PRESS RELEASE
National Association for Armenian
Studies and Research (NAASR)
395 Concord Avenue
Belmont, MA 02478
Tel.: 617-489-1610
E-mail: [email protected]
DR. ARA DOSTOURIAN TO LECTURE ON ARMENIA AND THE CRUSADES AT NAASR
Dr. Ara Dostourian will give a lecture entitled “Armenia and the
Crusades: the Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa,” on Thursday, October
16, 2014, at 7:30 p.m., at the National Association for Armenian
Studies and Research (NAASR) Center, 395 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA
02478. The lecture is co-sponsored by NAASR and the Mashtots Chair in
Armenian Studies at Harvard University, and the Mashtots Professor of
Armenian Studies, Dr. James R. Russell, will offer introductory
remarks.
The Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa has long been recognized as an
invaluable source of information concerning the dramatic events taking
place in the Near East between the years 952 and 1162 A.D. Byzantine
emperors, Crusader knights, Arab potentates, and Turkish invaders
march across the pages of this eyewitness account.
Dr. Ara Dostourian translated this crucial primary source into
English for the first time for his doctoral work at Rutgers
University. It was published in 1993 as Armenia and the Crusades: The
Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa by NAASR and the University Press of
America; NAASR’s Armenian Heritage Press has just issued the second,
revised edition in paperback, incorporating corrections by the
translator as well as additions to the notes and bibliography.
Dr. Ara Edmond Dostourian is professor emeritus of history at the
University of West Georgia and a former research fellow in Armenian
Studies at Harvard University. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in
history and language from the City University of New York, a Master of
Arts in medieval history from Fordham University, and a Master of
Divinity degree from the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, MA,
and a Doctorate in Byzantine history from Rutgers University.
For more information about Dr. Dostourian’s lecture contact NAASR at
617-489-1610 [email protected]. Belmont, MA
October 3, 2014