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Assyrian Cultural Foundation

The Assyrian Cultural Foundation (formerly known as AUAF) is a non-profit organization inspired by Assyrian heritage, serving as a bridge between traditions and different generations in the hopes of building a stronger, more connected community through our various programs.

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Dr. Kiersten Neumann, Curator at the ISAC Museum, and Research Associate and Lecturer of Near Eastern Art and Archaeology, gives the audience at the Assyrian Renaissance lecture 2026 a glimpse of the artistic contents of an Assyrian grave during the middle Assyrian period.

Assyrian art evolved from the relatively modest and functional style of the Old Assyrian period (c. 2050 BC), centered in the merchant city of Aššur, where we find cylinder seals, small-scale religious objects, and trade-related imagery. During the Middle Assyrian period (c. 1400 BC), Assyria emerged as a regional empire, and its art became more imperial and martial, with stronger royal symbolism, monumental architecture, and reliefs portraying kingship, divine favor, and military authority.
In the Neo-Assyrian period (c. 911–609 BC), Assyrian art reached its height under rulers such as Ashurnasirpal II, Sargon II, and Sennacherib, becoming highly sophisticated, monumental, and narrative-driven. Vast palace reliefs depicted warfare, lion hunts, deportations, rituals, and courtly life with incredible detail and realism, designed both as propaganda and as expressions of cosmic order. After the fall of Assyria, many artistic traditions survived in the art of the Babylonians, Achaemenid Persians, and later Near Eastern cultures, while Assyrian motifs, such as winged guardian figures, heroic combat scenes, and royal iconography, continued to influence the visual language of empires for centuries.

For modern Assyrians, art remains one of the clearest expressions of historical continuity and collective memory. Contemporary Assyrian artists frequently draw upon ancient Assyrian motifs, such as the lamassu, cuneiform inscriptions, winged disks, royal beards, sacred trees, and imagery from the palaces of Nineveh and Nimrud, to reconnect modern identity with the ancient past.

0:00 Welcome & Introduction
1:13 Assyrian Art Through Time
1:56 Origins at Ashur
4:07 The Ishtar Temple
6:02 Early Kingship & Sargon
7:35 Old Assyrian Ashur
8:20 Shamshi-Adad I
9:30 Palaces, Temples & Ziggurats
11:21 Middle Assyrian Expansion
13:31 Temple Pedestals & Divine Symbols
16:45 Early Narrative Art
18:18 Foundation Deposits
20:27 Tomb of Babu-aha-iddina
22:13 Assyrian Naturalism
25:59 Rise of the Neo-Assyrian Empire
27:00 Capitals of Empire
28:23 Imperial Cities & Architecture
31:14 Royal Palaces & Kingship
32:15 Lamassu & Palace Reliefs
33:52 The Throne Room Program
36:17 Lachish Reliefs
37:22 Ashurbanipal & Royal Imagery
38:38 Rock Reliefs & Monuments
39:46 Temples & Sacred Furnishings
40:46 Sennacherib's Temple Basin
42:16 Queens' Tombs & Luxury Arts
43:43 Protective Foundation Figurines
45:48 Legacy of Assyrian Art
46:56 Assyria in Chicago
47:14 Modern Assyrian Artists
47:30 Assyrian Renaissance Today
47:48 Closing Remarks

Assyrian art evolved from the relatively modest and functional style of the Old Assyrian period (c. 2050 BC), centered in the merchant city of Aššur, where we find cylinder seals, small-scale religious objects, and trade-related imagery. During the Middle Assyrian period (c. 1400 BC), Assyria emerged as a regional empire, and its art became more imperial and martial, with stronger royal symbolism, monumental architecture, and reliefs portraying kingship, divine favor, and military authority.
In the Neo-Assyrian period (c. 911–609 BC), Assyrian art reached its height under rulers such as Ashurnasirpal II, Sargon II, and Sennacherib, becoming highly sophisticated, monumental, and narrative-driven. Vast palace reliefs depicted warfare, lion hunts, deportations, rituals, and courtly life with incredible detail and realism, designed both as propaganda and as expressions of cosmic order. After the fall of Assyria, many artistic traditions survived in the art of the Babylonians, Achaemenid Persians, and later Near Eastern cultures, while Assyrian motifs, such as winged guardian figures, heroic combat scenes, and royal iconography, continued to influence the visual language of empires for centuries.

For modern Assyrians, art remains one of the clearest expressions of historical continuity and collective memory. Contemporary Assyrian artists frequently draw upon ancient Assyrian motifs, such as the lamassu, cuneiform inscriptions, winged disks, royal beards, sacred trees, and imagery from the palaces of Nineveh and Nimrud, to reconnect modern identity with the ancient past.
In this reel, Dr. Kiersten Neumann, Curator at the ISAC Museum, and Research Associate and Lecturer of Near Eastern Art and Archaeology, gives the audience at the Assyrian Renaissance lecture 2026 a glimpse of the artistic contents of an Assyrian grave during the middle Assyrian period.

Esarhaddon, King of Assyria, famously boasted that no one in the known world could escape his power. Long dismissed as royal exaggeration, that claim may have contained more truth than once believed. In a recent lecture, Stephen Compton argues that historical evidence points to an Assyrian empire far larger than previously understood, extending even into Yemen. If correct, his findings would significantly reshape our understanding of the true reach of the Assyrian Empire.

Watch the full lecture on our YouTube channel. Link in bio.

#Assyrian #AssyrianCulturalFoundation #ACFchicago #AssyrianRenaissance #StephenCompton

0:00 – Introduction
1:24 – Why Assyrians Must Write Their Own History
3:04 – Fragmentation of the Assyrian People
5:20 – Continuous Assyrian History Explained
6:40 – Historians Denying Assyrian Continuity
7:19 – Michael Morony and “What Happened to the Assyrians?”
9:36 – Rejecting the “Post-Assyrian” Period
10:30 – Ancient Kurdistan and Assyrian Archaeology
12:57 – Claiming Assyrian History with Confidence
13:21 – Rashid Khalidi’s “100 Years’ War on Palestine”
14:50 – Malik Yaqo’s “Assyrians and Two World Wars”
16:21 – The Book “Gileana” and Preserving History
18:48 – Conversion, Identity, and Education in Iraq
20:14 – Modern Assyrian Struggles and Historical Continuity
21:33 – “The Assyrian Struggle for National Survival”
22:02 – Pierre Younan on Personal Narratives in History
24:40 – Bias in Historical Writing
27:10 – Assyrian Oneness and National Unity
30:24 – Language, Akkadian, and Aramaic
32:01 – Jonathan Valk and Aramaic as an Assyrian Language
34:16 – Aramaic, Mesopotamia, and Identity Debates
39:40 – Christianity as Part of Assyrian History
41:02 – Eyewitness Histories and Family Narratives
42:19 – Assyrians of Chicago and Community Archives
43:25 – Fred Aprim and Writing Assyrian History
44:20 – Fiction, Memory, and Historical Nuance
45:36 – Historical Personalities and Biography
47:04 – Family Histories and the Parad Family Story
48:26 – Poetry, ISIS, and Assyrian Expression
50:05 – “Fever and Thirst” and Misrepresentation of Assyrians
53:10 – Gordon Taylor and Orientalist Narratives
55:26 – The Meaning and Message of Assyrian History
57:10 – Writing Your Own History Today
58:07 – Sarah Gawo on Reclaiming Assyrian Narratives
1:00:25 – Undoing Historical Vilification
1:00:43 – Pierre Younan on Oral History and Historical Value
1:04:16 – Assyrians as Subjects, Not Objects, of History
1:05:26 – Filling the Void in Assyrian Historiography
1:06:29 – Preserving Assyrian Voices and Literature
1:07:04 – The Ashurbanipal Library as an Idea
1:08:06 – 40 Years of the Ashurbanipal Library
1:08:46 – Preserving Assyrian Literature for the Future

In this session of The Story of Assyria, Robert DeKelaita, alongside Sarah Gawo and Pierre Younan, explores why Assyrians must write and preserve their own history. The discussion examines who has the authority to tell history, the dangers of outsiders defining Assyrian identity, and the importance of firsthand narratives, oral histories, family records, literature, poetry, and eyewitness accounts in preserving the Assyrian story.

The class challenges concepts such as the “post-Assyrian” period, argues for the continuous historical identity of the Assyrian people from ancient to modern times, and discusses the relationship between Akkadian, Aramaic, and modern Assyrian language traditions. The lecture also highlights major Assyrian historical works, including Malik Yaqo’s Assyrians and Two World Wars, Gileana, The Assyrian Struggle for National Survival, and other important contributions that connect memory, identity, and survival across generations.

Throughout the conversation, we reflect on historical bias, nationalism, fragmentation within the Assyrian community, the role of Christianity in Assyrian continuity, and the responsibility of institutions like the Ashurbanipal Library in safeguarding Assyrian heritage for future generations.

Illuminations: Nahreen Odisho with Ninos Nirari

Qala Mhadyana Hosted By Ninos Nirari 05-09-26

The Assyrian Cultural Foundation brought the spirit of Assyrian New Year to the office with food, music, and dance!

We’re happy to celebrate 6776 with our community, and honored to celebrate with you all!

#Assyrian #AssyrianCulturalFoundation #ACFchicago #AssyrianNewYear

00:00 Intro
00:48 Topic: community + responsibility
01:15 Our obligations as Assyrians
02:43 Fragmentation + resilience
04:51 What “historical material” includes
05:43 Texts, archives, oral history, photos
07:15 Preserve + interpret + transmit
08:02 Access without ownership
08:40 Narratives written by outsiders
10:03 Identity, oneness, and continuity
10:28 Nineveh Plain roots + asserting rights
11:20 Responsibility is ours (not “experts”)
13:00 Books, manuscripts, archives
13:48 Syriac vs Assyrian: time-period framing
14:23 Reject “post-Assyrian” language
15:07 Politics of “layers” in history
17:30 Church/community records matter
18:06 Adiabene + Christian growth
19:10 Suraya vs Assyrian is a false split
20:35 Pierre’s family photo introduced
21:19 Greece 1923: flight and resettlement
23:23 Iraq 1932: return + hopes
24:01 Simele aftermath + missing great-grandfather
27:22 Long-lost friend + wallet photo
28:02 Reading the photo through history
30:27 Oral histories before they’re gone
32:22 Music as history (Harvard work)
33:48 Material culture: tools, flags, symbols
37:11 Digital projects + searchable texts
39:10 If we neglect it: big consequences
40:13 Assimilation examples + identity loss
45:17 Abandoned Hakkari churches
47:02 Politics of “Syriac not Assyrian”
49:13 Linking trauma + continuity
51:54 Final call: stand together

In this session of The Story of Assyria, Robert DeKelaita (with Sarah Gawo and Pierre Younan) lays out what historical responsibility means for a dispersed people: preserving, interpreting, and transmitting the materials that carry Assyrian identity—manuscripts, archives, oral histories, photographs, church records, music, artifacts, and modern digital collections. The class also challenges misleading frameworks like “post-Assyrian,” clarifies how “Syriac/Suryoyo/Suraya” relates to Assyrian continuity, and shows why neglecting preservation leads to shallow identity and outsiders defining our story. A major highlight is Pierre’s moving family testimony connecting Hakkari, Greece (1923), Iraq (1932), and the Simele massacre, demonstrating how one photograph becomes history once its context is recovered.

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Assyrian Cultural Foundation

The Assyrian Cultural Foundation (ACF) is a non-profit organization inspired by Assyrian heritage, serving as a bridge between traditions and different generations in the hopes of building a stronger, more connected community through our various programs.

Hours

Mon–Fri: 9:00am to 5:00pm
Sat: Closed Saturdays
Sun: Closed Sundays

Support our Fine Arts Program by purchasing artwork using our Fine Art America link. Click Here

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Assyrian Cultural Foundation
4343 W. Touhy Avenue
Lincolnwood, IL 60712

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Telephone: (773) 274-9262
Fax: (224)251-7620

General: General@acf-us.org

Art: Finearts@acf-us.org

Music: Music@acf-us.org

Tutoring: Tutoring@acf-us.org

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