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Fragment of a clay tablet from the Library of Ashurbanipal with a single Aramaic letter
Aramaic likely took over as the main spoken language from ~1000 BCE onward, but Akkadian continued to be used in scholarly, admininstrative, and other written contexts cdli.ucla.edu/P336029
Aramaic likely took over as the main spoken language from ~1000 BCE onward, but Akkadian continued to be used in scholarly, admininstrative, and other written contexts cdli.ucla.edu/P336029
Cuneiform tablets from the first millennium BCE sometimes include text in the Aramaic language, either inscribed in Aramaic characters or rendered in cuneiform script.
A receipt for silver from the time of Darius I has Babylonian and Aramaic writing britishmuseum.org/research/colle…
A receipt for silver from the time of Darius I has Babylonian and Aramaic writing britishmuseum.org/research/colle…
A fragment of a contract from the Neo-Assyrian period, perhaps from the time of King Ashurbanipal, is written in cuneiform with Aramaic text on one edge (right side of photo).
Such notes sometimes summarised the contents, almost like the spine of a book britishmuseum.org/research/colle…
Such notes sometimes summarised the contents, almost like the spine of a book britishmuseum.org/research/colle…
A school text from around 500 BCE has the Aramaic alphabet sounded out in cuneiform signs.
Around the same time, scribal students were also learning Greek, but that is a whole other thread... britishmuseum.tumblr.com/post/131211464…
Around the same time, scribal students were also learning Greek, but that is a whole other thread... britishmuseum.tumblr.com/post/131211464…
In a Neo-Assyrian relief from a palace at Nimrud, one scribe is depicted with a clay tablet and stylus, while the other holds a writing implement and scroll.
Aramaic was mostly written on perishable materials like wax writing boards or papyrus.
Aramaic was mostly written on perishable materials like wax writing boards or papyrus.
Interested in early Aramaic and its historical context in the ancient Middle East?
Read about it (and more!) in “The Languages of Iraq, Ancient and Modern” available via @BISI1932 #openaccess bisi.ac.uk/sites/bisi.loc…
Read about it (and more!) in “The Languages of Iraq, Ancient and Modern” available via @BISI1932 #openaccess bisi.ac.uk/sites/bisi.loc…
Correction and clarification: In the first tweet, I wrote that Aramaic takes over around ~1000 BCE as the spoken language, but this is not correct. It takes over in the first millennium BCE, not quite as early as 1000, when it starts "taking root" (Millard). H/t @SethLSanders
If anyone has references for this, please feel free to share!
Adding this to the thread to follow up on my above correction of date of “~1000 BCE” (not correct). Thank you @AANDeloucas!
