Aramaeans

Aramaeans 

nomadic Semitic tribes whose native land was the Arabian Peninsula. First mention of the Aramaeans dates from the middle of the third millennium B.C. In the 14th century B.C., the Aramaeans penetrated into the Syrian Desert as well as the central Euphrates region; by the turn of the 11th century B.C., they had overrun almost all of Southwest Asia. In a number of places (for example, to the East of the Jordan River), the Aramaeans became a settled people. By 1 A.D., Aramaic, which belongs to the Semitic group, had become the major spoken language of Southwest Asia. The descendants of the Aramaeans are the present-day Assyrians (Aisors).

REFERENCES

D’iakonov, I. M. “Narody drevnei Perednei Azii.” In Peredneaziatskii etnograficheskii sb., book 1. Moscow, 1958.
Dupont-Sommer, A. Les Araméens. Paris, [1949].