Beth Nahrain
Beth Nahrain
This area roughly encompasses almost all of present-day Iraq, parts of southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, and, more recently, northeastern Syria.[2] The Assyrians are considered to be indigenous inhabitants of Beth Nahrain.[3] "Nahrainean" or "Nahrainian" is the Anglicized name for "Nahrāyā" (ܢܗܪܝܐ), which is the Aramaic equivalent of "Mesopotamian".[4]
History
Etymology
While it may be thought that the name is
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:
- Bethnahrain Women's Protection Forces
- Bet-Nahrain Democratic Party
- Bethnahrin Patriotic Revolution Organization
- Bethnahrin Freedom Party
People
The Assyrians (also referred to as Syriacs, Arameans or Chaldeans) view themselves as the native people of Beth Nahrain. They speak different dialects of
Other prominent ethnic groups present in Beth Nahrain include Arabs, Armenians, Yazidis, Turkmen, Persians, Kurds and Turks.
Geography
Beth Nahrain occupies the land between two rivers - referring to the
See also
- Assyria
- Assyrian continuity
- Assyrian homeland
- Fertile Crescent
- Proposals for Assyrian autonomy in Iraq
- Upper Mesopotamia
Notes
References
- ISBN 978-1-57506-180-1.
- ISBN 978-0-7486-8605-6.
- ^ Simo Parpola, Assyrian Identity in Ancient Times and Today, Lecture given at the March 27, 2004 historical seminar of the Assyrian Youth Federation in Sweden (AUF)
- ^ Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies Past and Present Archived May 10, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, Perceptions of Syriac Literary Tradition by Lucas VAN ROMPAY
- ^ Finkelstein, J. J.; 1962. “Mesopotamia”, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 21: 73–92
- ^ Geoffrey Wigoder, The Illustrated Dictionary & Concordance of the Bible, Sterling Publishing (2005).