“Aramaic in All Its Forms”, a series of themed talks coordinated by Muriel Debié, Director of Studies at EPHE-PSL

Writing systems, as tools of language notation, serve as visual communication mediums and cultural identity markers, representing the ancient societies that conceived, transmitted, and adapted them.

In 2024, ILARA is hosting a series of 12 themed talks as part of our ongoing commitment to ancient scripts and languages. These talks will explore the diverse forms of Aramaic, tracing their historical usage and evolution from the first millennium BC to the present day.

Featuring world-renowned specialists, the talks will delve into the rich history of Aramaic, spanning from the earliest inscriptions in the eleventh century BC to Neo-Aramaic dialects still spoken today (despite their dwindling numbers). Topics will encompass Middle Aramaic forms such as Babylonian Jewish Aramaic, Syriac and Palmyrene.

Our talks are open to all and are free of charge. They will be given both in person in Paris and via videoconference (locations to be announced). Recordings of the talks will be accessible on ILARA’s YouTube channel.

Programme

The inaugural talk of the series, delivered by Muriel Debié (EPHE–PSL, Orient & Méditerranée), was held at the library of École des Mines Paris – PSL, at 60 boulevard Saint-Michel, Paris 75005, on Monday, 18 March, at 5:30 p.m. The recording of the lecture is available on our YouTube channel.

All subsequent talks were held at the conference hall of Ulm site of the Collège de France, at 3 rue d’Ulm, Paris 75005, on Monday, 25 March, from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.:

• Monday, 25 March 2024: Françoise Briquel Chatonnet (Institut de France, Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, Orient & Méditerranée), “Old Aramaic”. The recording of the lecture is available on our YouTube channel;
• Monday, 6 May 2024: Françoise Briquel Chatonnet (Institut de France, Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, Orient & Méditerranée), “Imperial Aramaic”. The recording of the lecture will soon be available on our YouTube channel;
• Monday, 3 June 2024: David Taylor (University of Oxford), “Biblical and Dead Sea Aramaic”. The recording of the lecture will soon be available on our YouTube channel;
• Monday, 10 June 2024: Jean-Baptiste Yon (CNRS, HiSoMA), “Aramaic Varieties of Edessa, Palmyra and Hatra”. The recording of the lecture will soon be available on our YouTube channel.
• Thursday, 10 October 2024: Laïla Nehmé (CNRS, Orient & Méditerranée), “Nabataean Aramaic: Written (and Spoken?) Language of the Nabataeans from Syria to Arabia”. The recording of the lecture will soon be available on our YouTube channel.
• Thursday, 24 October 2024: Flavia Ruani (IRHT – CNRS), “Western Syriac”. The recording of the lecture will soon be available on our YouTube channel.
• Thursday, 7 November 2024: Geoffrey Herman (EPHE–PSL), “Jewish Aramaic in Late Antiquity”. The recording of the lecture will soon be available on our YouTube channel.
• Thursday, 14 November 2024: Alain Desreumaux (CNRS), “The Christian Legacy of Aramaic in Palestine and Arabia”. The recording of the lecture will soon be available on our YouTube channel.
• Thursday, 21 November 2024: Pier Giorgio Borbone (University of Pisa), “Eastern Syriac from Mesopotamia to China”. The recording of the lecture will soon be available on our YouTube channel.
• Monday, 2 December 2024: Charles G. Haberl (Rutgers University), “Mandaean”. The recording of the lecture will soon be available on our YouTube channel.

The “Aramaic in All Its Forms” themed talk series is organised by ILARA, with support from the Polonsky Foundation.

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