* Syria: This was the heartland of Aramaic, where it originated and remained a major language for centuries.
* Mesopotamia: Aramaic was the lingua franca of the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires, and it continued to be spoken in regions like Assyria and Babylonia.
* Palestine: Aramaic was the everyday language of Jews in Palestine during the Second Temple period (516 BCE - 70 CE). It is also spoken in the Bible, particularly in the Gospels and the book of Daniel.
* Other regions: Aramaic also spread to areas like Persia, Turkey, and Egypt through trade, conquest, and cultural influence.
While the classical forms of Aramaic are extinct, dialects of Aramaic are still spoken today in communities scattered across the Middle East, particularly in Syria, Iraq, and Iran.