Old Aramaic was the language of the ancient
Aramean tribes. By around 1000 BC, the Arameans had a string of kingdoms in what is now part of Syria,
Lebanon,
Jordan,
Turkey, and the fringes of southern
Mesopotamia (
Iraq). Aramaic rose to prominence under the
Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–605 BC), under whose influence Aramaic became a prestige language after being adopted as a
lingua franca of the empire by
Assyrian kings, and its use was spread throughout
Mesopotamia, the
Levant and parts of
Asia Minor, the
Arabian Peninsula, and
Ancient Iran under Assyrian rule. At its height, Aramaic was spoken in what is now
Iraq, Syria, Lebanon,
Israel,
Palestine, Jordan,
Kuwait, parts of southeast and south central Turkey, northern parts of the Arabian Peninsula and parts of northwest Iran, as well as the southern
Caucasus, having gradually replaced several other related Semitic languages. The scribes of the Neo-Assyrian bureaucracy used Aramaic, and this practice was subsequently inherited by the succeeding
Neo-Babylonian Empire (605–539 BC) and later by the
Achaemenid Empire (539–330 BC). Mediated by scribes that had been trained in the language, highly standardized written Aramaic—named by scholars
Imperial Aramaic—progressively became the
lingua franca of public life, trade and commerce throughout Achaemenid territories. Wide use of written Aramaic subsequently led to the adoption of the Aramaic alphabet and, as
logograms, some Aramaic vocabulary in the
Pahlavi scripts, which were used by several
Middle Iranian languages, including
Parthian,
Middle Persian,
Sogdian, and
Khwarezmian.
Biblical Aramaic was used in several sections of the Hebrew Bible, including parts of the books of Daniel and
Ezra. Aramaic translation of the Bible is known as the
Targum. It was the
language of Jesus, who spoke the
Galilean dialect during his public ministry, and of the
Jerusalem Talmud,
Babylonian Talmud, and
Zohar. According to the Babylonian Talmud (
Sanhedrin 38b), the
language spoken by Adamthe first human in the Biblewas Aramaic. Some variants of Aramaic are retained as
sacred languages by certain religious communities. Most notable among them is
Classical Syriac, the liturgical language of
Syriac Christianity. It is used by several communities, including the
Assyrian Church of the East, the
Ancient Church of the East, the
Chaldean Catholic Church, the
Syriac Orthodox Church, the
Syriac Catholic Church, the
Maronite Church, and also the
Saint Thomas Christians,
Syriac Christians of
Kerala,
India. One of the liturgical dialects was
Mandaic, which besides becoming a vernacular,
Neo-Mandaic, also remained the liturgical language of
Mandaeism. Syriac was also the liturgical language of several now-extinct
gnostic faiths, such as
Manichaeism.
Neo-Aramaic languages are still spoken in the 21st century as a
first language by many communities of
Assyrians,
Mizrahi Jews (in particular, the
Iraqi Jews), and
Mandaeans of the
Near East, with the main Neo-Aramaic languages being
Suret (~240,000 speakers) and
Turoyo (~250,000 speakers).
Western Neo-Aramaic (~3,000) persists in only two villages in the
Anti-Lebanon Mountains in western Syria. They have retained use of the once-dominant lingua franca despite subsequent
language shifts experienced throughout the Middle East.
Periodization Periodization of historical development of Aramaic language has been the subject of particular interest for scholars, who proposed several types of periodization, based on linguistic, chronological and territorial criteria. Overlapping terminology, used in different periodizations, led to the creation of several
polysemic terms, that are used differently among scholars. Terms like: Old Aramaic, Ancient Aramaic, Early Aramaic, Middle Aramaic, Late Aramaic (and some others, like Paleo-Aramaic), were used in various meanings, thus referring (in scope or substance) to different stages in historical development of Aramaic language. Most commonly used types of periodization are those of Klaus Beyer and Joseph Fitzmyer. Periodization of Klaus Beyer: •
Old Aramaic, from the earliest records, to •
Middle Aramaic, from c. 200 AD, to c. 1200 AD •
Modern Aramaic, from c. 1200 AD, up to the modern times Periodization of
Joseph Fitzmyer: •
Old Aramaic, from the earliest records, to regional prominence c. 700 BC •
Official Aramaic, from c. 700 BC, to c. 200 BC •
Middle Aramaic, from c. 200 BC, to c. 200 AD •
Late Aramaic, from c. 200 AD, to c. 700 AD •
Modern Aramaic, from c. 700 AD, up to the modern times Recent periodization of Aaron Butts: •
Old Aramaic, from the earliest records, to c. 538 BC •
Achaemenid Aramaic, from c. 538 BC, to c. 333 BC •
Middle Aramaic, from c. 333 BC, to c. 200 AD •
Late Aramaic, from c. 200 AD, to c. 1200 AD •
Neo-Aramaic, from c. 1200 AD, up to the modern times
Old Aramaic from
Sam'al. The inscription is in the
Samalian language (also considered a dialect). Aramaic's long history and diverse and widespread use has led to the development of many divergent varieties, which are sometimes considered
dialects, though they have become distinct enough over time that they are now sometimes considered separate languages. Therefore, there is not one singular, static Aramaic language; each time and place rather has had its own variation. The more widely spoken
Eastern Aramaic languages are largely restricted to
Assyrian,
Mandean and
Mizrahi Jewish communities in Iraq, northeastern Syria, northwestern Iran, and southeastern Turkey, whilst the severely endangered
Western Neo-Aramaic language is spoken by small Christian and Muslim communities in the Anti-Lebanon mountains, and closely related western varieties of Aramaic persisted in
Mount Lebanon until as late as the 17th century. The term "Old Aramaic" is used to describe the varieties of the language from its first known use, until the point roughly marked by the rise of the
Sasanian Empire (224 AD), dominating the influential, eastern dialect region. As such, the term covers over thirteen centuries of the development of Aramaic. This vast time span includes all Aramaic that is now effectively extinct. Regarding the earliest forms, Beyer suggests that written Aramaic probably dates from the 11th century BC, as it is established by the 10th century, to which he dates the oldest inscriptions of northern Syria. Heinrichs uses the less controversial date of the 9th century, for which there is clear and widespread attestation. The central phase in the development of Old Aramaic was its official use by the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Neo-Babylonian Empire, and Achaemenid Empire. The period before this, dubbed "Ancient Aramaic", saw the development of the language from being spoken in Aramaean city-states to become a major means of communication in diplomacy and trade throughout Mesopotamia, the Levant, and
Egypt. After the fall of the Achaemenid Empire, local vernaculars became increasingly prominent, fanning the divergence of an Aramaic
dialect continuum and the development of differing written standards.
Ancient Aramaic "Ancient Aramaic" refers to the earliest known period of the language, from its origin until it becomes the lingua franca of the
Fertile Crescent. It was the language of the Aramean city-states of
Damascus,
Hamath, and
Arpad. There are inscriptions that evidence the earliest use of the language, dating from the 10th century BC. These inscriptions are mostly diplomatic documents between Aramaean city-states. The alphabet of Aramaic at this early period seems to be based on the
Phoenician alphabet, and there is a unity in the written language. It seems that in time a more refined alphabet, suited to the needs of the language, began to develop from this in the eastern regions of Aram. With increasing Aramean migration eastward, the Western periphery of Assyria became bilingual in Akkadian and Aramean at least as early as the mid-9th century BC. As the Neo-Assyrian Empire conquered Aramean lands west of the
Euphrates,
Tiglath-Pileser III made Aramaic the empire's second official language, and it eventually supplanted Akkadian completely. From 700 BC the language began to spread in all directions but lost much of its unity. Different dialects emerged in Assyria, Babylonia, the
Levant and Egypt. Around 600 BC Adon, a
Canaanite king, used Aramaic to write to an Egyptian
Pharaoh.
Imperial Aramaic Around 500 BC, following the Achaemenid (Persian) conquest of Mesopotamia under
Darius I, Aramaic (as had been used in that region) was adopted by the conquerors as the "vehicle for written communication between the different regions of the vast empire with its different peoples and languages. The use of a single official language, which modern scholarship has dubbed Official Aramaic or Imperial Aramaic, can be assumed to have greatly contributed to the astonishing success of the Achaemenids in holding their far-flung empire together for as long as they did". In 1955, Richard Frye questioned the classification of Imperial Aramaic as an "official language", noting that no surviving edict expressly and unambiguously accorded that status to any particular language. Frye reclassifies Imperial Aramaic as the lingua franca of the Achaemenid territories, suggesting then that the Achaemenid-era use of Aramaic was more pervasive than generally thought. Imperial Aramaic was highly standardised; its orthography was based more on historical roots than any spoken dialect, and the inevitable influence of
Persian gave the language aclarity and robust flexibility. For centuries after the fall of the Achaemenid Empire (in 330 BC), Imperial Aramaic – or a version thereof near enough for it to be recognisable – would remain an influence on the various native
Iranian languages. Aramaic script and – as ideograms – Aramaic vocabulary would survive as the essential characteristics of the
Pahlavi scripts. One of the largest collections of Imperial Aramaic texts is that of the
Persepolis Administrative Archives, found at
Persepolis, which number about five hundred. Many of the extant documents witnessing to this form of Aramaic come from Egypt, and
Elephantine in particular (see
Elephantine papyri). Of them, the best known is the
Story of Ahikar, a book of instructive aphorisms quite similar in style to the biblical
Book of Proverbs. Consensus regards the Aramaic portion of the Book of Daniel (i.e., 2:4b–7:28) as an example of Imperial (Official) Aramaic. Achaemenid Aramaic is sufficiently uniform that it is often difficult to know where any particular example of the language was written. Only careful examination reveals the occasional loan word from a local language. A group of 30 Aramaic documents from
Bactria were discovered, and an analysis was published in 2006. The texts, which were rendered on leather, reflect the use of Aramaic in the 4th century BC Achaemenid administration of Bactria and
Sogdia.
Biblical Aramaic Biblical Aramaic is the Aramaic found in four discrete sections of the
Old Testament: •
Ezra – documents from the Achaemenid period (5th century BC) concerning the restoration of the temple in Jerusalem. •
Daniel – five tales and an apocalyptic vision. •
Jeremiah 10:11 – a single sentence in the middle of a Hebrew text denouncing idolatry. •
Genesis – translation of a Hebrew place-name. Biblical Aramaic is a somewhat hybrid dialect. It is theorized that some Biblical Aramaic material originated in both Babylonia and Judaea before the fall of the Achaemenid dynasty. Biblical Aramaic presented various challenges for writers who were engaged in early
Biblical studies. Since the time of
Jerome of Stridon, Aramaic of the
Bible was named as "Chaldean" (Chaldaic, Chaldee). That label remained common in early
Aramaic studies, and persisted into the 19th century. The "
Chaldean misnomer" was eventually abandoned, when modern scholarly analyses showed that Aramaic dialect used in the Hebrew Bible was not related to
ancient Chaldeans and their language.
Post-Achaemenid Aramaic bearing an Aramaic language inscription (Greek and Aramaic) by the
Indian king
Ashoka, 3rd century BC at
Kandahar,
Afghanistan with
Targum intercalated between verses of Hebrew text The fall of the Achaemenid Empire and its replacement with the newly created political order, imposed by
Alexander the Great and his
Hellenistic successors, marked an important turning point in the history of Aramaic language. During the early stages of the post-Achaemenid era, public use of Aramaic language was continued, but shared with the newly introduced
Greek language. By 300 BC all the main Aramaic-speaking regions came under political rule of the newly created Seleucid Empire that promoted
Hellenistic culture and favored
Greek language as the main language of public life and administration. During the 3rd century BC, Greek overtook Aramaic in many spheres of public communication, particularly in highly Hellenized cities throughout the Seleucid domains. However, Aramaic continued to be used in its post-Achaemenid form among upper and literate classes of native Aramaic-speaking communities and also by local authorities (along with the newly introduced Greek). Post-Achaemenid Aramaic, that bears a relatively close resemblance to that of the Achaemenid period, continued to be used up to the 2nd century BC. By the end of the 2nd century BC, several variants of Post-Achaemenid Aramaic emerged, bearing regional characteristics. One of them was Hasmonaean Aramaic, the official administrative language of
Hasmonaean Judaea (142–37 BC), alongside Hebrew, which was the language preferred in religious and some other public uses (coinage). It influenced the Biblical Aramaic of the
Qumran texts, and was the main language of non-biblical theological texts of that community. The major
Targums, translations of the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic, were originally composed in Hasmonaean Aramaic. It also appears in quotations in the
Mishnah and
Tosefta, although smoothed into its later context. It is written quite differently from Achaemenid Aramaic; there is an emphasis on writing as words are pronounced rather than using etymological forms. The use of
written Aramaic in the Achaemenid bureaucracy also precipitated the adoption of Aramaic(-derived) scripts to render a number of
Middle Iranian languages. Moreover, many common words—including pronouns, particles, numerals, and auxiliaries—continued to be written as Aramaic "words" even when writing Middle Iranian languages. In time these Aramaic "words" became disassociated from the Aramaic language and came to be understood as
signs (i.e.
logograms), much like the symbol '&' is read as "and" in English and the original Latin
et is now no longer obvious. Under the early 3rd-century BC
Parthian Arsacids, whose government used Greek but whose native language was
Parthian, the Parthian language and its Aramaic-derived writing system both gained prestige. This in turn also led to the adoption of the name '
pahlavi' ( Jewish Middle Babylonian is the language employed by Jewish writers in Babylonia between the 4th and 11th century. It is most commonly identified with the language of the Babylonian Talmud (which was completed in the seventh century) and of post-Talmudic
Geonic literature, which are the most important cultural products of Babylonian Judaism. The most important epigraphic sources for the dialect are the hundreds of
incantation bowls written in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic.
Mandaic Aramaic Classical Mandaic, used as a liturgical language by the Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran, is a sister dialect to Jewish Babylonian Aramaic, though it is both linguistically and culturally distinct. It is the language in which the Mandaeans'
gnostic religious literature was composed. It is characterized by a highly phonetic orthography and does not make use of vowel diacritics.
Western Middle Aramaic The dialects of Old Western Aramaic continued with
Nabataean, Jewish Palestinian (in
Hebrew "square script"), Samaritan Aramaic (in the
Old Hebrew script), and Christian Palestinian (in
Syriac Estrangela script). Of these four, only Jewish Palestinian continued as a written language.
Samaritan Aramaic Samaritan Aramaic is earliest attested by the documentary tradition of the
Samaritans that can be dated back to the 4th century. Its modern pronunciation is based on the form used in the 10th century.
Roman Judea In 135, after the
Bar Kokhba revolt, many Jewish leaders, expelled from Jerusalem, moved to Galilee. The Galilean dialect thus rose from obscurity to become the standard among Jews in the west. This dialect was spoken in the surrounding region as well. It is the linguistic setting for the
Jerusalem Talmud (completed in the 5th century), Palestinian
targumim (Jewish Aramaic versions of scripture), and
midrashim (biblical commentaries and teaching). The standard
vowel pointing for the Hebrew Bible, the Tiberian system (7th century), was developed by speakers of the Galilean dialect of Jewish Middle Palestinian. Classical Hebrew vocalisation, therefore, in representing the Hebrew of this period, probably reflects the contemporary pronunciation of this Aramaic dialect. Middle Judaean Aramaic, the descendant of Old Judaean Aramaic, was no longer the dominant dialect, and was used only in southern Judaea (the variant Engedi dialect continued throughout this period). Likewise, Middle East Jordanian Aramaic continued as a minor dialect from Old East Jordanian Aramaic. The inscriptions in the synagogue at
Dura-Europos are either in Middle East Jordanian or Middle Judaean.
Christian Aramaic in the Levant This was the language of the Christian
Melkite (Chalcedonian) community, predominantly of Jewish descent, in Palestine, Transjordan and Sinai from the 5th to the 8th century. As a liturgical language, it was used up to the 13th century. It is also been called "Melkite Aramaic", "Syro-Palestinian" and "Palestinian Syriac". The language itself comes from Old Western Aramaic, but its writing conventions were based on the Aramaic dialect of Edessa, and it was heavily influenced by Greek. For example, the name Jesus, Syriac
īšū‘, is written
īsūs, a transliteration of the Greek form, in Christian Palestinian.
Modern Aramaic in the
Near East As the Western Aramaic dialects of the Levant have become nearly extinct in non-liturgical usage, the most prolific speakers of Neo-Aramaic languages in the 21st century are Eastern Aramaic speakers, the most numerous being the
Central Neo-Aramaic and
Northeastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA) speakers of Mesopotamia. This includes speakers of the Assyrian (235,000 speakers) and Chaldean (216,000 speakers) varieties of
Suret, and
Turoyo (112,000 to 450,000 speakers). Having largely lived in remote areas as insulated communities for over a millennium, the remaining speakers of modern Aramaic dialects, such as the Arameans of the
Qalamoun Mountains,
Assyrians,
Mandaeans and
Mizrahi Jews, escaped the linguistic pressures experienced by others during the large-scale
language shifts that saw the proliferation of other tongues among those who previously did not speak them, most recently the
Arabization of the Middle East and North Africa by
Arabs beginning with the
early Muslim conquests of the seventh century.
Modern Eastern Aramaic Modern Eastern Aramaic exists in a wide variety of dialects and languages. There is significant difference between the Aramaic spoken by
Assyrians,
Mizrahi Jews, and Mandaeans, with mutually unintelligible variations within each of these groups. The Christian varieties of Northeastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA) are often called "Assyrian", "Chaldean" or "Eastern Syriac", and are spoken by the Assyrians in northern Iraq, northeast Syria, southeast Turkey, northwest Iran, and in the
diaspora. However, they also have roots in numerous previously unwritten local Aramaic varieties and, in some cases, even contain
Akkadian influences. These varieties are not purely the direct descendants of the language of
Ephrem the Syrian, which was
Classical Syriac. The
Judeo-Aramaic languages are now mostly spoken in Israel, and most are facing extinction. The Jewish varieties that have come from communities that once lived between
Lake Urmia and
Mosul are not all mutually intelligible. In some places, for example
Urmia, Christian Assyrians and Mizrahi Jews speak mutually unintelligible varieties of Northeastern Neo-Aramaic in the same place. In others, the
Nineveh Plains around Mosul for example, the varieties of these two ethnicities are similar enough to allow conversation. Modern
Central Neo-Aramaic, being in between Western Neo-Aramaic and Northeastern Neo-Aramaic, is generally represented by Turoyo, the language of the Assyrians/Syriacs of
Tur Abdin. A related Neo-Aramaic language,
Mlaḥsô, has recently become extinct.
Mandaeans living in the
Khuzestan province of Iran and scattered throughout Iraq, speak
Neo-Mandaic. It is quite distinct from any other Aramaic variety. Mandaeans number some 50,000–75,000 people, but it is believed Neo-Mandaic may now be spoken fluently by as few as 5,000 people, with other Mandaeans having varying degrees of knowledge.
Modern Western Aramaic Very little remains of Western Aramaic. Its only remaining vernacular is
Western Neo-Aramaic, which is still spoken in the Aramean villages of
Maaloula and
Jubb'adin on Syria's side of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, as well as by some people who migrated from these villages, to
Damascus and other larger towns of Syria.
Bakh'a was completely destroyed during the
Syrian civil war and all the survivors fled to other parts of Syria or to Lebanon. All these speakers of modern Western Aramaic are fluent in Arabic as well. Other Western Aramaic languages, like
Jewish Palestinian Aramaic and Samaritan Aramaic, are preserved only in liturgical and literary usage. ==Geographic distribution==