Beth Nahrain

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Beth Nahrain (Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ; "the house/land of the rivers") is the Syriac name for Mesopotamia (a Greek-derived word which translates to "the land between the rivers"). It refers to the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in and around the modern-day countries of Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. The Syriac name loosely describes the area of the rivers, not between like the literal Greek term; however both names refer to the same region. The name Bayn Nahrayn is also found in Arabic (Arabic: بين نهرين; "between two rivers").

This area roughly encompasses much of Iraq, Syria, southeast Turkey, Lebanon, western Iran, and northern Jordan. The Assyrians believe they are the indigenous inhabitants of Beth Nahrain. ^[1]

"Nahrainean" or "Nahrainian" is the Anglicized name for "Nahraya", which is the Syriac equivalent of the Greek-derived term "Mesopotamian". ^[2]

[edit] See also

• Aram-Naharaim
• Mesopotamia
• Canaan
• Philistia
• Phoenicia
• Aramaea
• Assyria
• Babylonia
• Akkad
• Sumer
• Chaldea

[edit] References

1. ^ Simo Parpola, Assyrian Identity in Ancient Times and Today, Lecture given at the March 27, 2004 historical seminar of the Assyrian Youth Federation in Sweden (AUF)
2. ^ Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies Past and Present, Perceptions of Syriac Literary Tradition by Lucas VAN ROMPAY