HISTORICAL REFLECTIONS ON THE INDO-IRANIAN PROBLEM (ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE BACTRIA-MARGIANA ARCHAEOLOGICAL COMPLEX)
Keywords:
Iranian plateau, Baluchistan, Indo-Iranians, Rigveda, Avesta, Andronovo culture, steppe nomads, Sappalitepa, DjarkutanAbstract
The Indo-Iranian language, as a linguistic construct, is divided into two branches, the first of which spread in Iran, the second in Northern India. The period when these languages came to these regions is usually considered to be the 2nd millennium BC. No artefacts of the Andronovo type have been found on the territory of Iran and India, however, there are many materials on the presence of these artefacts in Bactria and Margiana on the Iranian plateau and in Baluchistan. At the same time, there is no possibility of observing these materials in the period of the 1st millennium BC. and direct contact with certain Iranian-speaking cultures – the Media and the Achaemenids (or their probable Iron Age ancestors). The Bactria-Margiana archaeological complex is the only intrusive culture that had a direct impact on Iran and Northern India in the 2nd millennium BC, but it cannot be linked with the development of archaeological cultures on the territory of the Iranian plateau in the 2-1 millennia BC. This article provides an in-depth analysis of the Indo-Iranian problem in the context of historical studies based on archaeological and written sources.
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