๐•ค๐•š๐•’  | 6-3/4 min.

The Aryans were not the first to arrive in So. Asia. There were four other major migrations before them! If you're a So. Asian, you carry the imprint of some or all of those migrations in your own DNA.


READINGS: Some of the major genetic studies of South Asia: "Human occupation of northern India spans the Toba super-eruption ~74,000 years ago" (Clarkson, 2020); "Ancestry-Specific Analyses Reveal Differential Demographic Histories and Opposite Selective Pressures in Modern South Asian Populations" (Yelmen, 2019); "The Genomic Formation of South and Central Asia" (Narasimhan, 2018); "The Genetic Ancestry of Modern Indus Valley Populations from Northwest India" (Pathak, 2018); "The formation of human populations in South and Central Asia" (Narasimhan, 2019); "Genomic insights into the origin of farming in the ancient Near East" (Lazaridis, 2016); "Genomic reconstruction of the history of extant populations of India reveals five distinct ancestral components and a complex structure" (Basu, 2016); "The Kalash Genetic Isolate: Ancient Divergence, Drift, and Selection" (Ayub, 2015); "Reconstructing Indian Population History" (Reich, 2009). 


๐•Œ๐•Ÿ๐•š๐•ฅ ๐Ÿš: ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐•€๐•Ÿ๐••๐• -๐”ผ๐•ฆ๐•ฃ๐• ๐•ก๐•–๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•ค


๐Ÿš.๐Ÿ™. โ„๐•–๐•’๐•ง๐•–๐•Ÿ ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•• ๐”ผ๐•’๐•ฃ๐•ฅ๐•™
| 7-1/4 min.

At the core of the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) pantheon was a divine family headed by Heaven and Earth. Heaven, for example, is the Vedic Dyaus เคฆ्เคฏौเคท्, Greek Zeus, and Roman Jupiter. This is the first of the many episodes on the PIE religion that are part of this series. 

Watch videoRead script.

READINGS: Mallory's 1989 book: In Search of the Indo-Europeans: Language, Archaeology, and MythLyle's 2012 book: Ten Gods: A New Approach to Defining the Mythological Structures of the Indo-Europeans.


๐Ÿš.๐Ÿš. ๐•Š๐• ๐•Ÿ๐•ค ๐• ๐•— โ„๐•–๐•’๐•ง๐•–๐•Ÿ | 8 min.

The Divine Twins (the Vedic Aล›vinเค…เคถ्เคตिเคจ्), called "Sons of Heaven" in some Indo-European traditions (including the RigVeda), were among the most beloved of the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) gods.


READING: Indo-European Poetry and Myth by Martin L. West. You can read it online at Google Books. 

๐Ÿš.๐Ÿ›. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐”ฝ๐•’๐•š๐•ฅ๐•™๐•ค ๐• ๐•— ๐•†๐•ฆ๐•ฃ ๐”ฝ๐•’๐•ฅ๐•™๐•–๐•ฃ๐•ค | 6-3/4 min.

When Christianity became the state religion of the Roman empire in 380 CE, those who worshipped the old Indo-European (IE) gods were dubbed pagan. Some people, called Neo-Pagans, are trying to revive those ancient faiths.


Watch videoRead script.


READING: Ceisiwr Serith's Deep Ancestors, available as a Kindle book and paperback.

๐Ÿš.๐Ÿœ. ๐”ฝ๐•ฃ๐• ๐•ž โ„๐•ฆ๐•ค๐•ค๐•š๐•’ ๐•จ๐•š๐•ฅ๐•™ ๐•ƒ๐• ๐•ง๐•– | 7 min.

South Asia and East Europe share some astonishing ties. Equally amazing is the fact that the polyglot/traveler Rahul Sankrityayan foresaw those relationships decades ahead of the  major discoveries in archeology and genetics.


READING: For more on the Russian-Sanskrit similarities, check out the website by the linguist Constantine Borissoff and the book India and Russia Linguistic and Cultural Affinity by the Indian linguist Weer Rajendra Rishi. You can read Volga Se Ganga by Rahul Sankrityayan in English on the Internet Archive. 

 

๐Ÿš.๐Ÿ. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐”ฝ๐•š๐•–๐•ฃ๐•ช ๐•„๐•’๐•ฃ๐•š๐•’ | 7 min.

Even after Europe got Christianized, many Europeans continued to worship the old Indo-European (IE) gods disguised as Christian saints. Vestiges of the old IE faiths are still embedded in Christianity.


READINGS: Tilak's 1925 bookThe Arctic Homes in the Vedas; The Santies Perun Vedas (The Book of Wisdom of Perun). 

  

๐Ÿš.๐Ÿž. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐”ป๐• ๐• ๐•ž ๐• ๐•— ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– ๐”พ๐• ๐••๐•ค | 5-1/2 min.

Meandering between the lands of the rishis and the Vikings, we will look at the world’s recurring death and rebirth as told in the Vedic and Old Norse texts.

 

๐Ÿš.๐ŸŸ. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐”ผ๐•ฅ๐•–๐•ฃ๐•Ÿ๐•’๐• โ„๐•–๐•ฅ๐•ฆ๐•ฃ๐•Ÿ | 7-3/4 min.

Religions differ on their views about the "end times" (eschatology). Here we discuss the eschatology of two religions, Vedic and Old Norse, and our yearning to return to a moment we hold sacred.


Watch videoRead script


READING: If you'd like to read the Eddas (prose and poetic), check out the resources available on the Viking Society Web Publications page.


๐Ÿš.๐Ÿ . ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐•€๐•Ÿ๐••๐• -๐”ผ๐•ฆ๐•ฃ๐• ๐•ก๐•–๐•’๐•Ÿ ๐•Š๐•ฆ๐•Ÿ โ„‚๐•ฆ๐•๐•ฅ | 5-3/4 min.

Indo-Europeans have worshipped the Sun in many forms. Konark’s medieval Sun Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is world renowned. The RigVedic prayer to the Sun for wisdom is one of the most popular of any religion!


Watch videoRead script.


๐•Œ๐•Ÿ๐•š๐•ฅ ๐Ÿ›: ๐•‹๐•™๐•– โ„™๐•ฃ๐• ๐•ฅ๐• -๐•€๐•Ÿ๐••๐• -๐”ผ๐•ฆ๐•ฃ๐• ๐•ก๐•–๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•ค

๐Ÿ›.๐Ÿ™. โ„•๐• ๐•ž๐•’๐••๐•ค ๐• ๐•— ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– ๐•Š๐•ฅ๐•–๐•ก๐•ก๐•– | 6-1/4 min.

Brutally cold winters and severe droughts drove the Proto-Indo-Europeans (PIE) out of the Steppe. By ~2,500-1,500 BCE, the PIE itself was no longer spoken, but its daughter languages were spreading across Europe and Asia!



READINGS: "A genetic probe into the ancient and medieval history of Southern Europe and West Asia" (Lazaridis, 2022); The Horse, The Wheel, and Language by David Anthony. You can read the 2007 edition online at the Internet Archive.


๐Ÿ›.๐Ÿš. โ„™๐•ช๐•ฃ๐•’๐•ž๐•š๐••๐•ค ๐• ๐•— ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– ๐•Š๐•ฅ๐•–๐•ก๐•ก๐•– | 6-1/2 min.

Kurgans, like pyramids, are memorials to the elite! While the Steppe folk were semi-nomadic, their kurgans were meant to be permanent. Thousands, some filled with rich grave goods, once dotted the Steppe.

 

Watch video. Read script.


READINGS: “At the Foot of Royal Kurgans: The Latest Geoarchaeological and Geophysical Studies” (Parzinger and others, 2016); “The Big Steppe Kurgans as Architectural Monuments” (Anatolii, 2016); “Classification and Documentation of Kurgans by Magnetometry Case studies from Siberia, Kazakhstan, Northern Caucasus and Kalmykia” (Fassbinder and others, 2011); “The Nasatyas, the Chariot and Proto–Aryan Religion” (Parpola, 2005).  

 

๐Ÿ›.๐Ÿ›. ๐•Ž๐• ๐•๐•—๐•ž๐•–๐•Ÿ ๐• ๐•— ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– ๐•Š๐•ฅ๐•–๐•ก๐•ก๐•– | 7-1/4 min.

Europe's werewolf lore had its roots in the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) *koryos, troop or army. Today, we will look at the evidence for *koryos across ancient Europe. E4.5 will discuss if the *koryos were present in the Vedic South Asia.


Watch video. Read script.


READING: Learn more about the Celtic mythology from Russell's 1914 bookHeroes of the Dawn

 

๐Ÿ›.๐Ÿœ. ๐•๐• ๐•š๐•”๐•–๐•ค ๐•—๐•ฃ๐• ๐•ž ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– ๐”น๐•ฃ๐• ๐•Ÿ๐•ซ๐•– ๐”ธ๐•˜๐•– | 5 min.

What did the Proto-Indo-Europeans (PIE) sound like? Working backwards from the ancient Indo-European texts, linguists have reconstructed the PIE language including its vocabulary, grammar, and phonology.



READING: Part One of The Horse, The Wheel, and Language by David Anthony. You can read the 2007 edition online at the Internet Archive.

 

๐•Œ๐•Ÿ๐•š๐•ฅ ๐Ÿœ: ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐•€๐•Ÿ๐••๐• -๐•€๐•ฃ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•š๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•ค

 


๐Ÿœ.๐Ÿ˜. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐”ธ๐•ฃ๐•ช๐•’๐•Ÿ ๐”ผ๐•Ÿ๐•š๐•˜๐•ž๐•’
| 6-1/2 min

Some who may have claim to that term don't wish to be labeled Aryan; others with no affinity to the historical Aryans insist that they are! Few pay attention to how the Aryans defined themselves. In our field there's not a term more perplexing than Aryan.

 


๐Ÿœ.๐Ÿ™. โ„๐• ๐•ฃ๐•ค๐•–๐•ค ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•• โ„‚๐•™๐•’๐•ฃ๐•š๐• ๐•ฅ๐•ค  | 6-3/4 min.

A 2022 study ties horses and chariots to the Indo-Iranians. Sintashta's metals traveled the paths that the Indo-Iranians, with their horses and chariots, later took to found empires stretching to SE Europe and NE Africa.


Watch video. Read script.


READING: The 2021 Nature article "The origin and spread of domestic horses from the Western Eurasian Steppes" by Librado and others. 


๐Ÿœ.๐Ÿš. ๐”ธ โ„‚๐•š๐•ฅ๐•’๐••๐•–๐• ๐•š๐•Ÿ ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– ๐•Š๐•ฅ๐•–๐•ก๐•ก๐•– | 6-1/4 min.

Arkaim, a 2000 BCE citadel linked with the Indo-Iranians (aka Aryans) was unlike anything that then existed. For Russia, it's a national treasure. For the many who flock here every year, it's a place of "mystery" and "power"!


Watch video. Read script.


READING: Shnirelman's 1998 article: "Archaeology and Ethnic Politics: The Discovery of Arkaim". 

 

๐Ÿœ.๐Ÿ›. ๐”ผ๐•Ÿ๐•˜๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•–๐•ค ๐• ๐•— ๐•Ž๐•’๐•ฃ | 6 min.

The Indo-Iranians (aka Aryans) were on a war footing at Sintashta. They fortified their settlements and stepped up their metallurgical output. They also invented the war chariot, the worlds first-ever war machine!



READING: Beckwith's 2011 book: Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from Bronze Age to the Present. You can read its Chapter 1, “The Chariot Warriors”, online.

 

๐Ÿœ.๐Ÿœ. โ„๐•š๐••๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•˜ ๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•ฅ๐•  ๐”ธ๐•—๐•ฅ๐•–๐•ฃ๐•๐•š๐•—๐•–  | 7-1/4 min.

Indo-Iranians, like other Indo-Europeans, believed in the afterlife -- and their graves reflected that. Anthony states that the details of the Sintashta funerals showed startling parallelswith the rituals described in the Rig Veda.


READINGS: Chapter 15 of The Horse, The Wheel, and Language by David Anthony. You can read the 2007 edition online at the Internet Archive. Also, this 2011 article by Outram and others: "Horses for the Dead: Funerary Foodways in Bronze Age Kazakhstan". 

๐Ÿœ.๐Ÿ. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐•„๐•’๐•ฃ๐•ฆ๐•ฅ๐•ค ๐• ๐•— ๐•Š๐•ฃ๐•ฆ๐•“๐•Ÿ๐•’๐•ช๐•’ | 7 min.

In the late 1990s, while digging at a Srubnaya culture site near Samara, Russia, Anthony and Brown discovered something a bit dark, believed to be related to the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) *kรณryos (see Episode 3.3).


READINGS: Learn more about the Srubnaya discovery from Dorcas Brown and David Anthony: article, YouTube video. Also, this 2000 article by Kershaw: "The One-eyed God: Odin and the (Indo-) Germanic Männerbünde".

๐Ÿœ.๐Ÿž. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐”ธ๐•ค๐•™๐•ง๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•ค ๐• ๐•— ๐•๐•š๐•ช๐•ฆ | 7-1/2 min.

The Wusun were an Iranic (Indo-Iranian aka Aryan) people whose kings married the Han empire princesses. The Wusun-Han intermarriages, which have inspired TV biopics, are incredibly fascinating human-interest stories.  



READINGS: Chinese poetry including Xijun's poem: Waley's 1918 classicA Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems. More about the Wusun in "The Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu". If you'd like to dig into the Han: Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian (several online sources as well as a Kindle version).  


๐•Œ๐•Ÿ๐•š๐•ฅ ๐Ÿ: ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐•„๐•š๐•ฅ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•Ÿ๐•š-๐”ธ๐•ฃ๐•ช๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•ค

๐Ÿ.๐Ÿ™. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– โ„‚๐•™๐•’๐•ฃ๐•š๐• ๐•ฅ ๐•Ž๐•’๐•ฃ๐•ฃ๐•š๐• ๐•ฃ๐•ค ๐• ๐•— ๐•Ž๐•’๐•ค๐•™๐•ฆ๐•œ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•Ÿ๐•š | 7-1/4 min.

A little before the Indo-Aryans pushed into Punjab, another group of them -- called the Maryannu or Mitanni -- headed toward the Middle East. Their story, not as well-known as it should be, is the subject of Unit 5 (five episodes).

Watch video. Read script.

READINGS: Summary of the Kikkuli horse-training method at the International Museum of the Horse website; Raulwing's 2009 article: "The Kikkuli Text. Hittite Training Instructions for Chariot Horses in the Second Half of the 2nd Millennium B.C. and Their Interdisciplinary Context". 

๐Ÿ.๐Ÿš. ๐•„๐•–๐•ค๐• ๐•ก๐• ๐•ฅ๐•’๐•ž๐•š๐•’'๐•ค ๐•€๐•Ÿ๐••๐• -๐”ธ๐•ฃ๐•ช๐•’๐•Ÿ ๐”ผ๐•ž๐•ก๐•š๐•ฃ๐•– | 8 min.

The world’s oldest inscriptions with Sanskrit-like phrases were found not in South Asia but Turkey. They relate to an Indo-Aryan people called the Mitanni who were one of the five Great Powers of the  Late Bronze Age Middle East.

Watch video. Read script.

READINGS: Fournet's 2010 article "About the Mitanni Aryan gods" as well his book on The Indo-European Elements in Hurrian. Also, Luckenbill's 1921 article on "Hittite Treaties and Letters". 

๐Ÿ.๐Ÿ›. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– โ„™๐•™๐•’๐•ฃ๐•’๐• ๐•™๐•ค' ๐•„๐•š๐•ฅ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•Ÿ๐•š-๐”ธ๐•ฃ๐•ช๐•’๐•Ÿ ๐”น๐•ฃ๐•š๐••๐•–๐•ค | 8 min.

The Amarna letters are an archaeological treasure: a first hand-account of the relationship between the Mitanni kings and their Pharaoh sons-in-laws. This is the story of the Mitanni-Pharaoh marriages as revealed by the Amarna letters.

Watch video. Read script.

READINGS: William L. Moran's classic 1991 book on The Amarna Letters. Also, Schulman's 1979 article: "Diplomatic Marriage in the Egyptian New Kingdom".

๐Ÿ.๐Ÿœ. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐”พ๐• ๐••๐•ค ๐• ๐•— ๐”ผ๐•˜๐•ช๐•ก๐•ฅ'๐•ค โ„•๐•–๐•จ ๐•‚๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•˜๐••๐• ๐•ž | 4-3/4 min. 

Did the Mitanni Indo-Aryan princesses exert any religious influence over their Pharaoh husbands? Before we can take that up in Episode 5.5., we first need to understand the Egyptian religion during the New Kingdom Era (~1,600-1,100 BCE).

Watch video. Read script.

๐Ÿ.๐Ÿ. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐•„๐•š๐•ฅ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•Ÿ๐•š-๐”ธ๐•ฃ๐•ช๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•ค ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•• ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– โ„™๐•™๐•’๐•ฃ๐•’๐• ๐•™๐•ค | 7-3/4 min. 

Pharaoh Akhenaten has been called "revolutionary" because he steered Egypt (temporarily) away from polytheism toward a single abstract god.  Some wonder if this radical shift was influenced by the Mitanni daughters-in-law.

Watch video. Read script.

READING: Sacred poetry mentioned in the video: RigVeda Mandala 1 Surya hymns, RigVeda 10:37, Avestan Yasht 10 (Mihr Yasht), and the Great Hymn to the Aten. Also,  Taha's article on: "A Comparative Analysis of Three Astral Religions: The Solar Cults of Aten, Surya, and Sol Invictus". 

๐•Œ๐•Ÿ๐•š๐•ฅ ๐Ÿž: ๐•‹๐•’๐•๐•–๐•ค ๐•—๐•ฃ๐• ๐•ž ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– ๐•€๐•Ÿ๐••๐•ฆ๐•ค

๐Ÿž.๐Ÿ›. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– โ„‚๐•™๐•š๐•๐••๐•๐•–๐•ค๐•ค โ„š๐•ฆ๐•–๐•–๐•Ÿ | 6-1/4 min.

Sindh's Ror empire, which had survived for 1,100 years, was brought down in the end by the insecurity of a childless queen. And that is what triggered a chain of events that, in the minds of many, led to the eventual birth of Pakistan.


READING: The Chachnama. A 2012 critique of The Chachama by Ahmed: "The Long Thirteenth Century of the Chachnama". 


๐Ÿž.๐Ÿœ. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐”ฝ๐•’๐•๐• ๐• ๐•— ๐”ธ๐•ฃ๐• ๐•ฃ | 6-1/4 min.

Sindh is called Bab-ul-Islam, “Gateway of Islam”, because it's the fall of its Aror-based empire to the Saudi general Ibn Qasim in 712 CE that is said to have opened India's door to Islam (while leading to the Arora exodus from Sindh).


READING: MacLean's dissertation on Religion and Society in Arab Sindh. Soomro's photo-essay: "Where the city of Aror once stood in glory".

 

๐Ÿž.๐Ÿ. ๐•Š๐• ๐•ฃ๐•’๐•ฅ๐•™ ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•• โ„๐•’๐•š ๐”ป๐•š๐•ช๐•’๐•”๐•™ | 7-1/4 min.

Of the dozen or so Sindhi and Punjabi tales of love, there is none more tragic than that of Sorath and Rai Diyach. But what's not commonly known is that Diyach and Sorath were historic figures who founded the Ror empire in 450 BCE!


READINGS: Kazi's Shah jo Risalo Translated in verse; Laajwani's (with coauthor) 2021 article on "The Mystical Philosophy of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai: A Study of Shah-Jo-Risalo".

 

๐Ÿž.๐Ÿž. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐”ฝ๐•š๐•ฃ๐•–๐•จ๐• ๐•ฃ๐•œ๐•ค ๐• ๐•— ๐•†๐•”๐•ฅ ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿœ๐Ÿ› โ„‚๐”ผ | 7 min.

Aroras were a major Hindu group of the pre-Partition Pakistan. An old document details a 143 CE convention of all Aroras that led to the emergence of a complex caste system among Aroras that lasted a good 1,800 years. 


READING: Rai's 1913 book entitled The Domiciled Hindus for some of the Arora history (including the 143 CE convention) and customs.

๐•Œ๐•Ÿ๐•š๐•ฅ ๐ŸŸ: โ„๐•’๐•ฃ๐•’๐•ก๐•ก๐•’

๐ŸŸ.๐Ÿ™. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐”ฝ๐•’๐•ฃ๐•ž๐•–๐•ฃ๐•ค ๐• ๐•— ๐•„๐•–๐•™๐•ฃ๐•˜๐•’๐•ฃ๐•™ 6-1/4 min.

Harappa aka the Indus Valley Civilization was the largest, most advanced civilization of its time. In a manner of speaking, So. Asia began at Harappa. If So. Asia began at Harappa, Harappa itself began at early farming sites like Mehrgarh!

๐ŸŸ.๐Ÿš. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐•‹๐•ฃ๐•’๐••๐•–๐•ฃ๐•ค ๐• ๐•— ๐•„๐•–๐•๐•ฆ๐•™๐•™๐•’ | 7-1/4 min.

Harappa was contemporaneous with and traded with Mesopotamia and possibly also Egypt. It's the traders of Harappa (known to some of its customers as Meluhha) that were responsible for it prosperity!


๐ŸŸ.๐Ÿ›. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐•Œ๐•ฃ๐•“๐•’๐•Ÿ โ„™๐•๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•Ÿ๐•–๐•ฃ๐•ค ๐• ๐•— โ„๐•’๐•ฃ๐•’๐•ก๐•ก๐•’ | 6 min.

The amazing thing about Harappa is that it had the ancient world’s most advanced urban infrastructure. In fact, Harappans had better amenities in some respects than some of today’s South Asians.


READINGS: Khan's (with coauthors) 2021 article on "Hydro-Technologies of Mehrgarh, Baluchistan and Indus Valley Civilizations, Punjab, Pakistan (ca. 7000–1500 BC)" as well as the 2020 article on "Similarities of Minoan and Indus Valley Hydro-Technologies". 


๐ŸŸ.๐Ÿœ. โ„‚๐•ฃ๐•’๐•”๐•œ๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•˜ ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– ๐•€๐•Ÿ๐••๐•ฆ๐•ค โ„‚๐• ๐••๐•– | 4-1/2 min.

Despite the large number of artifacts recovered from Harappa, there’s a lot we don’t know about its religion, culture, society, or polity. Because we don’t know how to read the "Indus Script". But why is that so hard?


๐ŸŸ.๐Ÿ. โ„๐•’๐•ฃ๐•’๐•ก๐•ก๐•’, ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– ๐•Š๐•ฅ๐• ๐•ฃ๐•š๐•–๐•ค ๐•๐•–๐•ฅ ๐•Œ๐•Ÿ๐•ฅ๐• ๐•๐•• | 6 min.

The story of the Egyptian civilization once lay locked in its ~1,000 hieroglyphs, as Harappa’s does now in the Indus script. What will it take to crack this Script: A Rosetta Stone — or perhaps advances in artificial intelligence? 


READINGS: For more about Harappa, including the introductory materials as well as the ongoing research, check out the Harappa.com website.


๐•Œ๐•Ÿ๐•š๐•ฅ ๐Ÿ : ๐•‹๐•™๐•– โ„๐•š๐•˜๐•๐•–๐••๐•š๐•” ๐”ผ๐•ฃ๐•’


๐Ÿ .๐Ÿ›. ๐”ธ ๐”พ๐•š๐•—๐•ฅ ๐•—๐• ๐•ฃ ๐”ธ๐•๐• ๐•„๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•œ๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•• | 5-1/4 min.

The Gayatri Mantra, a prayer for wisdom, is one of the world's most ancient and popular prayers. Its legendary author, a colorful king-turned-poet, is tied to a pivotal ~1375 BCE battle that led to the emergence of So. Asia's first state.

Watch video. Read script.

๐Ÿ .๐Ÿ. โ„๐•’๐•ฅ๐•™๐•’: ๐•๐•–๐•™๐•š๐•”๐•๐•– ๐• ๐•— ๐”พ๐• ๐••๐•ค ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•• โ„๐•–๐•ฃ๐• ๐•–๐•ค

Chariots (Ratha, เคฐเคฅ) appear prominently in both the Vedic and Avestan texts. In this episode, we look at how they evolved from a vehicle of gods and heroes to a part of everyday life and eventually a metaphor for life itself. 

Watch video. Read script.

๐•Œ๐•Ÿ๐•š๐•ฅ ๐Ÿก: โ„๐•ฅ๐•’, ๐”ป๐•™๐•’๐•ฃ๐•ž๐•’, ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•• ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– ๐”ป๐•š๐•ง๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•–

๐Ÿก.๐Ÿ™. ๐”ฝ๐•ฃ๐• ๐•ž โ„๐•ฅ๐•’ ๐•ฅ๐•  โ„๐•–๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•”๐•’๐•ฃ๐•Ÿ๐•’๐•ฅ๐•š๐• ๐•Ÿ | 6-3/4 min.

*H₂รฉrtus (Vedic แนšta/เค‹เคค and Zoroastrian Aแนฃ̌a), the cosmic order, was a key Proto-Indo-European (PIE) concept. In this episode, we will follow the 2,500 years of evolution from the PIE *H₂รฉrtus to the Vedic Dharma, Karma, and Saแนƒsฤra aka reincarnation.

Watch videoRead script.

๐Ÿก.๐Ÿš. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐”ป๐•š๐•ง๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•– | 7-1/2 min.

Episode 9.1 tracked the evolution of Dharma, Karma, and reincarnation from the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) concept of *h₂รฉrtus. This episode tracks the parallel evolution of the conception of the Divine.

Watch videoRead script

๐Ÿก.๐Ÿ›. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐•Š๐•ฆ๐•Ÿ ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•• โ„๐•–๐•ฃ โ„‚๐•™๐•š๐•๐••๐•ฃ๐•–๐•Ÿ | 7-1/2 min.

Indo-European mythology, including the Vedic, is full of interesting tales about not only the Sun but also her sons, daughters, and (occasionally) sisters.  Helen of Troy is perhaps the most famous of the Sun's children. 

Watch video. Read script.


๐Ÿก.๐Ÿœ. ๐”ป๐•’๐•ฆ๐•˜๐•™๐•ฅ๐•–๐•ฃ ๐• ๐•— โ„๐•–๐•’๐•ง๐•–๐•Ÿ | 7-1/2 min.

When the day dawned in the Steppe, the Proto-Indo-Europeans attributed it to the goddess *Hโ‚รฉusลs. She is the Vedic Uแนฃรกs (เค‰เคทเคธ्), Avestan Uลกรฅ, Greek Eos, Roman Aurora, Lithuanian Auลกrinฤ—, and the West Germanic ฤ’ostre. 


Watch video. Read script.


๐Ÿก.๐Ÿ. เคฏเคœ्เคž-๐•๐•’๐•›๐•Ÿ๐•ช๐•’ ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•• ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– ๐•€๐”ผ ๐•๐• ๐•ฅ๐•š๐•ง๐•– ๐•†๐•—๐•—๐•–๐•ฃ๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•˜  | 7 min.

Homa (เคนोเคฎ) / Yajna (เคฏเคœ्เคž) was a key Vedic ritual that has analogs across the Indo-European world. In fact, the very Germanic conception of God (as revealed by this word's etymology) may be based on him as the target of a homa offering!


Watch videoRead script.


๐Ÿก.๐Ÿž. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– ๐”พ๐• ๐••๐••๐•–๐•ค๐•ค ๐• ๐•— ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– ๐”ป๐•–๐•ค๐•–๐•ฃ๐•ฅ | 5-1/4 min.

The Hinglaj Shakti Peetha in Pakistan is as revered by Pakistan's Hindus as it is by the local Balochi Muslims who call her Bibi Nani, "respected maternal grandmother". But as we’ll see, Nani has another meaning as well.


Watch videoRead script.


๐Ÿก.๐ŸŸ. ๐•‹๐•™๐•– โ„๐•–๐•’๐•ง๐•–๐•Ÿ๐•๐•ช โ„๐•š๐•ง๐•–๐•ฃ | 6-3/4 min. 

The Indo-Iranians (aka Aryans) saw a heavenly river as the source of water for all the rivers and streams of the earth. Personified as a goddess, this river is the Indic Sarasvati and the Iranic Aredvi Sura Anahita. 


 

๐Ÿก.๐Ÿ . ๐•‹๐•™๐•– โ„™๐•ฃ๐•š๐•ž๐• ๐•ฃ๐••๐•š๐•’๐• โ„‚๐• ๐•ค๐•ž๐•š๐•” ๐”ผ๐•Ÿ๐•–๐•ฃ๐•˜๐•ช | 7 min.

Hinduism’s God can be form-and-gender-less, masculine, feminine, or androgynous (male/female). In this episode, we look at the ลšฤkta (เคถाเค•्เคค), who view God as feminine.


Watch videoRead script.



๐•Œ๐•Ÿ๐•š๐•ฅ ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ˜: ๐•‹๐•™๐•– โ„ค๐• ๐•ฃ๐• ๐•’๐•ค๐•ฅ๐•ฃ๐•š๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•ค



๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ˜.๐Ÿ™.
 โ„ค๐•’๐•ฃ๐•’๐•ฅ๐•™๐•ฆ๐•ค๐•ฅ๐•ฃ๐•’ ๐•Š๐•ก๐•š๐•ฅ๐•’๐•ž๐•’ | 7 min.

This episode focuses on the life, death, and teachings of Zarathustra Spitama, the founder of Zoroastrianism, aka Mazdayasna, an attempt to reform the Iranic (Proto-Vedic like) religion.



READINGS: Mary Boyce's 2002 book: Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. Also her 1991 bookA History of Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrian texts (translated) with notes by Oktor Skjรฆrvรธ. The Heritage Institute website is another great resource on Zoroastrianism.


๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ˜.๐Ÿš. โ„™๐•’๐•ฃ๐•ค๐•š๐•ค ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•• ๐•€๐•ฃ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•š๐•ค  | 7-1/4 min.

Today, over half of the world’s Zoroastrians — comprised of two immigrants groups — call India home. The educated and urban Parsis, the larger of the two, have long been viewed as one of India’s model minorities.

 

Watch video. Read script.

 

๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ˜.๐Ÿ›. ๐”ธ ๐•‹๐• ๐•จ๐•Ÿ โ„‚๐•’๐•๐•๐•–๐•• ๐•Š๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•›๐•’๐•Ÿ  | 6  min.

Sanjan, Gujarat (India), located not far from the Arabian Sea, is a nondescript small town of about 20,000. But it occupies a special place in the hearts of Parsis, one of India's two Zoroastrian groups, the Iranis being the other

 

๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ˜.๐Ÿœ. ๐•Š๐•ฅ๐• ๐•ฃ๐•ช ๐• ๐•— ๐•Š๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•›๐•’๐•Ÿ | 5 min.

What the Parsis know of their origins is from their oral traditions. The chief among them is the Qissa-i Sanjan, “the Story of Sanjan”, an epic poem in a style reminiscent of Ferdowsi’s that bears the date of 1,599 CE.  

Watch video. Read script.

READING: The Qissa-i Sanjan and the Avesta can  be read at the Avesta.org site.