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1 the Assyrian Linguistic Heritage and Its Survival In 1 THE ASSYRIAN LINGUISTIC HERITAGE AND ITS SURVIVAL IN DIASPORA Efrem YILDIZ University of Salamanca Preamble The following pages will address the problem of linguistic survival among the Assyrian groups who settled in the western world, focusing on how and what kind of methods one could use in the conservation of their language. But, in order to introduce the reader to the language spoken by the Assyrian people it is important to offer a general vision upon their historical situation. History shows, that probably the Assyrian territory was the first where two languages were employed at the same time. Such a phenomenon occurred about three centuries before the fall of the Assyrian Empire. As it is well known, the Neo-Assyrian Empire consisted of a multi-ethnic state which included many peoples and states of different origins1 and it remained as such until the very end of the Empire. Such a multi- ethnic society affords the opportunity for many ethnic minorities to keep and conserve their identities in a macro imperial system. Such cases are mentioned in the legal documents proceeding from Aššur, Nineveh and Dur-Katlimmu dating from the last decades of the Empire, that mention Assyrian citizens with names of different states, that were under the Assyrian power, but which had nothing to do, as some modern author suggests, with ethnic consciousness2. There are cases that could be considered as an exception in those inaccessible areas within the borders of Assyria whose people were not fully under Assyrian control. The case of Babylonia had a special status because of its political features that allowed retaining their traditional institutions and 1 For more information see, J. N. Postage, “Ancient Assyria. A Multi Racial State” in ARAM I/1 (1989) 1- 10; see also S. Parpola, “Assyrian Identity in Ancient Times and Today”, in www.nineveh.com, p. 1-18; H. D. Baker (ed.) The Prosopography of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, vol. 2/II, Helsinki, 2001. 2 Cf. R. Zadok, “The Ethnolinguistic Composition of Assyria Proper”, in the 9th-7th Centuries BC’ in H. Waetzoldt und H. Hauptmann, Assyrien im Wandel der Zeiten, Heidelberg 1997, p. 209-216. 2 administrative infrastructures which permitted them maintaining their ethnic identity3. Beside these cases, it’s certain that the assimilation process and integration was undertaken during centuries. Such is the case of the policy of mass deportations initiated by Ashurnasirpal II, Shalmaneser III, Tiglath-Phileser III and the dynasty of Sargon which completely changed the demographic and linguistic map of the Middle East. A very elevated number of people from all parts of the Assyrian Empire were removed from their homes and settled elsewhere, mainly in the Assyrian heartland. Such mass movements were originally due to the political and economic goals but finally they had much more social, cultural and especially linguistic consequences. Assyrian and Aramaic linguistic coexistence Assyrian and Aramaic languages coexisted due the deportation of many Aramean groups among others, to the Assyrian territory. Many hundreds of thousands of Aramaic speaking people were deported to the Assyrian heartland. Such a phenomenon turned the previously mostly monolingual society of Assyria into a multilingual one. As it is generally accepted, the Aramaic language, after sharing a long period of time with the Assyrian language gradually became the medium of communication among Assyrians4 and other people because of its simplicity. First it started inside the Assyrian administration that used the Aramaic alphabet alongside the cuneiform script. In the administrative documents Aramean scribes are mentioned as employers who were working with Assyrian scribes as early as the eighth century B.C. At the end of the eighth century, the Aramaic alphabet started replacing cuneiform as the Empire’s writing system5, especially for the collection of the taxes. So, the vowel system eclipsed the syllabic one, especially after the rise of the Persian Empire, which, 3 See S. Parpola, “Assyrian Identity in Ancient Times and Today”, p. 3 note 9: “Babylonia de facto became part of Assyria in 731 BC, when Tiglath-Pileser III, following a pattern already set by Shalmaneser III (858-824) and Adad-nerari III (810-783), invaded the country at the invitation of the clergy of Marduk and assumed the kingship of Babylon. Despite several revolts, the country was allowed to remain nominally independent till the end of the Empire. Parts of it (Dur-Sharrukku, Lahiru, Der, Ur and the Sealand) were, however, annexed to Assyria as provinces already in the eighth century, and the whole country was incorporated into the provincial system in 656 at the latest”; cf. G. Frame, Babylonia 689-627 B.C. A Political History, Leiden 1992, p. 271. 4 P. Garelli, “Importance et rôle des Arameens dans l’administration de l’empire assyrien”, in H. J. Nissen - J. Renger, Mesopotamien und seine Nachbarn. Politische und kulturelle Wechselbeziehungen im Alten Vorderasien vom 4. bis 1 Jahrtausend v.Chr., Berliner Beiträge zum Vordern Orient I (1982) 437- 447; H. Tadmor, “Assyria and the West: The Ninth Century and its Aftermath”, in H. Gödicke – J.J. M. Roberts (eds.), Unity and Diversity. Essays in the History, Literature and Religion of the Ancient Near East, Baltimore – London 1975, p. 36-347; I. Eph’al, “The Bukan Aramaic inscription: Historical Considerations”, in Israel Exploration Journal 49 (1999) 116-121. 5 Cf. S. Parpola, The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part I: Letters from Assyria and the West, Helsinki 1987. 3 upon coming to power, adopted not only the Assyrian administration system but also the Aramaic language as their commercial and diplomatic vehicle. In fact the Assyrian people have been bilingual ever since. On the other hand, those groups deported to Assyrian territory were not only integrated into Assyrian society but they were also subjected to an increasing Assyrian influence. It’s well known, that Assyrian royal ideology, religious background and mythology were constantly transmitted to all segments of the population through imperial art, emperor cult worship, religious festivals and the cults of Ištar, Aššur, Sin, Nabû and other Assyrian divinities6. This was the way to convert the annexed provinces into the Assyrian territory and become Assyrian citizens. We could say that, the acculturation process continued for a space of time of more than two centuries and was enhanced by different aspects, like: intermarriages, interaction between all segments of the population in all aspects of daily life, participation in common military expeditions, and business enterprises. These were the main elements that helped the Aramaic language develop into the principle means of communication of the Empire with an increasing use of its Alphabet in its administration. That is why the original heterogeneous population gradually became homogeneous both socially and culturally7. The Assyrians and Bilingualism. Bilingualism within the Assyrian society was the result of a progressive internationalization by the Neo-Assyrian ruling class. This latter class was carefully educated in Mesopotamian literature and culture. The use of the Assyrian cuneiform script became a distinctive marker of their social class, even their means of daily communication was most probably Assyrian Aramaic. It’s said that the royal family inclusive was fully bilingual by the beginning of 7th century B.C. Most of the Assyrian 6 I. J. Winter, “Art in Empire: The Royal Image and the Visual Dimensions of Assyrian Ideology” in S. Parpola – R. M. Whiting (eds.), Assyria 1995. Proceedings of the 10th Anniversary Symposium of the Neo Assyrian Text Corpus Project Helsinki 1997, p. 356-381; B. N. Porter, ‘For the Astonishment of All Enemies: Assyrian Propaganda and its Audiences in the Reins of Ashurnasirpal II and Esarhaddon’, in Bulletin of the Canadien Society for Mesopotamian Studies 35 (2000) 7-18; Id., ‘Assyrian Propaganda for the West: Esarhaddon’s Steal for Til Barsip and Sam’al’, in G. Bunnens (ed.), Essays on Syria in the Iron Age, Ancient Near Eastern Studies Supplement 7, Leiden 2000, p. 133-176. 7 J. N. Postgate,”The Land of Assur and the Yoke of Assur”, in World Archaeology 23/3 (1992) 247-263; see also, O. Pederson, Archives and Libraries in the City of Assur, II, Uppsala 1986. 4 Kings had some Aramaic speaking wives8. Thus, Assyria was in the seventh century divided into two major language groups: Aramaic and Assyrian (Akkadian). During this period the inhabitants of Assyria have become bilingual in general, especially the ruling class. As Parpola underlines, the dichotomy was more social than cultural9. This phenomenon continued till the invasion of the Meds and Elamits who massacred the Assyrian aristocracy and from then onward the Aramaic language became the lingua franca for the whole new empire. Its during this period of coexistence that the Aramaic language takes an impressive list of loanwords from the Assyrian one10. With the fall of Nineveh, Assyrian political power ceased but its people, culture and religion survived. As repeatedly stated, the Achaemenids changed neither the administrative system nor the language. They preferred not to interfere in the internal affairs of their satrapies as long as tribute and taxes were ensured. Moreover, the new aristocracy was significantly assyrianized11, thus no changes were undertaken, and there was no need to change a system that was known to them. The imperial Aramaic just changed the name of the owners but the rest was kept. The Aramaic script was the every day writing system and up to then was called the Assyrian script12. But not only this endured, local religions and cults were retained, as well as the judicial system, the calendar and imperial standards imposed by the Assyrians. These remained in force everywhere13. Such a situation endured till the invasion of the Greeks, when Alexander the Great conquered Assyria and imposed the Seleucid Suzerainty with its active policy of Hellenization but it adopted the administrative methods that were transmitted to the Achaemenids by the Assyrians.
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