When Persians Became Assyrians: Aramaic Literature during the Achaemenid Empire

Abstract

With the exception of the Aramaic version of the Bisitun inscription found at Elephantine, Aramaic literature written during the Achaemenid period does not seem directly concerned with the Persian empire. A number of compositions, such as the Story and Proverbs of Aḥiqar, the Inaros narrative from Sheikh Faḍl, and the “Revolt of Babylon” on Papyrus Amherst 63, are set during the Assyrian period but reflect a later experience of and response to the Persian empire. This paper will explore Persian-era Aramaic literature in the context of such a historical dislocation.