Aramaic

==Periodization==
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|-
| style="background:#ffffd9;"|<timeline>
ImageSize = width:320 height:700
PlotArea = right:40 top:10 left:40 bottom:10
DateFormat = yyyy
TimeAxis = orientation:vertical order:reverse
Period = from:-1200 till:2005
AlignBars = early
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:200 start:-1200
Colors =
 id:canvas value:rgb(1,1,0.85)
BackgroundColors = canvas:canvas
PlotData =
 width:15 color:red
 bar:test from:-1200 till:200 # Old Aramaic
PlotData =
 width:15 color:orange
 bar:test from:200 till:1200 # Middle Aramaic
PlotData =
 width:15 color:yellow
 bar:test from:1200 till:2005 # Modern Aramaic
PlotData =
 bar:test at:-1200 mark:(line,white)
 at:-1200 shift:(10,0) text:12th c. BCE Aramaeans settle in Aram
 bar:test at:-1000 mark:(line,white)
 at:-1000 shift:(10,0) text:10th c. BCE early written Aramaic
 bar:test at:-740 mark:(line,white)
 at:-740 shift:(10,0) text:740s BCE Aramaic official in Assyria
 bar:test at:-500 mark:(line,white)
 at:-500 shift:(10,0) text:c.500 BCE Darius I makes Aramaic official
 bar:test at:-425 mark:(line,white)
 at:-425 shift:(10,0) text:5th c. BCE Elephantine papyri composed
 bar:test at:-330 mark:(line,white)
 at:-331 shift:(10,0) text:331 BCE Greek ascendancy
 bar:test at:-246 mark:(line,white)
 at:-246 shift:(10,0) text:247 BCE Aramaic official in Arsacid Empire
 bar:test at:-169 mark:(line,white)
 at:-169 shift:(10,5) text:c. 170 BCE Book of Daniel probably composed
 bar:test at:-141 mark:(line,white)
 at:-141 shift:(10,0) text:142 BCE Aramaic official in Hasmonaean Judah
 bar:test at:-49 mark:(line,white)
 at:-40 shift:(10,0) text:1st c. BCE Aramaic Palmyra, Petra & Osrhoene
 bar:test at:45 mark:(line,white)
 at:45 shift:(10,0) text:1st c. New Testament records some Aramaic
 bar:test at:135 mark:(line,white)
 at:135 shift:(10,4) text:135 Galilean Aramaic becomes prominent
 bar:test at:172 mark:(line,white)
 at:172 shift:(10,1) text:172 Tatian's Diatessaron produced
 bar:test at:200 mark:(line,white)
 at:200 shift:(10,-3) text:3rd c. Targum composition
 bar:test at:224 mark:(line,white)
 at:224 shift:(10,-8) text:224 Classical Mandaic emerges
 bar:test at:306 mark:(line,white)
 at:306 shift:(10,-1) text:c. 306 Ephrem born, Syriac golden age
 bar:test at:431 mark:(line,white)
 at:431 shift:(10,0) text:431 Nestorian schism of Aramaic Christians
 bar:test at:435 mark:(line,white)
 at:435 shift:(10,-9) text:c. 435 Peshitta Syriac Bible produced
 bar:test at:637 mark:(line,white)
 at:637 shift:(10,0) text:637 Arabic ascendancy
 bar:test at:700 mark:(line,white)
 at:700 shift:(10,0) text:700 Talmud completed
 bar:test at:1258 mark:(line,black)
 at:1258 shift:(10,0) text:1258 Mongols sack Baghdad
 bar:test at:1290 mark:(line,black)
 at:1290 shift:(10,-5) text:13th c. Zohar published in Spain
 bar:test at:1650 mark:(line,black)
 at:1650 shift:(10,0) text:17th c. School of Alqosh flourishes
 bar:test at:1836 mark:(line,black)
 at:1836 shift:(10,0) text:1836 Assyrian Neo-Aramaic first in print
 bar:test at:1915 mark:(line,black)
 at:1915 shift:(10,4) text:1915 Persecution in Turkey
 bar:test at:1951 mark:(line,black)
 at:1951 shift:(10,2) text:1951 Aramaic Jews move to Israel
 bar:test at:1998 mark:(line,black)
 at:1998 shift:(10,0) text:1998 last speakers of Mlahsô & Bijil die
</timeline>
|}

[[Periodization]] of historical development of Aramaic language has been the subject of particular interest for scholars, who proposed several types of periodization, based on linguistic, chronological and territorial criteria. Overlapping terminology, used in different periodizations, led to the creation of several [[polysemic]] terms, that are used differently among scholars. Terms like: Old Aramaic, Ancient Aramaic, Early Aramaic, Middle Aramaic, Late Aramaic (and some others, like Paleo-Aramaic), were used in various meanings, thus referring (in scope or substance) to different stages in historical development of Aramaic language.{{sfn|Fitzmyer|1997|pp=57–60}}{{sfn|Gzella|2015|pp=47–48}}{{sfn|Butts|2019|pp=222–25}}

Most commonly used types of periodization are those of Klaus Beyer and Joseph Fitzmyer.

Periodization of Klaus Beyer (1929–2014):{{sfn|Beyer|1986|p=}}
* [[Old Aramaic]], from the earliest records, to {{circa}} 200 AD
* [[Middle Aramaic]], from {{circa}} 200 AD, to {{circa}} 1200 AD
* [[Modern Aramaic]], from {{circa}} 1200 AD, up to the modern times


Periodization of [[Joseph Fitzmyer]] (1920–2016):{{sfn|Fitzmyer|1997|pp=60–63}}
* [[Old Aramaic]], from the earliest records, to regional prominence {{circa}} 700 BC
* [[Official Aramaic]], from {{circa}} 700 BC, to {{circa}} 200 BC
* [[Middle Aramaic]], from {{circa}} 200 BC, to {{circa}} 200 AD
* [[Late Aramaic]], from {{circa}} 200 AD, to {{circa}} 700 AD
* [[Modern Aramaic]], from {{circa}} 700 AD, up to the modern times


Recent periodization of Aaron Butts:{{sfn|Butts|2019|pp=224–25}}
* [[Old Aramaic]], from the earliest records, to {{circa}} 538 BC
* [[Achaemenid Aramaic]], from {{circa}} 538 BC, to {{circa}} 333 BC
* [[Middle Aramaic]], from {{circa}} 333 BC, to {{circa}} 200 AD
* [[Late Aramaic]], from {{circa}} 200 AD, to {{circa}} 1200 AD
* [[Neo-Aramaic]], from {{circa}} 1200 AD, up to the modern times