Michael Hoshang Momeni
Airya is an ancient designation for people who are named Aryan or Iranic in the western publications.
The population of Iran is extracted from آیريآ (airya) or آریآ (arya). The word means ”noble” in old Parsi. The name of the region or the country where these noble people lived was called آیریآن (airyan), or آریآن (aryan) .
“On the Nowruz of 1935, Reza Shah Pahlavi asked foreign delegates to use the term Iran, the endonym of the country, in formal correspondence” [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_of_Iran ]
“The gentilic ēr- and ary- in ērān and aryān derives from Old Iranian *arya- (Old Persian airya-, Avestan airiia-, etc.), meaning "Aryan", in the sense of "of the Iranians". This term is attested as an ethnic designator in Achaemenid inscriptions and in Zoroastrianism's Avesta tradition, and it seems "very likely" that in Ardashir's inscription ērān still retained this meaning, denoting the people rather than the empire.
Approximately 110,000 to 12,000 years ago, massive continental glaciers covered greater global areas including Europe and Eurasia (Fig. 1). The oceans water level dropped by about 150 meters. The maximum extent of glaciation was approximately 19,00 to 22,000 years ago. During this period, local ice fields and ice sheets capped the mountains in Europe, Caucasus, Turkey, and Iran. Glaciers had stored a great body of fresh water on the mountains and in ice sheets.
The Environment following the maximum Glacier
Homo sapiens passed through Strait on the Red Sea crossing it into the Arabian Peninsula and the Iranian Plateau (Fig. 3). The Persian Gulf today has an average depth of 50 meters and a maximum depth of 90 meters. The Persian Gulf stretches 989 kilometers from the present boundaries from Iran and Iraq to the Gulf of Oman. At the narrowest width, the Strait of Hormuz is about 56 kilometers wide.
However, at the maximum glaciers period, the entire Persian Gulf was a dry shallow valley (Figs. 4 and 5) with several small lakes at the lowest valley floors. These lakes received the waters of the Arvand Rud, the river formed by the Kārun, the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers.
The glacial retreat had a profound effect on landscapes in many areas that were covered by ice at the Last Glacial Maximum. Melting of ice on Zagros Mountain range increased river flow into the Karun. The melting of glaciers in Taurus mountains increased river flow in Tigris and Euphrates. These increases expanded the size of the local shallow lakes within the Persian Gulf valley (Fig. 5).
In addition, as the glaciers melted in all over the globe, the ocean water level slowly increased to the present level. The combined sea level change and the expansion of the lakes broke the soil dam at Hormuz (Figs. 4, 5). The water from Gulf Adan intruded into the Persian Gulf valley. Figure 5 shows the lakes in the Persian Gulf Valley 12,000 years ago. It also shows the intrusion of water from Gulf Adan into the valley.
Figure 4: The figure shows the lakes in the Persian Gulf Valley 18,000 years ago.
Figure 5: The figure shows the lakes in the Persian Gulf Valley 12,000 years ago. It shows the intrusion of water from Gulf Adan into the valley.
Source: Persian Gulf: The Garden of Eden and the Noah’s Flood
http://stmichaeltraveler.com/2013/07/03/persian-gulf-the-garden-of-eden-and-the-noahs-flood/
The Persian Gulf level in parallel with Gulf Adan steadily rose along with the ocean reaching to today’s level by about 6000 years ago (Figs. 4 and 5). The Persian Gulf valley had a thriving population prior to 12000 years ago. The valley may have supported early humans for over 100,000 years. As the level of water in the valley rose, the population within the valley left the valley for higher grounds and escaping the advancing water. Those who left the valley could have been the ancestors to the Elamites and Dravidians.
The Caspian Sea (Figs. 3, 6) is the world's largest inland sea. It is third as salty and about ninety feet below oceans sea level. It is over three thousand feet deep at its lowest depth.
Figure 6: Caspian Sea. During the glacier period, the sea level was low and the passage was narrower. The melting of glaciers created rivers and altered the landscape and altered the Caspian Sea, Ural Sea, and the Black Sea.
Caspian is a closed sea, i.e. it does not have an outlet. The sea level is mostly controlled by inflow from the Caspian watershed and surface evaporation. Among more than 130 rivers or streams that discharge into the Caspian Sea, the Volga River contributes about eighty percent of the water. It enters the Caspian Sea through the Volga delta (Fig. 6). The Ural River flows in from the north, and the Kura River flows into the sea from the west (Figs. 7, 8).
Figure 7 shows the Caspian Sea watershed area.
Figure 8: The watershed in the east of Caspian Sea.
The Amu Darya River and the Syr Darya farther to the north had frequently changed course and discharged into the Caspian through a now-desiccated riverbed called the Uzboy River (Fig. 9).
Figure 9: The topography east of Caspian Sea
Flooding of Caspian Sea
Figure 1 shows the extent of glacial ice about 20000 years ago. During this period the glaciation reduced parts of western & central Europe to the polar desert. Melting of the glaciated ice did not begin until about 11-12,000 BC. A significant volume of the fresh water released from the melting of the ice flowed into the Caspian watershed. The rivers increased the volume adding to the inflow to the Caspian Sea. Figure 8 shows the size and the extent of Caspian Sea, Black Sea. The water level in the Caspian Sea increased by about 50 meters (160 ft.) above the present-day levels.
The rise was extremely rapid and the Caspian basin could not contain all the flood water. The change in the Caspian Sea level (Fig. 10) allowed the excess water to flow through the Kuma-Manych Depression and Kerch Strait, into Sea of Azov and the ancient Black Sea basin.
Figure 10: The change in the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea before and following the melting of the glaciation.
By 12000 years ago, the Black Sea level increased by some 60 to 70 meters (200 to 230 ft.) 20 meters (66 ft.) below its present-day level. A large segment of the flooded Black Sea Basin was previously forested and had settlements of hunter-gatherer Homo sapiens. The population had to leave the area to escape the flood.
This report is divided among the following investigations:
1. The climate from 100,000 years ago to 2000 years ago;
2. The genesis of Airya (a.k.a. Aryan);
3. Migration of The Airya people;
4. Geophysical environments leading to the development of language, and culture in Airyana.
The thesis of this work was to explore the consequence of the climatic changes during the last 100,000 years on Airya, one group of Homo sapiens. The basic motivation for this work was to identify factors and environmental conditions promoting migration of Airya people after the arrival into the Iranian Plateau to move once again to Eurasia and Europe.
This synthesis is based on works published by scientists in many inter-related fields. I am dedicating this work to them. I am hoping this work would elicit additional areas of future research. I have listed the reference for some of these works in this publication.
Airya is an ancient designation for people who are named Aryan or Iranic in the western publications.
The population of Iran is extracted from آیريآ (airya) or آریآ (arya). The word means ”noble” in old Parsi. The name of the region or the country where these noble people lived was called آیریآن (airyan), or آریآن (aryan) .
“The gentilic ēr- and ary- in ērān and aryān derives from Old Iranian *arya- (Old Persian airya-, Avestan airiia-, etc.), meaning "Aryan", in the sense of "of the Iranians". This term is attested as an ethnic designator in Achaemenid inscriptions and in Zoroastrianism's Avesta tradition, and it seems "very likely" that in Ardashir's inscription ērān still retained this meaning, denoting the people rather than the empire.
- Where did they come from?
- How are they related to the other Iranic (Aryan) people?
- Did Airya evolve from Homo sapiens on the Iranian Plateau?
Majestic Persian Leopard
Europe and Eurasian Glaciation
Figure 1: Europe: European ice sheets were miles high in many places. The glaciers stored fresh water in ice.
Figure 2: A map of Europe and Eurasia
A comparison of information in Figures 1 and 2 would indicate the massive extent of the glaciation in Europe.
The Environment following the maximum Glacier
- Persian Gulf
Western Iranian Plateau is covered with mountain ranges mostly running in a northerly direction. The regions between the mountains create many forested river valleys. The Zagros mountain range begins in northwestern Iran and roughly corresponds to the present Iran's western border, and it spans the whole length of the western and southwestern Iranian plateau, ending at the Strait of Hormuz. The highest point in the Zagros Mountains is Ghashmastan (4435m), in Dena.
Figure 3: A map of Eastern Asia and North Africa
Arvand Rud "Swift River" by Airyan, or Shatt al-Arab by Arabs is the principal rivers between Iran and Iraq; it discharges into the Persian Gulf. The river is 200 km (120 mi) in length and is formed by the confluence of the Euphrates and in the southern Iraq. Karun is The 450 miles (720 km) long and originates in Zagros Rangeit. Kārun is Iran's only navigable river.
However, at the maximum glaciers period, the entire Persian Gulf was a dry shallow valley (Figs. 4 and 5) with several small lakes at the lowest valley floors. These lakes received the waters of the Arvand Rud, the river formed by the Kārun, the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers.
The glacial retreat had a profound effect on landscapes in many areas that were covered by ice at the Last Glacial Maximum. Melting of ice on Zagros Mountain range increased river flow into the Karun. The melting of glaciers in Taurus mountains increased river flow in Tigris and Euphrates. These increases expanded the size of the local shallow lakes within the Persian Gulf valley (Fig. 5).
In addition, as the glaciers melted in all over the globe, the ocean water level slowly increased to the present level. The combined sea level change and the expansion of the lakes broke the soil dam at Hormuz (Figs. 4, 5). The water from Gulf Adan intruded into the Persian Gulf valley. Figure 5 shows the lakes in the Persian Gulf Valley 12,000 years ago. It also shows the intrusion of water from Gulf Adan into the valley.
Figure 5: The figure shows the lakes in the Persian Gulf Valley 12,000 years ago. It shows the intrusion of water from Gulf Adan into the valley.
Source: Persian Gulf: The Garden of Eden and the Noah’s Flood
http://stmichaeltraveler.com/2013/07/03/persian-gulf-the-garden-of-eden-and-the-noahs-flood/
The Persian Gulf level in parallel with Gulf Adan steadily rose along with the ocean reaching to today’s level by about 6000 years ago (Figs. 4 and 5). The Persian Gulf valley had a thriving population prior to 12000 years ago. The valley may have supported early humans for over 100,000 years. As the level of water in the valley rose, the population within the valley left the valley for higher grounds and escaping the advancing water. Those who left the valley could have been the ancestors to the Elamites and Dravidians.
b. Caspian Sea Basin
Figure 6: Caspian Sea. During the glacier period, the sea level was low and the passage was narrower. The melting of glaciers created rivers and altered the landscape and altered the Caspian Sea, Ural Sea, and the Black Sea.
Caspian is a closed sea, i.e. it does not have an outlet. The sea level is mostly controlled by inflow from the Caspian watershed and surface evaporation. Among more than 130 rivers or streams that discharge into the Caspian Sea, the Volga River contributes about eighty percent of the water. It enters the Caspian Sea through the Volga delta (Fig. 6). The Ural River flows in from the north, and the Kura River flows into the sea from the west (Figs. 7, 8).
Figure 8: The watershed in the east of Caspian Sea.
The Amu Darya River and the Syr Darya farther to the north had frequently changed course and discharged into the Caspian through a now-desiccated riverbed called the Uzboy River (Fig. 9).
Figure 9: The topography east of Caspian Sea
Figure 1 shows the extent of glacial ice about 20000 years ago. During this period the glaciation reduced parts of western & central Europe to the polar desert. Melting of the glaciated ice did not begin until about 11-12,000 BC. A significant volume of the fresh water released from the melting of the ice flowed into the Caspian watershed. The rivers increased the volume adding to the inflow to the Caspian Sea. Figure 8 shows the size and the extent of Caspian Sea, Black Sea. The water level in the Caspian Sea increased by about 50 meters (160 ft.) above the present-day levels.
Figure 10: The change in the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea before and following the melting of the glaciation.
By 12000 years ago, the Black Sea level increased by some 60 to 70 meters (200 to 230 ft.) 20 meters (66 ft.) below its present-day level. A large segment of the flooded Black Sea Basin was previously forested and had settlements of hunter-gatherer Homo sapiens. The population had to leave the area to escape the flood.
The Post Glaciation Climate
The reason for the migration of Aryans from Iran to other places of the world should be searched in climatic events. At the end of Ice Age, as a result of excessive rainfall on the Alborz and Zagros Mountains and the melting of the ice accumulated on the mountains, the rivers flowing through the Iranian Plateau were much larger than they are today. Therefore there was a large lake in the place where to day is the Central Desert. One of the most interesting mythological texts says in this regard:
"...In the second phase of the creation of the world, Ahura Mazda created the waters, and the waters flowed towards Farakhekrat Sea which covers one third of the world from the southern outskirts of Alborz."
With the continuous warming of the earth and the decrease in rainfall, this lake gradually dried up and the peoples living around it, who had a common language and Aryan culture, was forced to migrate from Iran. The routes of this great migration are an evidence for the central position of Iran, for the Aryan peoples have set Iran as the center and set out on migration in any direction.
- See more at: http://www.iranchamber.com/people/articles/aryan_people_origins.php#sthash.fMrcKgcB.dpuf
The change in the ambient temperature following the maximum glaciation period melted the accumulated ice on the Alborz and Zagros Mountains. The increased water volume poured into the central Iranian Plateau creating the Dasht-e-Kavir lake with an area of about 77,600 km2 (30,000 sq mi). The size of the lake slowly increased over the next 6000 years. The lake stretched from Alborz mountain range in the north-west to the Dasht-e Lut in the south-east.
The reason for the migration of Aryans from Iran to other places of the world should be searched in climatic events. At the end of Ice Age, as a result of excessive rainfall on the Alborz and Zagros Mountains and the melting of the ice accumulated on the mountains, the rivers flowing through the Iranian Plateau were much larger than they are today. Therefore there was a large lake in the place where to day is the Central Desert. One of the most interesting mythological texts says in this regard:
"...In the second phase of the creation of the world, Ahura Mazda created the waters, and the waters flowed towards Farakhekrat Sea which covers one third of the world from the southern outskirts of Alborz."
With the continuous warming of the earth and the decrease in rainfall, this lake gradually dried up and the peoples living around it, who had a common language and Aryan culture, was forced to migrate from Iran. The routes of this great migration are an evidence for the central position of Iran, for the Aryan peoples have set Iran as the center and set out on migration in any direction.
- See more at: http://www.iranchamber.com/people/articles/aryan_people_origins.php#sthash.fMrcKgcB.dpuf
The change in the ambient temperature following the maximum glaciation period melted the accumulated ice on the Alborz and Zagros Mountains. The increased water volume poured into the central Iranian Plateau creating the Dasht-e-Kavir lake with an area of about 77,600 km2 (30,000 sq mi). The size of the lake slowly increased over the next 6000 years. The lake stretched from Alborz mountain range in the north-west to the Dasht-e Lut in the south-east.
About 7,000 years ago the climate changed in the North Africa and Western Iran, it adversely decreased the rain fall and precipitation. The transition to today's arid climate occurred in several periods: from 6,700 to 5,500 years ago, and again a severe change from 4,000 to 3,600 years ago. About 2,200 years ago another abrupt change in the climate had adverse effects on the biomass. According to carbon-14 dating, summer temperatures sharply increased, and precipitation decreased. These adverse climatic events were responsible for changes in the socioeconomic conditions and mass human migration.
The Ice Man, a preserved hunter was exposed to a retreating glacier in the European Alps. He has trapped very abruptly in the glacier ice about 5,200 years ago. About 4,000 years ago the regions in India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh had an abrupt climate change. The climate adversely affected the ancient civilizations in these regions; about 5,200 years ago, the population in these regions abandoned the towns and migrated to the east.
The African Humid Period, during 11,000 to 5,000 years ago, ended abruptly, with Sahara drying back into desert within a span of one to two centuries.
The plot in Figure 11 shows the variations, and relative stability, of climate during the last 12000 years. At any particular site, large changes may occur without correlating to similarly large changes at other sites. The Younger Dryas was a period of cold climatic conditions and drought from 10,900 and 9500 BC. It created a Little Ice Age centered around AD 1700. The forces affecting the climate are many and include the large scale oceans currents. El Niño Southern Oscillation and La Niña cause global changes in both temperatures and rainfall.
The plot in Figure 11 shows the variations, and relative stability, of climate during the last 12000 years. At any particular site, large changes may occur without correlating to similarly large changes at other sites. The Younger Dryas was a period of cold climatic conditions and drought from 10,900 and 9500 BC. It created a Little Ice Age centered around AD 1700. The forces affecting the climate are many and include the large scale oceans currents. El Niño Southern Oscillation and La Niña cause global changes in both temperatures and rainfall.
Figure 11: The change in the average ambient temperature since the end of the last glacial period.
The data sources for the above figure are provided in the following reference.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Holocene_Temperature_Variations.png
A major consequence of low precipitation and the high ambient temperature had adverse effects on terrestrial biomass and the grasslands and forested areas supporting hunter-gatherer Homo sapiens. The abrupt changes in precipitation and prolonged increase in temperature devastated the existing pastoral societies.
Note: Part 2 of this paper evaluates the consequences of the climatic changes on nascent societies.
