Beth Nahrain


Beth Nahrain ; is the name for the region known as Mesopotamia in the Syriac language. Geographically, it refers to the areas between and surrounding the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. The Aramaic name also refers to the area around the rivers, not only literally between the rivers.
This area roughly encompasses almost all of present-day Iraq, parts of southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, and, more recently, northeastern Syria. The Assyrians are considered to be indigenous inhabitants of Beth Nahrain. "Nahrainean" or "Nahrainian" is the anglicized name for "Nahrāyā", which is the Aramaic equivalent of "Mesopotamian".

History

Etymology

The Aramaic name has been attested since the adoption of Old Aramaic as the lingua franca of the Neo Assyrian Empire in the 8th century BCE, but the Greek name Mesopotamia was first coined in the 2nd century BCE by the historian Polybius during the Seleucid period and introduced the misnomer that Beth Nahrain strictly referred to the "land between the rivers" rather than the "land of the rivers". The name Bayn al-Nahrayn found in Arabic is a near literal translation of the word Mesopotamia where the Arabic suffix ان -ān introduced another misnomer that Beth Nahrain specifically referred to the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. A more accurate Syriac variant is the name Bêṯ Nahrawwāṯā.

Modern culture

The term "Beth Nahrain" is commonly used by both Eastern and Western Assyrians and acts as a united front for an autonomous Assyrian region. Political and military organizations have developed using the "Beth Nahrain" name, including:
The Assyrians are the indigenous people of Beth Nahrain. They speak different dialects of Neo-Aramaic depending on their geographical location within Beth Nahrain. Today, Assyrians in Iraq and Iran as well as the Khabur River Valley in Syria speak varieties of Northeastern Neo-Aramaic while the Assyrians in Turkey and Syria mainly speak Turoyo, a dialect of Central Neo-Aramaic.
Other prominent ethnic groups present in Beth Nahrain include Arabs, Armenians, Mandaeans, Yazidis, Turkmen, Persians, Kurds and Turks.

Geography

Beth Nahrain encompasses the land between and surrounding the Tigris and Euphrates, and their tributaries. The Tigris-Euphrates river system covers and forms a major river system originating from the Taurus mountains of Eastern Turkey through Syria and Iraq towards the Persian Gulf.