The Arameans and Damascus

After the collapse of the Hittite empire, Syria is taken over by the Arameans — Semitic tribes settling around the old cities and founding dozens of kingdoms: Damascus, Hamath, Beth-Eden, Arpad; alongside them the neo-Hittite principalities such as Carchemish live out their days. Damascus under Ben-Hadad and Hazael is stronger than the rest, by turns warring with Israel and joining it against Assyria. The kingdoms will fall under Assyrian blows, but their language proves more durable: Aramaic becomes the speech of trade and chanceries from Egypt to Iran, and then the language of Judea — the tongue of parts of the Tanakh and, later, of the Talmud.