Gorgias Press

Founded in 2001 Gorgias Press is an independent academic publisher of books and journals related to history, languages, and religious studies, with specific areas of expertise in the Ancient Near East, Arabic and Islamic Studies, Archaeology, Biblical Studies, Classics, Early Christianity, Jewish Studies, Linguistics, and Syriac.

Gorgias [GOR-gee-us] Press was originally created by George and Christine Kiraz as a specialty press that could keep up with their research interests. With a background in computational linguistics, George Kiraz envisioned combining cutting-edge technology with humanities research. The new company would be completely online, with no physical storefront, and it would use automation and digital printing technology rather than traditional print runs. With these tools, the press could afford to publish rare and understudied topics that were previously considered unprofitable, and Gorgias soon became known for its pioneering work in language and linguistics, religion, and especially Syriac and Eastern Christianity.
Gorgias’ philosophy of “Publishing for the Sake of Knowledge” rather than profit, attracted a number of new authors, and the press’ areas of interest rapidly began to expand. Today, Gorgias Press publishes 50-60 new titles a year, including monographs, edited volumes, translations, and more, and Gorgias books can be found in academic collections all over the world.

Catalogue of the Mingana Collection of Manuscripts (Vol 1) Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 635
ISBN: 9781593335427
Pub Date: 27 Oct 2006
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Series: Kiraz Historical Catalogues Archive
Description:
This multi-volume set is the catalogue for the famed Mingana Collection of Syriac and Arabic manuscripts. A principal resource for scholars of early Middle Eastern documents, this set describes and summarizes the documents that make up this collection.
Catalogue of the Mingana Collection of Manuscripts (Vol 2) Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 218
ISBN: 9781593335458
Pub Date: 27 Oct 2006
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Series: Kiraz Historical Catalogues Archive
Description:
This multi-volume set is the catalogue for the famed Mingana Collection of Syriac and Arabic manuscripts. A principal resource for scholars of early Middle Eastern documents, this set describes and summarizes the documents that make up this collection.
The Earliest Life of Christ Ever Compiled from the Four Gospels Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 248
ISBN: 9781593334772
Pub Date: 26 Oct 2006
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Series: Kiraz Theological Archive
Description:
In the second century, well before the canonical gospels took their present form, Tatian wove from the four gospels and one or more Judaic-Christian gospels one harmonized account of the life of Christ, the Diatessaron. The Earliest Life of Christ is an English translation of the Diatessaron based on the Arabic version, itself a translation from the lost Syriac.

The Widmanstadt-Moses of Mardin Editio Princeps of The Syriac Gospels of 1555

A Facsimile Limited Numbered Edition with an Introduction by George A. Kiraz
Format: Hardback
Pages: 338
ISBN: 9781593339999
Pub Date: 26 Oct 2006
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Description:
A facsimile reprint of the first edition of the Syriac New Testament, published by J. A. Widmanstadius and Moses of Mardin in 1555.
A Greek Fragment of Tatian's Diatessaron from Dura Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 48
ISBN: 9781593333683
Pub Date: 25 Oct 2006
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Series: Analecta Gorgiana
Description:
Discovered in 1933, a fragment of Tatian’s Diatessaron is published here with critical apparatus, a facsimile, and a transcription. The fragment, a discarded portion of a scroll with 14 surviving lines of text, was likely used in the worship of a third century C.E.
A Translation of the Four Gospels from the Syriac of the Sinaitic Palimpsest Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 277
ISBN: 9781593335311
Pub Date: 25 Oct 2006
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Series: Kiraz Theological Archive
Description:
Agnes Lewis was the discoverer of the Sinaitic Palimpsest, the oldest Syriac manuscript of the New Testament. Here she publishes her English translation of that text to make it available to Bible students who do not read Syriac. Included are the four canonical Gospels and a list of omitted words and phrases as well as interpolations into the Textus Receptus.
Baptism and Christian Archaeology Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 128
ISBN: 9781593334741
Pub Date: 25 Oct 2006
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Series: Analecta Gorgiana
Description:
Rogers examines what archaeology reveals for the early centuries of the church. From the period of persecution to that of the northern invasions, iconographic evidence for the performance of baptism is presented. Eastern and Western Church fonts are compared and evidence for baptism without a font is assessed.
Gospel Texts and the Acts of Saint Thomas from Mount Athos Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 104
ISBN: 9781593334734
Pub Date: 25 Oct 2006
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Series: Analecta Gorgiana
Description:
A rare glimpse into the wealth of manuscripts held by the community of Mount Athos, this volume includes material from codices psi and Evang. 1071, and chapters from Acta Pilati, and a fragment of Acta Thomae. A catalogue and description of the manuscripts Lake viewed on his 1899 visit to Mount Athos and substantial introductions to each piece round out this useful study.
Life of Saint Nino Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 96
ISBN: 9781593334710
Pub Date: 25 Oct 2006
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Series: Analecta Gorgiana
Description:
This translation makes readily available the basic hagiography of St. Nino. Apart from her personal significance, St.
Light on the Four Gospels from the Sinai Palimpsest Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 236
ISBN: 9781593335304
Pub Date: 25 Oct 2006
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Series: Kiraz Theological Archive
Description:
Commenting on an invaluable document that she personally found, Agnes Smith Lewis expresses her professional insights on this earliest extant version of the Syriac Gospels. This fourth century document, erased and written over, was discovered in the library of St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai in 1892.
The Gospel History and its Transmission Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 385
ISBN: 9781593335298
Pub Date: 25 Oct 2006
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Series: Kiraz Theological Archive
Description:
The essays in this informative book were originally delivered as the Jowett Lectures for 1906. They address many critical issues regarding the historical veracity of the Gospels and represent the emerging interest in the historical Jesus that was the spirit of the times. Besides addressing the canonical Gospels, this volume also discusses Marcion and non-canonical gospels.
Perspectives on Hebrew Scriptures I Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 960
ISBN: 9781593333102
Pub Date: 20 Oct 2006
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Series: Perspectives on Hebrew Scriptures and its Contexts
Description:
This volume incorporates all the articles and reviews published in Volumes 1-4 (1996-2003) of the Journal of Hebrew Scriptures.
Simple and Bold: Ephrem’s Art of Symbolic Thought Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 464
ISBN: 9781593333973
Pub Date: 20 Oct 2006
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Description:
Ephrem the Syrian is known as one of the greatest Christian poets and as a unique author whose mode of thought is usually described as “symbolic.” In this work, Kees den Biesen explores the literary, intellectual, and theological mechanisms at work in Ephrem’s writings with the specific aim of identifying the exact nature of his “symbolic thought” and evaluating its contemporary relevance. Den Biesen elaborates a comprehensive approach that integrates a variety of methods into a genuinely theological methodology.
A Residence of Eight Years in Persia among the Nestorian Christians with Notices of the Muhammedans Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 592
ISBN: 9781593334109
Pub Date: 19 Oct 2006
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Series: Kiraz Historic Travels Archive
Description:
Gives a travelogue and a journal of his missionary activities in the Middle East between 1834 and 1841, primarily with the Church of the East.
Nestorian Missionary Enterprise Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 388
ISBN: 9781593335632
Pub Date: 16 Oct 2006
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Series: Christianity in the Islamic World
Description:
Consistently referenced as a reliable source on the "Nestorian" missionary movement, this historical account of that movement is a necessary volume for anyone interested in the missionary work of the Eastern Church. Stewart’s engaging account has remained fresh through the years and remains a standard reference on the topic.
Literature of the Synagogue Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 332
ISBN: 9781593333645
Pub Date: 12 Oct 2006
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Series: Kiraz Jewish Studies Archive
Description:
Literature of the Synagogue is a three-part introduction to the textual heritage of Jewish devotion in the formative stages of its development. Part One presents a varied selection of prayers and liturgies expressive of rabbinic theology and religious feeling. Part Two is devoted to sermons from the classical rabbinic period.