Who Are We?
Hey guys! Welcome to the first article on the site! So lately I have been thinking: what do I know about being Assyrian? Who are “Assyrian people?” and so what is a girl to do? Research, research, research.
Initially, I found that Mesopotamia (or Bet Nahrain) included a collection of distinct tribes and villages. Assyrians originated from the ancient land of Ashur, which is found in the northern region of Mesopotamia near Nineveh (or modern day Mosul) (Soden & Edzard, N.D). Assyrians are of Semitic descent distinct from Arabic and Jewish people (The Assyrians, 2017). These people have kept a distinct ethnicity throughout their thousands of years of existence (The Assyrians, 2017). Thus, Assyrians are not to be confused with Syrians who descend from a large collection of people groups such as Arabs, Arameans, and Assyrians (Assyria, N.D).
Assyria dates back to the 2nd millennium BCE (Assyria, N.D); their history has been recorded for over 6700 years, spanning most of Iraq’s history. As the years passed, their territory started to dwindle (The Assyrians, 2017). They are native to villages spanning various regions in Iraq, Syria and Turkey. However due to political circumstances and prosecution many were forced to move and live within the diaspora.
Bible History, 2016
They are considered Christians in religion and were one of the earliest communities to accept Christianity into their lives (The Assyrians, 2017). What is the most interesting of all is that they speak Aramaic, which was the language that Jesus spoke (Costa-Roberts, 2015). Due to the separation of villages and their heavy influence of surrounding languages, the dialects of the Assyrian language differ with each village (Costa-Roberts, 2015).
And that is a wrap! Well, I hope you learned something, because I know I did! Please join us every week for something fun and new to learn about. Also, if you have any comments or article topics you would like to contribute, feel free to email us at betnahrainheritage@gmail.com.
Article References:
Bible History [Digital image]. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.bible-history.com/black- obelisk/map-of-ancient-assyria.html
Costa-Robets, D. (2015, March 21). 8 Things You Didn’t Know About Assyrian Christians. Retrieved 2017, June 2, from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/8-things- didnt-know-assyrian- christians/
Mark, J. J. (2014, June 17). Ancient Syria. Retrieved June 5, 2017, from http://www.ancient.eu/syria/
The Assyrians. (2017, May 31). Retrieved June 1, 2017, from http://www.aina.org/articles/assyrians.htm
The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. (N.D). Assyria. Retrieved June 1, 2017, from Https://www.britannica.com/place/Assyria
Von Soden, W. T., Frye, R.N., Edzard, D.O. (N.D) History of Mesopotamia. Retrieved June 2, 2017, from https://www.britannica.com/place/Mesopotamia- historical-region-Asia/Mesopotamia-to-the-end-of-the-Achaemenian- period#toc55448
