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'''Syriac''' is the most important later dialect of the [[AramiacAramaic]] language. It Today it is still used as the language in some [[Syriac Orthodoxy|Syriac Orthodox]] church services. ===History=== The Syriac language originated in the city-state of [[Edessa]] in Northern Syria. It is first recorded in inscriptions written in the monumental [[Estrangelo]] script in the 2nd century BC. All extant literature is Christian. The earliest material dates from the 2nd century AD. Syriac spread widely throughout the Near-East, and into Persia. It was at its widest extent during the 7th century AD. The Arab conquest during that time meant that thereafter it declined and was replaced by Arabic in popular use. The literary period ends in the 13th century, when Syria was devastated by the Mongols. However oral use has continued to our own day. The Syriac dialect of Turoyo is spoken today in the plain of Tur Abdin in South-Eastern Turkey.
During the 6th century the language began to diverge into Eastern and Western dialects. This was related to the ecclesiastical splits of the period following the Council of Ephesus in [[433]] (which condemned the Nestorians) and the Council of Chalcedon in [[450]] (which condemned the monophysites).
As knowledge of Syriac declined, and as pressure from Islam grew, [[Garshuni]] came into existence. This is Arabic, but written using Syriac script, in order to conceal the contents from possible Muslem persecutors.
===Use today===
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{{returnto}} [[Christianity]] -> [[Christian literature, art, music and media]] -> [[Christian literature]] -> [[Ancient Languages Index]]
[[Category:Biblical languages]]
