The Art-Deco doors of the Oriental Institute, sculpture by Ulric Ellerhusen

Head of a bull that once guarded the entrance to the Hundred-Column Hall in Persepolis

The Oriental Institute (OI), established in 1919, is the University of Chicago's archeology museum and research center for ancient Near Eastern studies. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Art Deco spire of the Chrysler Building in New York, built 1928–1930 City Hall of Buffalo, New York, an Art Deco masterpiece Art Deco was a popular design movement from 1920 until 1939, affecting the decorative arts such as architecture, interior design, and industrial design, as well as... Figural sculpture representing Introspection at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco The March of Religion on the Rockefeller Chapel, figure of Christ in the center Ulric Henry Ellerhusen (1879 - 1957) first name variously cited as Ulrich or Ulrik, surname sometimes cited as Ellerhousen) was a German-American sculptor... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1209 × 1612 pixel, file size: 595 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Author: Nathaniel Loman I took this picture and I release it to the public domain Head of a bull that once guarded the entrance to the... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1209 × 1612 pixel, file size: 595 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Author: Nathaniel Loman I took this picture and I release it to the public domain Head of a bull that once guarded the entrance to the... Persepolis aerial view. ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... The University of Chicago is a private university located principally in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... The Louvre Museum in Paris, one of the largest and most famous museums in the world. ... The Near East is a term commonly used by archaeologists, geographers and historians, less commonly by journalists and commentators, to refer to the region encompassing the Levant (modern Israel, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon), Turkey, Mesopotamia (Iraq and eastern Syria). ...

The Institute is housed in an unusual Art-Deco/Gothic building at the corner of 58th and University, designed by the architectural firm Mayers Murray & Phillip. The Museum has artifacts from digs in Egypt, Israel, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. Notable possessions are the famous Megiddo Ivories, various treasures from Persepolis, the old Persian capital, a huge 40 ton human-headed winged bull (or lamassu) from Khorsabad, the capital of Sargon II, and finally a monumental statue of King Tutankhamun. The Art Deco spire of the Chrysler Building in New York, built 1928–1930 City Hall of Buffalo, New York, an Art Deco masterpiece Art Deco was a popular design movement from 1920 until 1939, affecting the decorative arts such as architecture, interior design, and industrial design, as well as... Interior of Cologne Cathedral Gothic architecture is a style of architecture, particularly associated with cathedrals and other churches, which flourished in Europe during the high and late medieval period. ... The architectural firm of Mayers Murray & Phillip was the successor of Goodhue Associates after Bertram Goodhues unexpected death in 1924. ... The Megiddo Ivories are thin carvings in ivory found at the tel of Megiddo in modern-day Israel. ... Persepolis aerial view. ... Motto (official) Esteqlāl, āzādÄ«, jomhÅ«rÄ«-ye eslāmÄ« 1(Persian) Independence, freedom, Islamic Republic (national) Kerdār-e nÄ«k, pendār-e nÄ«k, goftār-e nÄ«k (Persian) Noble deeds, noble thoughts, noble words Anthem SorÅ«d-e MellÄ«-e Īrān 2 Capital... In Akkadian mythology the shedu were a type of demons, but they were demons of a benevolent nature, protective spirits of the houses, palaces and cities. ... Khorsabad (Khursabad), village in Iraq, 15 km northeast of Mosul, with well-preserved ruins of the large, rectangular Dur-Sharrukin. ... Sargon II, captor of Samaria, with a dignitary Sargon II (ܣܪܓܘܢ in Syriac) (r. ... Nebkheperure Lord of the forms of Re Nomen Tutankhaten Living Image of the Aten Tutankhamun Hekaiunushema Living Image of Amun, ruler of Upper Heliopolis Horus name Kanakht Tutmesut The strong bull, pleasing of birth Nebty name Neferhepusegerehtawy One of perfect laws, who pacifies the two lands[1] Wer-Ah-Amun...

The museum is free to enter, though visitors are encouraged to leave donations.

Even given unlimited resources and comparable archeological discoveries, the Institute's treasures could not be assembled today, since Middle Eastern governments no longer allow foreign archeologists to take home half of what they find — which was the typical arrangement the 19th and early 20th centuries, when most of the holdings were excavated. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999...

Not only a museum, the Oriental Institute is, as its name suggests, a center of active research on the ancient Near East. The building's upper floors contain classrooms and faculty offices, and its gift shop, the Suq, also sells textbooks for the University's classes on Near Eastern studies. In addition to carrying out many digs in the Fertile Crescent, OI scholars have made many contributions to our understanding of the cradle of civilization. In fact, the term "Fertile Crescent" was coined by onetime OI head James Henry Breasted, who is said to have been one of the models for Indiana Jones (another possible Indiana Jones model from the Oriental Institute was Robert Braidwood). The Fertile Crescent is a historical crescent-shape region in the Middle East incorporating the Levant, Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. ... Cover of Time Magazine, December 14, 1931 James Henry Breasted (August 27, 1865–December 2, 1935) was born in Rockford, Illinois and was an archaeologist and historian. ... Dr. Henry Indiana Jones, Jr. ... Robert Braidwood (1907-2003) was an anthropologist, archaeologist and a leader in the field of Near Eastern Prehistory. ...

Among other projects, OI scholars are currently working on a 21 volume dictionary of Assyrian, a dictionary of Hittite, and a dictionary of Demotic. The term Assyrian language can mean one of: Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: a language spoken in Israel, Syria, and Mesopotamia from perhaps 700 BC until now. ... Hittite is the extinct language once spoken by the Hittites, a people who once created an empire centered on ancient Hattusas (modern Boğazkale) in north-central Anatolia (modern Turkey). ... Demotic (from δημοτικά popular) refers to both the ancient Egyptian script derived from northern forms of hieratic used in the Delta, as well as the stage of the Egyptian language following Late Egyptian and preceding Coptic. ...

In 2006, the Oriental Institute became the center of controversy when U.S. federal courts ruled to seize and auction its valuable collection of ancient Persian artifacts, the proceeds of which would go to compensate the victims of a 1997 bombing in Jerusalem that the United States claim was funded by Iran. The ruling threatens the university's invaluable collection of ancient clay tablets held by the Oriental Institute since the 1930s but officially owned by Iran.

See also

• Persian cultural heritage crisis at the Oriental Institute

Chicagos Persian heritage crisis (تاراج سرمايه باستانی ايران در شيکاگو in Persian) refers to a threat to seize invaluable Persian antiquities kept at the University of Chicago by the United States federal courts and also a threat to numerous other Persian antiquities kept in the Field museum in Chicago. ...

External links

• the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago - home page for the Oriental Institute
• Abzu - A guide to open access material of the Ancient Near East
• A database on the Oriental Institute's website maintained by Dr. Clemens Reichel documenting artifacts stolen from the Iraq Museum in April 2003
• Persepolis Fortification Archive Project