The Syriac World

A comprehensive survey of Syriac Christianity over three thousand years

Syriac is often referred to as the third main language of Christianity, along with Latin and Greek, and it remains a foundational classical, literary, and religious language throughout the world. Originating in Mesopotamia along the Roman and Parthian frontiers, it was never the language of a powerful state or ethnic group, but with the coming of Christianity it developed into a rich religious and cultural tradition. At the same time that Christianity was making its way through Europe, Syriac missionaries were founding churches from the Mediterranean coast to Persia, converting the Turkic tribes of Central Asia, and building communities in India and China.

This comprehensive work tells the underexplored story of the Syriac world over three thousand years, from its pre-Christian roots in the Aramaic tribes and the ancient Near East to its vibrant expressions in modern diaspora churches. Enhanced with images, songs, poems, and important primary texts, this book shows the importance of Syriac history, theology, and literature in the twenty-first century.

Françoise Briquel Chatonnet, a French historian and senior researcher at the French National Center for Scientific Research, specializes in Syriac and Northwest Semitic studies. Muriel Debié holds a chair in ancient Eastern Christianities at the École Pratique des Hautes Études-PSL and specializes in Syriac studies. Jeffrey Haines is a historian of Eastern Christianity and specialist in Syriac studies.