By Angelika Berlejung, Jorg Plassen, Aren M. Maeir, Andreas Schule
The present volume contains the updated versions of the papers presented at a workshop held at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Leipzig in October 2014. The intention of the workshop was to explore Aramean cultures and their impact on their neighbors, including linguistic influences. The division of the volume into the sections 'Syria and Palestine' and 'Mesopotamia and Egypt' reflects the areas in which the presence of Arameans or of their language, Aramaic, in the first millennium BCE is visible. Arameans (including the Aramaic languages) in Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia, and Egypt cannot be treated as a single entity but have to be carefully distinguished. The contributions in this volume show that identifying 'Arameans' and defining pertinent identity markers is a difficult task. Interactions between Arameans, including their languages, and their neighbors were complex and depended on specific cultural and historical circumstances.
