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James Lyman Merrick

The Life and Times of an American Missionary Maverick Recalled from Persia

Series: Bibliotheca Iranica: Americans in Iran/Persia Collection 5
Availability: Forthcoming
Published: 2025
Page #: xi + 180
Size: 6 x 9
ISBN: 978-1568594125
plates, bibliography, index, notes, references

Quick Overview

James Lyman Merrick was born into a farming family in western Massachusetts in 1803. In his youth, while completing a school project, he developed an enduring love for Persia that became a guiding light for his entire life. As a committed Christian of a Reformed tradition, Merrick felt a calling to become a missionary to Persia. He entered Persia in 1835 under the umbrella of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. His task was to explore mission prospects for the American Board by extensively traveling within the country and learning about the language, religion, and culture of the Persians. His explorations made him the first American to enter the interior of Persia, setting foot in places that no American had ever visited before. His ten years among the Persians also made him the first American to become fully fluent in the Persian language and the author of multiple Persian and English translations and original texts. During his time in Persia, Merrick came to the view that cultural and literary efforts focusing on translation and education have a greater positive impact than evangelizing efforts of missions focused on proselytizing native populations. His views, often expressed in the form of direct and unfiltered mission reports, were in direct conflict with the worldview of the American Board, which ultimately recalled him from Persia in 1845. His recall by the powerful missionary board that had sent him to Persia resulted in much of his writings not being published or distributed among the Persians and the modern erasure of his legacy in the historical records of early US-Iran relations. As such, most Orientalists and Iranian studies scholars today know very little about James Lyman Merrick, if anything at all. Nevertheless, Merrick’s love for Persia and the Persians endured until his last living day, as he desired to “lie down to rest among the Persians,” called them his “brothers and sisters,” and considered Persia as his “adopted land.” By relying on archival records, mission reports, personal correspondences, and other historical sources, this biography intends to improve our modern awareness of James Lyman Merrick and recognize him as the pioneering American he was.

author

Hooman Estelami

Hooman Estelami is a professor at the Gabelli School of Business, Fordham University in New York City. He is the author of several books, including The Americans of Urumia, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Turnarounds, Simplified Business Research Methods, and Marketing Financial Services. Estelami is the editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Bank Marketing and previously served as the associate co-editor of the Journal of Product and Brand Management. His research has appeared in over 50 journal articles, for which he has received multiple prestigious awards. Using primary, secondary and archival data, Estelami has studied and published on a range of topics from customer protection and pricing to the history of US-Iran economic relations and American missionary presence in Persia during the nineteenth century. He received his Ph.D. in business from Columbia University, his MBA from McGill University, and his BA from Coe College.

Foreword
Preface
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Early Life
Chapter 3: Education and Designation as a Missionary
Chapter 4: Early Exploration and Evolution in Turkey
Chapter 5: Entry into Persia
Chapter 6: Visiting Tehran and Isfahan
Chapter 7: In Shiraz
Chapter 8: Escaping from Urmia
Chapter 9: Settling Down in Tabriz and Marriage
Chapter 10: Productive and Turbulent Years in Tabriz
Chapter 11: End of the Mission and the Forced Move Back to Urmia
Chapter 12: Final Months in Urmia
Chapter 13: Fighting the American Board
Chapter 14: A Period of Normalcy
Chapter 15: Conclusion
Bibliography
Selection of Works by James Lyman Merrick
A Friendly Tract (Resaaleh-e-Mehrabanee)
Sources of Images
Index
Author’s Biography

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