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.

Linguistic Tips for Latino Learners and Teachers of English Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 202
ISBN: 9781593336905
Pub Date: 05 Jun 2007
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Description:
This book is written for both Latino (Hispanic) learners and teachers of English as a second language. The book is innovative in helping Latino learners and teachers overcome chronic and difficult barriers, such as the cases relevant to certain vowels, consonants and the overall rhythm of English. The methodology and techniques used to teach the two-vowel systems of English and Spanish is rarely encountered in modern linguistic literature.
Jesus the Galilean Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 296
ISBN: 9781593333133
Pub Date: 25 May 2007
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Description:
Who was Jesus, really? That question has been debated by academics for the last two centuries, and contributions to this important issue in the history of Christianity are still making an impact on public opinion. Jesus the Galilean takes soundings in the life of the historical Jesus based on four readings from the Gospel of Mark which represent some of the most controversial issues in the current scholarly discussion about the historical Jesus.
Adventures in Arabia Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 384
ISBN: 9781593335977
Pub Date: 24 May 2007
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Series: Kiraz Historic Travels Archive
Description:
In this personal travelogue, William Seabrook chronicles his adventures in the Middle East in the early part of the twentieth century. Specifically he focuses on his time among four Arabic groups: the Bedouins, Druses, Dervishes, and Yezidees.
The Book of the Laws of Countries: A Dialogue on Free Will versus Fate, A Key-Word-in-Context Concordance Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 254
ISBN: 9781593333744
Pub Date: 04 Apr 2007
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Description:
This key-word-in-context concordance will facilitate the study of the very early Syriac text called The Book of the Laws of the Countries, a dialogue on free will versus fate between the Edessean philosopher Bardaisan and his interlocutor Awida.
The Mameluke or Slave Dynasty of Egypt 1260-1517 A.D. Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 300
ISBN: 9781593336974
Pub Date: 04 Apr 2007
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Description:
Alert to the implications of Egyptian politics to the world of the Middle Ages, Muir offers a detailed look at the rule of the slave-soldier caste known as the Mamelukes who ruled Egypt from 1260 to 1517. Each ruler of the Bahrite and Circassian dynasties is given a full chapter, and the role of the Mamelukes under the Ottoman Empire is reviewed.
Chaldean Christian Doctrine in the Urmia Dialect Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 160
ISBN: 9781593334208
Pub Date: 26 Mar 2007
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Description:
Paul Bedjan produced this catechism to advance the knowledge of Catholicism among Aramaic-speaking Christians of the Middle East. The book is written in Modern Aramaic, in the dialect of Urmia. The book is of interest not only for pedagogical purposes among the Aramaic speakers, but also will give the Neo-Aramaic scholar a literary text from the late nineteenth century.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream or The End of a Medieval Catholic Church Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 268
ISBN: 9781593335830
Pub Date: 26 Mar 2007
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Description:
The Catholic Church of the Third Millennium has retained many of its medieval images and formulations making its message incomprehensible for modern people. The book suggests different ways for modern Catholics to speak about Scripture, hierarchy, Jesus, the afterlife, sacraments, sin, redemption, sacrifice, supplicating prayer and other issues. His study seeks to be a faithful translation, advanced by modernity, of the same message that was previously transmitted in traditional medieval language.
Sidon Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 188
ISBN: 9781593335922
Pub Date: 20 Mar 2007
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Description:
Although the name of "Sidon" is familiar to readers of the Bible, few know much about it. In this seminal study of the city of Sidon the reader is taken through what can be known of the political history and cultural influence, ancient and present, of this important city.
A Syriac Compendium of Eleven Ecumenical Councils Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 256
ISBN: 9781593334178
Pub Date: 19 Mar 2007
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Description:
Joseph Ma'aruf (1693-1713) produced (via an Arabic translation of the Latin) this Syriac compendium of eleven key ecumenical councils acknowledged by the Catholic Church. It is still read today, by Syriac-speaking Christians who wish to have a concise introduction to the theological decrees and canons of these great church councils which defined Catholic faith.
The Book of the Dove Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 96
ISBN: 9781593336783
Pub Date: 19 Mar 2007
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Description:
The Book of the Dove is the ascetical guide composed by Bar-Hebraeus for aspiring hermits. It concerns the training of the body and the soul for ascetical life. The spiritual rest of the perfect is also described, along with a spiritual autobiography of Bar-Hebraeus himself.
The Religion of Russia Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 140
ISBN: 9781593335663
Pub Date: 14 Mar 2007
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Description:
G. B. H.
Introduction to Semitic Comparative Linguistics Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 164
ISBN: 9781593331962
Pub Date: 14 Mar 2007
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Description:
Although it is a discipline with a venerable heritage, comparative Semitic linguistics has long suffered from the difficulty of finding an introduction that does not already require a specialists’ knowledge of the field. The primary languages Gray selected were Hebrew, the language most Semitic readers begin with, and Arabic, the most widely known Semitic language. The result is this user-friendly introduction.
The History of Mar Jab-Alaha and Rabban Sauma Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 604
ISBN: 9781593334185
Pub Date: 14 Mar 2007
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Series: Kiraz Chronicles Archive
Description:
This books gives the Syriac text of the account of Yaballaha III, Church of the East Patriarch, and his vicar Bar Sauma, the Mongol Ambassador to the Frankish courts at the end of the thirteenth century.
The Book of the Laws of Countries: Dialogue on Fate of Bardaisan of Edessa Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 85
ISBN: 9781593333713
Pub Date: 14 Mar 2007
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Description:
The Book of the Laws of Countries (BLC) by Bardaisan of Edessa belongs to the most important writings of early Syriac literature. The text reflects the intellectual climate of northern Mesopotamia and in particular that of the city of Edessa, at the end of the second century and the first decades of the third century CE.
The Book of Ethics Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 644
ISBN: 9781593334215
Pub Date: 09 Mar 2007
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Description:
Bar Hebraeus, a celebrated Syriac writer of the thirteenth century, wrote on nearly every subject imaginable. The Book of Ethics is a manual of discipline and etiquette covering secular life as well as spiritual life.
The Ancient Egyptians and the Origin of Civilization Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 240
ISBN: 9781593336097
Pub Date: 07 Mar 2007
Imprint: Gorgias Press
Description:
This monograph, in its second, hard-to-locate edition, proposes a connection between prehistoric monumental European sites and those of the Pyramid Age in Egypt. Using ethnicity as a basis, Smith ties the ancient peoples of Egypt to those of Syria and discusses how Egyptian culture spread from its point of origin.