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Syriac is a Semitic language related to Arabic and Hebrew. There are still a few Christian villages in Syria in which Syriac is used. This image is from a page of the Syriac Bible. The Syriac Bible was originally translated from Hebrew during the second century CE. Syriac was one of the languages in which Christian churches in Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon formed their liturgy. While today the liturgy of these churches is in Arabic, Syriac still holds an important place in the history of Christianity in the Middle East.

Map Showing Extent of Kurdish Populated Areas of the Middle East

Name: Page from the Syriac Bible

Material: Paper

Size: Unknown

Date: 464 CE

Place of Origin: Amida (modern Diyarbakir), Turkey

Location: British Library, London, United Kingdom

Source and Registration#: Wikimedia Commons. Link to resource (accessed May 4, 2010).  

Orit Bashkin

Assistant Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History, University of Chicago