1999/06/01 by Geoffrey Khan · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Ancient history #Arabic #Archaeology #Archaeology and Historical Studies #Art #Geography #Historical and Linguistic Studies #History #Judaism #Language, Linguistics, Cultural Analysis #Linguistics #Literature #Vernacular
paper · doi:10.1017/s0041977x00016682
openalex publication_date 1999/06/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Aramaic-speaking Jewish communities used to be found in various towns and villages throughout north-eastern Iraq, north-western Iran and southern Turkey before the mass exodus of Iraqi Jewry to the state of Israel in 1950–51. In Iraq, the Aramaic speakers were found in an area that may be denned as the land lying above a line drawn on a map across the country through the towns of Musil and Kirkuk. Aramaic was not the first language of all Jews of the area. In the large towns of Musil, Kirkuk, Aqra, as well as Arbel, Arabic was the Jewish vernacular. In some villages the Jews spoke Kurdish as their first language. In Iran, Aramaic-speaking Jewish communities were found as far south as Kerend. The northern limits of the Jewish Aramaic area were formed by communities in the region of lake Van in southern Turkey and those around lake Urmia in north-west Iran (Hopkins, 1993: 62–4).