Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples

Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples or Proto-Semitic people were speakers of Semitic languages who lived throughout the ancient Near East and North Africa, including the Levant, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula and Carthage from the 3rd millennium BC until the end of antiquity, with some, such as Arabs, Arameans, Assyrians, Jews, Mandaeans, and Samaritans having a historical continuum into the present day. Their languages are usually divided into three branches: East, Central and South Semitic languages. the oldest attested forms of Semitic date to the early to mid-3rd millennium BC (the Early Bronze Age) in Mesopotamia, the northwest Levant and southeast Anatolia.

Extends: [Ancient peoples of the Near East](https://wikipedia.org.ai/Ancient peoples of the Near East), [Semitic languages](https://wikipedia.org.ai/Semitic languages), [Semitic-speaking peoples](https://wikipedia.org.ai/Semitic-speaking peoples)