As the language of the Empire, Aramaic was spread during the Achaemenids, as they ruled for two hundred years across an area that extended from Hellas in the west to Indus Valley in the east.
Encompassing the majority of ancient languages common to the Middle East, Semitic languages constituted the main sub-group of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Among these, Akkadian, Phoenician, present-day Arabic and Hebrew, and even Syriac, and most notably Aramaic were the most widely spoken Semitic languages. Having derived its name from Noah’s son Shem, we now learn from clay tablets in Akkadian, monuments of the Persian Empire, and numerous tombs and votive inscriptions belonging to Jews that Semitic languages were spoken in Anatolia from the early 1st millennium BC onwards.
As the language of the Empire, Aramaic was spread during the Achaemenids, as they ruled for two hundred years across an area that extended from Hellas in the west to Indus Valley in the east. Following the reign of Macedon King Alexander the Great (331 BC), who ended the Achaemenid Empire, Phoenician and Aramaic inscriptions were replaced by their Hellenic counterparts over time.
Funerary Stele
Place of Discovery: Dascylium
Language: Aramaic
Date: 5th century BC
Material: Marble
İstanbul Archaeological Museums Collection
“This was erected for the tomb of Al-Naf/Arnapes, son of Sy / Asai. Bel and Nabu (Bel /Marduk) shall let no one do any harm.”
Made of marble, this funerary stele was discovered in the Ancient City of Dascylium (the center of Achaemenid Satrapy during the Persian Empire). Dated to 5th century B.C., it belongs to a stele type known as Anatolian-Persian. It comprises a double-wheeled cart carrying the funerary process and, underneath it, an inscription in Aramaic.
Votive Inscription of Synagogue
Place of Discovery: Andriake (Demre, Antalya)
Language: Hellenic-Hebrew
Date: 5th century AD
Material: Marble
Photograph of Excavation Find
Εὐχὴ Μακεδονίου Ῥωμα[νο]ῦ καὶ τῆς α[ὐτ]οῦ γαμετῆς
Πρόκλης καὶ Ῥωμανοῦ [καὶ] Θεοδότης τῶν αὐτῶν
γονῶν. Εὐλογία καὶ ἰρή[νη] π̣αντὶ τῷ Ἰσραήλ ἀμήν. ש
“The votive offering of Makedonios, the son of Romanos and His (Makedonios) wife Prokle, and their parents Romanos and Theodote. May mercy and peace be upon all (the People) of Israel! Amen! Shalom!”
Of the two thousand Hebrew inscriptions to known to date since Antiquity, 68% is in Hellenic, 18% is in Semitic (a dialect of Hebrew or Aramaic) 12% is in Latin, and 2% is bilingual. This indicates that during the Roman Empire, Hellenic was commonly used among Jews. As seen in this votive inscription, the Jewish community living in Anatolia not only used Hellenic as their alphabet, but also named their children after the Hellenes. In this inscription, only the word “ש”- “shalom” is used from the Semitic language.
