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Arameans
Dionysius Bar Salibi

Dionysius Bar Salibi

Dionysius of Amid (d. 1171) was a Syriac Orthodox bishop and writer, probably born in Melitene; his baptismal name was Yaʿqub. After defending a treatise against Yuḥanon of Mardin, he was first interdicted, then in 1148 made bishop of Marʿash and took the name Dionysius. He became metropolitan of Amid in 1166, where he restored the church of the Yoldat Aloho. He died in November 1171 and was buried at that church; a fuller biography by Patriarch Michael Rabo is lost.
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Bar Salibi’s Literal Commentary on the Psalms and the Identity of the Arameans

Bar Salibi’s Literal Commentary on the Psalms and the Identity of the Arameans

Pekah, the king of the ten tribes, called to his aid Rezin, the king of the Arameans, that is, the Syriacs (Suryoye), and they went up against Jerusalem. God protected the kingdom of Judah, not because of Ahaz, but because of the promises made to David. Here, Bar Salibi again uses Suryoye (Syriacs) and Oromoye (Arameans) as synonyms, further proving their synonymity.

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Bar Salibi Against the Armenians

Bar Salibi Against the Armenians

"The Armenians say, From whom do you descend, you who are Syriacs by race? Against them we will say, Neither do you know from whom you descend. The name Armenian is derived from Armenian, which is the name of a country, not of a person. It is we, the Syriacs, who have enlightened your authors and revealed to them that you descend from Togarma, one of the children of Japheth. As for us Syriacs, we descend from Shem, and our father is Kemuel, son of Aram; from this name, Aram, we are sometimes called in the Books by the name Arameans. We are called Syriacs after Syrus, who built Antioch and its district, and the country was named after him, Syria."

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Bar Salibi Against the Melkites

Bar Salibi Against the Melkites

"Because of their hatred, they (the Greeks) call us Jacobites instead of Syriacs. In response, we say that the name Syriac, which you have taken from us, is superior, for it comes from Syrus, who ruled over Antioch, and the land was named Syria after him—just as your name, Greek, comes from Javan the pagan. However, we are the descendants of Aram, and in ancient times, we were called Arameans after his name."