The Quiz: What was the primary language of the first Persian Empire?
Aramaic
Latin
Egyptian
Arabic
Aramaic is an ancient language related to Hebrew, Syriac, and Phoenician. It first appeared around the 11th century BCE and became the lingua franca of the Persian Empire. King Darius expanded his empire too quickly and too widely for Old Persian to keep up, and the language wasn’t well known outside of the king’s home region. Aramaic was far more prevalent, and became the chosen language to unite the empire under a common tongue.
The correct answer to this quiz is Aramaic.