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The Aramaeans: the Diachronic Nation of Faith, Culture, and Trade

By: Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis

[ Posted On: 2007-05-17 ]

Several nations became known throughout History thanks to the formation of formidable state or war machines, whereas others became known for their commitment to Culture, Letters, Arts and Philosophy. The Ionian cities – states on the Western coast of today’s Turkey were most honored because of their philosophers, Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes and others, but who is able to name a Spartan philosopher? Some peoples rose to the podium of History due to faraway expeditions and invasions, whereas others never moved beyond the borders of the area in which they found themselves confined. Apparently, the Huns and the Vandals must have been very different than the Etruscans. And the faraway navigating Carthaginians seem to have had nothing in common with the Khammitic Berbers of the Atlas!

Some nations ascended to supremacy and then quickly disappeared, whereas others cover the span of two, three or more millennia. Axumite Abyssinia under Kaleb, a contemporary to Justinian, invaded Yemen, and expanded even further in the north up to Mecca, only to be soon obliterated and let the ‘glory of (its) kings’ (Kebra Negast as is the title of the great epics in Gueze, the Axumite Abyssinian language) be passed on to Gondar, the medieval Abyssinian capital.

Some peoples accept benevolently faiths preached first to others, whereas others diffuse faiths over land and desert routes of trade network that covers thousands of kilometers. When it comes to disregard for state and war machines, and to commitment to faith, culture and trade, we know that we already speak of the Aramaeans.

After settling in the wider area of Mesopotamia at the times of Tiglath Pileser I, they expanded through Syria and Phoenicia to Eastern, Central and even Western Anatolia (the bilingual Lydian / Aramaic inscription from Sardeis is quite telling), to Southern Mesopotamia, Transtigritane, and the southern coasts of the ‘Lower Sea’ as the Assyrians and the Babylonians called the Persian Gulf. Repudiated by the Assyrians but intermingled with the Babylonians, the Aramaeans became a leading force within the Achaemenid Empire of Iran, since the Persians had to cooperate with them in order to outmaneuver eventual Babylonian rebellions. The Aramaeans were present at the court of Darius and Xerxes, and they introduced their Aramaic alphabetic scripture for the writing purposes of the Persian language, leading therefore to the replacement of the Old Achaemenidian Cuneiform scripture that was earlier initiated under strong Babylonian impact.

The imposition of Aramaic writing for the Persian language of the vast empire made of the Aramaic the historically second international language in the History of the Mankind, after the Assyrian – Babylonian. The difference with the Assyrian – Babylonian is that the first international language in the History of the Mankind covered a definitely narrower space (from Egypt to Anatolia, and from Canaan to Transtigritane) although for no less than 1600 years (2100 – 450 BCE). When a Pharaoh had had to write a letter to a Hittite Emperor at Hattushas (at the east of Ankara in today’s Turkey), the Egyptian ruler’s scribes had written the letter in Cuneiform Assyrian – Babylonian.

For shorter time but wider area, Aramaic was used during 1100 years (450 BCE – 650 BCE) from North Africa and Egypt to India and China as trade and faith language and scripture. Many Asiatic scriptures were formed under the impact of the Persian Aramaic alphabetic system. In India, when writing was introduced at the times of Asoka for the two main languages, Sanskrit and Prakrit, two systems of writings were established, one under the impact of the Persian Aramaic scripture. Sogdian and various writing systems in Transoxiana were also formed under strong Aramaic impact.

This cultural impact lasted long and was met in the case of Kushanic and Manicheist Transoxianic (Khotanese) in Christian times. Thanks to Aramaic as international vehicle of communication, Manicheism, Nestorianism (an important Eastern Christian denomination) and later versions of Mithraism were diffused to China, where the last Manicheist temple was still functioning before 150 years with Aramaic as holy language.

It is interesting to see how modern Christian Aramaeans feel the colossal heritage – one could call it ‘historical burden’ – and how they perceive the task of developing a modern culture out of this legacy of which only a part is Christian. That is why we republish here a diachronic spectrum of the Aramaeans as composed by a modern Aramaean scholar, John (Yuhanun) Messo. The text of the article is integral, and the inquisitive reader will find it annotated in the link attached.

The Arameans of Aram-naharaim or The Ancient Syrians of Mesopotamia
By J. Messo (2004)
http://members.home.nl/bnayorom/nederlands/arameans.htm#_ftnref1

The Arameans trace their genealogical lines back to the eponymous ancestor Aram, the son of Shem, the son of Noah (Genesis 10:1, 22). In pre-Christian times, notably between 1150-700 B.C., they played a crucial and decisive role in Mesopotamia and ancient Syria. Due to the advanced scholarship of the past decades, we have become pretty familiar now with their Upper Mesopotamian origins as well as with their many kingdoms and principalities, which they established in the fertile area that has been aptly called "The Cradle of Civilization."

The Aramean civilization as such was primarily structured into clans and tribes whose chiefs governed relatively modest kingdoms, states and principalities. Even though they did not lack the potentiality for higher political aspirations (e.g., demographically the Arameans outnumbered many of the surrounding nations and shared an influential common language), they never united themselves into a politically unified empire or kingdom. Thus it is not from their political achievements that they owe their fame in history. Rather they have become renown for the cultural stamp they left behind by means of their language, i.e. Aramaic, which had a significant impact upon the Near Eastern societies, specially in Mesopotamia and northern Syria, as is well portrayed in the often quoted remarks of Prof. F. Rosenthal a few decades ago:
"[T]he history of Aramaic represents the purest triumph of the human spirit as embodied in language (which is the mind's most direct form of physical _expression) over the crude display of material power. . . Great empires were conquered by the Aramaic language, and when they disappeared and were submerged in the flow of history, that language persisted and continued to live a life of its own ... The language continued to be powerfully active in the promulgation of spiritual matters. It was the main instrument for the formulation of religious ideas in the Near East, which then spread in all directions all over the world ... The monotheistic groups continue to live on today with a religious heritage, much of which found first _expression in Aramaic."

Within a few centuries, though, the Aramean nation was about to become subdued politically by closely related Mesopotamians (Assyrians and neo-Babylonians/Chaldeans); from the sixth century B.C. onwards, however, it was subjected by non-Mesopotamian lords (Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Ottomans/Turks). Their Aramaic language, which advanced to the status of the lingua franca of the entire Near East (primarily in the Persian era), remained nevertheless centuries thereafter in use in the Middle East as we just have noted, once extending as far as Afghanistan on the one hand and Egypt on the other. And, as scholars further observed, despite their first political suppression by the Assyrians, they conquered their conquerors culturally and linguistically; this is often denoted by popular academic expressions such as the "Aramaization of Assyria(ns)" and the "denationalization of Assyria through the Arameans."

In the early days of Christendom the Aramean people converted almost altogether to Christianity when they embraced the Christian Gospel. Quite rapidly, however, the Christian Arameans finally adopted the already existing Greek term ‘Syrians’ as a self-designation for reasons unimportant here. The second Patriarchate after Jerusalem, Antioch, was the seat of their Patriarch. It was in this capital of Roman Syria where the appellation "Christians," as applied to the followers of Jesus Christ, stems from (Acts 11:26). Many missionary projects were initiated from Antioch, notably towards the Mesopotamian region. In this area, the intellectual light of Edessa (Urhoy in Aramaic), famous for its many circulating legends in later centuries and its literary language which evolved from Aramaic (see n.5), saliently shone forth. Considered as "the mother of all cities in Mesopotamia" among early Aramean writers, experts in the field properly called this "Blessed City" the "Centre of Aramean Christendom" and the "Athens of the Aramean world."

In the course of the meantime Christian Aramean history, the unity with the Imperial Church in Byzantium could no longer be maintained in the fifth century. Arameans not only could not consent with the presented definition at Chalcedon (451) regarding the relationship between the humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ. Internally, too, they were facing a serious division between Arameans in the West living under Roman domination (Syriac-Orthodox Church of Antioch) and those in the East under Persian control (Church of the East). Due to external missionary pressures, these communities produced in later times Catholics (e.g., Syriac-Catholics) and Protestants; Maronites and Melkites (adherents of the Byzantine malko, ‘king, emperor’ in Aramaic) also share in a common Aramaic heritage.

Even though the heydays of the Arameans were the fourth till the seventh centuries, when many prolific writers produced a massive literature in Syriac or Edessene Aramaic, from the seventh century onwards they were subjected by the Arab peoples, who rapidly conquered the Mid-East. Due to an unforeseen rapid process of islamization and Arabization, the community declined more and more. Except for a relatively small remnant, Aramaic was quickly superseded by Arabic and many Arameans lost their identity in the increasing ocean of Arabs and Muslims. Noteworthy is further that the ancient Mesopotamian-Greek science (e.g., philosophy, medicine, astronomy) was transmitted to the Arab world primarily by means of the Arameans. However, the masters were finally substituted by their students, whose inherited knowledge was adopted by pre-enlightened Europe. Sadly, this plain fact of Aramean intermediary is still rarely mentioned in most of the modern textbooks.

The 15th century started for the Arameans as one of the most disastrous episodes in their history. The Mongol Timur Lane looted nearly all their cities and villages and decimated the entire Aramean nation in Asia Minor. Aramean survivors withdrew themselves into already populated but isolated mountainous areas, such as the Tur-‘Abdin, in south-eastern Turkey, being another cradle of Aramean Christendom wherein many Syriac-Orthodox have their ancestral roots. In the following centuries Kurdish and Turkic tribes tried to intrude in these regions, which often caused similar destructive effects upon the already badly injured Aramean communities.

In the 19th century the weakened Syriac flock reappeared in the Western picture and the attraction of proselytizing among the Aramean Christians could not be resisted by Catholics and Protestants alike. However, after having faced yet other severe tragedies – particularly in 1894-1896 and the Genocide years of 1914-15, where among other Christians hundreds of thousands of Arameans were explicit victims of an inhuman process of systematic ethnic cleansing in the Ottoman Empire –, a first emigration wave started to the West. 1933 is furthermore a dark year for the ‘Nestorian’ (a.k.a. ‘Assyrian’, see n.4) community when in August of that year a couple of thousand Arameans were innocently slaughtered in Simele, Iraq, by the regime. Further in the 1960s onwards, many Syriac-Orthodox fled the Tur-‘Abdin region, mostly to Europe, due to repeated oppressions of Kurds; whilst the Turkish authorities turned a blind eye towards these atrocities. In the late 1970s Arameans from Syria too, followed by Arameans from Iraq since the first Gulf war (and recently also due to the second one), fled to Western countries.

With regard to the ironical Western missionary enterprises among Christian Arameans in an increased fundamental Muslim environment, one Syriac-Orthodox, writing in the first part of the 20th century, not all too surprising named his book "Whither Christian Missions?" It also has to be noted that in none of the above cases, Western countries have supported the fragile Aramean people in any way whatsoever. Remarkably enough, since its penetration into Mesopotamia (to pursue its own financial interests) and in the brief aftermath of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire during the time of the "Peace Conferences" organized by the League of Nations, the precursor of the United Nations, the ‘Christian’ West (rather European powers) has thus far clearly been more in favor of the Muslims on the expense of the Arameans, the neglected and forgotten indigenous population who at present have lost their homeland living dispersed throughout the world. Since the Allies did make the Aramean people, who finally felt abandoned by them, valuable promises that were never fulfilled, some Aramean writers tried to raise once again the attention of the civilized world to just listen to their heartbreaking stories giving their books (perhaps despaired) titles like "The British Betrayal."

The past three decades the Arameans have developed themselves pretty well on their own, both on spiritual and cultural and even socio-political level. They have founded numerous churches and monasteries in the Diaspora for which many new clergymen and deacons have been consecrated. Also they have established a great number of unions, foundations, associations, and national confederations all united into one transcending umbrella organization known as the Syriac Universal Alliance (SUA). Since 1983 SUA is a representative secular body of the Aramean people, has established good relations with UNESCO and enjoys since 1999 the NGO Special Consultative status with the Economic and the Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC).

Striking is that although having being subjected by foreign peoples in their very own homeland, the Aramean people have always withstood assimilation and acculturation. Indeed, they have been quite able to preserve their ancient old identity throughout their long history. A self-awareness of their Aramean descent is even clearly present in the early writings of famous writers like Ephrem the Syrian (†373), Jacob of Serugh (†521), Jacob of Edessa (†708), Yeshudad from Haditha (†853), Bar Bahlul from Baghdad (fl. 963), Dionysius Bar Salibi (†1171), Bar ‘Ebroyo (†1286), Michael the Great/Elder (†1199) and many others. This Aramean self-reflection also continued in the writings of the early 20th century nationalists like Naoum Fayeq (†1930), and the late Patriarchs of the Syriac-Orthodox of Antioch Aphrem I Barsaum (1887-1933-1957) and Ya‘qub III (1912-1957-1980) until even the current Patriarch Zakka I Iwas (1932-1980-present). The Muslim milieu in which quite a number of Arameans are still living in since the 7th century A.D., has kept alive the awareness of their distinctive identity; although at present they still endure serious external and internal pressures of Turkification, Arabization and Kurdification attempts.

However, as any other Diaspora community the Arameans, too, suffer from the isolation of their homeland today and from the lack of support from a supportive country in safeguarding as many fragments as possible of their ancient old national heritage. Presently, a nostalgic desire to those ancient heydays is stronger than ever among the current generation of Arameans. Hence a multimedia project like The Hidden Pearl, which was realized through a perfect cooperation between the SUA and the Syriac-Orthodox Church of Antioch, among others, is an excellent response from the community to their longing for a firm identity - surely a unique identity to be proud of. But it is the Aramean youth that should understand its moral obligations to both their forbears and offspring. For it certainly is the prime responsibility of the present generation to polish that excavated pearl, make it shine as never before and to pass this invaluable treasure on to the future generations.

Article Source: http://www.afroarticles.com/article-dashboard

About The Author: Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis - is Orientalist, Assyriologist, Egyptologist, Iranologist, Islamologist, Historian and Political Scientist. Dr. Megalommatis, 49, is the author of 12 books, dozens of scholarly articles, hundreds of encyclopedia entries, and thousands of articles. He speaks, reads and writes more than 15, modern and ancient, languages.

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