Chaldäer

Chaldäer is the German term for Chaldeans and is used in historical and contemporary contexts to refer to people connected with Chaldea, the southern region of Mesopotamia centered on Babylon.

Historically, Chaldeans denotes the inhabitants of Chaldea and, in ancient sources, people of Babylonia. In the late first millennium BCE, the Chaldean dynasty—the Neo-Babylonian Empire (626–539 BCE)—emerged under Nabopolassar and reached its peak with Nebuchadnezzar II, restoring Babylonian power after the fall of the Assyrian Empire. The Chaldeans played a central role in Mesopotamian culture and administration during this period.

In classical and Near Eastern sources, the term also became associated with astronomy and astrology; Greek writers in particular linked the Chaldeans to knowledge of the heavens. The administrative language of Mesopotamia in earlier periods was Akkadian, while Aramaic became widespread in daily usage in later eras.

In modern times, "Chaldean" is used to describe certain ethnoreligious communities tracing roots to ancient Assyria and Babylonia. The most prominent contemporary usage refers to the Chaldean Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with Rome, which follows the Syriac rite and has a strong presence in Iraq and in diaspora communities such as the United States. In broader contexts, some Assyrian- or Aramaic-speaking groups use "Chaldean" to describe religious or ethnic identity, though terminology and self-designation vary among individuals and communities, with others preferring terms like Assyrian or Syriac.