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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
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The Syrian Aramaic of Syria

The Syrian Aramaic of Syria, numbering approximately 28,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Central Neo-Aramaic-speaking ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the Tur Abdin region in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria. They mostly adhere to Syriac Orthodox Christianity and Turoyo is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Syrian Aramaic

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Syria
People Cluster: Assyrian
Primary Language(s): Turoyo (tru)
Primary Religion(s): Syriac Orthodox Christianity
Population: 28,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012199
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Pray for the Syrian Aramaic of Syria

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Syriac Orthodox Christianity
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

99%
%
Syriac Orthodox Christian… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Turoyo
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

90%
%
Turoyo Speakers

Media Resources in Turoyo:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Turoyo:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Turoyo bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Syrian Aramaic are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Syrian Aramaic:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Syrian Aramaic of Syria

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
readActs 4:12

Pray that those walking in darkness among them will come to know the name by which they must be saved, and call upon Him in faith.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.
readPsalm 67:4

Pray that God will use ways from in-person witnesses to digital gospel resources to bring the joy of His salvation to everyone so that they can be glad in Him and sing for joy.

"And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you"...And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
readMatthew 25:38-40

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and serve others in faithfulness to Him, they will know that by serving others, they are serving Jesus, who is present with them.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
read2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Pray that as people hear and believe the gospel, they will serve others in Jesus' name, and the lost will have an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel.

Turoyo Across Countries (ROP3 - 110313) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Syrian AramaicPG012199Syrian AramaicSyria28,500Engaged yet UnreachedTuroyoSyriac Orthodox Christianity
Syrian AramaicPG024589Syrian AramaicTurkiye17,500Unengaged and UnreachedTuroyoSyriac Orthodox Christianity
AssyriansPG000440AssyriansNetherlands32,500Unengaged and UnreachedTuroyoSyriac Orthodox Christianity

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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