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90-580: Yamhad ( Yamḫad ) was an ancient Semitic-speaking kingdom centered on Ḥalab ( Aleppo ) in Syria . The kingdom emerged at the end of the 19th century BC and was ruled by the Yamhad dynasty , who counted on both military and diplomacy to expand their realm. From the beginning of its establishment, the kingdom withstood the aggressions of its neighbors Mari , Qatna and the Old Assyrian Empire , and

180-604: A branch of the Northwest Semitic languages included Edomite , Hebrew , Ammonite , Moabite , Phoenician ( Punic / Carthaginian ), Samaritan Hebrew , and Ekronite . They were spoken in what is today Israel and the Palestinian territories , Syria , Lebanon , Jordan , the northern Sinai Peninsula , some northern and eastern parts of the Arabian Peninsula , southwest fringes of Turkey , and in

270-401: A category of state, the indefinite state being expressed by nunation . Ishi-Addu Išḫi-Addu or Ishi-Addu was king of Qatna in the first half of the 18th century BC. He is known for his correspondences with Shamshi-Adad I of Assyria who was his closest ally. Qatna was at its height during Išḫi-Addu's reign, which was, however, plagued with revolts in the southern parts of

360-629: A comparative analysis of Hebrew, Arabic, and Aramaic was published in Latin in 1538 by Guillaume Postel . Almost two centuries later, Hiob Ludolf described the similarities between these three languages and the Ethiopian Semitic languages . However, neither scholar named this grouping as "Semitic". The term "Semitic" was created by members of the Göttingen school of history , initially by August Ludwig von Schlözer (1781), to designate

450-480: A gateway between the eastern Iranian plateau and the Aegean region in the west. Yamhad worshiped the traditional Northwest Semitic deities, and the capital Halab was considered a holy city among the other Syrian cities as a center of worship for Hadad , who was regarded as the main deity of northern Syria. Little of Halab has been excavated by archaeologists, as Halab was never abandoned during its long history and

540-437: A literary language of early Christianity in the third to fifth centuries and continued into the early Islamic era. The Arabic language, although originating in the Arabian Peninsula , first emerged in written form in the 1st to 4th centuries CE in the southern regions of The Levant . With the advent of the early Arab conquests of the seventh and eighth centuries, Classical Arabic eventually replaced many (but not all) of

630-571: A much more modest army was sent under command from generals who were put in the service of Išḫi-Addu in c. 1781 BC. The Assyrian troops avoided engaging Yamhad and did not participate in its war with Qatna while Išḫi-Addu took up residence in Qadeš to oversee the suppression of the rebellion, which apparently was supported by Yamhad. A fortress near lake Qattinah was named after the king "Dur-Išḫi-Addu". The archive of Mari contains many letters from Išḫi-Addu to Shamshi-Adad and his sons; in one of them,

720-466: A number of languages, including Amharic and Tigrinya . With the expansion of Ethiopia under the Solomonic dynasty , Amharic, previously a minor local language, spread throughout much of the country, replacing both Semitic (such as Gafat ) and non-Semitic (such as Weyto ) languages, and replacing Ge'ez as the principal literary language (though Ge'ez remains the liturgical language for Christians in

810-453: A peace treaty between Assyria and Yarim-Lim I , son of Sumu-Epuh; Išḫi-Addu, who in the past declared that "even if Shamshi-Adad would conclude peace with Sumu-epuh, I will never make peace with Sumu-epuh, as long as I live!", was delivered a heavy blow. The sources of Mari are silent on how the king dealt with the situation that resulted from Shamshi-Adad's peace with Yamhad, and by the time they resumed mentioning Qatna in c. 1772 BC, Išḫi-Addu

900-422: A question of transcription; the exact pronunciation is not recorded. Most of the attested languages have merged a number of the reconstructed original fricatives, though South Arabian retains all fourteen (and has added a fifteenth from *p > f). In Aramaic and Hebrew, all non-emphatic stops occurring singly after a vowel were softened to fricatives, leading to an alternation that was often later phonemicized as

990-652: A result of the loss of gemination. In languages exhibiting pharyngealization of emphatics, the original velar emphatic has rather developed to a uvular stop [q] . Note: the fricatives *s, *z, *ṣ, *ś, *ṣ́, and *ṱ may also be interpreted as affricates (/t͡s/, /d͡z/, /t͡sʼ/, /t͡ɬ/, /t͡ɬʼ/, and /t͡θʼ/). Notes: The following table shows the development of the various fricatives in Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic and Maltese through cognate words: – żmien xahar sliem tnejn – */d/ d daħaq – ħolm għarb sebgħa Proto-Semitic vowels are, in general, harder to deduce due to

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1080-576: A sister branch within the Afroasiatic family, related to the Semitic languages but not part of them. Amorite appeared in Mesopotamia and the northern Levant c.  2100 BC , followed by the mutually intelligible Canaanite languages (including Hebrew, Phoenician, Moabite, Edomite, and Ammonite, and perhaps Ekronite, Amalekite and Sutean), the still spoken Aramaic , and Ugaritic during

1170-478: A source of copper, which was imported from the mountains (probably Anatolian) and Cyprus. However, the Babylonian invasion of Mari had a negative impact on the trade between the two kingdoms, as the road became dangerous because of the loss of Mari's protection to the caravans. This led the Babylonian king Samsu-iluna to build many strongholds up the river valley, and to establish colonies of mercenaries known as

1260-569: A variety of Maghrebi Arabic formerly spoken in Sicily . The modern Maltese alphabet is based on the Latin script with the addition of some letters with diacritic marks and digraphs . Maltese is the only Semitic official language within the European Union . Successful as second languages far beyond their numbers of contemporary first-language speakers, a few Semitic languages today are

1350-566: A very early historical date in West Asia , with East Semitic Akkadian (also known as Assyrian and Babylonian ) and Eblaite texts (written in a script adapted from Sumerian cuneiform ) appearing from c.  2600 BCE in Mesopotamia and the northeastern Levant respectively. The only earlier attested languages are Sumerian and Elamite (2800 BCE to 550 BCE), both language isolates , and Egyptian ( c.  3000 BCE ),

1440-583: Is verb–subject–object (VSO), possessed–possessor (NG), and noun–adjective (NA). This was still the case in Classical Arabic and Biblical Hebrew , e.g. Classical Arabic رأى محمد فريدا ra'ā muħammadun farīdan . (literally "saw Muhammad Farid", Muhammad saw Farid ). In the modern Arabic vernaculars , however, as well as sometimes in Modern Standard Arabic (the modern literary language based on Classical Arabic) and Modern Hebrew ,

1530-547: Is a working language in Eritrea. Tigre is spoken by over one million people in the northern and central Eritrean lowlands and parts of eastern Sudan. A number of Gurage languages are spoken by populations in the semi-mountainous region of central Ethiopia, while Harari is restricted to the city of Harar . Ge'ez remains the liturgical language for certain groups of Christians in Ethiopia and in Eritrea . The phonologies of

1620-660: Is also used liturgically by the primarily Arabic-speaking followers of the Maronite Church , Syriac Catholic Church , and was originally the liturgical language of the Melkites in Antioch , and ancient Syria . Koine Greek and Classical Arabic are the main liturgical languages of Oriental Orthodox Christians in the Middle East, who compose the patriarchates of Antioch , Jerusalem , and Alexandria . Mandaic

1710-612: Is both spoken and used as a liturgical language by the Mandaeans . Although the majority of Neo-Aramaic dialects spoken today are descended from Eastern varieties, Western Neo-Aramaic is still spoken in two villages in Syria. Despite the ascendancy of Arabic in the Middle East, other Semitic languages still exist. Biblical Hebrew, long extinct as a colloquial language and in use only in Jewish literary, intellectual, and liturgical activity,

1800-444: Is natural for the consonants , as sound correspondences among the consonants of the Semitic languages are very straightforward for a family of its time depth. Sound shifts affecting the vowels are more numerous and, at times, less regular. Each Proto-Semitic phoneme was reconstructed to explain a certain regular sound correspondence between various Semitic languages. Note that Latin letter values ( italicized ) for extinct languages are

1890-405: Is now only spoken by a few thousand Christian and Muslim Arameans (Syriacs) in western Syria . The Arabs spread their Central Semitic language to North Africa ( Egypt , Libya , Tunisia , Algeria , Morocco , and northern Sudan and Mauritania ), where it gradually replaced Egyptian Coptic and many Berber languages (although Berber is still largely extant in many areas), and for a time to

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1980-526: The Assyrians and Mandaeans of northern and southern Iraq , northwestern Iran , northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey , with up to a million fluent speakers. Syriac is a recognized language in Iraq, furthermore, Mesopotamian Arabic is one of the most Syriac influenced dialects of Arabic, due to Syriac, the dialect of Edessa specifically, having originated in Mesopotamia. Meanwhile Western Aramaic

2070-591: The Beni Ḥassān brought Arabization to Mauritania . A number of Modern South Arabian languages distinct from Arabic still survive, such as Soqotri , Mehri and Shehri which are mainly spoken in Socotra , Yemen, and Oman. Meanwhile, the Semitic languages that had arrived from southern Arabia in the 8th century BC were diversifying in Ethiopia and Eritrea , where, under heavy Cushitic influence, they split into

2160-532: The European Union . The Semitic languages are notable for their nonconcatenative morphology . That is, word roots are not themselves syllables or words, but instead are isolated sets of consonants (usually three, making a so-called triliteral root ). Words are composed from roots not so much by adding prefixes or suffixes, but rather by filling in the vowels between the root consonants, although prefixes and suffixes are often added as well. For example, in Arabic,

2250-521: The Horn of Africa to a much earlier date. According to another hypothesis, Semitic originated from an offshoot of a still earlier language in North Africa and desertification made its inhabitants to migrate in the fourth millennium BC into what is now Ethiopia , others northwest out of Africa into West Asia. The various extremely closely related and mutually intelligible Canaanite languages ,

2340-557: The Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain , Portugal , and Gibraltar ) and Malta . With the patronage of the caliphs and the prestige of its liturgical status, Arabic rapidly became one of the world's main literary languages. Its spread among the masses took much longer, however, as many (although not all) of the native populations outside the Arabian Peninsula only gradually abandoned their languages in favour of Arabic. As Bedouin tribes settled in conquered areas, it became

2430-554: The Levant , Ethiopia , the Eastern Mediterranean region, the Arabian Peninsula , and North Africa . According to a 2009 study, the Semitic languages originated in the Levant c.  3750 BC , and were introduced to the Horn of Africa c. 800 BC from the southern Arabian Peninsula, and to North Africa via Phoenician colonists at approximately the same time. Others assign the arrival of Semitic speakers in

2520-616: The Middle East and Asia Minor during the Bronze Age and Iron Age , the earliest attested being the East Semitic Akkadian of Mesopotamia ( Akkad , Assyria , Isin , Larsa , and Babylonia ) from the third millennium BC . The origin of Semitic-speaking peoples is still under discussion. Several locations were proposed as possible sites of a prehistoric origin of Semitic-speaking peoples : Mesopotamia ,

2610-730: The Qur'an and Jews speak and study Biblical Hebrew , the language of the Torah , Midrash , and other Jewish scriptures. The followers of the Assyrian Church of the East , Chaldean Catholic Church , Ancient Church of the East , Assyrian Pentecostal Church , Assyrian Evangelical Church , and the Syriac Orthodox Church speak Eastern Aramaic languages and use Classical Syriac as their liturgical language . Classical Syriac

2700-522: The nonconcatenative morphology of Semitic languages. The history of vowel changes in the languages makes drawing up a complete table of correspondences impossible, so only the most common reflexes can be given: The Semitic languages share a number of grammatical features, although variation — both between separate languages, and within the languages themselves — has naturally occurred over time. The reconstructed default word order in Proto-Semitic

2790-459: The "Kassite Houses" to protect the middle Euphrates area. Those colonies later evolved into semi-independent polities that waged a war against the Babylonian king Ammi-Saduqa and caused the trade temporarily to stop. The people of Yamhad practiced the Amorite religion , and mainly worshiped the Northwest Semitic deities. The most important of these were Dagon , who was considered the father of

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2880-506: The 2nd millennium BC. Most scripts used to write Semitic languages are abjads  – a type of alphabetic script that omits some or all of the vowels, which is feasible for these languages because the consonants are the primary carriers of meaning in the Semitic languages. These include the Ugaritic , Phoenician , Aramaic , Hebrew , Syriac , Arabic , and ancient South Arabian alphabets. The Geʽez script , used for writing

2970-683: The Alalakh tablets (Hebat was the spouse of the Hurrian main deity Teshub , but in Abba-El I's tablet, she is associated with Hadad). Later, the Hurrians started to identify Teshub with Hadad, who became Teshub the Storm-God of Halab. Beside the general gods, the kings had a "head god", that is, a deity who had an intimate connection for the worshiper. King Yarim-Lim I described Hadad as the god of

3060-753: The Elder Siamun Psusennes II Twenty-third Dynasty of Egypt Harsiese A Takelot II Pedubast I Shoshenq VI Osorkon III Takelot III Rudamun Menkheperre Ini Twenty-fourth Dynasty of Egypt Tefnakht Bakenranef ( Sargonid dynasty ) Tiglath-Pileser Shalmaneser Marduk-apla-iddina II Sargon Sennacherib Marduk-zakir-shumi II Marduk-apla-iddina II Bel-ibni Ashur-nadin-shumi Nergal-ushezib Mushezib-Marduk Esarhaddon Ashurbanipal Ashur-etil-ilani Sinsharishkun Sin-shumu-lishir Ashur-uballit II Semitic languages Semitic languages occur in written form from

3150-505: The Hurrians. The Hittite king then defeated Yamhad in the battle of Mount Atalur, and sacked Hassum along with several other Hurrian cities in the sixth year of his Syrian wars. After many campaigns, Hattusili I finally attacked Halab during the reign of Hammurabi III. The attack ended in a defeat, the wounding of the Hittite king and his later death c. 1620 BC. Hattusili's campaigns considerably weakened Yamhad, causing it to decline in status:

3240-524: The Mariote king who defeated his enemies, who was eventually killed by his own son Sumu-Yamam. The rise of Shamshi-Adad I of Assyria proved more dangerous to Yamhad than Mari. The Amorite king of Assyria was an ambitious conqueror with the aim to rule Mesopotamia and the Levant, and styled himself as "king of the world". Shamshi-Adad surrounded Yamhad by way of alliances with Charchemish, Hassum and Urshu to

3330-524: The Near East, particularly after being adopted as the lingua franca of the vast Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–605 BC) by Tiglath-Pileser III during the 8th century BC, and being retained by the succeeding Neo-Babylonian and Achaemenid Empires . The Chaldean language (not to be confused with Aramaic or its Biblical variant , sometimes referred to as Chaldean ) was a Northwest Semitic language, possibly closely related to Aramaic, but no examples of

3420-708: The Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon) during the 14th century BC, incorporating elements of the Mesopotamian East Semitic Akkadian language of Assyria and Babylonia with the West Semitic Canaanite languages. Aramaic , a still living ancient Northwest Semitic language, first attested in the 12th century BC in the northern Levant , gradually replaced the East Semitic and Canaanite languages across much of

3510-439: The Semitic languages of Ethiopia and Eritrea , is technically an abugida  – a modified abjad in which vowels are notated using diacritic marks added to the consonants at all times, in contrast with other Semitic languages which indicate vowels based on need or for introductory purposes. Maltese is the only Semitic language written in the Latin script and the only Semitic language to be an official language of

3600-581: The Yamhad style, which was favored in Mari during the reign of king Zimri-Lim, whose queen Shibtu was the daughter of Yarim-Lim I. After the fall of the Akkadian Empire , Hurrians began to settle in the city and its surroundings, and by c. 1725 BC they constituted a sizable portion of the population. The presence of a large Hurrian population brought Hurrian culture and religion to Halab, as evidenced by

3690-458: The Yamhadite royal house. The Amorites in general built large palaces that bear architectural similarities to old Babylonian-era palaces. They were adorned with grand central courtyards, throne rooms, tiled floors, drainage systems and plastered walls, which suggest the employment of specialized labor. Evidence exists for the presence of Minoan Aegean fresco artists who painted elaborate scenes on

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3780-511: The aggressions of the Hittite king Hattusili I through alliances with the Hurrian principalities. Hattusili chose not to attack Halab directly and began with conquering Yamhad's vassals and allies, starting with Alalakh in the second year of his Syrian campaigns c. 1650 BC ( Middle chronology ) or slightly later. Hattusili then turned to attack the Hurrians in Urshu northeast of Halab, and won in spite of military support from Halab and Carchemish for

3870-493: The alphabet used, the name "Semitic languages" is completely appropriate. Previously these languages had been commonly known as the " Oriental languages " in European literature. In the 19th century, "Semitic" became the conventional name; however, an alternative name, " Syro-Arabian languages ", was later introduced by James Cowles Prichard and used by some writers. Semitic languages were spoken and written across much of

3960-418: The architecture and the functions of the temples, which were mainly cultic, while political authority was invested in the royal palace, in contrast to the important political role of the temples in Mesopotamia. Since the capital Halab has not been excavated, the architecture of the kingdom is archaeologically best represented by the city of Alalakh, which was subordinate to Halab and ruled by a king belonging to

4050-431: The attested Semitic languages are presented here from a comparative point of view (see Proto-Semitic language#Phonology for details on the phonological reconstruction of Proto-Semitic used in this article). The reconstruction of Proto-Semitic (PS) was originally based primarily on Arabic , whose phonology and morphology (particularly in Classical Arabic ) is very conservative, and which preserves as contrastive 28 out of

4140-403: The base of the sacred literature of some of the world's major religions, including Islam (Arabic), Judaism (Hebrew and Aramaic ( Biblical and Talmudic )), churches of Syriac Christianity (Classical Syriac) and Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Christianity (Ge'ez). Millions learn these as a second language (or an archaic version of their modern tongues): many Muslims learn to read and recite

4230-466: The borders of Elam . The kingdom was eventually destroyed by the Hittites , then annexed by Mitanni in the 16th century BC. Yamhad's population was predominately Amorite , and had a typical Bronze Age Syrian culture. Yamhad was also inhabited by a substantial Hurrian population that settled in the kingdom, adding the influence of their culture. Yamhad controlled a wide trading network, being

4320-574: The case of Phoenician, coastal regions of Tunisia ( Carthage ), Libya , Algeria , and parts of Morocco , Spain , and possibly in Malta and other Mediterranean islands. Ugaritic , a Northwest Semitic language closely related to but distinct from the Canaanite group was spoken in the kingdom of Ugarit in north western Syria. A hybrid Canaano-Akkadian language also emerged in Canaan (Israel and

4410-407: The city of Parga in the region of Hamath for a while before Sumu-Epuh of Yamhad retook it. In the south, Išḫi-Addu faced a general rebellion; after petitions by Qatna, Shamshi-Adad sent an army to help Išḫi-Addu dealing with the rebellion. Shamshi-Adad planned to send an army of 20,000 soldiers and for his son Yasmah-Adad to lend them leadership, but these plans could not be realized. Instead,

4500-588: The classical VSO order has given way to SVO. Modern Ethiopian Semitic languages follow a different word order: SOV, possessor–possessed, and adjective–noun; however, the oldest attested Ethiopian Semitic language, Ge'ez, was VSO, possessed–possessor, and noun–adjective. Akkadian was also predominantly SOV. The proto-Semitic three-case system ( nominative , accusative and genitive ) with differing vowel endings (-u, -a -i), fully preserved in Qur'anic Arabic (see ʾIʿrab ), Akkadian and Ugaritic , has disappeared everywhere in

4590-530: The death of its ally, the late Shamshi-Adad I. A sample of Yarim-Lim policy of diplomacy and war can be read in a tablet discovered at Mari, that was sent to the king of Dēr in southern Mesopotamia, which included a declaration of war against Der and its neighbor Diniktum , the tablet mentions the stationing of 500 Yamhadite warships for twelve years in Diniktum, and the Yamhadite military support of Der for 15 years. Yarim-Lim's accomplishments elevated Yamhad into

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4680-500: The east conquering Tuttul and installing Zimri-Lim as governor of the city. The death of the Assyrian king came a year later. Yarim-Lim then sent his army with Zimri-Lim, to restore his ancestors throne as an ally-vassal to Yamhad, cementing the relationship through a dynastic marriage between the new Mariote king and Shibtu , the daughter of Yarim-Lim. "There is no king who is mighty by himself. Ten or fifteen kings follow Hammurabi

4770-491: The eastern coast of Saudi Arabia , and Bahrain , Qatar , Oman , and Yemen . South Semitic languages are thought to have spread to the Horn of Africa circa 8th century BC where the Ge'ez language emerged (though the direction of influence remains uncertain). Classical Syriac , a 200 CE Eastern Middle Aramaic dialect, used as a liturgical language in Mesopotamia , the Levant , and Kerala , India, rose to importance as

4860-508: The evident 29 consonantal phonemes. with *s [ s ] and *š [ ʃ ] merging into Arabic / s / ⟨ س ⟩ and *ś [ ɬ ] becoming Arabic / ʃ / ⟨ ش ⟩ . Note: the fricatives *s, *z, *ṣ, *ś, *ṣ́, and *ṱ may also be interpreted as affricates (/t͡s/, /d͡z/, /t͡sʼ/, /t͡ɬ/, /t͡ɬʼ/, and /t͡θʼ/), as discussed in Proto-Semitic language § Fricatives . This comparative approach

4950-650: The existence of certain religious festivals that bear Hurrian names. Halab's location has always been a factor in its prominence as an economic center. Yamhad's economy was based on trade with the Iranian Plateau , Mesopotamia , Cyprus and Anatolia , with the city of Emar as its port on the Euphrates , and Alalakh with its proximity to the sea as its port on the Mediterranean . The actions of Yarim-Lim I and his alliance with Babylon proved vital for

5040-410: The gods, and Hadad , who was the most important deity and the head of the pantheon . The kingdom was known as the "land of Hadad", who was famous as the Storm-God of Halab beginning in the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. His main temple was located on the citadel hill in the center of the city and remained in use from the 24th century BC, until at least the 9th century BC. The title "Beloved of Hadad"

5130-691: The indigenous Semitic languages and cultures of the Near East . Both the Near East and North Africa saw an influx of Muslim Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula, followed later by non-Semitic Muslim Iranian and Turkic peoples . The previously dominant Aramaic dialects maintained by the Assyrians, Babylonians and Persians gradually began to be sidelined, however descendant dialects of Eastern Aramaic (including Suret (Assyrian and Chaldean varieties), Turoyo , and Mandaic ) survive to this day among

5220-422: The king of Qatna tried to persuade Yasmah-Adad to join him in conquering three cities, telling his son in law that a big booty awaits them. There was also an incident where Yasmah-Adad detained messengers from Qatna causing Shamshi-Adad to write a sharp letter to his son ordering him to release the messengers. After four years in the service of Qatna, Shamshi-Adad ordered his troops back and it might be connected to

5310-525: The kingdom and with constant war with Yamhad , Qatna's northern neighbour. When his reign began is uncertain; he succeeded Amut-piʾel I , who is most probably his father. Išḫi-Addu is mainly known from his correspondences with Mari for a period of six years between c. 1783–1778 BC. Qatna was at its apex during the reign of Išḫi-Addu. In the South, he was the overlord of Hazor . In the West, he influenced

5400-511: The kingdom's economy, for they secured the trade between Mesopotamia and northern Syria, with the king of Mari protecting the caravans crossing from the Persian Gulf to Anatolia . Emar attracted many Babylonian merchants, who lived in the city and had a lasting impact on the local scribal conventions. As late as the 14th century BC, texts of the so-called Syrian type from Emar preserve distinct Babylonian traits. The markets of Yamhad became

5490-654: The language remain, as after settling in south eastern Mesopotamia from the Levant during the 9th century BC, the Chaldeans appear to have rapidly adopted the Akkadian and Aramaic languages of the indigenous Mesopotamians. Old South Arabian languages (classified as South Semitic and therefore distinct from the Central-Semitic Arabic) were spoken in the kingdoms of Dilmun , Sheba , Ubar , Socotra , and Magan , which in modern terms encompassed part of

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5580-507: The languages closely related to Arabic, Aramaic, and Hebrew. The choice of name was derived from Shem , one of the three sons of Noah in the genealogical accounts of the biblical Book of Genesis , or more precisely from the Koine Greek rendering of the name, Σήμ (Sēm) . Johann Gottfried Eichhorn is credited with popularising the term, particularly via a 1795 article "Semitische Sprachen" ( Semitic languages ) in which he justified

5670-466: The legends about the invention of the syllabograms and alphabetic script go back to the Semites. In contrast, all so called Hamitic peoples originally used hieroglyphs, until they here and there, either through contact with the Semites, or through their settlement among them, became familiar with their syllabograms or alphabetic script, and partly adopted them. Viewed from this aspect too, with respect to

5760-662: The main language of not only central Arabia, but also Yemen, the Fertile Crescent , and Egypt . Most of the Maghreb followed, specifically in the wake of the Banu Hilal 's incursion in the 11th century, and Arabic became the native language of many inhabitants of al-Andalus . After the collapse of the Nubian kingdom of Dongola in the 14th century, Arabic began to spread south of Egypt into modern Sudan ; soon after,

5850-477: The many colloquial forms of Semitic languages. Modern Standard Arabic maintains such case distinctions, although they are typically lost in free speech due to colloquial influence. An accusative ending -n is preserved in Ethiopian Semitic. In the northwest, the scarcely attested Samalian reflects a case distinction in the plural between nominative -ū and oblique -ī (compare the same distinction in Classical Arabic). Additionally, Semitic nouns and adjectives had

5940-488: The many kingdoms of Amurru which controlled the central Levantine coast between Byblos and Ugarit acknowledged his authority. Išḫi-Addu was a close ally of Shamshi-Adad I of Assyria who conquered Mari and installed his son Yasmah-Adad on its throne. The alliance between Qatna and Assyria was concluded shortly after Yasmah-Adad installation; it was cemented by the c. 1782 BC marriage of Dam-Ḫuraṣi, Išḫi-Addu's daughter, to Yasmah-Adad. The dowry of Qatna's princess

6030-413: The middle of the third millennium BC. Halab's fame as a Holy City contributed to its later prominence; the main temple of the north Syrian storm god Hadad was located in the city, which was known as the "City of Hadad". The name Halab as well as that of Yamhad appeared for the first time during the Old Babylonian period, when Sumu-Epuh , the first Yamhadite king, was attested in a seal from Mari as

6120-440: The modern city is situated above the ancient site. Therefore, most of the knowledge about Yamhad comes from tablets discovered at Alalakh and Mari . The name Yamhad was likely an Amorite tribal name and is used synonymously with Halab when referring to the kingdom. The city of Halab was a religious center in northern Syria, and was mentioned by the name Ha-lam, as a vassal of the Eblaite empire, which controlled most of Syria in

6210-421: The monarch ceased to be styled a Great King. Hattusili was succeeded by his grandson Mursili I , who conquered Halab c. 1600 BC and destroyed Yamhad as a major power in the Levant . Mursili then left for Babylon and sacked it, but was assassinated upon his return to his capital Hattusa , and his empire disintegrated. Halab was rebuilt and the kingdom expanded to include Alalakh again. The reestablished kingdom

6300-400: The north and by conquering Mari to the east, forcing Zimri-Lim the heir of Mari to flee. Sumu-Epuh welcomed Zimri-Lim and aimed to use him against Assyria since he was the legitimate heir of Mari. Shamshi-Adad's most dangerous alliance was with Qatna , whose king Ishi-Addu became Assyria's agent at Yamhad's borders and married his daughter to Yasmah-Adad , the son of the Assyrian king who

6390-416: The rebellion by destroying Irridu, and compensating his brother by giving him the throne of Alalakh, thus creating a cadet branch of the dynasty. The era of Abba-El I's successors is poorly documented, and by the time of Yarim-Lim III in the mid-17th century BC, the power of Yamhad declined due to internal dissent. Yarim-Lim III ruled a weakened kingdom, and although he imposed Yamhadite hegemony over Qatna,

6480-459: The region); this spread continues to this day, with Qimant set to disappear in another generation. Arabic is currently the native language of majorities from Mauritania to Oman , and from Iraq to Sudan . Classical Arabic is the language of the Quran . It is also studied widely in the non-Arabic-speaking Muslim world . The Maltese language is a descendant of the extinct Siculo-Arabic ,

6570-467: The relations between the two kingdoms remained peaceful in later years; the power vacuum caused by Mari's fall opened the way for Hammurabi to extend Yamhad's hegemony over the upper Khabur valley in the east, where the ruler of Shubat Enlil became his vassal. Hammurabi I was succeeded by his son Abba-El I , whose reign witnessed the rebellion of the city Irridu , which was under the authority of prince Yarim-Lim , Abba-El's brother. The king responded to

6660-615: The root meaning "write" has the form k-t-b . From this root, words are formed by filling in the vowels and sometimes adding consonants, e.g. كِتاب k i t ā b "book", كُتُب k u t u b "books", كاتِب k ā t i b "writer", كُتّاب k u tt ā b "writers", كَتَب k a t a b a "he wrote", يكتُب ya kt u b u "he writes", etc.. The similarity of the Hebrew, Arabic and Aramaic languages has been accepted by all scholars since medieval times. The languages were familiar to Western European scholars due to historical contact with neighbouring Near Eastern countries and through Biblical studies , and

6750-560: The ruler of Babylon , a like number of Rim-Sin of Larsa , a like number of Ibal-pi-el of Eshnunna , a like number of Amud-pi-el of Qatanum , but twenty follow Yarim-Lim of Yamhad." A tablet sent to Zimri-Lim of Mari, describing Yarim-Lim I authority. Yarim-Lim spent the next years of his reign expanding the kingdom, which reached Mamma in the north. The Syrian city-states were subdued through alliances or force; Mamma, Ebla and Ugarit became vassals of Yamhad, while Qatna remained independent but came to peace with Yamhad following

6840-505: The ruler of the land of Yamhad, which included, in addition to Halab, the cities of Alalakh and Tuba . Sumu-Epuh consolidated the kingdom and faced Yahdun-Lim of Mari who had a dynastic alliance with Yamhad to oppose Assyria, but eventually campaigned in the north threatening the kingdom. The Yamhadite king supported the Yaminite tribes and formed an alliance with other Syrian states including Urshu , Hassum and Carchemish , against

6930-1686: The state, but the Mesopotamian deity Sin as the god of his head. His son Hammurabi I did likewise. ( Shamshi-Adad dynasty 1808–1736 BCE) (Amorites) Shamshi-Adad I Ishme-Dagan I Mut-Ashkur Rimush Asinum Ashur-dugul Ashur-apla-idi Nasir-Sin Sin-namir Ipqi-Ishtar Adad-salulu Adasi (Non-dynastic usurpers 1735–1701 BCE) Puzur-Sin Ashur-dugul Ashur-apla-idi Nasir-Sin Sin-namir Ipqi-Ishtar Adad-salulu Adasi ( Adaside dynasty 1700–722 BCE) Bel-bani Libaya Sharma-Adad I Iptar-Sin Bazaya Lullaya Shu-Ninua Sharma-Adad II Erishum III Shamshi-Adad II Ishme-Dagan II Shamshi-Adad III Ashur-nirari I Puzur-Ashur III Enlil-nasir I Nur-ili Ashur-shaduni Ashur-rabi I Ashur-nadin-ahhe I Enlil-Nasir II Ashur-nirari II Ashur-bel-nisheshu Ashur-rim-nisheshu Ashur-nadin-ahhe II Second Intermediate Period Sixteenth Dynasty Abydos Dynasty Seventeenth Dynasty (1500–1100 BCE) Kidinuid dynasty Igehalkid dynasty Untash-Napirisha Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt Smendes Amenemnisu Psusennes I Amenemope Osorkon

7020-461: The status of a Great Kingdom and the Yamhadite king title became the Great King . Yarim-Lim I was succeeded by his son Hammurabi I who had a peaceful reign. He was able to force Charchemish into submission, and sent troops to aid Hammurabi of Babylon against Larsa and Elam . The alliance ended after the Babylonian king sacked Mari and destroyed it. Babylon did not attack Yamhad, however, and

7110-557: The surrounding Arabic dialects and from the languages of the Old South Arabian inscriptions. Historically linked to the peninsular homeland of Old South Arabian, of which only one language, Razihi , remains, Ethiopia and Eritrea contain a substantial number of Semitic languages; the most widely spoken are Amharic in Ethiopia, Tigre in Eritrea , and Tigrinya in both. Amharic is the official language of Ethiopia. Tigrinya

7200-694: The terminology against criticism that Hebrew and Canaanite were the same language despite Canaan being " Hamitic " in the Table of Nations : In the Mosaic Table of Nations , those names which are listed as Semites are purely names of tribes who speak the so-called Oriental languages and live in Southwest Asia. As far as we can trace the history of these very languages back in time, they have always been written with syllabograms or with alphabetic script (never with hieroglyphs or pictograms ); and

7290-459: The walls of the palaces in Alalakh. Yamhad had a distinctive Syrian iconography, which is clear in the seals of the kings that gave prominence to the Syrian gods. Egyptian influence was minimal and limited to the ankh , which cannot be interpreted as an emulation of Egyptian rituals but rather as merely a substitute for the cup held by the deity elsewhere. Yamhad had a special pattern of trim called

7380-581: The weakening was obvious as Alalakh had become all but independent under the self-declared king Ammitakum . In spite of this regression, the king of Yamhad remained the strongest king of the Syrian states, as he was referred to as a Great King by the Hittites, the diplomatic equal of the Hittite king. The rise of the Hittite kingdom in the north posed the biggest threat to Yamhad, although Yarim-Lim III and his successor Hammurabi III were able to withstand

7470-542: Was acknowledged as a vassal, and allowed to control Halab, though he had to relocate the dynasty's residence to Alalakh and relinquish the title of "King of Halab"; the use of the name Yamhad also ended. Dates are estimated and given by the Middle chronology . The people of Yamhad were Amorites and spoke the Amorite language , and apart from a few Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Aegean influences, Yamhad belonged mainly to middle Bronze Age Syrian culture. This culture influenced

7560-400: Was dead and succeeded by his son Amut-piʾel II . Judging by his letters, the king had a great ability to whine whenever he felt insulted; shortly after Shamshi-Adad's death, tension between Išḫi-Addu and the Assyrian king's eldest son Ishme-Dagan I occurred. The king of Assyria asked for two horses from Qatna, and it seems that Išḫi-Addu asked for something in return, but Ishme-Dagan sent

7650-460: Was huge and Išhi-Addu demanded his vassals to contribute; a tablet discovered in Hazor contains orders from Qatna for the providing of large quantities of commodities such as textiles, objects made of precious metals and weapons. Since early in their history, Qatna and Yamhad shared a hostile relation; the situation worsened during Išḫi-Addu's reign and evolved into border warfare. Qatna occupied

7740-414: Was installed by his father as king of Mari. Sumu-Epuh was apparently killed during his fight with Shamshi-Adad and was succeeded by his son Yarim-Lim I , who consolidated his father's kingdom and turned it into the most powerful kingdom in Syria and northern Mesopotamia. Yarim-Lim surrounded Shamshi-Adad by alliances with Hammurabi of Babylon and Ibal-pi-el II of Eshnunna , then in 1777 BC he advanced to

7830-406: Was one of the king's titles. Hadad was the kingdom's patron god, and all treaties were concluded in his name, which was also used to threaten other kingdoms, and to declare wars. As the Hurrian presence grew, so did Hurrian religious influences and some of the Hurrian deities found a place in the Yamhadite pantheon. King Abba-El I mentioned receiving the support of the Hurrian goddess Hebat in one of

7920-434: Was revived in spoken form at the end of the 19th century. Modern Hebrew is the main language of Israel , with Biblical Hebrew remaining as the language of liturgy and religious scholarship of Jews worldwide. In Arab-dominated Yemen and Oman, on the southern rim of the Arabian Peninsula, a few tribes continue to speak Modern South Arabian languages such as Mahri and Soqotri . These languages differ greatly from both

8010-498: Was ruled by kings of whom nothing but their names is known; the first is Sarra-El , who might have been the son of Yarim-Lim III. The last king of the dynasty to rule as king of Halab was Ilim-Ilimma I , whose reign ended c. 1524 when he was killed during a rebellion orchestrated by king Parshatatar of Mitanni who annexed Halab. Ilim-Ilimma's son, Idrimi , fled to Emar then conquered Alalakh c. 1517 BC. Seven years following his conquest of Alalakh, Idrimi made peace with Mitanni and

8100-416: Was turned into the most powerful Syrian kingdom of its era through the actions of its king Yarim-Lim I . By the middle of the 18th century BC, most of Syria minus the south came under the authority of Yamhad, either as a direct possession or through vassalage, and for nearly a century and a half, Yamhad dominated northern, northwestern and eastern Syria, and had influence over small kingdoms in Mesopotamia at

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