Gurhan Bahadir was born in Antioch (Antakya), Turkiye. His PhD thesis was "Antioch 636–1098: From the Conquest of Islam to the Crusaders," the research for which was partially conducted at Princeton University in 2007-8 under the guidance of Prof. Dr. John Haldon. After finishing his thesis, Dr. Bahadir returned to Turkiye and received a PhD in History (Medieval Program) from Ankara University. He served as an Associate Professor of Medieval History at Hatay Mustafa Kemal University. Since leaving that position, he continues to write books and articles on the history of Medieval Antioch.