Syriac

Syriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. It became the vehicle of Syriac Christianity and culture, spreading throughout Asia as far as the Indian Malabar Coast (Kerala) and Eastern China. Primarily a Christian medium of expression, Syriac had a fundamental cultural and literary influence on the development of Arabic. Syriac remains the liturgical language of Syriac Christianity.