Issa Benyamin (May 15, 1924 – January 14, 2014) was an
Iranian-Assyrian calligrapher
Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as " ...
and educator.
Biography
Assyrian calligrapher, Issa Benyamin was born to Assyrian parents, Mirza Benyamin Kaldani (1879-1966) and Esther in 1924 in
Tabriz
Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quru River valley in Iran's historic Azerbaijan region between long ridges of vo ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...
and shortly thereafter, settled in
Urmia
Urmia or Orumiyeh ( fa, ارومیه, Variously transliterated as ''Oroumieh'', ''Oroumiyeh'', ''Orūmīyeh'' and ''Urūmiyeh''.) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran and the capital of Urmia County. It is situated at an a ...
, once a heavily Assyrian populated region in northwestern Iran that was the site of the
Assyrian genocide
The Sayfo or the Seyfo (; see below), also known as the Assyrian genocide, was the mass slaughter and deportation of Assyrian / Syriac Christians in southeastern Anatolia and Persia's Azerbaijan province by Ottoman forces and some Kurdish ...
of 1914–1918.
Benyamin's love for the Neo-Aramaic language developed early on when his father, who was originally from
Salamas
Salmas ( fa, سلماس; ; ; ; syr, ܣܵܠܵܡܵܣ, Salamas) is the capital of Salmas County, West Azerbaijan Province in Iran. It is located northwest of Lake Urmia, near Turkey. According to the 2019 census, the city's population is 127,864. ...
, Iran, taught him to read and write
Neo-Aramaic
The Neo-Aramaic or Modern Aramaic languages are varieties of Aramaic that evolved during the late medieval and early modern periods, and continue to the present day as vernacular (spoken) languages of modern Aramaic-speaking communities. Within ...
. By the time Benyamin was seventeen, he fell in love with the art of
calligraphy and began mastering it under the tutelage of Bishop Havil Zaya, the Archbishop of Urmia and Salamas.
Benyamin's many publications included the weekly Assyrian-Persian ''Datid barana'Bright Future'' in 1951 and in 1962, one of the first books on the principles of Assyrian writing. From 1981 to 1983, he was the Assyrian editor of the weekly ''Ishtar'' (name of ancient Assyrian female deity) .'
Beginning in 1975, Benyamin devoted much of his time to paintings and illustrations using Assyrian calligraphy creating hundreds of pieces that will soon be published in a three-volume collection. He was credited with the development of fifty-two Assyrian fonts that can be used in a variety of word processors and similar programs.
In 1993, two of Benyamin's works were featured in ''The Voice of Ink,'' a French magazine.
His daughter, Ramica and his son, Ramsin, founded Benyamin's company, ''CalligRam'', in 1997. He made his home in Normal, Illinois. and was married to Clara Minassian, originally of Golpshan, a large village east of Urmiah. Issa Benyamin died on January 20, 2014.
Awards
*''Excellence Award'' presented by the
Assyrian Academic Society of Chicago in 1991
*''Excellence Award'' presented by Ashurbanipal Library in Chicago in 1991
*''Hammurabi Award'' presented by The Assyrian Heritage Organization of Chicago in 1992
*''Ashurbanipal Award'' presented by Assyrian American National Federation in 1994
*''The Mesopotamian Arts Award (Raab-Amne)'' from the Assyrian Aid Society in 2009
See also
*
List of Assyrian-Iranians
''This is a list of famous Assyrian-Iranians.''
Art
* Evin Agassi - singer
* Ashurbanipal Babilla (1944 Tehran - New York City) - actor, theatre director, playwright and visual artist
* Issa Benyamin (born 1924 Tabriz) - calligraphist
* Aril ...
External links
Issa Benyamin's Official Website*
"Integrity and Dedication," THE ASSYRIAN STAR vol. LIV, 3 (Fall 2002) pp. 8–11
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benyamin, Issa
Calligraphers from Tabriz
People from Urmia
Iranian Assyrian people
Iranian emigrants to the United States
American people of Iranian-Assyrian descent
1924 births
People from Chicago
2014 deaths