"The Arameans and their Aramaic language"
Henry Bedros Kiva
The oldest Aramaic writing dates back to the ninth century B.C., while the oldest Canaanite writing dates back to the eleventh century B.C. Some historians specialize in the history of Eastern languages, such as Kaufman.
There are several writings confirming the presence of the Aramaic people in the ancient East since the middle of the third millennium BC under different names (the Sotho / Ahlamo tribes / Arameans), but since the eleventh century BC 0, they began
The Aramaic name spreads in the writings, while the Setic names and Ahlam and Ahlam gradually disappear...
Most historians and linguists consider the Aramaic language to be an independent language from Akkadian, Amorite, and Canaanite, even though they all descend from a common “mother language,” which is the oldest, and of course no one knows its name...
After the attack of the “Sea Peoples” on the East, the Aramaic tribes were able to spread throughout the ancient East and establish a large number of kingdoms in the Syrian Peninsula/Beit Nahrin and in the country of Aram/ancient Syria.
The most important problems in the history of the Arameans:
Firstly, their advanced alphabet was easy and consisted of 22 letters, and was written on animal skins, in contrast to the difficult Akkadian writing (600 inscriptions), which was written on pottery panels. These pottery panels survived while all the Aramaic writings were destroyed except those engraved on the rock!
Secondly - The most important sources for the history of the Arameans are the Akkadian writings, and approximately 70 percent of our information about the spread of the Arameans is thanks to these Akkadian writings.
Third - There is no doubt that Syria, the Jazira, central Iraq, eastern Jordan, and many areas in northern Palestine, the Bekaa Valley, and northern Lebanon were Aramaic, meaning they were settled by the Arameans, and there is historical evidence.
Fourth - Melting the remains of ancient peoples:
1- Al-Jazira Al-Syrian / Nahrima / Beit Nahrin: The Mitnian people established a vast empire that reached west to Aleppo and south to Assyria between 1600 and 1200 BC, but after the spread of the Arameans in 1200 BC, the mention of the Indo-European Mitnian people disappeared! Its remains melted into the Arameans
2- Syria / Aram: The Hittite people spread in Hama and near the city of Samal (the usurping Alexandretta brigade). There are several Hittite writings confirming their presence, especially in Hama, but after the spread of the Arameans, the Hittite writings and Hittite names disappeared. This is proof that the Arameans assimilated. Remnants of the Hittites!
3- Assyria: Aramaic tribes spread throughout all the surrounding regions of Assyria. After the Assyrian victories over the rebellious Aramaic tribes, the Assyrian kings resorted to a policy of captivity and transfer of those tribes.
The rebellion to Assyria, which led to the number of Arameans being superior to the Assyrians in Assyria itself.
Fifth - Is everyone who spoke the Aramaic language an Aramaic?
1- The Aramaic language with its alphabet was a real revolution in ancient history because it allowed the individual to write down in a simplified manner and to transmit to subsequent generations what he wrote and left to him. The Akkadian language was spoken and widespread throughout the ancient East as an official language, but it was difficult to write down and very few were good at writing it down and understanding its writing. The Akkadian language was not spoken in Beit Nahrin, Al-Jazira or Aram!
2 - The Assyrians, despite the spread of the Aramaic language, continued to maintain the Akkadian language as an official language throughout their empire! When the Aramaic tribes in the country of Akkad eliminated Assyrian rule, they preserved
The Akkadian language is an official language! While the Aramaic language became the spoken language throughout their empire, and with time it erased all the eastern languages, including Akkadian, Canaanite, and Hebrew!
3 - The Arameans in the land of Akkad took captive a large portion of the Jewish people in the year 587 BC, and the Jews began to use the Aramaic language that they had learned in the land of Akkad, and after two centuries we see them translating the books of the Torah from Hebrew into the Aramaic language. Not only our Lord Jesus Christ spoke the Aramaic language, but the entire Jewish people for a very long period of time: some Jewish scholars wrote in the Aramaic language in Andalusia in the eleventh century AD! And all Iraqi Jews spoke Aramaic in the twentieth century!
4 - After the Persians occupied the ancient East in 538 BC, they would choose the Aramaic language as the official language throughout their vast empire.
A- We note that the kings of the Armenian people recorded their news in the Aramaic language, and this does not mean that the Aramaic language was spoken by the Armenian people!
B- We have found a large number of Aramaic writings in Afghanistan: This does not mean that the Aramaic people were widespread in Afghanistan or that the Afghan people spoke the Aramaic language: this confirms to us that the Persians used the Aramaic language as an official language and to write down commercial contracts.
C- The Aramaic writings discovered on the island of Elephants on the Nile River confirm to us that the Persian army was communicating
With central authority in the Aramaic language 0 It is unfortunate that some Aramaic thinkers claim that the language
Aramaic was spoken in Egypt!
Conclusion
Greetings to the Syriac scholars who lived in the Middle Ages and left us hundreds of Syriac texts confirming their Aramaic identity and that their mother language was Syriac, synonymous with Aramaic. Unfortunately for us, Syriac language scholars in the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century assigned the term “Aramaic language” to our ancient language and the term “Syriac language” to the Aramaic language that was widespread in Edessa. This is what spread some "misconceptions", and some began to imagine that the Syriac language is other than Aramaic.
Of course, not everyone who spoke the Aramaic language is Aramaic by identity: the Armenian people used the Aramaic language like the Persian people, but they are not Aramaic. All Christians of the East are descended mainly from the Arameans and from some ancient peoples that were completely assimilated with the Arameans: none of the Syriac scholars have claimed in their sources Mitanni, Hittite, Assyrian, Canaanite, or Arab roots!
The attached photo :
A monument to the god Hadad, the god of thunder of our Aramaic ancestors.
1 - We clearly see the two horns, and this is proof that he is an Aramaic god.
2- Under the girdle there is an important Aramaic inscription, “Qasr Kabara Ibn Hadiano.”
3- This writing is in the Aramaic language and the Aramaic alphabet. It was found in Jozana, i.e. Beit Nahrin, and dates back to the middle of the ninth century BC.
4- We will continue to study our scientific history and will preserve our Aramaic identity because we are faithful Syriacs to the identity of our ancestors.
5 - Just a reminder that the name of the god “Hadad” was written with the letter “Ha” in ancient Aramaic writings. But the letter Ha was changed to the letter “Ha” and it began to be written in Aramaic during the Persian era as “Haqad,” and from there it was transferred to the Arabic language: “God” is “Haqad.”
6- Finally, the common family name in our East, “Haddad,” never refers to a profession such as carpenter, but rather refers to the Aramaic god Hadad.
Source: websites