<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><mads xmlns="http://www.loc.gov/mads/" xmlns:mods="http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.loc.gov/mads/
mads.xsd"><authority><topic authority="http://AATesaurus.cultura.gencat.cat/aat/getty_en">Syriac</topic></authority><related type="other"><topic>Ancient Syrian</topic></related><related type="broader"><topic>temporary alphabetical list: languages and writing systems</topic></related><variant type="other"><topic>syr</topic></variant> <note xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[ Dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent and Eastern Arabia, dating to at least the 4th century BCE as a spoken language. It is known as a script from the 1st century CE. Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from the 4th to the 8th centuries. ]]></note></mads>