Assyrian continuity

Assyrian continuity is the study of continuity between the modern Assyrian people, an indigenous ethnic minority in the Middle East, and the people of ancient Assyria and Mesopotamia in general. Assyrian continuity is a key part of the identity of the modern Assyrian people. No archaeological, genetic, linguistic or written historical evidence exists of the original Assyrian and Mesopotamian population being exterminated, removed or replaced in the aftermath of the fall of the Assyrian Empire, modern contemporary scholarship almost unilaterally supports Assyrian continuity, recognizing the modern Assyrians as descendants of the East Aramaic-speaking populations of the Neo-Assyrian Empire and Mesopotamia in general, which were composed of both the old native Assyrian population and of settlers in the Assyrian heartland. Due to a long-standing shortage of sources beyond the Bible and some works by classical authors, many western historians prior to the early 19th century believed Assyrians to have been completely annihilated. Modern Assyriology has increasingly and successfully challenged this perception; today, Assyriologists recognize that Assyrian culture and people clearly survived the violent fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The last period of ancient Assyrian history is now regarded to be the long post-imperial period, during which the Akkadian language gradually went extinct but other aspects of Assyrian culture, such as religion, traditions, and naming patterns, survived in a reduced but highly recognizable form before giving way to Christianity. The extinction of Akkadian and its replacement with Aramaic does not reflect the disappearance of the original Assyrian population; Aramaic was used not only by settlers but was also adopted by native Assyrians and Babylonians, in time even becoming used by the royal administration itself. In fact, the new language of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the Imperial Aramaic, was itself a creation of the empire and its people, and with its retention of an Akkadian grammatical structure and Akkadian words, is distinct from the Aramaic of the Levant.

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Related concepts (10)

Christianity in Iraq

The Christians of Iraq are considered to be one of the oldest continuous Christian communities in the world. The vast majority of Iraqi Christians are indigenous Eastern Aramaic-speaking ethnic Assyrians who are descent from ancient Assyria, and follow the Syriac Christian tradition. Some are also known by the name of their religious denomination as well as their ethnic identity, such as Chaldo-Assyrians, Chaldean Catholics or Syriacs (see Terms for Syriac Christians).

Assyrian nationalism

Assyrian nationalism is a movement of the Assyrian people that advocates for independence or autonomy within the regions they inhabit in northern Iraq, northeastern Syria, northwestern Iran, and southeastern Turkey. The Assyrian people claim descent from those who established the Mesopotamian Assyrian civilization and empire which was centered in Ashur, modern day Iraq, which at its height, covered the Levant and Egypt, as well as portions of Anatolia, Arabia and modern-day Iran and Armenia.

Assyrians in Syria

Assyrians in Syria (ܐܬܘܪܝܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܐ, الآشوريون في سوريا) are an ethnic and linguistic minority that are indigenous to Upper Mesopotamia, the north-eastern half of Syria. Syrian-Assyrians are people of Assyrian descent living in Syria, and those in the Assyrian diaspora who are of Syrian-Assyrian heritage. They live primarily in Al-Hasakah Governorate, with a significant presence in Hasakah city and the cities of Qamishli, Malikiyah, Ras al-Ayn, and Qahtaniyah, as well as in Tell Tamer and nearby villages.