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.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 414
ISBN: 9781593339111
Pub Date: 02 Apr 2009
Series: Kiraz Historic Travels Archive
Description:
With the characteristic compelling photographs that accompany his work, E. M. Newman here presents his unique outlook on Egypt and the Holy Land.
Written with the competence of a professional travel writer, Newman takes the reader through his arrival in Egypt by ship and on a virtual tour of the noted wonders of that land. His impressions of Egypt, Palestine, the Arabian Desert and Sinai are all dutifully recorded. Finishing up with the accounts of his main New Testament sites, Nazareth, the Jordan River, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem, this travelogue contains a wealth of impressions and memories. Illustrated with over 300 photographs, this volume gives a visually descriptive tour of these ancient lands.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 42
ISBN: 9781607241294
Pub Date: 02 Apr 2009
Series: Analecta Gorgiana
Description:
Originally delivered as one of the St. Margaret’s Lectures for 1904, the contents of this booklet are focused on aspects of the Syriac-speaking Church. Extracted from Burkitt’s book Early Eastern Christianity, the fourth lecture concerns the development of marriage and the role of sacraments in the early Syriac Church.
Burkitt finds that marriage was not early regarded as a sacrament and the married faithful were not permitted the sacraments of baptism or communion in the early tradition represented by Aphraates.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 527
ISBN: 9781593339470
Pub Date: 02 Apr 2009
Description:
The Parsis, descendants of the ancient Persians, are a Zoroastrian people that have survived into modern times. Dauphine Menant’s classic study on the history of the Parsis in India is made available in its first French edition. In the style of the travelogue, the study contains illustrations of parts of the Parsis life in the late nineteenth century.
Twenty-one plates as well as illustrations within the text serve the valuable function of enabling the reader to visualize this swiftly disappearing culture. This basic introduction to the history and life of the Parsis will appeal to those interested in the state of religious minorities in Asia, as well as those who are researching the living traditions of Zoroastrianism
Format: Hardback
Pages: 332
ISBN: 9781593337872
Pub Date: 02 Apr 2009
Series: Kiraz Historical Grammars Archive
Description:
This specialized study by renowned linguist Rubens Duval brings together several grammatical studies between its covers. For the most part this intriguing volume is an exploration of the dialects of Neo-Aramaic of Salmas in the area of Azerbaijan and northwest Iran. Duval transcribed in handwritten, Roman characters, the aural information he received in the region from Syrian Christians and Jews.
These are translated into French, making access to the linguistic information available to non-Semitic specialists. Duval concludes the book with an article on Syriac inscriptions of Salmas. This book is very rare in the used book market.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 48
ISBN: 9781607241263
Pub Date: 02 Apr 2009
Series: Analecta Gorgiana
Description:
Originally delivered as one of the St. Margaret’s Lectures for 1904, the contents of this booklet are focused on aspects of the Syriac-speaking Church. Extracted from Burkitt’s book Early Eastern Christianity, the third lecture concerns the theology of Eastern Christianity.
Burkitt provides a brief survey of the work of Aphraates, Philoxenus of Mabbug, Ephraim the Syrian, and Rabbula.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 523
ISBN: 9781593339302
Pub Date: 02 Apr 2009
Series: Kiraz Historical Catalogues Archive
Description:
This catalogue presents the Islamic, Oriental Christian, Judaic and Samaritan manuscripts in the University library of Leipzig’s collection. The largest part of the material is Islamic, and it is presented here according to categories. Manuscripts are described by title (if known) and a brief summary of the contents.
Dimensions for most of the pieces are given as well. The Christian material includes manuscripts in Arabic, Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopic, and Georgian. A numerical concordance adds to the utility of this important manuscript collection.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 388
ISBN: 9781593338220
Pub Date: 31 Mar 2009
Description:
As the title of this work broadly indicates, it is the translation into English of St. Cyril of Alexandria’s commentary on the Gospel of Luke. This manuscript document had recently been acquired by Oxford University in Syriac.
Payne Smith published an edition, but quickly realized that the work would largely go ignored if it were not translated into English. Cyril’s own interpretation of one of the Gospels focuses a crucial eye on a major source for understanding early Christianity.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 367
ISBN: 9781593338237
Pub Date: 31 Mar 2009
Description:
As the title of this work broadly indicates, it is the translation into English of St. Cyril of Alexandria’s commentary on the Gospel of Luke. This manuscript document had recently been acquired by Oxford University in Syriac.
Payne Smith published an edition, but quickly realized that the work would largely go ignored if it were not translated into English. Cyril’s own interpretation of one of the Gospels focuses a crucial eye on a major source for understanding early Christianity.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 280
ISBN: 9781607240679
Pub Date: 31 Mar 2009
Series: Gorgias Eastern Christian Studies
Description:
Common Heritage, Divided Communion examines the various religious and secular events related to the Council of Chalcedon (451) and the so-called “Monophysite” schism. It includes a detailed overview and analysis of contemporary Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox ecumenical efforts to re-establish ecclesial communion.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 234
ISBN: 9781607241058
Pub Date: 31 Mar 2009
Description:
This ground-breaking study offers a reassessment of Moses' book of the law from a narrative theory perspective. Concerned for the long-term viability of his people, Moses legislates a public reading of his document which is deposited next to the ark of the covenant as a national testament. Through the mechanics of narrative mediation, the narrator reveals to the reader of Deuteronomy the contents of Moses' enshrined publication.
Deuteronomy's simulcast of Moses' book invites external readers to compare and evaluate their readings with story-world readers who access the same text within the Bible's Primary Narrative.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 59
ISBN: 9781607240365
Pub Date: 27 Mar 2009
Series: Analecta Gorgiana
Description:
This article contributes to the knowledge of Jacob of Edessa’s (d. 708) Old Testament revision by editing twenty texts (a total of 80 verses) from the Book of Isaiah and comparing them with the Greek recensions of the Septuagint, with the Peshitta, and the Syrohexapla. Two special features are introduced to set out Jacob’s revision technique in some detail: 1.
comparison with an earlier undeveloped stage of Jacob’s revision extant in Ms Add 17,134 of the British Library; and 2. the distinction (by different colours and fonts) of the ‘traditions’ involved in the definite stage of his revision. Both features point to the emphasis given to the Peshitta in translating the substantial Greek text of the Old Testament.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 333
ISBN: 9781607241447
Pub Date: 14 Mar 2009
Series: Monastic Studies Series
Description:
A panorama of Russian Christian spirituality, richly illustrated with passages from formative works.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 122
ISBN: 9781593338947
Pub Date: 14 Mar 2009
Series: Analecta Gorgiana
Description:
Originally published in two small volumes of Semitic ephemera written in German, this collection of observations of Paul de Lagarde still contains his cogent insights into the world of Semitic linguistics. Critical remarks on the book of Isaiah introduce his characteristic detail on a number of verses in the prophetic book. The second selection concerns the clarification of Akkadian (Chaldean) words occurring in the Hebrew Bible.
In the second major section of the work, de Lagarde presents the leaves of the Septuagint of Codex Sarravianus found in Paris. This annotated Greek material comes from the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers.
Pages: 234
ISBN: 9781593338251
Pub Date: 12 Mar 2009
Pages: 260
ISBN: 9781593338268
Pub Date: 12 Mar 2009
Description:
The publication of ancient Syriac documents was a passion for Budge. In this two-volume set, volume 1 in Syriac and volume 2 in English, Budge offers the two documents entitled “The History of the Blessed Virgin Mary” and “The History of the Likeness of Christ which the Jews of Tiberias Made to Mock at.” These two manuscripts represent the genre of New Testament apocrypha and originate in perhaps the late fourth century.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 810
ISBN: 9781593337971
Pub Date: 12 Mar 2009
Series: Kiraz References Archive
Description:
This book was so popular during the lifetime of the original author that it went through six editions. This reprinting of the acclaimed seventeenth edition of Vincent’s revision of Haydn’s work is a delightful reminder of the basic information that was considered so important during the advent of the classic encyclopedias and reference works being produced in the nineteenth century. Arranged alphabetically, this historic work contains hundreds of articles that pertain to important dates and events in human history.
Pages: 260
ISBN: 9781593338268
Pub Date: 12 Mar 2009
Pages: 234
ISBN: 9781593338251
Pub Date: 12 Mar 2009
Description:
The publication of ancient Syriac documents was a passion for Budge. In this two-volume set, volume 1 in Syriac and volume 2 in English, Budge offers the two documents entitled “The History of the Blessed Virgin Mary” and “The History of the Likeness of Christ which the Jews of Tiberias Made to Mock at.” These two manuscripts represent the genre of New Testament apocrypha and originate in perhaps the late fourth century.
