Syriac Language

Syriac language, Semitic language belonging to the Northern Central, or Northwestern, group that was an important Christian literary and liturgical language from the 3rd through the 7th century. Syriac was based on the East Aramaic dialect of Edessa, Osroëne (present-day Şanlıurfa, in southeastern Turkey), which became one of the chief centres of Christianity in the Middle East at the end of the 2nd century.

The earliest Syriac inscriptions date from the first half of the 1st century; the earliest documents not inscribed on stone date from 243.

Because of theological disputes, Syriac-speaking Christians divided during the 5th century into the Church of the East (the so-called Nestorian Church), or East Syrians, under the Persian sphere of influence, and the miaphysite Syriac Orthodox (the so-called Jacobite Church), or West Syrians, under the Byzantine sphere. After this division the two groups developed distinct dialects differing chiefly in the pronunciation and written symbolization of vowels. See also Aramaic language.