The Vikings Are Originally From Iran: A Historical, Scientific, and Cultural Truth

By Bobby Darvish

The idea that the Vikings trace their roots back to ancient Iran may sound radical to some, but it is increasingly supported by historical evidence, cultural parallels, and even modern DNA science. Dr. Roy Casagranda, a respected political scientist and historian, has boldly stated that the Vikings originally come from Iran, and his assertion aligns with ancient Persian, Viking, and Germanic traditions alike. What was once seen as a fringe theory is now steadily moving into the realm of accepted history.

First, ancient Persian records speak clearly of northern warrior tribes who migrated across the Eurasian steppes into Europe. These tribes — known to the Greeks as the Scythians and to the Persians as the Saka — were skilled horsemen and fierce warriors. The Scythians, Sarmatians, and Alans were Iranic-speaking peoples whose cultural footprint stretched from the Iranian plateau into what is now Eastern Europe. Their movements and genetic contributions to the peoples of Europe are well documented.

Similarly, Norse mythology itself hints at an eastern origin. The legendary account from Ynglinga Saga by Snorri Sturluson describes the god-king Odin as coming "out of Asia" — a place he called Asaland — before leading his people into Scandinavia. Scholars have long debated the meaning of "Asia" in this context, but it makes sense when understood through the lens of Iranian and Eurasian migrations.

Adolf Hitler himself, despite his monstrous political legacy, believed that the Nordic Aryans had their original homeland in the East — specifically, in what was once ancient Iran and parts of Central Asia. He described the Aryan as a masterful race originating not in Germany, but in ancient lands to the southeast of Europe, later migrating north and west to establish the Germanic and Norse tribes.

Modern genetic studies further validate this narrative. Research shows that haplogroups associated with Indo-Iranian peoples — particularly R1a, common among ancient Iranians — are heavily present in Scandinavia, Germany, and Eastern Europe. This same genetic signature connects modern Persians, Northern Europeans, and Germans in a direct biological line, proving that migrations out of Iran and Central Asia heavily shaped the gene pools of Viking and Germanic peoples (Allentoft et al., 2015).

Even cultural elements show remarkable similarity: reverence for the warrior ethos, elaborate burial mounds, the use of solar symbols, and concepts of honor, destiny, and blood oaths are shared deeply between ancient Iranians and Viking cultures.

Thus, Dr. Roy Casagranda’s statement is not merely a provocative idea — it is a historical reality backed by ancient records, Nordic legends, national beliefs expressed even by controversial figures like Hitler, and the cutting-edge findings of modern genetics. The story of the Vikings is not purely a northern tale of isolated development but rather part of the grand epic of Iranian and Indo-European expansion across the world.

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Citations:

1. Casagranda, R. (2024). Origins of the Vikings. Lecture Series, Austin Community College.

2. Sturluson, S. (13th Century). Ynglinga Saga. In Heimskringla.

3. Hitler, A. (1925). Mein Kampf. Translations vary, discussion of Aryan origins referenced in Volume 1, Chapter 11.

4. Allentoft, M. E., et al. (2015). "Population genomics of Bronze Age Eurasia." Nature 522, 167–172. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14507

5. Mallory, J.P. (1989). In Search of the Indo-Europeans: Language, Archaeology and Myth. Thames & Hudson.

6. Kuz'mina, E. E. (2007). The Origin of the Indo-Iranians. Brill Academic Publishers.