Beth Nahrain

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Beth Nahrain (Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܢܗܪܝܢ; "the house/land of the rivers") is the Syriac name for Mesopotamia (a Greek-derived word which translates to "the land between the rivers"). It refers to the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in and around the modern-day countries of Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. The Syriac name loosely describes the area of the rivers, not between like the literal Greek term; however both names refer to the same region. The name Bayn Nahrayn is also found in Arabic (Arabic: بين نهرين; "between two rivers").

This area roughly encompasses much of Iraq, Syria, southeast Turkey, Lebanon, western Iran, and northern Jordan. The Assyrians believe they are the indigenous inhabitants of Beth Nahrain. [Simo Parpola, Assyrian Identity in Ancient Times and Today], Lecture given at the March 27, 2004 historical seminar of the Assyrian Youth Federation in Sweden (AUF)

"Nahrainean" or "Nahrainian" is the Anglicized name for "Nahraya", which is the Syriac equivalent of the Greek-derived term "Mesopotamian". [Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies Past and Present], Perceptions of Syriac Literary Tradition by Lucas VAN ROMPAY

See also

• Aram-Naharaim
• Mesopotamia
• Canaan
• Philistia
• Phoenicia
• Aramaea
• Assyria
• Babylonia
• Akkad
• Sumer
• Chaldea

References