An Anthropological Inquiry into the Social Changes in the Historical System of Social Stratification in Iranian and Indian Societies according to Avesta, Shahnameh and Rigveda

This study aimed to compare, from a historical-anthropological perspective, the social changes in the system of social classes (known as caste in India), in the two societies of Iran and India according to three books; Rigveda, Avesta, and Ferdowsi's Shahnameh. History of social stratification in these two ancient societies dated back to the newly arrived Aryan immigrants which created two similar social structures in both countries. Although several sources state that the Aryans were nomadic and herding people; it is hard to believe that there was no social class within them. Because the Rigveda hymns, the oldest Hindu religious book, briefly but explicitly refers to three different classes in the Aryan community, namely Brahman, Rajaniya, and Waiziya, forming the basis for the development of the upper classes of the Aryan community. This division can also have been seen in the Avesta (Zoroastrians' holy book) with the names of Atharvan, Rashtashtro and Vasteria, and in Shahnameh, they are with the names of Kartozian, Nisarian, Bodudi and Ahtokhoshi. According to the Rigveda, social classes in India are very similar to those in Iranian, indicating that both class systems had a common origin. This finding is drawn from the similarities seen between Avesta and Rigveda, confirming that the migration of Aryans to India was a gradual migration from Iran.