Armazic (also called Armazian) is an extinct written

Aramaic language Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient Syria (region), region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai Peninsula, Sinai, Southeastern Anatolia Regi ...

used as a language of administration in the

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...

in the first centuries AD. Both the Armazic language and script were related to the Aramaic of northern

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

. The name "Armazic" was introduced by the Georgian scholar Giorgi Tsereteli in reference to Armazi, an ancient site near

Mtskheta Mtskheta ( ka, მცხეთა} ) is a city in the Mkhare, region of Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Georgia (country), Georgia. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is locat ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, where several specimens of a local idiom of written Aramaic have been found, most famous among them the Stele of Serapeitis, bilingual in Greek. Beyond several sites in eastern Georgia, an Armazic-type inscription is also present on the temple of Garni in

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. The latest specimen of Armazic is an inscription of a 3rd-century plate from Bori, Georgia.

References

{{authority control Aramaic languages Languages of Iran Extinct languages of Asia Languages of Georgia (country) Languages attested from the 1st century Languages extinct in the 2nd century