ABSTRACT
The chapter starts by examining the emergence of the Arameans in historical sources, noting how they are associated with pastoralism. It then looks at the early second millennium kingdom of Mari so as to help understand pastoralism in the area. From there, relying on ethnographic parallels, especially in relation to the Nuer and the Dinka as discussed in Chapter 2, it is suggested that the Aramean ethnogenesis resulted from a divergence of the Aramean group from its protogroup in the second millennium BCE that also involved a divergence in language. The parallel with the Nuer and Dinka together with Assyrian textual evidence also suggests that the Arameans spread over the northern Levantine area relatively quickly. Interactions with the neo-Hittite areas and political entities are also considered. Aramean state formation is then discussed, with the suggestion that an apparent increase in settling down by Arameans likely provided a “caging” effect that enabled the state formation. As to the mode of colonialism, similarly to the Nuer and Dinka, the early Aramean expansion can be seen as settler colonialism by a nonstate entity, without any centralised planning necessarily having been involved. Finally, considerations are made that relate to the Assyrian reconquista that started in the tenth century BCE and by the late eighth century BCE finished off the Aramean states, together with short summary comments on the legacy of the Arameans and the Aramaic language.
