Aramaic - Ancient Semitic Language Aramaic

Definition: Aramaic is an ancient Semitic language that may have first appeared among the Aramaeans in the 11th century B.C. Aramaic was spoken by the Assyrians in the 8th century B.C., and before Alexander the Great, Aramaic was the official language of the Achaemenid Dynasty of the Persian Empire. Aramaic replaced Hebrew as the language of the Jewish common people probably by the 6th century B.C., and Jesus and his apostles are thought to have spoken Aramaic. It was replaced by Arabic in the seventh century, although Aramaic continues to be spoken in geographic pockets even today.