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''Beth Nahrain'' ( syc, ܒܝܬ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, Bêṯ Nahrīn, ); "between (two) rivers") is the name for the region known as
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...
in the
Syriac language The Syriac language (; syc, / '), also known as Syriac Aramaic (''Syrian Aramaic'', ''Syro-Aramaic'') and Classical Syriac ܠܫܢܐ ܥܬܝܩܐ (in its literary and liturgical form), is an Aramaic language, Aramaic dialect that emerged during ...
. Geographically, it refers to the areas between and surrounding the
Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...
and
Tigris The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...
rivers (as well as their tributaries). The
Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated i ...
name also refers to the area ''around'' the rivers, not only literally between the rivers. The area is considered by
Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyri ...
s as their
homeland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethn ...
. This area roughly encompasses almost all of present-day
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, parts of southeastern
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
, northwestern
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, and, more recently, northeastern
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. 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

While it may be thought that the name is calqued from ''Mesopotamia'' ( grc, Μεσοποταμία), the opposite is more probable. The Aramaic name has been attested since the adoption of
Old Aramaic Old Aramaic refers to the earliest stage of the Aramaic language, known from the Aramaic inscriptions discovered since the 19th century. Emerging as the language of the city-states of the Arameans in the Levant in the Early Iron Age, Old Aramaic ...
as the
lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
of the
Neo Assyrian Empire The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the fourth and penultimate stage of ancient Assyrian history and the final and greatest phase of Assyria as an independent state. Beginning with the accession of Adad-nirari II in 911 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire grew t ...
in the 8th century BCE,Finkelstein, J. J.; 1962. “Mesopotamia”, ''Journal of Near Eastern Studies'' 21: 73–92 but the Greek name ''Mesopotamia'' was first coined in the 2nd century BCE by the historian
Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...
during the
Seleucid The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...
period.Geoffrey Wigoder, ''The Illustrated Dictionary & Concordance of the Bible'',
Sterling Publishing Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. is a publisher of a broad range of subject areas, with multiple imprints and more than 5,000 titles in print. Founded in 1949 by David A. Boehm, Sterling also publishes books for a number of brands, including AA ...
(2005).
The name ''Bayn al-Nahrayn'' is also found in
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
(, "between the two rivers"). Other, less common Classical Syriac variants of the name include ''Bêṯ Nahrawwāṯā'' (, "between the rivers") and ''Meṣʿaṯ Nahrawwāṯā'' (, "the middle of the rivers").


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 The Bethnahrain Women's Protection Forces ( syc, ܚܝܠܘ̈ܬܐ ܕܣܘܬܪܐ ܕܢܫ̈ܐ ܕܒܝܬ ܢܗܪܝܢ, translit=Ḥaylawotho d'Sutoro d'Neshe d'Beth Nahrin; HSNB) is an all-female Assyrian military and police organization based in al-Qahtan ...
*
Bet-Nahrain Democratic Party The Bet-Nahrain Democratic Party ( syr, ܓܒܐ ܕܝܡܘܩܪܛܝܐ ܕܒܝܬ ܢܗܪܝܢ, Gaba Demoqrataya d-Bet-Nahrain), usually abbreviated as BNDP is an Assyrian political party in Iraq led by Romeo Nissan Hakkari. One of the party's goals is to ...
*
Bethnahrin Patriotic Revolution Organization The Bethnahrin National Council or Mesopotamia National Council ( syc, ܡܘܬܒܐ ܐܘܡܬܝܐ ܕܒܝܬܢܗܪܝܢ, Mawtbo Umthoyo d'Bethnahrin}, MUB), formerly the Bethnahrin Freedom Party ( syc, ܓܒܐ ܕܚܐܪܘܬܐ ܕܒܝܬܢܗܪܝܢ, Gabo d'� ...
* 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
Neo-Aramaic The Neo-Aramaic or Modern Aramaic languages are varieties of Aramaic that evolved during the late medieval and early modern periods, and continue to the present day as vernacular (spoken) languages of modern Aramaic-speaking communities. Withi ...
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 Northeastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA) is a grouping of related dialects of Neo-Aramaic spoken before World War I as a vernacular language by Jews and Christians between the Tigris and Lake Urmia, stretching north to Lake Van and southwards to Mosul an ...
while the Assyrians in Turkey and Syria mainly speak
Turoyo Turoyo ( syr, ܛܘܪܝܐ) (''Ṭūr ‘Abdinian Aramaic''), also referred to as modern Surayt ( syr, ܣܘܪܝܬ), or modern Suryoyo ( syr, ܣܘܪܝܝܐ), is a Central Neo-Aramaic language traditionally spoken in the Tur Abdin region in southeas ...
, a dialect of Central Neo-Aramaic. Other prominent ethnic groups present in Beth Nahrain include
Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
,
Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...
,
Yazidis Yazidis or Yezidis (; ku, ئێزیدی, translit=Êzidî) are a Kurmanji-speaking endogamous minority group who are indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. The ma ...
, Turkmen,
Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...
,
Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...
and Turks.


Geography

Beth Nahrain occupies the land between two rivers - referring to the
Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...
and
Tigris The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...
. 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 The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...
.


See also

*
Assyria Assyria ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...
*
Assyrian continuity Assyrian continuity is the theory of continuity between the modern Assyrian people, an indigenous ethnic minority in the Middle East, and the people of ancient Assyria. Assyrian continuity is a key part of the identity of the modern Assyrian pe ...
*
Assyrian homeland The Assyrian homeland, Assyria ( syc, ܐܬܘܪ, Āṯūr or syc, ܒܝܬ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, Bêth Nahrin) refers to the homeland of the Assyrian people within which Assyrian civilisation developed, located in their indigenous Upper Mesopotamia. T ...
*
Fertile Crescent The Fertile Crescent ( ar, الهلال الخصيب) is a crescent-shaped region in the Middle East, spanning modern-day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and Jordan, together with the northern region of Kuwait, southeastern region of ...
*
Proposals for Assyrian autonomy in Iraq Since the early 20th century several proposals have been made for the establishment of an autonomous area or a independent state for the Syriac-speaking Assyrians in northern Iraq. Historical proposals * Urmia Manifesto of the United Free Assyri ...
*
Upper Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia is the name used for the uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, the region has been ...


Notes


References

{{reflist Divided regions Cultural regions Geographic history of Syria Aramaic words and phrases Assyrian geography arc:ܒܝܬ ܢܗܪܝܢ