Uploaded August 2019 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
#oi100: A celebration of a century of impact, discovery, and research from the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute.
Learn more about The O.I. here: https://oi100.uchicago.edu/
Follow our story with the hashtag #oi100
The Oriental Institute (OI) was founded at the University of Chicago in 1919 by James Henry Breasted with a radical idea. He insisted that who we are—how we live as humans together—began not in Greece or Rome, but rather in the complex civilizations that emerged in an area of the ancient Middle East that he vividly named “The Fertile Crescent.” Breasted was appointed as faculty in 1894 by William R. Harper, the first president of the University of Chicago, and received financial support and encouragement from John D. Rockefeller, Jr., for the founding of the OI. The OI is one of the world’s leading centers for the study of ancient Middle Eastern civilizations, combining innovation in theory, methodology, and significant empirical discovery with the highest standards of rigorous scholarship. The OI Museum was opened to the public in 1931 and houses the largest collection of artifacts from the ancient Middle East in the United States, including more than 350,000 artifacts with roughly 5,000 on display. The majority of the collections come from the OI's expeditions in the Middle East during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. For more information visit https://oi100.uchicago.edu/
Subscribe to the O.I. on YouTube: youtube.com/user/JamesHenryBreasted
Follow #oi100 on Social Media:
Instagram: instagram.com/theorientalinstitute
Twitter: twitter.com/orientalinst
Facebook: facebook.com/OrientalInstitute
#oi100: A celebration of a century of impact, discovery, and research from the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute.
Learn more about The O.I. here: https://oi100.uchicago.edu/
Follow our story with the hashtag #oi100
The Oriental Institute (OI) was founded at the University of Chicago in 1919 by James Henry Breasted with a radical idea. He insisted that who we are—how we live as humans together—began not in Greece or Rome, but rather in the complex civilizations that emerged in an area of the ancient Middle East that he vividly named “The Fertile Crescent.” Breasted was appointed as faculty in 1894 by William R. Harper, the first president of the University of Chicago, and received financial support and encouragement from John D. Rockefeller, Jr., for the founding of the OI. The OI is one of the world’s leading centers for the study of ancient Middle Eastern civilizations, combining innovation in theory, methodology, and significant empirical discovery with the highest standards of rigorous scholarship. The OI Museum was opened to the public in 1931 and houses the largest collection of artifacts from the ancient Middle East in the United States, including more than 350,000 artifacts with roughly 5,000 on display. The majority of the collections come from the OI's expeditions in the Middle East during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. For more information visit https://oi100.uchicago.edu/
Subscribe to the O.I. on YouTube: youtube.com/user/JamesHenryBreasted
Follow #oi100 on Social Media:
Instagram: instagram.com/theorientalinstitute
Twitter: twitter.com/orientalinst
Facebook: facebook.com/OrientalInstitute
