Assyrians from Persia (Iran) to the United States, 1887-1923

Assyrians are the last Aramaic-speaking group indigenous to a homeland between Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Iran. Their communities were transformed by missionary education beginning in the 19th century; but documenting this history through Assyrian voices has proven elusive in the wake of their displacement. This exhibit's unique collection of papers and objects from the Lake Urmia region, Iran, documents the life, travels, and education of one Assyrian-Iranian family in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.