Shamiram Urshan (1938 – 25 June 2011), also known as Shamiram Ourshan and occasionally Shamiram Oshana ( syr, ܫܡܝܪܡ ܐܪܫܢܐ), was an

Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...

singer and entertainer from

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 Turkmeni ...

, who gained popularity in the 1980s.SHAMIRAM URSHAN
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Biography

Shamiram was born in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

as the youngest of four children. She started singing, playing instruments and acting in school plays at the age of eight. She performed for the Iranian national TV in high school. After finishing high school, Shamiram taught dance to kindergarten children and was asked to perform at the Indian embassy in Tehran. She married at the age of 22 in 1960. She moved to the United States in 1970 with her husband, where she settled in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, eventually giving birth to three children. 33 years later, Shamiram moved to Los Angeles to be closer to her grandchildren. She died on 25 June 2011 in San Jose, and was survived by her two sons, both servicemen in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, and one daughter.

Music

Her musical interests included those in Persian, Turkish, Arabic and Hindi. Her professional career began in 1978, when she released her first album, titled ''Shamiram'' after the Assyrian queen

Semiramis ''Samīrāmīs'', hy, Շամիրամ ''Šamiram'') was the semi-legendary Lydian- Babylonian wife of Onnes and Ninus, who succeeded the latter to the throne of Assyria, according to Movses Khorenatsi. Legends narrated by Diodorus Siculus, who dre ...

. The album was very well received internationally which led to singing engagements around the world including Europe, North America and Australia. Her style was influenced by

Greek music The music of Greece is as diverse and celebrated as its History of Greece, history. Greek music separates into two parts: Greek folk music, Greek traditional music and Byzantine music. These compositions have existed for millennia: they originat ...

. She released three more albums during the 1980s and toured Europe and Australia. A compilation album was later released in 1995.

Discography

*Shamiram (1978) *Dreams (1982) *Ashikoota (1984) *Feelings (1987) *Best of Shamiram (compilation) (1995)

References

External links

Shamiram Urshan
Qeenatha {{DEFAULTSORT:Urshan, Shamiram 1938 births 2011 deaths Assyrian musicians Iranian Assyrian people Iranian emigrants to the United States 20th-century Iranian women singers Musicians from Seattle Singers from Tehran Syriac-language singers