Iraqi Civil War
111-584: The Syriac Military Council ( Syriac : ܡܘܬܒܐ ܦܘܠܚܝܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ , romanized : Mawtbo Fulḥoyo Suryoyo , MFS ; Arabic : المجلس العسكري السرياني السوري ) is an Assyrian/Syriac military organisation in Syria , part of the Syrian Democratic Forces . The establishment of the organisation was announced on 8 January 2013. According to the Syriac Military Council, the goal of the organisation
222-411: A closer grammatical relationship by the addition of a pronominal suffix. Thus, the phrase can be written as ܫܩ̈ܠܝܗ ܕܡܠܟܘܬܐ , šeqlêh d-malkuṯā . In this case, both nouns continue to be in the emphatic state, but the first has the suffix that makes it literally read "her taxes" ("kingdom" is feminine), and thus is "her taxes, [those] of the kingdom". Adjectives always agree in gender and number with
333-482: A common synonym for Aramaic language in general, while other (conventional and narrower) designating only the Edessan Aramaic, also referred to more specifically as the " Classical Syriac ". Noting the problem, scholars have tried to resolve the issue by being more consistent in their use of the term " Classical Syriac " as a strict and clear scientific designation for the old literary and liturgical language, but
444-720: A few irregular stems, like the Šap̄ʿel and ʾEštap̄ʿal , which generally have an extensive meaning. The basic G-stem or "Peal" conjugation of "to write" in the perfect and imperfect is as follows: Phonologically, like the other Northwest Semitic languages, Syriac has 22 consonants. The consonantal phonemes are: Raqqa campaign (2016%E2%80%932017) Decisive SDF / CJTF-OIR victory [REDACTED] Syrian Democratic Forces [REDACTED] Self Defence Forces (HXP) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Leftist / anarchist volunteers [REDACTED] CJTF–OIR [REDACTED] Iraqi Kurdistan [REDACTED] 30,000–40,000 SDF fighters (70% Arab acc. to
555-460: A full blockade of the city of Raqqa. On 21 November, the SDF captured two more villages, while ISIL launched a counter-attack near Tal Saman. Over the next days, the SDF attempted to further advance, such as at al-Qalita, but was unable to break through ISIL's defense line south of Tal Saman. On 24 November, a US serviceman died from wounds he suffered after stepping on an improvised explosive device near
666-404: A new front. On the next day, the SDF advanced into Tal Saman, resulting in a fierce battle with its ISIL defenders, and captured 10 more villages and farms. By 19 November, the SDF had fully captured Tal Saman and had driven ISIL completely from the surrounding countryside. With this, the first phase of the offensive was considered complete. The second phase of the offensive aimed to enforce
777-629: A pre-dawn raid by the YPG and the Syriac Military Council. MFS, along with YPG forces, participated in an offensive along the Syria-Iraq border . The joint forces managed to drive out Islamic State forces after the jihadist group had taken control of Mosul and most of Nineveh Governorate during the Northern Iraq offensive . The operation led to the full control of Til-Koçar . The MFS, along with YPG forces and other allies, participated in an offensive against
888-520: A scare tactic, and caused the water level of the Euphrates to rise to its highest level in 20 years, leading to record flooding downstream. By 24 January, the SDF managed to capture parts of the town, and they began to work towards the Tabqa Dam's control rooms, at the southern part of the dam, in an attempt to stop the massive outflow of water released by ISIL. However, the entrance to the dam's control rooms
999-405: A variant designation for the ancient Eblaite language from the third millennium BC, that is unrelated to the much later Edessan Aramaic, and its early phases, that were commonly labeled as Old/Proto- or even Paleo/Palaeo-Syrian/Syriac in scholarly literature. Newest addition to the terminological mosaic occurred c. 2014, when it was proposed, also by a scholar, that one of regional dialects of
1110-637: Is also taught in some public schools in Iraq , Syria , Palestine , Israel , Sweden , Augsburg (Germany) and Kerala (India). In 2014, an Assyrian nursery school could finally be opened in Yeşilköy , Istanbul after waging a lawsuit against the Ministry of National Education which had denied it permission, but was required to respect non-Muslim minority rights as specified in the Treaty of Lausanne . In August 2016,
1221-492: Is known as leššānā ʔatīqā ( lit. ' the old language ' ) or saprāyā ( lit. ' scribal or literary ' ). It emerged during the first century AD from a local Eastern Aramaic dialect that was spoken in the ancient region of Osroene , centered in the city of Edessa . During the Early Christian period, it became the main literary language of various Aramaic-speaking Christian communities in
SECTION 10
#17328560290531332-429: Is preserved in a large body of Syriac literature , that comprises roughly 90% of the extant Aramaic literature. Along with Greek and Latin , Syriac became one of the three most important languages of Early Christianity . Already from the first and second centuries AD, the inhabitants of the region of Osroene began to embrace Christianity , and by the third and fourth centuries, local Edessan Aramaic language became
1443-417: Is the academic term used to refer to the dialect's literary usage and standardization, distinguishing it from other Aramaic dialects also known as 'Syriac' or 'Syrian'. In its West-Syriac tradition, Classical Syriac is often known as leššōnō kṯoḇonōyō ( lit. ' the written language or the book language ' ) or simply kṯoḇonōyō , or kṯowonōyō , while in its East-Syriac tradition, it
1554-421: Is the head-noun which is marked by the construct state. Thus, ܫܩ̈ܠܝ ܡܠܟܘܬܐ , šeqlay malkuṯā , means "the taxes of the kingdom". Quickly, the construct relationship was abandoned and replaced by the use of the relative particle ܕ , d-, da- . Thus, the same noun phrase becomes ܫܩ̈ܠܐ ܕܡܠܟܘܬܐ , šeqlē d-malkuṯā , where both nouns are in the emphatic state. Very closely related nouns can be drawn into
1665-569: Is to stand up for the national rights of and to protect Assyrians in Syria. It operates mostly in the densely populated Assyrian areas of Al-Hasakah Governorate , and is affiliated to the Syriac Union Party . On 16 December 2013, the Syriac Military Council announced the foundation of a new Military Academy named "Martyr Abgar". On December 24, the MFS released photographs showing its members in control of
1776-533: Is used in English as a convention and does not exist on the ancient endonymic level. Several compound terms like "Syriac Aramaic", "Syrian Aramaic" or "Syro-Aramaic" are also used, thus emphasizing both the Aramaic nature of the language and its Syrian/Syriac regional origin. Early native speakers and writers used several endonymic terms as designations for their language. In addition to common endonym (native name) for
1887-835: Is won." As of January 2017, 6 MFS fighters were killed during the Raqqa campaign. On 22 January 2017, the European Syriac Union in Brussels requested the United States and its Trump administration to provide more support for the Assyrian and Kurdish components of the Syrian Democratic Forces. The US reportedly favoured the Arab components in the SDF. On 3 April, the MFS and the HSNB reaffirmed
1998-460: The Amaq News Agency declared that Iman Na'im Tandil ( nom de guerre : Abu 'Umar Al-Hindi), one of the few Indian ISIL fighters active in Syria, had also been killed during the fighting near Jabar. The Islamic State's official media wing later also officially paid tribute to Iman. On 27 December, ISIL launched an attack on the village of Secol in the northern countryside, reportedly breaching
2109-652: The Aramaic language in general ( Aramaya ), another endonymic term was also used, designating more specifically the local Edessan dialect, known as Urhaya , a term derived directly from the native Aramaic name for the city of Edessa ( Urhay ). Among similar endonymic names with regional connotations, term Nahraya was also used. It was derived from choronym (regional name) Bet-Nahrain , an Aramaic name for Mesopotamia in general. Original endonymic (native) designations, for Aramaic in general ( Aramaya ), and Edessan Aramaic in particular ( Urhaya ), were later (starting from
2220-885: The Baath Dam further downstream. The campaign ended successfully in October 2017, with the capture of Raqqa. The offensive was concurrent with the Battle of Sirte in Libya , the Battle of Mosul in Iraq , the Battle of al-Bab in the Aleppo Governorate , the Palmyra offensive , the reignition of fighting in Deir ez-Zor's siege , the Central Syria campaign , and the Mayadin offensive . In late October 2016,
2331-683: The Bethnahrain Women's Protection Forces in September 2015. The MFS was a part of a YPG-led offensive against Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which began on 26 December 2013 in the Tel Hamis area. The YPG and MFS were unable to hold Tell Brak and failed to capture Tel Hamis, and the offensive was called off in early January. Tell Brak was captured on February 23 in
SECTION 20
#17328560290532442-532: The Charlie Hebdo shooting , was reported to have been killed in an American airstrike in Raqqa on 26 November. Iraqi military however later stated in April 2017 that he might still be alive. On 27 November, the SDF announced the offensive's second phase was due to start, though this was then delayed. At least five SDF fighters were killed in renewed clashes north of Raqqa on 29 November. Meanwhile, ISIL suffered from
2553-679: The Church of the East in central and northeastern Mesopotamia. Religious divisions were also reflected in linguistic differences between the Western Syriac Rite and the Eastern Syriac Rite . During the 5th and the 6th century, Syriac reached its height as the lingua franca of Mesopotamia and surrounding regions. It existed in literary (liturgical) form, as well as in vernacular forms, as the native language of Syriac-speaking populations. Following
2664-957: The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church , the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church and some Parishes in the Syro-Malabar Knanaya Archeparchy of Kottayam . Eastern Syriac is the liturgical language of the East Syriac Rite , practised in modern times by the ethnic Assyrian followers of the Assyrian Church of the East , the Assyrian Pentecostal Church , the Ancient Church of the East , the Chaldean Catholic Church , as well as
2775-877: The Middle East , Central Asia and the Malabar Coast in India , and remains so among the Syriac Christians to this day. It has been found as far afield as Hadrian's Wall in Great Britain , with inscriptions written by Aramaic-speaking soldiers of the Roman Empire . History of Syriac language is divided into several successive periods, defined primarily by linguistic, and also by cultural criteria. Some terminological and chronological distinctions exist between different classifications, that were proposed among scholars. During
2886-647: The Near East (2003), those issues have acquired additional complexity, related to legal recognition of the language and its name. In the Constitution of Iraq (Article 4), adopted in 2005, and also in subsequent legislation, term " Syriac " ( Arabic : السريانية / al-suriania ) is used as official designation for the language of Neo-Aramaic -speaking communities, thus opening additional questions related to linguistic and cultural identity of those communities. Legal and other practical (educational and informational) aspects of
2997-458: The Neo-Aramaic languages. Such differences in classification, both terminological and substantial, within systems and between systems (ISO and MARC), led to the creation of several additional problems, that remain unresolved. Within linguistics, mosaic of terminological ambiguities related to Syrian/Syriac labels was additionally enriched by introduction of the term " Palaeo-Syrian language " as
3108-461: The Old Aramaic language from the first centuries of the 1st millennium BC should be called " Central Syrian Aramaic ", thus introducing another ambiguous term, that can be used, in its generic meaning, to any local variant of Aramaic that occurred in central regions of Syria during any period in history. After more than five centuries of Syriac studies , which were founded by western scholars at
3219-633: The People's Protection Units (YPG) to participate in the planned operation, and instead, planned to involve the Turkish Armed Forces . The United Kingdom 's Secretary of State for Defence Michael Fallon rejected the idea of non- Arab forces taking part in the offensive and demanded a purely Arab force. On the same day, the commander of the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend stressed that
3330-832: The Syriac Catholic Church , the Maronite Catholic Church , the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church , the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church . Classical Syriac was originally the liturgical language of the Syriac Melkites within the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch in Antioch and parts of ancient Syria . The Syriac Melkites changed their church's West Syriac Rite to that of Constantinople in
3441-563: The Syrian Democratic Council . Syriac language The Syriac language ( / ˈ s ɪr i æ k / SIH -ree-ak ; Classical Syriac : ܠܫܢܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ , romanized: Leššānā Suryāyā ), also known natively in its spoken form in early Syriac literature as Edessan ( Urhāyā ), the Mesopotamian language ( Nahrāyā ) and Aramaic ( Aramāyā ), is an Eastern Middle Aramaic dialect. Classical Syriac
Syriac Military Council - Misplaced Pages Continue
3552-524: The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in India. Syriac literature is by far the most prodigious of the various Aramaic languages. Its corpus covers poetry, prose, theology, liturgy, hymnody, history, philosophy, science, medicine and natural history. Much of this wealth remains unavailable in critical editions or modern translation. From the 7th century onwards, Syriac gradually gave way to Arabic as
3663-632: The Tabqa Dam , including senior militant leaders who used to be "very important prisoners" wanted by the US and several other countries, in order to deter a possible US-led coalition strike on them. On 23 January, the SDF began to advance on the Tabqa Dam, spurring ISIL to open its turbines to raise the Euphrates River's water levels. This was seen as an attempt to hinder the progress of the Kurdish-led forces and
3774-601: The United States Secretary of Defense Ash Carter called for an offensive on Raqqa to take place concurrent with the Battle of Mosul in Iraq . He stated that the US was cooperating with its allies in order to launch an "isolation operation" around Raqqa. On 26 October, the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called the President of the United States Barack Obama and stated that he did not want
3885-406: The infinitive and the active and passive participles . Syriac has only two true morphological tenses: perfect and imperfect. Whereas these tenses were originally aspectual in Aramaic, they have become a truly temporal past and future tenses respectively. The present tense is usually marked with the participle followed by the subject pronoun . Such pronouns are usually omitted in
3996-600: The linguistic homeland of the language in the region of Osroene, was never part of contemporary (Roman) Syria . In the 3rd century, churches in Edessa began to use local Aramaic dialect as the language of worship. Early literary efforts were focused on creation of an authoritative Aramaic translation of the Bible, the Peshitta ( ܦܫܝܛܬܐ Pšīṭtā ). At the same time, Ephrem the Syrian
4107-497: The sacred language of Syriac Christianity to this day. It is used as liturgical language of several denominations, like those who follow the East Syriac Rite , including the Assyrian Church of the East , the Ancient Church of the East , the Chaldean Catholic Church , the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church , and the Assyrian Pentecostal Church , and also those who follow the West Syriac Rite , including: Syriac Orthodox Church ,
4218-449: The " Cave of Treasures ", long held to be the 4th century work of an authoritative writer and revered Christian saint Ephrem of Edessa (d. 373), who was thus believed to be proponent of various linguistic notions and tendencies expressed in the mentioned work. Since modern scholarly analyses have shown that the work in question was written much later ( c. 600) by an unknown author, several questions had to be reexamined. In regard to
4329-412: The "Osroenians" as Aramaic speakers of Osroene (eastern region, centered in Edessa ), thus showing that dialect of the "Syrians" (Aramaic speakers of proper Syria) was known to be different from that of the "Osroenians" (speakers of Edessan Aramaic). Native ( endonymic ) use of the term Aramaic language (Aramaya/Oromoyo) among its speakers has continued throughout the medieval period, as attested by
4440-514: The 4th to the 8th century, and continued to have an important role during the next centuries, but by the end of the Middle Ages it was gradually reduced to liturgical use, since the role of vernacular language among its native speakers was overtaken by several emerging Neo-Aramaic languages . Classical Syriac is written in the Syriac alphabet , a derivation of the Aramaic alphabet . The language
4551-403: The 5th century) accompanied by another term, exonymic (foreign) in origin: Suryaya (Syrian/Syriac), adopted under the influence of a long-standing Greek custom of referring to speakers of Aramaic as Syrians . Among ancient Greeks, term "Syrian language" was used as a common designation for Aramaic language in general, and such usage was also reflected in Aramaic, by subsequent (acquired) use of
Syriac Military Council - Misplaced Pages Continue
4662-460: The 9th-11th centuries, necessitating new translations of all their Syriac liturgical books. In the English language , the term "Syriac" is used as a linguonym (language name) designating a specific variant of the Aramaic language in relation to its regional origin in northeastern parts of Ancient Syria , around Edessa , which lay outside of the provincial borders of Roman Syria . Since Aramaic
4773-457: The Arab conquest in the 7th century, vernacular forms of Syriac were gradually replaced during the next centuries by the advancing Arabic language . Having an Aramaic (Syriac) substratum , the regional Arabic dialect ( Mesopotamian Arabic ) developed under the strong influence of local Aramaic (Syriac) dialects, sharing significant similarities in language structure, as well as having evident and stark influences from previous (ancient) languages of
4884-614: The Aramaic language in general, stating that " the Osroënians, the Syrians, the people of the Euphrates, the Palestinians, and the Phoenicians all speak Syriac, but with many differences in pronunciation ". Theodoret's regional (provincial) differentiation of Aramaic dialects included an explicit distinction between the "Syrians" (as Aramaic speakers of Syria proper, western of Euphrates ), and
4995-453: The Assyrian village of Ghardukah, located 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south of Qahtaniyah (Tirbespiyê/Qabre Hewore). The village church had been completely destroyed by Jabhat al-Nusra , which occupied the hamlet before being expelled in mid-October during an operation launched by the People's Protection Units (YPG), in which MFS members may have participated. The Syriac Military Council established an all-female military and police unit called
5106-440: The ISIL forces that were already present in their de facto capital city. The SDF officially announced the start of the operation on 6 November 2016, in the city of Ayn Issa . The intention was to proceed in two phases, first seizing areas around Raqqa and isolating the city, advancing from three fronts, then taking control of the city itself. The SDF general command called for the international coalition against ISIL to support
5217-423: The Islamic State forces used several car bombs against them. By 11 November, the SDF had captured over a dozen villages and the strategically significant town of Al-Hisbah , which had served as a local headquarters and command center for ISIL. On the next day, the SDF continued to advance against ISIL in the area around Tal Saman and Khnez, bringing the number of captured farms and villages to 26. On 14 November,
5328-428: The Islamic State in the district of Sinjar in Iraq's province of Nineveh , to rescue 35,000 Yazidis in the Sinjar Mountains after the Sinjar massacre . the Islamic State launched a series of attacks in late February 2015 against Christian villages in the Khabur River valley, with the ultimate goal of capturing the strategic town of Tel Tamer , then under control of the YPG and MFS. In early March 2015, units of
5439-667: The Ourhi Centre was founded by the Assyrian community in the city of Qamishli, to educate teachers in order to make Syriac an additional language to be taught in public schools in the Jazira Region of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria , which then started with the 2016/17 academic year. In April 2023, a team of AI researchers completed the first AI translation model and website for classical Syriac. Many Syriac words, like those in other Semitic languages , belong to triconsonantal roots , collations of three Syriac consonants. New words are built from these three consonants with variable vowel and consonant sets. For example,
5550-461: The SDF advanced and captured six hamlets around it. The SDF later announced that their forces advancing from the Ayn Issa front and on the Qadiriya front linked up in Kurmanju village after capturing several villages over the past few days, besieging a large pocket of about 45 villages and 20 hamlets. All of them were captured by the next day, resulting in the alliance gaining about 460 square kilometres (180 sq mi) of land. Another village
5661-456: The SDF attacked again on 23 December, and once again took control of it, while also capturing another village. This prompted ISIL to launch yet another counter-attack later that day, which was accompanied by several suicide car bombs. As a result, heavy clashes took place between them and SDF fighters in several villages along the frontline that lasted until the early morning of 24 December. The ISIL forces were eventually forced to withdraw after
SECTION 50
#17328560290535772-534: The SDF captured all or most of Mahmudli, the largest town of the Al-Jarniyah Subdistrict , on 1 January 2017. ISIL counterattacked later in an attempt to regain the town. The SDF leadership said that in the clashes since the launch of the second phase they had captured 110 villages, killed 277 ISIL fighters, and captured 13. Also, on January 1, 2017, the SDF resumed its offensive on the northern front, advancing 6 km south of Tell Saman against ISIL positions. The SDF captured nine more villages in this area within
5883-401: The SDF first shelled and then stormed their positions, whereupon the latter took control of most of Jabar as well as two more villages, though some ISIL holdouts persisted in Jabar. ISIL was pushed out of the neighboring, strategic village of Eastern Jabar on the next day, bringing the SDF within 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) of Tabqa Dam, and by 26 December, the SDF had finally fully secured
5994-415: The SDF made further progress on the next day, capturing a village and advancing against many other ISIL-held villages. The SDF again attacked Suwaydiya Kabir on 20 January, reaching the outskirts of the village, and captured it on 22 January after heavy clashes, with the support of U.S. special forces. In late January 2017, it was reported that a number of ISIL militants were hiding inside the structure of
6105-407: The SDF on 5 January 2017. The SDF captured Qal'at Ja'bar (Ja'bar Castle) from ISIL on 6 January. The same day, ISIL was reported to have moved its 150 prisoners from Tabqa city due to the offensive. The SDF later captured eight villages and five hamlets at the Ayn Issa front. On 7 January, the SDF captured five villages including the strategic Suwaydiya Gharbi and Suwaydiya Saghirah, reaching
6216-428: The SDF stated that 500 km has been captured, including 34 villages, 31 hamlets and seven strategic hills, and 167 Islamic State casualties had been inflicted. The SDF had also begun to besiege Tal Saman, the largest village and ISIL headquarters north of Raqqa, while ISIL launched a counter-attack near Salok in the eastern countryside of Raqqa Governorate in an attempt to force the SDF to split its forces and open
6327-710: The SDF) [REDACTED] 500 HXP soldiers [REDACTED] 503 USSOCOM Soldiers 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit [REDACTED] Several Dozens of Special Forces and military advisers 10,000–20,000+ fighters (estimate by Western SDF volunteers & some experts) [REDACTED] 1,100–1,200+ killed, 2,500+ wounded (per US) [REDACTED] 793 killed, 1,685 wounded (per SDF) [REDACTED] 1 killed Foreign intervention in behalf of Syrian rebels U.S.-led intervention against ISIL 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 The Raqqa campaign (codenamed Operation Wrath of Euphrates )
6438-514: The SDF. The next day, the SDF captured seven more villages from ISIL. On 12 December, the SDF captured four villages as well as many hamlets south of Tishrin Dam. The SDF captured five villages during the next two days. On 15 December, the SDF captured three villages, taking the total number of villages captured by them in the second phase to 20. Over the next four days, the SDF captured 20 more villages and finally reaching Lake Assad , thereby cutting off and besieging 54 ISIL-held villages to
6549-440: The South Indian Malabar Coast , and Eastern China , and became the medium of communication and cultural dissemination for the later Arabs , and (to a lesser extent) the other peoples of Parthian and Sasanian empires. Primarily a Christian medium of expression, Syriac had a fundamental cultural and literary influence on the development of Arabic , which largely replaced it during the later medieval period. Syriac remains
6660-442: The Syriac Military Council and the YPG were involved in heavy clashes in the region, notably around the villages of Tel Nasri and Tel Mghas. On 15 March 2015, the Council reported it was in control of Tel Mghas. On 11 October 2015, the Syriac Military Council became one of the founding groups in the Syrian Democratic Forces . On 31 October, the SDF launched an offensive southwards along the Khabur River. The SDF, which also includes
6771-488: The Syriac-speaking world. As a result, Syriac developed distinctive western and eastern varieties. Although remaining a single language with a high level of comprehension between the varieties, the two employ distinctive variations in pronunciation and writing system, and, to a lesser degree, in vocabulary. The Syriac language later split into a western variety, used mainly by the Syriac Orthodox Church in upper Mesopotamia and Syria proper, and an eastern variety used mainly by
SECTION 60
#17328560290536882-401: The YPG, YPJ, MFS, al-Sanadid Forces , the Liberation Brigade , and the Army of Revolutionaries , captured the town of al-Hawl on 13 November. After the capture of al-Hawl, the SDF aimed to capture the town of al-Shaddadi further south. On 16 February 2016, the Shaddadi offensive was launched by the SDF, which resulted in the SDF capture of the town and hundreds of other villages. During
6993-471: The YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces was the only armed group capable of capturing Raqqa in the near future. Fewer US-led coalition troops were to be involved than in the Battle of Mosul. On 3 November, the commander of the Seljuk Brigade and SDF spokesman Col. Talal Silo rejected the participation of Turkey in the operation. After the start of the Battle of Mosul, many of the 20,000 ISIL fighters estimated to be living in Mosul fled to Raqqa, boosting
7104-402: The YPG/YPJ against the Turkish military operation in Afrin in early 2018, sending troops from al-Hasakah Governorate to Afrin. The MFS fighters who were still involved in the offensive against ISIL remained in Deir ez-Zor, however, "because our war with ISIS didn’t end". On 7 February 2018 a smaller contingent of MFS fighters arrived in Afrin. The MFS fought in the Battle of Baghuz Fawqani ,
7215-490: The aim of capturing the northwestern and western countryside of Raqqa and ultimately reaching and securing the Tabqa Dam . The same day, it was announced that Arab SDF groups, consisting of the Elite Forces , Jabhat Thuwar al-Raqqa and the newly formed Deir Ezzor Military Council would be taking part. During the first day, the SDF began to advance south of the Tishrin Dam and captured al-Kiradi village. The United States announced that it would send 200 more troops to assist
7326-447: The case of the third person. This use of the participle to mark the present tense is the most common of a number of compound tenses that can be used to express varying senses of tense and aspect. Syriac also employs derived verb stems such as are present in other Semitic languages. These are regular modifications of the verb's root to express other changes in meaning. The first stem is the ground state, or Pəʿal (this name models
7437-440: The consistency of such use was never achieved within the field. Inconsistent use of "Syrian/Syriac" labels in scholarly literature has led some researchers to raise additional questions, related not only to terminological issues but also to some more fundamental (methodological) problems, that were undermining the integrity of the field. Attempts to resolve those issues were unsuccessful, and in many scholarly works, related to
7548-701: The conventional scholarly reduction of the term "Syriac language" to a specific designation for Edessan Aramaic. Such use, that excludes non-Edessan dialects, and particularly those of Western Aramaic provenience, persist as an accepted convention, but in the same time stands in contradiction both with original Greek, and later native (acquired) uses of Syrian/Syriac labels as common designations for Aramaic language in general. Those problems were addressed by prominent scholars, including Theodor Nöldeke (d. 1930) who noted on several occasions that term " Syriac language " has come to have two distinctive meanings, wider and narrower, with first (historical and wider) serving as
7659-536: The creation of newspapers in written Syriac ( ܟܬܒܢܝܐ Kṯāḇānāyā ) similar to the use of Modern Standard Arabic has been employed since the early decades of the 20th century. Modern forms of literary Syriac have also been used not only in religious literature but also in secular genres, often with Assyrian nationalistic themes. Syriac is spoken as the liturgical language of the Syriac Orthodox Church , as well as by some of its adherents . Syriac has been recognised as an official minority language in Iraq. It
7770-507: The dam, but the attack was later repelled. On 31 January 2017, the SDF received a number of armoured personnel carriers supplied by the US. The SDF spokesman stated that preparations for a new phase of the operation were continuing and the operation would begin in "a few days". Meanwhile, the leader of the SDF-aligned Syria's Tomorrow Movement and its paramilitary wing , Ahmad Jarba , announced that 3,000 Arab fighters under his command were training with US special forces to be deployed in
7881-406: The defection of two senior commanders, who fled from Raqqa to join Jabhat Fateh al-Sham in Idlib . On 4 December, a coalition drone strike in Raqqa killed two ISIL leaders who had helped facilitate the November 2015 Paris attacks and another who was involved in a foiled suicide attack in Belgium in 2015. Three days later, co-Chair of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) Salih Muslim said that
7992-405: The development of Classical Syriac, the emphatic state became the ordinary form of the noun, and the absolute and construct states were relegated to certain stock phrases (for example, ܒܪ ܐܢܫܐ/ܒܪܢܫܐ , bar nāšā , "man, person", literally "son of man"). In Old and early Classical Syriac, most genitive noun relationships are built using the construct state, but contrary to the genitive case, it
8103-439: The end of the 15th century, main terminological issues related to the name and classification of the language known as Edessan Aramaic, and also referred to by several other names combined of Syrian/Syriac labels, remain opened and unsolved. Some of those issues have special sociolinguistic and ethnolinguistic significance for the remaining Neo-Aramaic speaking communities. Since the occurrence of major political changes in
8214-435: The first phase to surround Raqqa was almost over, while a new Arab brigade consisting of more than 1,000 men and women from the Raqqa area had joined the SDF as part of the second phase which was slated to be launched on 10 December. More than 1,500 Arab fighters who were trained and equipped by the anti-ISIL coalition joined the SDF for the second phase on its launch day. The SDF launched the second phase on 10 December, with
8325-621: The first three centuries of the Common Era , a local Aramaic dialect spoken in the Kingdom of Osroene , centered in Edessa , eastern of Euphrates , started to gain prominence and regional significance. There are about eighty extant early inscriptions, written in Old-Edessan Aramaic, dated to the first three centuries AD, with the earliest inscription being dated to the 6th year AD, and the earliest parchment to 243 AD. All of these early examples of
8436-457: The following words belong to the root ܫܩܠ ( ŠQL ), to which a basic meaning of taking can be assigned: Most Syriac nouns are built from triliteral roots. Nouns carry grammatical gender (masculine or feminine), they can be either singular or plural in number (a very few can be dual) and can exist in one of three grammatical states. These states should not be confused with grammatical cases in other languages. However, very quickly in
8547-415: The historical region of Ancient Syria and throughout the Near East . As a liturgical language of Syriac Christianity , it gained a prominent role among Eastern Christian communities that used both Eastern Syriac and Western Syriac rites. Following the spread of Syriac Christianity, it also became a liturgical language of eastern Christian communities as far as India and China . It flourished from
8658-427: The language are non-Christian. As a language of public life and administration in the region of Osroene, Edessan Aramaic was gradually given a relatively coherent form, style and grammar that is lacking in other Aramaic dialects of the same period. Since Old-Edessan Aramaic later developed into Classical Syriac, it was retroactively labeled by western scholars as "Old Syrian/Syriac" or "Proto-Syrian/Syriac", although
8769-704: The last phase of the Deir ez-Zor campaign against ISIL. On 6 July 2019, the MFS and Khabour Guards announced the formation of the Syriac-Assyrian Military Council ( Arabic : المجلس العسكري السرياني الاشوري ) in order to unify the Assyrian-Syriac military organizations within the Khabour region . The declaration said the military council would work within the political ideals of the Syriac Union Party and
8880-545: The linguistic self-identification also arose throughout Syriac-speaking diaspora , particularly in European countries (Germany, Sweden, Netherlands). Syriac was the local dialect of Aramaic in Edessa , and evolved under the influence of the Church of the East and the Syriac Orthodox Church into its current form. Before Arabic became the dominant language, Syriac was a major language among Christian communities in
8991-418: The local SDF defences. On the next day, the SDF reportedly captured Hadaj village after two days of heavy fighting, while another ISIL counter-attack against Jabar was repelled. Mahmud al-Isawi, a senior ISIL manager of finances for the group's leaders who also worked in propaganda and intelligence-gathering, was killed on 31 December in a US-led coalition airstrike on Raqqa. After three days of heavy fighting,
9102-452: The main Jabar village, with the last ISIL defenders being expelled after heavy fighting. An ISIL counterattack on the village later that day failed, with a US airstrike killing Abu Jandal al-Kuwaiti as he commanded the assault. Al-Kuwaiti, also known as Abdulmuhsin al-Zaghelan al-Tarish, was a high-ranking ISIL commander leading the defense of the whole Raqqa region against the SDF. Meanwhile,
9213-521: The name " Syriac ", while the existing general code syr, that was until then named " Syriac ", was renamed to " Syriac, Modern ". Within ISO 639 system, large body of unspecific references related to various linguistic uses of the term " Syriac " remained related to the original ISO 639-2 code syr ( Syriac ), but its scope is defined within the ISO 639-3 standard as a macrolanguage that currently includes only some of
9324-490: The next three days. Meanwhile, with the SDF edging closer to Raqqa, ISIL further restricted Internet access and increased surveillance over Internet users in Raqqa. There were harsh punishments for accessing anti-ISIL websites, with a new special unit within the ISIL's security office searching for offenders. Several online activists in Raqqa were captured and tortured or executed. Another two villages and hamlets were captured by
9435-481: The nouns they modify. Adjectives are in the absolute state if they are predicative , but agree with the state of their noun if attributive . Thus, ܒܝܫܝ̈ܢ ܫܩ̈ܠܐ , bišin šeqlē , means "the taxes are evil", whereas ܫܩ̈ܠܐ ܒܝ̈ܫܐ , šeqlē ḇišē , means "evil taxes". Most Syriac verbs are built on triliteral roots as well. Finite verbs carry person , gender (except in the first person) and number, as well as tense and conjugation . The non-finite verb forms are
9546-427: The offensive and encouraged locals to join the SDF. The SDF attacked Suwaydiya Kabir on the next day, leading to heavy clashes in the village. Meanwhile, it was announced that about 2,500 local fighters had joined the offensive since it began. On 19 January, ISIL launched a counter-attack against Suwaydiya Saghirah, supported by mortars and heavy machine guns, killing or wounding several YPG fighters. Despite this,
9657-565: The offensive, ISIL released 42 Assyrian hostages they abducted during the Eastern al-Hasakah offensive in February 2015. The Syriac Military Council along with the Bethnahrin Women's Protection Forces took part in the SDF's campaign to capture Raqqa from ISIL, declaring that "the fight against terrorism is the fight for existence of our Syriac–Assyrian people and we cannot rest until this fight
9768-411: The old literary and liturgical language, reduction of the term " Classical Syriac " to " Syriac " (only) remained a manner of convenience, even in titles of works, including encyclopedic entries, thus creating a large body of unspecific references, that became a base for the emergence of several new classes of terminological problems at the advent of the informational era . Those problems culminated during
9879-405: The operation. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter welcomed the announcement. On 6 November, the SDF captured six small villages, Wahid, Umm Safa, Wasita, Haran, al-Adriyah and Jurah, south and southeast of Ayn Issa . The Islamic State detonated four car bombs on the first day of the offensive. On 8 November, the SDF reported that they had taken control of 11 villages near Ayn Issa, and that
9990-544: The original Greek designation for Aramaic language in general to a more specific (narrower) designation for Edessan Aramaic language, that in its literary and liturgical form came to be known as Classical Syriac . That reduction resulted in the creation of a specific field of Syriac studies , within Aramaic studies . Preference of early scholars towards the use of the Syrian/Syriac label was also relied upon its notable use as an alternative designation for Aramaic language in
10101-416: The outskirts of Tabqa Dam. ISIL recaptured Suwaydiya Saghirah by the next day after a counterattack, while a local leader of the group was killed in clashes. Meanwhile, ISIL was reported to have withdrawn 150 of its fighters towards Raqqa city. On 8 January 2017, US special forces raided the village of Al-Kubar, between Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, killing at least 25 ISIL militants in the two-hour operation. It
10212-490: The process of international standardization of the terms " Syriac " and " Classical Syriac " within the ISO 639 and MARC systems. The term " Classical Syriac " was accepted in 2007 and codified (ISO code: syc ) as a designation for the old literary and liturgical language, thus confirming the proper use of the term. In the same time, within the MARC standard, code syc was accepted as designation for Classical Syriac , but under
10323-464: The region of Bet-Nahrain (Aramaic term for Mesopotamia in general). Plurality of terms among native speakers (ārāmāyā, urhāyā, naḥrāyā, and suryāyā) was not reflected in Greek and Latin terminology, that preferred Syrian/Syriac designation, and the same preference was adopted by later scholars, with one important distinction: in western scholarly use, Syrian/Syriac label was subsequently reduced from
10434-491: The region. Syriac-influenced Arabic dialects developed among Iraqi Muslims , as well as Iraqi Christians , most of whom descend from native Syriac speakers. Western Syriac is the official language of the West Syriac Rite , practiced by the Syriac Orthodox Church , the Syriac Catholic Church , the Maronite Catholic Church , the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church , the Malabar Independent Syrian Church ,
10545-535: The request for more support from the US. In late 2017, the MFS forces under Abjer Abjer participated in the offensive to eliminate the last ISIL strongholds in Deir ez-Zor Governorate . On 20 January 2018, Kino Gabriel, the spokesman for the Syria Military Council was also made the spokesman for the SDF ; he was succeeded as spokesman for MFS by Abgar David. The MFS also announced their intention to fight alongside
10656-415: The scope and usage of Syrian/Syriac labels in linguistic terminology, some modern scholars have noted that diversity of Aramaic dialects in the wider historical region of Syria should not be overlooked by improper and unspecific use of Syrian/Syriac labels. Diversity of Aramaic dialects was recorded by Theodoret of Cyrus (d. c. 466), who accepted Syrian/Syriac labels as common Greek designations for
10767-414: The second phase, and had begun to advance against Qal'at Ja'bar . On 21 December, the SDF seized Jabar , which served as the main weaponry storage and supply centre for ISIL in the northwestern countryside. The coalition then began to move toward Suwaydiya Saghirah and Suwaydiya Kabir , the last villages before Tabqa Dam. Even though an ISIL counter-attack managed to retake Jabar village soon after,
10878-482: The shape of the root) form of the verb, which carries the usual meaning of the word. The next is the intensive stem, or Paʿʿel , form of the verb, which usually carries an intensified meaning . The third is the extensive stem, or ʾAp̄ʿel , form of the verb, which is often causative in meaning. Each of these stems has its parallel passive conjugation: the ʾEṯpəʿel , ʾEṯpaʿʿal and ʾEttap̄ʿal respectively. To these six cardinal stems are added
10989-460: The spoken language of much of the region, excepting northern Iraq and Mount Lebanon. The Mongol invasions and conquests of the 13th century, and the religiously motivated massacres of Syriac Christians by Timur further contributed to the rapid decline of the language. In many places outside of Upper Mesopotamia and Mount Lebanon , even in liturgy, it was replaced by Arabic. Revivals of literary Syriac in recent times have led to some success with
11100-495: The term "Suryaya" as the most preferred synonym for "Aramaya" (Aramaic). Practice of interchangeable naming (Aramaya, Urhaya, Nahraya, and Suryaya) persisted for centuries, in common use and also in works of various prominent writers. One of those who used various terms was theologian Jacob of Edessa (d. 708), who was referring to the language as " Syrian or Aramaic " (Suryāyā awkēt Ārāmāyā), and also as Urhāyā , when referring to Edessan Aramaic, or Naḥrāyā when pointing to
11211-400: The town of Ayn Issa, to the north of Raqqa. On 25 November, ISIL received reinforcements from Iraq, among them explosive experts and defected Iraqi Army personnel. On the next day, ISIL launched a counter-attack, retaking parts of Qaltah village and a nearby water pump station, while the SDF managed to advance in the village's vicinity. Boubaker Al-Hakim, an ISIL commander who was linked to
11322-650: The vehicle of the specific Christian culture that came to be known as the Syriac Christianity . Because of theological differences, Syriac-speaking Christians diverged during the 5th century into the Church of the East that followed the East Syriac Rite under the Persian rule, and the Syriac Orthodox Church that followed the West Syriac Rite under the Byzantine rule. As a liturgical language of Syriac Christianity , Classical Syriac spread throughout Asia as far as
11433-404: The village of Jabar were among these. ISIL consequently released photos of dead SDF fighters, while claiming that over 70 of them had been killed in the counter-attack. However, the SDF was reported to still be in control of Jabar village and Qalat Jabar a few days later. An ISIL attack on Jib Shair village, trying to resist SDF advances from the north, was repelled on the next day, after which
11544-493: The west. In response to these territorial losses, ISIL began to carry out more suicide attacks against both the SDF as well as civilian targets within SDF-controlled areas in an attempt to hinder the offensive. On 19 December, ISIL launched a counter-attack to regain four villages in the northwestern countryside, but the attack was repelled after a few hours. The SDF declared that they had captured 97 villages overall during
11655-673: The works of prominent writers, including the Oriental Orthodox Patriarch Michael of Antioch (d. 1199). Since the proper dating of the Cave of Treasures , modern scholars were left with no indications of native Aramaic adoption of Syrian/Syriac labels before the 5th century. In the same time, a growing body of later sources showed that both in Greek, and in native literature, those labels were most commonly used as designations for Aramaic language in general, including its various dialects (both eastern and western), thus challenging
11766-635: Was a military operation launched in November 2016 during the Rojava–Islamist conflict by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Raqqa Governorate , with the goal of isolating and eventually capturing the Islamic State's capital city, Raqqa . The SDF's subsidiary goals included capturing the Tabqa Dam , the nearby city of al-Thawrah , and
11877-437: Was believed that the goal of the US may have been to rescue hostages from an ISIL secret prison in the village. After the raid, ISIL forces cut off access to the village. On 9 January, the SDF captured another village, along with three hamlets. On 10 January, ISIL launched a large-scale counter-attack at the Jabar frontline and reportedly recaptured several sites; with pro- Free Syrian Army sources claiming Qal'at Ja'bar and
11988-497: Was captured by the SDF on 13 January. On 15 January, the SDF progressed to Suwaydiya Kabir village, while ISIL launched a large-scale counter-attack against Mahmudli and a nearby village, resulting in clashes within these settlements. The attack was repelled after several hours of fighting. The SDF captured three villages during the day, while Suwaydiya Saghirah was also reported to be under its control again. On 17 January 2017, 28 Arab tribes from Raqqa announced their support for
12099-592: Was producing the most treasured collection of poetry and theology in the Edessan Aramaic language, that later became known as Syriac. In 489, many Syriac-speaking Christians living in the eastern reaches of the Roman Empire fled to the Sasanian Empire to escape persecution and growing animosity with Greek-speaking Christians. The Christological differences with the Church of the East led to the bitter Nestorian Schism in
12210-412: Was too well defended, and with the continued threat of disastrous flooding downstream, SDF and the US forces withdrew from both the Tabqa Dam and the town of Al-Thawrah, after which ISIL closed the dam's turbines again. Over the next three days, ISIL repeatedly launched fierce counter-attacks against SDF positions in the western and northern countryside. ISIL managed to retake ground in the area around
12321-423: Was used by various Middle Eastern peoples, having several variants ( dialects ), this specific dialect that originated in northeastern Syria became known under its regional (Syrian/Syriac) designation ( Suryaya ). In English scholarly literature , the term "Syriac" is preferred over the alternative form "Syrian", since the latter is much more polysemic and commonly relates to Syria in general. That distinction
#52947