Aryan (âr'ēən), [Sanskrit,=noble], term formerly used to designate the Indo-European race or Indo-Iranian subgroup. The Aryans were part of a great migratory movement that spread in successive waves from Russia and Turkistan during the 2nd millennium B.C. They colonized the Punjab region in Pakistan and absorbed much of the indigenous culture. The resulting Indo-Aryan period saw the flourishing of a pastoral-agricultural economy that utilized bronze objects and horse-drawn chariots.