Editing Syriac language (section)

=== Origins ===
[[File:Alter Orient 0100AD.svg|thumb|265px|The [[Linguistic homeland]] of Edessan Aramaic: the [[Kingdom of Osroene]] between the Romans and Parthians, in the 1st century AD]]

During 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&nbsp;AD. All of these early examples of the language are non-Christian.{{sfn|Healey|2007|p=115–127}}{{sfn|Healey|2008|p=221-229}}{{sfn|Healey|2012|p=641-642}}{{sfn|Butts|2019|p=225-247}}

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 the [[linguistic homeland]] of the language in the region of Osroene, was never part of contemporary (Roman) [[Roman Syria|Syria]].{{sfn|Healey|2007|p=115–127}}{{sfn|Healey|2008|p=221-229}}{{sfn|Healey|2012|p=641-642}}{{sfn|Butts|2019|p=225-247}}