Gorgias Press

Gorgias Press is an independent academic publishing house founded in 2001 by Christine Kiraz and George Kiraz. Based in Piscataway, New Jersey, the press specializes in scholarly books and journals concerning the ancient and medieval Middle East, with particular strength in Syriac Christianity, Syriac literature, and related linguistic and religious traditions. Its catalog also reaches into the ancient Near East, biblical studies, Arabic and Islamic studies, early Christianity, classical studies, Jewish studies, Mandaean studies, and the history of religion more broadly. The press occupies a specialist position within scholarly publishing. Rather than concentrating on a single general academic discipline, it connects philology, theology, history, manuscript studies, linguistics, and the study of religious communities across late antiquity and the pre-modern world. This interdisciplinary scope allows Gorgias to publish both original research and reference-oriented material, including monographs, edited collections, critical editions, translations, handbooks, and works that make difficult or previously inaccessible sources available to English-language readers. Syriac studies remain central to the identity of the press. Gorgias has published scholarship on Syriac language and literature, editions of Syriac texts, studies of Syriac Christianity, and translations associated with major historical and theological writers. Its catalog includes work by scholars and historical authors associated with Syriac, Arabic, biblical, Islamic, Jewish, Mandaean, and early Christian studies. The press has also issued English translations and scholarly editions of works connected with figures such as Hippolytus of Rome, Jacob of Sarug, and Isaac the Syrian. Gorgias publishes more than 30 series. Examples include Gorgias Handbooks, Gorgias Ugaritic Studies, Gorgias Mandaean Studies, Judaism in Context, and Texts from Christian Late Antiquity. These series provide a continuing framework for specialized research and help preserve subjects that may be underrepresented in larger commercial academic lists. The press also publishes peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of the Canadian Society for Syriac Studies and the American Journal of Ancient History. Several projects demonstrate the press's emphasis on primary texts and long-term scholarly infrastructure. In 2010, it published three peer-reviewed volumes connected with Foundations for Syriac Lexicography, produced in association with the International Syriac Language Project. From 2012, it began publishing an ongoing 35-volume English translation of the Antioch Bible, based on the Aramaic Syriac Peshitta. Such projects require sustained editorial, translation, and distribution work and represent a significant part of the publisher's contribution to specialist humanities research. Gorgias has also adapted its distribution model. In 2018, it entered an e-book distribution partnership with Walter de Gruyter. In 2025, it launched the Gorgias Press Books eReader app in partnership with Glassboxx, giving retail customers a dedicated way to obtain digital editions from its catalog. The press therefore combines a traditional specialist scholarly publishing program with print, library, e-book, and direct-to-reader channels. Its 25th anniversary falls in 2026.

Gorgias Press was established in 2001 by Christine Kiraz and George Kiraz in the United States. From its Piscataway, New Jersey base, it developed as an independent academic publisher with a distinctive concentration on the history, religious traditions, languages, and literature of the Middle East and the wider pre-modern world. The press's earliest and most enduring specialization is Syriac studies. Syriac is a major literary language of ancient and medieval Christianity, and Gorgias has built a catalog covering Syriac texts, Syriac Christianity, Syriac literature, lexicography, manuscript traditions, and the historical communities that used the language. Its program is not limited to confessional or theological writing: it includes linguistic research, historical analysis, critical editions, translations, and interdisciplinary studies connecting Syriac materials with the broader ancient Near East. Over time, Gorgias expanded into adjacent areas. Its publishing program came to include ancient Near Eastern studies, biblical studies, Arabic and Islamic studies, early Christianity, classical studies, Jewish studies, Mandaean studies, and the study of religion and language. The resulting list combines specialized monographs with edited volumes, handbooks, source-text editions, and translations. Authors represented in the catalog include modern scholars such as Jamal-Dominique Hopkins, Sebastian Brock, Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley, Clinton Bennett, David C. Parker, Andrei Orlov, and Iain Torrance, alongside editions or works associated with historical figures including Philip Khuri Hitti, George Percy Badger, Ignatius Zakka I I, Ignatius Afram I Barsoum, Ignatius Elias III, Aziz Suryal Atiya, and William Hatch. A major feature of the press is its series-based approach. Gorgias has developed more than 30 series, including Gorgias Handbooks, Gorgias Ugaritic Studies, Gorgias Mandaean Studies, Judaism in Context, and Texts from Christian Late Antiquity. Series publishing gives continuity to specialist fields and creates a recognizable home for works that serve relatively small but internationally distributed scholarly communities. The press has also maintained a journals program. Its peer-reviewed publications include the Journal of the Canadian Society for Syriac Studies and the American Journal of Ancient History. These journals complement its books by providing venues for current research and by connecting the publisher with academic societies and field-specific networks. In 2010, Gorgias published three volumes of peer-reviewed articles connected with Foundations for Syriac Lexicography and the International Syriac Language Project. This work reflected the press's interest in durable reference infrastructure and the documentation of Syriac vocabulary and language history. Beginning in 2012, it published the first volume of an intended 35-volume English translation of the Antioch Bible, an Aramaic text based on the Syriac Peshitta. The project extended Gorgias's role from disseminating secondary scholarship to making an important pre-modern scriptural tradition more accessible to English readers. Digital distribution became more prominent during the following decade. In 2018, Gorgias entered an e-book distribution partnership with the German academic publisher Walter de Gruyter. In 2025, it partnered with Glassboxx to launch the Gorgias Press Books eReader app, allowing retail customers to download e-book editions from the Gorgias catalog through a dedicated digital reading channel. These initiatives supplemented, rather than replaced, the press's traditional book and library-oriented model. Gorgias Press remains an active specialist publisher. Its planned 25th anniversary in 2026 marks a quarter-century of publishing in fields centered on Syriac, the ancient Near East, biblical and religious studies, and the languages and textual cultures of the pre-modern world.

• 2026

  25th anniversary

  [1]Gorgias Pressen.wikipedia.org

  2026 marks 25 years since the founding of Gorgias Press.

• 2025

  Gorgias Press Books eReader app launches

  [1]Gorgias Pressen.wikipedia.org

  In partnership with Glassboxx, the press launches a dedicated app for retail customers to obtain and read digital editions.

• 2018

  E-book distribution partnership with Walter de Gruyter

  [1]Gorgias Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Gorgias and Walter de Gruyter enter an arrangement to distribute Gorgias e-book editions.

• 2012

  Antioch Bible translation series begins

  [1]Gorgias Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Gorgias begins publishing an ongoing 35-volume English translation of the Antioch Bible, based on the Syriac Peshitta.

• 2010

  Foundations for Syriac Lexicography volumes appear

  [1]Gorgias Pressen.wikipedia.org

  The press publishes three peer-reviewed volumes associated with the International Syriac Language Project and research in Syriac lexicography.

• 2001

  Gorgias Press is founded

  [1]Gorgias Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Christine Kiraz and George Kiraz establish Gorgias Press as an independent academic publisher in the United States.

A specialist independent scholarly publisher serving researchers, universities, libraries, and readers interested in the languages, religions, texts, and histories of the ancient and medieval Middle East, especially Syriac Christianity and Syriac studies.

• English translation and critical biblical publishing project · 2012

  Antioch Bible

  An ongoing, planned 35-volume English translation of an Aramaic biblical text associated with the Syriac Peshitta. Gorgias began publishing the series in 2012. The project serves readers and researchers who need access to a Syriac textual tradition in English and illustrates the press's commitment to substantial, multi-volume primary-text programs.

• Syriac linguistics and reference scholarship · 2010

  Foundations for Syriac Lexicography

  A research project and associated publication program focused on the study and documentation of Syriac vocabulary and lexicography. In 2010, Gorgias published three peer-reviewed volumes in association with the International Syriac Language Project, contributing to the reference infrastructure of Syriac language studies.

• Academic reference series

  Gorgias Handbooks

  A series of scholarly handbooks addressing specialized areas within the press's humanities and religious-studies program. The series reflects Gorgias's effort to provide structured reference material for researchers, students, and academic libraries across fields connected with the ancient and pre-modern world.

• Ancient Near Eastern studies series

  Gorgias Ugaritic Studies

  A specialist series devoted to Ugaritic language, literature, history, and related aspects of the ancient Near East. It sits within Gorgias's broader program in ancient languages, textual cultures, and the religious history of the region.

• Mandaean studies series

  Gorgias Mandaean Studies

  A series focused on Mandaean religion, texts, language, history, and communities. Its inclusion demonstrates the press's attention to religious traditions of the Middle East that are often served by specialist rather than mass-market publishing.

• Jewish studies series

  Judaism in Context

  A scholarly series examining Judaism through historical, textual, cultural, and religious contexts. It complements Gorgias's programs in biblical studies, ancient history, and the interconnected religious cultures of the Middle East.

• Early Christian texts and translations

  Texts from Christian Late Antiquity

  A series devoted to texts and scholarship from Christian late antiquity. It aligns with the press's publication of critical editions, translations, and research on early Christian authors, languages, institutions, and intellectual traditions.

• Peer-reviewed journals

  Gorgias Press academic journals

  Gorgias publishes several peer-reviewed academic journals, including the Journal of the Canadian Society for Syriac Studies and the American Journal of Ancient History. These periodicals extend the press's role beyond books into continuing scholarly communication.

• 2025

  Launch a dedicated Gorgias Press Books eReader appProduct launch

  Background

  The press sought to provide retail customers with a direct digital reading route for its catalog.

  Action taken

  Gorgias partnered with Glassboxx to launch the Gorgias Press Books eReader app.

  Aftermath

  The app enabled customers to download e-book editions of Gorgias titles. Longer-term adoption and commercial results are not reported in the available sources.

  Source

• 2018

  Expand digital distribution through Walter de GruyterStrategy

  Background

  Gorgias needed broader digital availability for its specialist academic catalog while retaining its independent publishing identity.

  Action taken

  The press entered an e-book distribution partnership with Walter de Gruyter.

  Aftermath

  The partnership added an established academic distribution channel for Gorgias digital editions. No further outcome is specified in the available reference material.

  Source

1. 1Gorgias Pressen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Gorgias Press official bookshopgorgiaspress.com