Complex sentence: Born in Damascus, Syria, to Prof. Joseph A. Arbeely, Nageeb emigrated with his parents and siblings to the United States in 1878, the first Syrian family to seek refuge in the U.S. They had been persecuted in the Ottoman Empire as Christians.
Split into simpler sentences: Born in Damascus, Syria, to Prof. Joseph A. Arbeely, Nageeb immigrated with his parents and siblings to the United States in 1878. The Arbeelys were the first Syrian family to seek refuge in the U.S. They had been persecuted in the Ottoman Empire as Christians.