Oxford Conference on Zoroastrianism 5-7 July 2010 The Aram
Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies announces a new series of
conferences on the subject of Zoroastrianism. The first, which
will be held in Oxford on 5-7 July 2010, aims to study
Zoroastrian religion and culture throughout the Levant. The
emphasis will be on exploring how Zoroastrianism interacted with
Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Gnosticism and ancient Near
Eastern non-biblical religions. Cultural interaction is the
keynote. Who is Aram? Aram takes its name from "Aramaic" -- the
Semitic language which was a focal point of ancient Syro-
Mesopotamian cultures from the 8th century BC, when it became
the official and commercial lingua franca of the Near East,*
until the 7th-10th century AD when it was extensively replaced
by Arabic following the spread of Islam. Aramaic was influenced
at first by Akkadian, then from the 5th century BC by Persian,
and from the 3rd century BC onwards by Greek, as well as by
Hebrew, especially in Palestine. In the time o