| Kassite | |
|---|---|
| Cassite[1] | |
 Tablet BM 93005, with Kassite terms on the left and Akkadian equivalents on the right. | |
| Native to | Babylon |
| Region | Near East |
| Ethnicity | Kassites |
| Era | 18th–4th century BC[1] |
unclassified (Hurro-Urartian?) | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | kass1244 |
Kassite (alsoCassite[1]) was a language spoken by theKassites inMesopotamia from approximately the 18th to the 7th century BC. From the 16th to 12th centuries BC, kings of Kassite origin ruled inBabylon until they were overthrown by theElamites. As only a few dozen words are known, none of which have been demonstrably linked to any living or deadlanguage family, Kassite is considered anunclassified language at present, possibly anisolate or belonging to theHurro-Urartian languages.
In the area known to have been inhabited by the Kassites theEast SemiticAkkadian language was used, with theSumerian language used for monumental and literary compositions. Traces of the Kassite language are few:
A lack of Kassite texts makes the reconstruction of Kassite grammar impossible at present.
Genetic relations of the Kassite language are unclear, although it is generally agreed that it was notSemitic; a relation withElamite is doubtful.
Relationship with or membership in theHurro-Urartian family has been suggested,[5] based on a number of words. It is not clear whether Kassite was a distinct language in the Hurro-Urartian phylum, or simply a Southern dialect of Hurrian. If it was the latter rather than the former, it could be surmised that the Kassites were merely a tribe of Hurrians that expanded from the north into the south and settled in Mesopotamia. On the other hand, if Kassite is the former rather than the latter, this suggests that Hurro-Urartian was an even larger language group and more significant to the region than historical experts have observed, and was perhaps spoken by far more people than previously thought.
Kassite (Cassite) was a language spoken by Kassites in northern Mesopotamia from approximately the 18th to the 4th century BC.