General description

Aramaic Letter from Egypt

With the Persian conquest of Egypt in 525 BCE under Cambyses II, Aramaic was introduced an official administrative language of the empire. Used across the vast Persian territories, Aramaic facilitated governance, trade, and bureaucracy, making it the dominant language for official correspondence in Egypt during the 5th and 4th centuries BCE. Many of the surviving Aramaic letters from Egypt originate from Elephantine (Aswan), home to a Jewish military colony serving in the Persian garrison. These documents include:

• Petitions and reports to Persian officials; legal and financial records, including contracts and tax documents; private correspondence reflecting personal and economic life. Beyond Elephantine, Aramaic texts have been discovered in Memphis, Saqqara, and other administrative centers, shedding light on Persian governance, trade, and diplomacy. Aramaic was not just a bureaucratic language but also a tool for trade, law, and interregional communication. These letters reveal a society deeply connected to the Persian imperial network, where Egyptians, Persians, Jews, and other communities interacted through a shared administrative system.