Asad Rustum Collection (1920s - 1960s)

This collection (around two linear feet) includes some of Asad Rustum's correspondence, research materials, drafts, notes, maps and photos, as well as obituaries and letters from and to the family. Many of the manuscripts document the history of the Eastern Church in the region and provide a window onto Dr. Rustum's groundbreaking research on Iskandarūn. The collection was donated by Dr. Rustum's family given the importance of the material for scholarship, and in recognition of Dr. Rustum’ s impactful contributions to the  history of the modern Middle East. It nicely complements a previous collection compiled by Dr. Rustum from the Egyptian Royal Archives and currently housed at ASC.

Asad Jibrail Rustum was born in Shuwayr, Lebanon, 1897. After finishing his elementary and secondary education, he entered the Syrian Protestant College (currently AUB) in 1912 and received a B.A. in 1916 and an M.A. in 1919. He pursued his graduate studies at the University of Chicago, graduating with a Ph.D. in Philosophy, in 1923. He served at the American University of Beirut from 1927 to 1943 as a Professor of History then served as adviser to the American Embassy of Beirut and the Lebanese Armed Forces.  Between 1951 and 1965, he served as historical advisor to the Lebanese Army. When the Lebanese University was founded, he joined its faculty in the capacity of Professor of History. He was also the official Historian of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch. Dr. Rustum was an inspiring teacher, and a dedicated researcher. His minute  precise documentary work relating to the history of Syria and Lebanon under Mohammed Ali Pasha, his instrumental help in bringing copies and part of the collection of the Royal Archives of Egypt which are related to Lebanon to AUB, his role in building the manuscript collection at the Libraries, his studies on the history of Lebanon under the Shihab dynasty, his works on Byzantine history and on the history of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and the East, and his final service in the compilation of a Greek-Arabic lexicon as an aid to New Testament studies in the Arabic-speaking world are all extremely commendable, and are documented here in the collection.