''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. 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. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Eup ...

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 in ...

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 * Assyrian ...

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 the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

, 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 in ...

, 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. The Assyrians are considered to be

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

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 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 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 (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 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'� ...

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 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 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 Central Neo-Aramaic languages represent a specific group of Neo-Aramaic languages, that is designated as ''Central'' in reference to its geographical position between Western Neo-Aramaic and other Eastern Aramaic groups. Its linguistic homelan ...

. 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 diasp ...

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 ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ira ...

and

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

Geography

Beth Nahrain occupies the land between two rivers - referring to the

and

. The Tigris-Euphrates river system covers and forms a major river system originating from the

Taurus Taurus is Latin for 'bull' and may refer to: * Taurus (astrology), the astrological sign * Taurus (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac * Taurus (mythology), one of two Greek mythological characters named Taurus * '' Bos tauru ...

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 bod ...

Notes

References

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