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[[File:Alexander the Great.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Alexander the Great depicted with horns on a silver tetradrachm of Lysimachos, circa 297-281 B.C.]]
[[File:Alexander the Great.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Alexander the Great depicted with horns on a silver tetradrachm of Lysimachos, circa 297-281 B.C.]]


The story of Dhul-Qarnayn (in [[Arabic]] ذو القرنين, literally "The Two-Horned One", also transliterated as Zul-Qarnain or Zulqarnain) is found in the 18<sup>th</sup> [[Surah]] of the Qur'an, [[The Holy Qur'an: Al-Kahf (The Cave)|al-Kahf]] (the Cave).  While he is never mentioned explicitly by name, the story is clearly based upon a [[legends|legendary]] account of Alexander the Great.  For centuries, most Muslim historians and Qur'anic commentators endorsed the identity of Dhul-Qarnayn as Alexander, though some also proposed alternatives. In recent years, this identification of Dhul-Qarnayn has become particularly problematic and controversial for Muslim scholars, as the Qur'an's understanding of Alexander differs remarkably from the image of him in history as a Greek [[Paganism|pagan]] who fashioned himself as a [[god]]. This has prompted some [[apologists]] to create and advance alternative theories that identify  Dhul-Qarnayn as other prominent historical kings, most notably Cyrus the Great. These alternative theories, though, have major deficiencies and fall short of the strong parallels between the Qur'anic story and legends of Alexander that date to the early 7<sup>th</sup> century. The story in the Qur'an in fact parallels a medieval Syriac legend of Alexander quote closesly; both narratives portray him as a believing king who traveled the world and built a barrier of iron which holds back the tribes of Gog and Magog until Judgement Day. Almost every major element of the Qur'anic story can be found in Christian and Jewish folklore about Alexander which dates back hundreds of years prior to the time of Prophet Muhammad. Most early Muslim commentators and scholars identified Dhul-Qarnayn as Alexander the Great, and some modern ones do too. Historical and Archaeological evidence, though, quite plainly reveal that the real Alexander was a polytheistic pagan who believed he was the literal son of Greek and Egyptian gods. The theory that Dhul-Qarnayn is some other figures such Cyrus the Great has little evidence in its favor compared to the overwhelming evidence that the story is actually based on a legendary version of Alexander. In addition, the story speaks of a giant wall built by Dhul-Qarnayn to hold back the nations of Gog and Magog, yet yoday, there is no such giant wall of iron and brass between two mountains that is holding back a tribe of people; it likely never existed and was originally a legendary embellishment of the original Alexander legend. .
The story of Dhul-Qarnayn (in [[Arabic]] ذو القرنين, literally "The Two-Horned One", also transliterated as Zul-Qarnain or Zulqarnain) is found in the 18<sup>th</sup> [[Surah]] of the Qur'an, al-Kahf (the Cave).  While he is never mentioned explicitly by name, the story is clearly based upon a legendary account of Alexander the Great.  For centuries, most Muslim historians and Qur'anic commentators endorsed the identity of Dhul-Qarnayn as Alexander, though some also proposed alternatives. In recent years, this identification of Dhul-Qarnayn has become particularly problematic and controversial for Muslim scholars, as historical and archaeological evidence quite plainly reveal that the real Alexander was a polytheistic pagan who believed he was the literal son of Greek and Egyptian gods. This has prompted some [[apologists]] to create and advance alternative theories that identify  Dhul-Qarnayn as other prominent historical kings, most notably Cyrus the Great. The theory that Dhul-Qarnayn is some other figure such as Cyrus the Great has little evidence in its favor and major flaws compared to the overwhelming evidence that the story is actually based on a legendary version of Alexander. The story in the Qur'an in fact parallels a medieval Syriac legend of Alexander quite closely; both narratives portray him as a believing king who traveled the world and built a barrier of iron which holds back the tribes of Gog and Magog until Judgement Day. Almost every major element of the Qur'anic story can be found in Christian and Jewish folklore about Alexander which dates back hundreds of years prior to the time of Prophet Muhammad. In addition, there is no such giant wall of iron and brass between two mountains that is holding back a tribe of people; it likely never existed and was originally a legendary embellishment of the original Alexander legend.
 


==Background==
==Background==
 
The gargantuan conquests of Alexander the Great, stretching from Macedonia in the West to the river Indus in the East, left an indelible mark on all the regions where his troopers trode. Alexander founded cities, declared himself a god and the son of a god, solved the famous Gordian knot, initiated a new chapter in the history of civilizational exchange and spread Greek Hellenic culture far and wide. Dying at 33 of either alcohol overdose or perhaps poisoning, his legend quickly became larger than life. First Jews and then Christians claimed his as their own. Separately to the Greek recensions of the ''Alexander Romance'' traditions (known as ''Pseudo-Callisthenes''), a Syriac Legend with a distinctive storyline existed in the early 7th century CE with a close resemblance to the Quranic passage. The Syriac Legend as we have it is commonly dated to 629-636 CE, though most scholars infer the existance of an earlier 6th century version which was later updated (see dating sections below). As the legend of Alexander spread, so too did the claims of his miraculous deeds grow in scope and size.
The gargantuan conquests of Alexander the Great, streching from Macedonia in the West to the river Indus in the East, left an indelible mark on all the regions where his troopers trode. Alexander founded cities, declared himself a god and the son of a god, solved the famous Gordian knot, initiated a new chapter in the history of civilizational exchange and spread Greek Hellenic culture far and wide. Dying at 33 of either alcohol overdose or perhaps poisoning, his legend quickly became larger than life. First Jews and then Christians claimed his as their own, though according to Theodore Theodor Nöldeke the origin of their Alexander Romances was actually a Pahlavi Persian Alexander romance (though probably written by a Syriac-speaking Christian) <ref> Encyclopedia of Islam Volume IV E. J. Bril 1997, p. 127</ref>. As the legend of Alexander spread, so to did the claims of his miraculous deeds grow in scope and size.  


===Historical vs Legendary Alexander===
===Historical vs Legendary Alexander===
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The Dhul-Qarnayn of the Qur'an is the Alexander of legend, not as some authors have asserted the Alexander III of Macedon (356–323 BC) of hisory<ref>For example, [http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.understanding-islam.com%2Fq-and-a%2Fsources-of-islam%2Fwho-is-the-prophet-zulqarnain-5247&date=2013-11-25 Amar Ellahi Lone] completely ignores the Alexander Legends of the 4<sup>th</sup>-7<sup>th</sup> century and focuses on a historical account of Alexander. [http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iranchamber.com%2Fhistory%2Farticles%2Fzolqarnain_cyrus_quran.php&date=2013-11-25 Baha'eddin Khoramshahi] rejects Alexander based solely on his historical identity. And [http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fanswering-islam.org%2FAuthors%2FNewton%2Falex.r.html&date=2013-11-25 Khalid Jan] gives background information on the historical Alexander and why he is not a fit to the Qur'anic story.  Expresses no knowledge of the Alexander legends.</ref>.  Instead, it is based entirely upon legendary stories of Alexander which bare little resemblance to the Alexander of history.  In particular, the Qur'an parallels a Syriac legend where Alexander is portrayed as a monotheistic king who awaits the second coming of the Messiah and the end of the world.<ref name="Budge">{{cite web|url= http://books.google.com/books/about/The_History_of_Alexander_the_Great_Being.html?id=_14LmFqhc8QC|title= The History of Alexander the Great, Being the Syriac Version of the Pseudo-Callisthenes, Volume 1|publisher= The University Press|author= Sir Ernest Alfred Wallis Budge|date= 1889|archiveurl= |deadurl=no}}</ref>
The Dhul-Qarnayn of the Qur'an is the Alexander of legend, not as some authors have asserted the Alexander III of Macedon (356–323 BC) of hisory<ref>For example, [http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.understanding-islam.com%2Fq-and-a%2Fsources-of-islam%2Fwho-is-the-prophet-zulqarnain-5247&date=2013-11-25 Amar Ellahi Lone] completely ignores the Alexander Legends of the 4<sup>th</sup>-7<sup>th</sup> century and focuses on a historical account of Alexander. [http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iranchamber.com%2Fhistory%2Farticles%2Fzolqarnain_cyrus_quran.php&date=2013-11-25 Baha'eddin Khoramshahi] rejects Alexander based solely on his historical identity. And [http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fanswering-islam.org%2FAuthors%2FNewton%2Falex.r.html&date=2013-11-25 Khalid Jan] gives background information on the historical Alexander and why he is not a fit to the Qur'anic story.  Expresses no knowledge of the Alexander legends.</ref>.  Instead, it is based entirely upon legendary stories of Alexander which bare little resemblance to the Alexander of history.  In particular, the Qur'an parallels a Syriac legend where Alexander is portrayed as a monotheistic king who awaits the second coming of the Messiah and the end of the world.<ref name="Budge">{{cite web|url= http://books.google.com/books/about/The_History_of_Alexander_the_Great_Being.html?id=_14LmFqhc8QC|title= The History of Alexander the Great, Being the Syriac Version of the Pseudo-Callisthenes, Volume 1|publisher= The University Press|author= Sir Ernest Alfred Wallis Budge|date= 1889|archiveurl= |deadurl=no}}</ref>


It has been well understood for many centuries that legendary accounts of Alexander's life began shortly after his death in 323 BC.  These were popular across most of Europe, North [[Africa]], the Middle East, Persia and even India and China.  In the subsequent centuries after his death, the historical accounts of Alexander were largely forgotten and legendary accounts of his deeds and adventures replaced them in popular folklore.  It is these legendary depictions of Alexander that would have been known in the 7<sup>th</sup> century and not the historically accurate accounts of his life.  It was not until the Renaissance in the 16<sup>th</sup> century that the first historical accounts of Alexanders life were rediscovered and investigated.
It has been well understood for many centuries that legendary accounts of Alexander's life began shortly after his death in 323 BC.  These were popular across most of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Persia and even India and China.  In the subsequent centuries after his death, the historical accounts of Alexander were largely forgotten and legendary accounts of his deeds and adventures replaced them in popular folklore.  It is these legendary depictions of Alexander that would have been known in the 7<sup>th</sup> century and not the historically accurate accounts of his life.  It was not until the Renaissance in the 16<sup>th</sup> century that the first historical accounts of Alexanders life were rediscovered and investigated.
 
===Alexander and the Water of Life===
In addition to the Dhu'l Qarnayn episode and its relationship with the Syriac Alexander legend, the story about Moses earlier in Surah al Kahf has long been noticed to derive from another story in the Alexander Romance tradition about Alexander's quest to find the water imparting immortality, featuring his cook, a dead fish that springs back to life from this water and escapes, and an attempt by Alexander to return to the water. In {{Quran-range|18|60|65}}, Moses travels to the junction of the two seas with his servant, who later realises that they have left their fish behind there, which has come back to life and swam away through a passage. When his servant later tells him this, Moses declares that this was the place they had been seeking. As Tommaso Tesei notes, "The most ancient versions of this story are found in three sources preceding or contemporaneous to the rise of Islam: the Rec. β of the Alexander Romance (fourth/fifth century), the Babylonian  Talmud (Tamīd, 32a–32b), and the so-called Syriac Alexander Song (ca. 630–635)".<ref>Tommaso Tesei (2015) [https://www.academia.edu/12761000/ Some Cosmological Notions from Late Antiquity in Q 18:60–65: The Quran in Light of Its Cultural Context] Journal of the American Oriental Society 135.1</ref>
 
This Syriac Alexander Song (also known as the memre, poem, or metrical homily about Alexander) in addition narrates Alexander's enclosure of Gog and Magog taken from the Syriac Alexander Legend. It is probably significant that both the water of life and Gog and Magog episodes are found in the Alexander Song and in surah al-Kahf, suggesting that they were present together also in an earlier common source.
 
Gabriel Said Reynolds observes that the junction of the two seas to which Moses seeks to travel in Surah al-Kahf, as well as other passages that mention the two seas, most likely refer to the waters of the heavens and of the earth, and that "the two seas" is referred to with this meaning in other Syriac works. He provides a translation of the relevant sections from the Alexander Song:
 
{{Quote|Gabriel Said Reynolds,"The Quran and Bible:Text and Commentary", New Haven: Yale University Press, 2018 pp. 464-465|The Macedonian king, the son of Philip spoke: / “I have determined to follow a great quest to reach the lands, / even the furthest lands, / to reach the seas, and the coasts, and the borders as they are; / Above all to enter and to see the land of darkness / if it is truly as I heard it is.”<BR />
(Song of Alexander, recension 1, p. 26, ll. 33–38)<BR /><BR />
Then [Alexander’s cook] came to the spring, which contained the lifegiving water / he came close to it, in order to wash the
fish in water, but it came alive and escaped; The poor man was afraid that the king would blame him / that he give back the [value of the] fish, which had come to life and which he did not stop. So he got down into the water, in order to catch it, but was unable / then he climbed out from there in order to tell the king that he had found [the spring] He called, but no one heard him, and so he went to a mountain from where they heard him / the king was glad when he heard about the spring. The king turned around in order to bathe [in the spring] as he had sought to do / and they went from the mountain in the
middle of darkness, but they could not reach it.<Br />
(Song of Alexander, recension 1, pp. 48–50, ll. 182–92)}}
 
This may be compared with Quran 18:60-64.
 
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|18|60|64}}|And [mention] when Moses said to his servant, "I will not cease [traveling] until I reach the junction of the two seas or continue for a long period." But when they reached the junction between them, they forgot their fish, and it took its course into the sea, slipping away. So when they had passed beyond it, [Moses] said to his boy, "Bring us our morning meal. We have certainly suffered in this, our journey, [much] fatigue." He said, "Did you see when we retired to the rock? Indeed, I forgot [there] the fish. And none made me forget it except Satan - that I should mention it. And it took its course into the sea amazingly". [Moses] said, "That is what we were seeking." So they returned, following their footprints.}}
 
The next section of the story (18:65-82), in which Moses is taught lessons about justice by a servent of God, is in line with a contemporary genre of literature in which a wandering ascetic is upset by notions of divine justice demonstrated to him by an angel before the events are explained to him. In the section of his book quoted above, Reynolds goes on to highlight the work of Roger Paret who has demonstrated a connection between the Quranic justice story and a version of a sixth or early seventh century CE compilation of monastic tales, the ''Leimon'' (or Pratum Spirituale, Spiritual Meadow) of John Moschus (d. 619 CE).<ref>Ibid. p. 465. This particular tale was part of a supplementary set most likely added by one of Moschus' Palestinian disciples - See [https://twitter.com/shahanSean/status/1511047308070248457 this tweet] by Professor Sean Anthony and the preceding discussion - Twitter.com 2 April 2022 ([https://web.archive.org/web/20220404182553/https://twitter.com/shahanSean/status/1511047308070248457 archive])</ref> The basic structure of this story is identical to the Quranic passage, and has many similarities of detail though also differences.<ref>For an english translation of the relevant passage in the Spiritual Meadow see the screenshots in this tweet by Professor Sean Anthony [https://twitter.com/shahanSean/status/1476999552230166532 Twitter.com] - 31 Dec 2021 [https://web.archive.org/web/20220402192704/https://twitter.com/shahanSean/status/1476999552230166532 archive]</ref>


==Parallels to the Syriac Legend==
==Parallels to the Syriac Legend==


In 1889, the renowned scholar and philologist, Sir Ernest Alfred Wallis Budge, translated five Alexander stories from Syriac manuscripts into English. One of these stories was a legend that detailed the exploits of Alexander, the son of Philip the Macedonian, and how he traveled to the ends of the world, made a gate of iron, and shut behind it the Huns so they might not come forth to spoil the land.<ref name="Budge" /> The parallels between this story and the story of Dhul-Qarnayn in the Qur'an are detailed below.
In 1889, the renowned scholar and philologist, Sir Ernest Alfred Wallis Budge, translated five Alexander stories from Syriac manuscripts into English. One of these stories was a legend that detailed the exploits of Alexander, the son of Philip the Macedonian, and how he traveled to the ends of the world, made a gate of iron, and shut behind it the Huns so they might not come forth to spoil the land.<ref name="Budge" /> Titled as the Neṣḥānā d-leh d-Aleksandrōs, “the victory of Alexander”, the parallels between this Syriac legend and the story of Dhul-Qarnayn in the Qur'an are detailed below.


===Two Horns===
===Two Horns===
[[File:7thCAlexanderHorns.png|right|thumb|250px|In 2018, excavations led by Dr. Eleni Procopiou at Katalymata ton Plakoton, an Early Byzantine site within the Akrotiri Peninula on Cyprus, discovered this 7th Century depiction of Alexander the Great with horns. Known as the "Alexander-Heraclius Stele". Professor Sean Anthony regards it as significant, providing "seventh-century Byzantine iconography of Alexander with two horns that is contemporary with the Qurʾan"<ref name="Stewart">.A. Stewart in “A Byzantine Image of Alexander: Literature in Stone,” Report of the Department of Antiquities Cyprus 2017 (Nicosia 2018): 1-45 cited by Professor Shaun W. Anthony of Ohio State Univesity on [https://twitter.com/shahanSean/status/1235951120939454464 Twitter.com] - Accessed 8 March 2021</ref>]]


Alexander in the Syriac legend is described as having horns on his head. An Ethiopic variation of the story refers to Alexander as "the two horns".<ref name="Budge" /> Coins depicting Alexander with ram horns on his head were first minted shortly after his death. By the 1<sup>st</sup> century BC, silver coins depicting Alexander with ram horns were used as the primary currency in Arabia. Imitation coins were issued by an Arab ruler named Abi'el who ruled in the south-eastern region of the Arabian Peninsula and other minting of these coins occurred throughout Arabia for another thousand years.<ref> "The impact of Alexander the Great’s coinage in E Arabia" at [http://web.archive.org/web/20040603181636/www.culture.gr/nm/presveis/Pages/museum/13/p1302.html culrute.gr].</ref> This connection of Alexander with two-horns was widely known across the region at the time.
Alexander in the Syriac legend is described as having horns on his head. An Ethiopic variation of the story refers to Alexander as "the two horns".<ref name="Budge" /> Coins depicting Alexander with ram horns on his head were first minted shortly after his death. By the 1<sup>st</sup> century BC, silver coins depicting Alexander with ram horns were used as the primary currency in Arabia. Imitation coins were issued by an Arab ruler named Abi'el who ruled in the south-eastern region of the Arabian Peninsula and other minting of these coins occurred throughout Arabia for another thousand years.<ref> "The impact of Alexander the Great’s coinage in E Arabia" at [http://web.archive.org/web/20040603181636/www.culture.gr/nm/presveis/Pages/museum/13/p1302.html culrute.gr].</ref> This connection of Alexander with two-horns was widely known across the region at the time.
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{{Quote|{{Quran-range|18|85|86}}|One (such) way he followed, until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it set in a spring of '''murky water''': Near it he found a People: We said: "O Zul-qarnain! (thou hast authority,) either to punish them, or to treat them with kindness."}}  
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|18|85|86}}|One (such) way he followed, until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it set in a spring of '''murky water''': Near it he found a People: We said: "O Zul-qarnain! (thou hast authority,) either to punish them, or to treat them with kindness."}}  


Dr. Kevin Van Bladel, professor of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, states in his comparison of the two stories, that the water at the place where the sun sets is 'fetid' in both texts, a coincidence of two uncommon synonyms (Syriac saryâ, Arabic hami'a).<ref name="VanBladel"> Van Bladel, Kevin, “The Alexander legend in the Qur‘an 18:83-102″, in [http://books.google.com/books?id=DbtkpgGn4CEC&pg=PA175 "The Qur’ān in Its Historical Context"], Ed. Gabriel Said Reynolds, New York: Routledge, 2007.</ref> Similar connections can be found in Islamic poetry contemporary to the time of Muhammad. Muhammad ibn Ishāq ibn Yasār ibn Khiyār recorded many pre-Islamic Arabic poems in his [[Sirat Rasul Allah]] (Biography of Muhammad);  This included a poem about Dhul-Qarnayn that he claims was composed by a pre-Islamic king of ancient [[Yemen]].  Here we can see that the sun sets into a pool of water that is described as being both muddy and fetid, a perfect linking of the two adjectives in both the Qur'anic and Syriac stories.
Dr. Kevin Van Bladel, professor of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, states in his comparison of the two stories, that the water at the place where the sun sets is 'fetid' in both texts, a coincidence of two uncommon synonyms (Syriac saryâ, Arabic hami'a).<ref name="VanBladel"> Van Bladel, Kevin, “The Alexander legend in the Qur‘an 18:83-102″, in [http://books.google.com/books?id=DbtkpgGn4CEC&pg=PA175 "The Qur’ān in Its Historical Context"], Ed. Gabriel Said Reynolds, New York: Routledge, 2007.</ref> Similar connections can be found in Islamic poetry contemporary to the time of Muhammad. Muhammad ibn Ishāq ibn Yasār ibn Khiyār recorded many pre-Islamic Arabic poems in his [[Sirat Rasul Allah]] (Biography of Muhammad);  This included a poem which mentions Dhul-Qarnayn at the end and which Ibn Ishaq claims was composed by a pre-Islamic king of ancient Yemen.  Here we can see that the sun sets into a pool of water that is described as being both muddy and fetid, a perfect linking of the two adjectives in both the Qur'anic and Syriac stories.
 
{{Quote|The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah|Dhu'l-Qarnayn before me was a Muslim<BR />
Conquered kings thronged his court,<BR />
East and west he ruled, yet he sought<BR />
Knowledge true from a learned sage.<BR />
He saw where the sun sinks from view,<BR />
In a '''pool of mud and fetid slime'''.<ref>Ibn Ishaq; Guillaume, Alfred, ed. (2002) [?-767 AD]. "The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah". Oxford University Press. pp. 138–140. ISBN 978-0-19-636033-1.</ref>}}
 
Similarly, a poem attributed to Hāssan b. Thābit, who was a contemporary of Muhammad and employed by him as a poet, reads as follows:


{{Quote|The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah|
{{Quote|Poem attributed to Hāssan b. Thābit<ref>Hāssan b. Thābit quoted in R. A. Nicholson (transl.), A Literary History of the Arabs, p. 18, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1907</ref>|Ours the realm of Dhu ’l-Qarnayn the glorious,<BR />
Conquered kings thronged his court, East and west he ruled, yet he sought Knowledge true from a learned sage. He saw where the sun sinks from view, In a '''pool of mud and fetid slime'''.<ref> Ibn Ishaq; Guillaume, Alfred, ed. (2002) [?-767 AD]. "The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah". Oxford University Press. pp. 138–140. ISBN 978-0-19-636033-1.</ref>}}
Realm like his was never won by mortal king.<BR />
'''Followed he the sun to view its setting'''<BR />
'''When it sank into the sombre ocean-spring;'''<BR />
Up he clomb to see it rise at morning,<BR />
From within its mansion when the East it fired;<BR />
All day long the horizons led him onward,<BR />
All night through he watched the stars and never tired.<BR />
Then of iron and of liquid metal<BR />
He prepared a rampart not to be o’erpassed,<BR />
Gog and Magog there he threw in prison<BR />
Till on Judgement Day they shall awake at last<BR />}}


===Punishment of Wrongdoers===
===Punishment of Wrongdoers===
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{{Quote|{{Quran|18|98}}|
{{Quote|{{Quran|18|98}}|
He said: "This is a mercy from my Lord: But when the promise of my Lord comes to pass, '''He will make it into dust'''; and the promise of my Lord is true." On that day We shall leave them to surge like waves on one another: the trumpet will be blown, and '''We shall collect them all together'''.}}
He said: "This is a mercy from my Lord: But when the promise of my Lord comes to pass, '''He will make it into dust'''; and the promise of my Lord is true." On that day We shall leave them to surge like waves on one another: the trumpet will be blown, and '''We shall collect them all together'''.}}
And:
{{Quote|{{Quran|21|94-98}}|94. So whoever does righteous deeds while he is a believer - no denial will there be for his effort, and indeed We, of it, are recorders.
95. And there is prohibition upon [the people of] a city which We have destroyed that they will [ever] return
96. <b>Until when [the dam of] Gog and Magog has been opened and they, from every elevation, descend</b>
97. And [when] the true promise has approached; then suddenly the eyes of those who disbelieved will be staring [in horror, while they say], "O woe to us; we had been unmindful of this; rather, we were wrongdoers."
98. Indeed, you [disbelievers] and what you worship other than Allah are the firewood of Hell. You will be coming to [enter] it.}}


The connection with the destruction of the wall and the end of times is further explained in the classic Qur'anic [[tafsir]] by Ibn Kathir.
The connection with the destruction of the wall and the end of times is further explained in the classic Qur'anic [[tafsir]] by Ibn Kathir.
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===Views of Modern Scholars===
===Views of Modern Scholars===


Van Bladel in his book sums up the relation between the Qur'an and the Romance:
Van Bladel in his book sums up the relation between the Qur'an and the Syriac legend:


{{Quote|The Alexander legend in the Qur‘an 18:83-102, p. 182|
{{Quote|The Alexander legend in the Qur‘an 18:83-102, p. 182|
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As it is, the correspondences shown earlier are still so exact that it is obvious in comparison that the two texts are at least connected very closely.  They relate the same story in precisely the same order of events using many of the same particular details.<ref name="VanBladel"/>}}
As it is, the correspondences shown earlier are still so exact that it is obvious in comparison that the two texts are at least connected very closely.  They relate the same story in precisely the same order of events using many of the same particular details.<ref name="VanBladel"/>}}


==Dating the Alexander Legend==
==Relationship with the Syriac Legend==
 
The parallels between the Syriac Legend and the Qur'an are quite striking and there is no other logical conclusion other than they share a common source. As to the question of dependency, in chronological terms the Qur'an must be dependent on the Syriac version, but there are in fact multiple common streams of stories which might have influenced both.


While the Syriac texts available relate a more or less specific version of the Alexander Romance, many aspects of this legend draw from earlier materials. Similar stories of Alexander pre-date both the Qur'an and Syriac legends by many centuries including folklore found in earlier Christian and Jewish writings. Parallels to the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh and the Biblical story of Gog and Magog can be clearly identified in the story as well.
The parallels between the Syriac Legend and the Qur'an detailed above are quite striking. As to the question of dependency, Van Bladel has argued that the Syriac Legend is a direct source for the Quranic account.<ref name="VanBladel"/> Tommaso Tesei concurs with van Bladel's thesis, though allows for the possibility that they share a common source.<ref name="Tesei2013">Tommaso Tesei (2013) [https://www.academia.edu/10863446/  The prophecy of Dhu-l-Qarnayn (Q 18:83-102) and the Origins of the Qurʾānic Corpus] Miscellanea arabica 2013–2014: 273-90</ref> He notes that, while the final part of the legend concerns Alexander's battles with the Persian king and is an allegory of the bloody conflict between Byzantines and Sasanids with a propaganda purpose to glorify Heraclius (important in dating its final redaction), it is clear that in the rest of the story, there are indeed multiple streams of earlier elements, which it shares with the Qur'an. Crucially, these appear in the same order in both versions. Tesei argues that while this sequencing could go back to a common source, he finds it more plausible that the Syriac legend originated the particular composition, agreeing with van Bladel's argument that Alexander's journeys are intended to form the shape of a cross, and adding his own hypothesis that the story originally involved a failed attempt to reach paradise, removed in order to better glorify Heraclius. The elements pre-dating both the Qur'an and Syriac legend by many centuries include folklore found in earlier Christian and Jewish writings. Parallels to the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh and the Biblical story of Gog and Magog can be clearly identified in the story as well.


===Epic of Gilgamesh===
===Epic of Gilgamesh===
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===Early Christian Legends===
===Early Christian Legends===


As early as the 399 CE, local stories of Alexander building a wall against the Huns had made their way into Christian writings as well.  St. Jerome, an early church father, writes about rumors of attacks against Jerusalem by invaders from the north.  He refers to these invaders as Huns who live near the gate that was built by Alexander.
As early as the 399 CE, local stories of Alexander building a wall against the Huns had made their way into Christian writings as well.  St. Jerome, an early church father, writes about rumors of attacks against Jerusalem by invaders from the north.  He refers to these invaders as Huns who live near the gate that was built by Alexander, though the wall does not yet have escatalogical implications.


{{Quote| Letters of St. Jerome, Letter 77| For news came that the hordes of the Huns had poured forth all the way from Mæotis (they had their haunts between the icy Tanais and the rude Massagetæ; where '''the gates of Alexander keep back the wild peoples''' behind the Caucasus); and that, speeding here and there on their nimble-footed horses, they were filling all the world with panic and bloodshed.<ref>Translated by W.H. Fremantle, G. Lewis and W.G. Martley. From "Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series", Vol. 6. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1893.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3001077.htm Letters of St. Jerome: Letter 77] <small>([http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newadvent.org%2Ffathers%2F3001077.htm&date=2013-11-24 archived])</small>>.</ref>}}
{{Quote| Letters of St. Jerome, Letter 77| For news came that the hordes of the Huns had poured forth all the way from Mæotis (they had their haunts between the icy Tanais and the rude Massagetæ; where '''the gates of Alexander keep back the wild peoples''' behind the Caucasus); and that, speeding here and there on their nimble-footed horses, they were filling all the world with panic and bloodshed.<ref>Translated by W.H. Fremantle, G. Lewis and W.G. Martley. From "Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series", Vol. 6. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1893.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3001077.htm Letters of St. Jerome: Letter 77] <small>([http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newadvent.org%2Ffathers%2F3001077.htm&date=2013-11-24 archived])</small>>.</ref>}}
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{{Quote|Revelation 20:7-9|When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.<ref name="NIV1">New International Version of the Bible.  Zondervan 1971. [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2020&version=NIV Rev 20:7-19].</ref> }}
{{Quote|Revelation 20:7-9|When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.<ref name="NIV1">New International Version of the Bible.  Zondervan 1971. [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2020&version=NIV Rev 20:7-19].</ref> }}
===Prophecy about Gog and Magog===
Tesei notes that Czeglédy has argued convincingly that a 6th century ex-eventu prophecy recorded by John of Ephesus (d. 586 CE) about the invasion of the Sabir Huns in 514-15 CE was incorporated into the Syriac legend as its first, ex-eventu prophecy of invasion by Gog and Magog (distinct from the second ex-eventu prophecy about the Khazars around 627 CE, which extends into a failed prognostication by the author, crucial to its dating).<ref name="Tesei2013" /> It is, then, possible that this is another element that could have formed part of a common source shared by the Syriac legend and Qur'anic story. However, Tesei notes that evidence is lacking to link at that earlier time the prophecy with the tales of Gog and Magog behind Alexander's wall, which were also in circulation in the 6th century, nor yet with the other elements forming the shared sequence between the Syriac and Qur'anic stories.


===Dating the Syriac Legend===
===Dating the Syriac Legend===


The Alexander Legend was composed by a Mesopotamian Christian probably in Amid or Edessa. It was written down in 629-630 CE after the victory of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius over the Sasanian king Khusrau Parvez. Dr. Reinink, a Near East philogist and scholar, highlights the political agenda of the legend which is clearly written as a piece of pro-Byzantine propaganda. Its purpose was probably to win the separated Syrian Christians back to a union with the church at Constantinople.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=PtxOXRlPMA0C|title= Gog and Magog in Early Eastern Chrisitan and Islamic Sources|publisher= BRILL|author= Ed. Emeri J. van Donzel, Andrea Barbara Schmidt|page= 18|date= 2010|archiveurl= |deadurl=no}}</ref>
The Alexander Legend in its final redaction was composed by a Mesopotamian Christian probably in Amid or Edessa. It was written down in 629-630 CE after the victory of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius over the Sasanian king Khusrau Parvez. Dr. Reinink, a Near East philogist and scholar, highlights the political agenda of the legend which is clearly written as a piece of pro-Byzantine propaganda. Its purpose was probably to win the separated Syrian Christians back to a union with the church at Constantinople.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=PtxOXRlPMA0C|title= Gog and Magog in Early Eastern Chrisitan and Islamic Sources|publisher= BRILL|author= Ed. Emeri J. van Donzel, Andrea Barbara Schmidt|page= 18|date= 2010|archiveurl= |deadurl=no}}</ref>
 
Stephen Shoemaker has discussed the arguments of Reinink, van Bladel and Tesei, but argues that "it would appear that in its current form the Legend almost certainly updates an older version of the Legend that was composed in the early sixth century". The hypothetical earlier version would incorporate the main elements of the story up to the first ex-eventu prophecy of the 514-515 CE Sabir Hun invasion mentioned above, which was circulating in the sixth century. Shoemaker states that "a clear majority" of scholars take this view, though Renink's view that the Legend represents a new composition of the 7th century "presently enjoys relative acceptance". Shoemaker notes that unlike Reinink, van Bladel at least attempts to explain the presence of the first prophecy, which holds no importance to the narrative (van Bladel suggests that it served as a verification for 7th century listeners to trust the later prophecies), though like Tesei, he is unconvinced in light of Czeglédy's findings mentioned above. For this and reasons of timing, he finds it most likely that the Quran depends on a 6th rather than 7th century version of the Legend.<ref>Stephen J. Shoemaker, [https://www.google.de/books/edition/The_Apocalypse_of_Empire/w9FwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA79&printsec=frontcover The Apocalypse of Empire: Imperial Eschatology in Late Antiquity and Early Islam], University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018, pp. 79-86</ref>


===Dating the Qur'anic Verses===
===Dating the Qur'anic Verses===


According to the traditional Muslim narrative, Al-Kahf (The Cave) was generally revealed in Mecca, except verse 28 and verses 83-101 which were revealed in Medina.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://tanzil.net/pub/ebooks/History-of-Quran.pdf|title= The History of the Quran|publisher= Al-Tawheed|author= Allamah Abu Abd Allah al-Zanjani, Mahliqa Qara'i (trans.)|page=34|date= |archiveurl= |deadurl=no}}</ref> Based on this information, the story of Dhul-Qarnayn, contained in verses 83-101, would be dated to after the Hijra in June 622 CE and before Muhammed's death in June 632 CE; a more specific date is difficult to ascertain with any certainty from the Islamic narrative. Since the community of Muslims in Mecca were far from well known outside of Arabia, the possibility of their story influencing Christians in Syria is extremely remote. The Syriac work also contains no references to the Arabic phrases used in the Qur'anic account, which would be expected if the Syrian story was using that as its source.<ref name="VanBladel" /> On the question of dependency, it is clear that the composition of the Syriac legend predates the Qur'an according to the traditional narrative and certainly that is the direction in which the influence must have flowed.
According to the traditional Muslim narrative, Al-Kahf (The Cave) was revealed in Mecca.<ref>There was an opinion that the Dhu'l Qarnayn verses of Surah al-Kahf were revealed in Medina, though Abd al Kafi lists this as having a weak narration and says that the majority view is that the whole surah is Meccan in his عدد سور القرآن وآياته وكلماته وحروفه وتلخيص مكية ومدنية See [https://cdn.quranpedia.net/attachments/documents/BOOK_25431_1.pdf here, p. 292 ff.] and {{cite web|url= http://tanzil.net/pub/ebooks/History-of-Quran.pdf|title= The History of the Quran|publisher= Al-Tawheed|author= Allamah Abu Abd Allah al-Zanjani, Mahliqa Qara'i (trans.)|page=34|date= |archiveurl= |deadurl=no}}</ref> Van Bladel dismisses the possibility that the Quran could be a source for the Syriac legend.<ref name="VanBladel" /> Since the community of Muslims in Mecca were far from well known outside of Arabia, the possibility of their story influencing Christians in Syria is extremely remote. The far more expansive Syriac work also contains no references to the Arabic phrases used in the Qur'anic account, which would be expected if the Syrian story was using that as its source. Tesei concurs with van Bladel's arguments here.<ref name="Tesei2013" />


===Spread of the Syriac Legend to Arabia===
===Spread of the Syriac Legend to Arabia===


The popularity of the Syriac legend of Alexander is evidenced by its inclusion in other works soon after its composition. The "Song of Alexander", composed a few years later but before the Arab conquest of Syria sometime between 630 CE and 636 CE. The Syriac apocalypse, "De Fine Munid" composed between 640 CE and 683 CE and the "Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius" composed around 692 CE.<ref name="VanBladel" /> Since the work was composed as a piece of propaganda, its intentional dissemination makes sense of its rapid adoption and popularity in the region. This would have included Christian Arabs of the Ghassanid.  It is even possible that early Muslim followers heard the story of the Syrian legend during their raids on Mu'ta on the borders of Syria around September 629 CE.<ref name="VanBladel" />
The popularity of the Syriac legend of Alexander is evidenced by its inclusion in other works soon after its composition: The Syriac "Song of Alexander" (also known as the metrical homily or poem about Alexander), composed a few years later but before the Arab conquest of Syria sometime between 630 CE and 636 CE; The Syriac Apocalpyse of Pseudo-Ephrem composed between 640 CE and 683 CE and the "Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius" composed around 692 CE.<ref name="VanBladel" /><ref>{{cite book |date=2010 |last1=van Donzel |first1=Emeri |last2=Schmidt |first2=Andrea  |title=Gog and Magog in Early Eastern Christian and Islamic Sources: Sallam's Quest for Alexander's Wall  |publisher=Leiden: Brill |pages=25–31 |isbn=9789004174160}} The full book and their analysis of the journey taken by Sallam can be read on the ''[https://archive.org/details/gogandmagoginearlyeasternchristianandislamicsources/page/n43/mode/2up Internet Archive linked here.]''</ref> Since the work was composed as a piece of propaganda, its intentional dissemination makes sense of its rapid adoption and popularity in the region. This would have included Christian Arabs of the Ghassanid.  It is even possible that early Muslim followers heard the story of the Syrian legend during their raids on Mu'ta on the borders of Syria around September 629 CE.<ref name="VanBladel" />


===Views of Modern Scholars===
===Views of Modern Scholars===


It is clear that all the major elements of the Alexander story were in place by the 4<sup>th</sup> century, predating both the Qur'anic and the Syriac account by hundreds of years. Their reliance upon common sources for these elements is also clear. In effect, the story of Dhul-Qarnayn in the Qur'an is simply another example of the widespread inclusion of Alexander folklore into the stories and traditions of the religious groups in the Middle East.  Rebecca Edwards in a address to the American Philological Association in 2002 states:
It is clear that major elements of the Alexander story predate both the Qur'anic and the Syriac account by hundreds of years. Their reliance upon common sources for these elements is also clear. In effect, the story of Dhul-Qarnayn in the Qur'an is simply another example of the widespread inclusion of Alexander folklore into the stories and traditions of the religious groups in the Middle East.  Rebecca Edwards in a address to the American Philological Association in 2002 states:


{{Quote||Alexander's association with two horns and with the building of the gate against Gog and Magog occurs much earlier than the Quran and persists in the beliefs of all three of these religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The denial of Alexander's identity as Dhul-Qarnayn is the denial of a common heritage shared by the cultures which shape the modern world--both in the east and the west.<ref>Rebecca Edwards. "Two Horns, Three Religions. How Alexander the Great ended up in the Quran". American Philological Association, 133<sup>rd</sup> Annual Meeting Program (Philadelphia, January 5, 2002)</ref>}}
{{Quote||Alexander's association with two horns and with the building of the gate against Gog and Magog occurs much earlier than the Quran and persists in the beliefs of all three of these religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The denial of Alexander's identity as Dhul-Qarnayn is the denial of a common heritage shared by the cultures which shape the modern world--both in the east and the west.<ref>Rebecca Edwards. "Two Horns, Three Religions. How Alexander the Great ended up in the Quran". American Philological Association, 133<sup>rd</sup> Annual Meeting Program (Philadelphia, January 5, 2002)</ref>}}
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{{Quote|Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah|
{{Quote|Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah|
A man who used to purvey stories of the foreigners, which were handed down among them, told me that Dhul-Qarnayn was an Egyptian whose name was Marzuban bin Mardhaba, the Greek.<ref>Ibn Ishaq; Guillaume, Alfred, ed. (2002).  "The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah". Oxford University Press. pp. 138–140. ISBN 978-0-19-636033-1.</ref>}}
A man who used to purvey stories of the foreigners, which were handed down among them, told me that Dhul-Qarnayn was an Egyptian whose name was Marzuban bin Mardhaba, the Greek.<ref>Ibn Ishaq; Guillaume, Alfred, ed. (2002).  "The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah". Oxford University Press. pp. 138–140. ISBN 978-0-19-636033-1.</ref>}}
Tafsir Muqātil ibn Sulaymān (d. 767 CE), which is the earliest surviving authentically attributed tafsir, explicitly names him as Alexander.
{{Quote|1=[https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=67&tSoraNo=18&tAyahNo=83&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 Tafsir Muqātil ibn Sulaymān on Verse 18:83]|2={And they ask you about Dhul-Qarnayn}, meaning Alexander Caesar, and he is called: the holding king, on Qaf, which is a mountain surrounding the world, Dhul-Qarnayn, but it was called Dhul-Qarnayn; Because he came to the two horns of the sun, the east and the west.}}
As does the famous Qur'anic scholar al-Zamakhshari (d. 1143 CE).
{{Quote|1=[https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=2&tSoraNo=18&tAyahNo=83&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 Tafsir Al-Zamakhshari on verse 18:83]|2=Dhul-Qarnayn is Alexander who ruled the world. It was said that it was owned by two believers, Dhul-Qarnayn and Sulayman.}}
Al-Qurtubi (d. 1273 CE) gives both Ibn Ishaq's provided name (with the description matching Alexander the Great), as well as noting Ibn Hisham, the Muslim historian who preserved and edited Ibn Ishaq's biography of the prophet, named him as Alexander.
{{Quote|1=[https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=5&tSoraNo=18&tAyahNo=83&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 Tafsir Al-Qurtubi on Verse 18:83]|2=Ibn Ishaq said: Among Dhul-Qarnayn’s reports was that he was given what no one else had been given, so his paths were extended until he traveled from the lands to the easts and wests of the earth. He would not set foot on land except that he was given authority over Its people, Until he reached from the East and the West to what is beyond it; there is nothing of creation. Ibn Ishaq said: Someone who narrated hadiths from the non-Arabs regarding the knowledge of Dhul-Qarnayn that they had inherited told me that Dhul-Qarnayn was a man from the people of Egypt whose name was Marzban bin Mardaba the Greek, from the descendants of Jonah bin Japheth bin Noah. Ibn Hisham said: His name is Alexander, and he is the one who built Alexandria, so it is attributed to him.}}


Tafsir al-Jalalayn, a classical Sunni tafsir of the Qur'an, composed by Jalal ad-Din al-Mahalli in 1459 CE identifies Dhul-Qarnayn as Alexander.
Tafsir al-Jalalayn, a classical Sunni tafsir of the Qur'an, composed by Jalal ad-Din al-Mahalli in 1459 CE identifies Dhul-Qarnayn as Alexander.
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===Son of Zeus-Ammon===
===Son of Zeus-Ammon===
[[File:Zeus Ammon.png|right|thumb|200px|A terracotta cast of Zeus Ammon with ram horns. 1st century CE.  Alexander is depicted with similar ram horns in coins as a reference to his deity.]]
[[File:Zeus Ammon.png|right|thumb|200px|A terracotta cast of Zeus Ammon with ram horns. 1st century CE.  Alexander is depicted with similar ram horns in coins as a reference to his deity.]]
Alexander appears to have believed himself a deity, or at least sought to deify himself.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Great-Hellenistic-Peter-Green/dp/0753824132/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385374702&sr=8-1|title= Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age|publisher= London: Phoenix|author=  Peter Green|date= August 7, 2008|isbn=978-0-7538-2413-9|archiveurl= |deadurl=no}}</ref> Olympias, his mother, always insisted to him that he was the son of Zeus,<ref name="Plutarch" /> a theory apparently confirmed to him by the oracle of Amun at Siwa in [[Libya]].<ref name="Plutarch" /> Shortly after his visit to the oracle, Alexander began to identify himself as the son of Zeus-Ammon and often referred to Zeus-Ammon as his true father.  This god, an amalgamation of both the Greek god Zeus and the Egyptian god Ammon was often depicted with ram horns on his head. Subsequent currency depicted Alexander adorned with similar rams horn as a symbol of his divinity.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.amazon.com/Legend-Alexander-Great-Greek-Roman/dp/0415394511/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385374897&sr=8-1|title= The Legend of Alexander the Great on Greek and Roman Coins|publisher= Routledge|author= Karsten Dahmen|date=  February 23, 2007|isbn=0-415-39451-1|archiveurl= |deadurl=no}}</ref>
Alexander appears to have believed himself a deity, or at least sought to deify himself.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Great-Hellenistic-Peter-Green/dp/0753824132/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385374702&sr=8-1|title= Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age|publisher= London: Phoenix|author=  Peter Green|date= August 7, 2008|isbn=978-0-7538-2413-9|archiveurl= |deadurl=no}}</ref> Olympias, his mother, always insisted to him that he was the son of Zeus,<ref name="Plutarch" /> a theory apparently confirmed to him by the oracle of Amun at Siwa in Libya.<ref name="Plutarch" /> Shortly after his visit to the oracle, Alexander began to identify himself as the son of Zeus-Ammon and often referred to Zeus-Ammon as his true father.  This god, an amalgamation of both the Greek god Zeus and the Egyptian god Ammon was often depicted with ram horns on his head. Subsequent currency depicted Alexander adorned with similar rams horn as a symbol of his divinity.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.amazon.com/Legend-Alexander-Great-Greek-Roman/dp/0415394511/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385374897&sr=8-1|title= The Legend of Alexander the Great on Greek and Roman Coins|publisher= Routledge|author= Karsten Dahmen|date=  February 23, 2007|isbn=0-415-39451-1|archiveurl= |deadurl=no}}</ref>


===Personal Relationships and Sex Life===
===Personal Relationships and Sex Life===
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==Modern Views and Controversies==
==Modern Views and Controversies==
===Cyrus the Great===
===Turning-point against Alexander as Dhul-Qarnayn===
Recent historical and archaeological evidence clearly points to the real Alexander of Macedon as a polytheistic pagan who fashioned himself after Greek and Egyptian gods. The more recent questions about Alexander's sexuality and personal relationships also raises serious problems for anyone who believes he was a follower of Islam.  Based on this information, some Islamic apologists and theologians have constructed alternative theories to the identity of Dhul-Qarnayn.  The most prominent alternative theory among modern apologists is that Dhul-Qarnayn was Cyrus the Great of Persia. This theory has been advanced by  Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi,<ref name="Maududi">{{cite web|url= http://www.islamicstudies.info/result.php?sura=18&verse=83|title= Tafsir Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an|publisher= |series= Surah 18 Ayah 83|author= Maududi|date= 1972|archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.islamicstudies.info%2Fresult.php%3Fsura%3D18%26verse%3D83&date=2013-11-22|deadurl=no}}</ref> Maulana Abul Kalam Azad,<ref name="Azad"> Baljon , Johannes Marinus Simon. [http://books.google.com/books?id=IOEUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA33 "Modern Muslim Koran Interpretation: (1880 - 1960)"]. pp. 32-33. 1961.  Relates a typical defense by Azad of the Cyrus theory by explaining first why Alexander should be rejected based on the historical Alexander and not the legendary one.</ref> Allameh Tabatabaei,<ref>Allameh Tabatabae. Tafsir al-Mizan Vol 26 </ref> and Naser Makarem Shirazi.<ref>Naser Makarem Shirazi. Bargozideh Tafseer-i Nemuneh, Vol 3, p. 69</ref>
 
It is important to note that these rejections of Alexander as Dhul-Qarnayn are primarily motivated by theological concerns and are not based on any convincing evidence. As we shall see, the claims of Cyrus the Great being Dhul-Qarnayn are far weaker than the obvious connection to the legendary stories of Alexander. Proponents of this theory, however, pre-suppose that the Qur'an is relaying an accurate, historical story and thus never take into consideration the possibility that the story is based on myth and folklore.
 
===Turning-point of Alexander as Dhul-Qarnayn===


In the first few centuries after the founding of Islam, there was little controversy in identifying Dhul-Qarnayn as Alexander. Alexander's deeds and exploits were almost universally admired.  However this slowly changed after the Renaissance in the 16<sup>th</sup> century when proper archaeological and historical methods were first applied to the life of Alexander the Great.
In the first few centuries after the founding of Islam, there was little controversy in identifying Dhul-Qarnayn as Alexander. Alexander's deeds and exploits were almost universally admired.  However this slowly changed after the Renaissance in the 16<sup>th</sup> century when proper archaeological and historical methods were first applied to the life of Alexander the Great.
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===Rejection of Alexander===
===Rejection of Alexander===


Since most early Muslim scholars and commentators believed that Dhul-Qarnayn was Alexander, any defense of the Cyrus theory is first obligated to state why Alexander should be rejected from consideration.<ref name="Azad" /> Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, one of the first to advance the theory of Cyrus, gives a typical justification for his rejection of Alexander by appealing to the historical man as an unrighteous polytheist:
Since most early Muslim scholars and commentators believed that Dhul-Qarnayn was Alexander, any defense of another theory is first obligated to state why Alexander should be rejected from consideration.<ref name="Azad" /> Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, one of the first to advance the theory of Cyrus, gives a typical justification for his rejection of Alexander by appealing to the historical man as an unrighteous polytheist:


{{Quote|Modern Muslim Koran Interpretation: (1880 - 1960), p. 32|When treating the Dhul-Qarnayn story, Azad beings by setting forth that it follows from verse 82/83 that the hero's epithet was familiar to the Jews, being an expression used by the questioners.  Then, he must have been a righteous (see verse 86/87) and godly (see verses 87/88, 94/95 and 97/98) sovereign.  In other words, he cannot represent Alexander the Great: "That man was neither godly, nor righteous, nor generous towards subjected nations; moreover, he did not build a wall"<ref name="Azad"/>}}
{{Quote|Modern Muslim Koran Interpretation: (1880 - 1960), p. 32|When treating the Dhul-Qarnayn story, Azad beings by setting forth that it follows from verse 82/83 that the hero's epithet was familiar to the Jews, being an expression used by the questioners.  Then, he must have been a righteous (see verse 86/87) and godly (see verses 87/88, 94/95 and 97/98) sovereign.  In other words, he cannot represent Alexander the Great: "That man was neither godly, nor righteous, nor generous towards subjected nations; moreover, he did not build a wall"<ref name="Azad"/>}}
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The apologist insists that the only possible connection to Alexander must be to the historical man. On this basis, it is easy to agree that the historical Alexander is not portrayed in the Qur'anic story, as he does not fit the description at all. However, the legendary Alexander is a perfect fit. He is portrayed as a godly and righteous man, he shows generosity to the people harassed by the Huns, and he builds a wall of iron and brass. While these legendary stories were popular in the 7<sup>th</sup> century, they are virtually unknown outside of academic circles today. Maulana Azad simply ignores these facts and never considers the possibility that these verses are about a legendary figure and not the Alexander of history.
The apologist insists that the only possible connection to Alexander must be to the historical man. On this basis, it is easy to agree that the historical Alexander is not portrayed in the Qur'anic story, as he does not fit the description at all. However, the legendary Alexander is a perfect fit. He is portrayed as a godly and righteous man, he shows generosity to the people harassed by the Huns, and he builds a wall of iron and brass. While these legendary stories were popular in the 7<sup>th</sup> century, they are virtually unknown outside of academic circles today. Maulana Azad simply ignores these facts and never considers the possibility that these verses are about a legendary figure and not the Alexander of history.


===Two Horns===
===Cyrus the Great===
[[File:Cyrushorns.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Sketch of a relief of Cyrus.]]
Recent historical and archaeological evidence clearly points to the real Alexander of Macedon as a polytheistic pagan who fashioned himself after Greek and Egyptian gods. The more recent questions about Alexander's sexuality and personal relationships also raises serious problems for anyone who believes he was a follower of Islam.  Based on this information, some Islamic apologists and theologians have constructed alternative theories to the identity of Dhul-Qarnayn.  The most prominent alternative theory among modern apologists is that Dhul-Qarnayn was Cyrus the Great of Persia. This theory has been advanced by  Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi,<ref name="Maududi">{{cite web|url= http://www.islamicstudies.info/result.php?sura=18&verse=83|title= Tafsir Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an|publisher= |series= Surah 18 Ayah 83|author= Maududi|date= 1972|archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.islamicstudies.info%2Fresult.php%3Fsura%3D18%26verse%3D83&date=2013-11-22|deadurl=no}}</ref> Maulana Abul Kalam Azad,<ref name="Azad"> Baljon , Johannes Marinus Simon. [http://books.google.com/books?id=IOEUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA33 "Modern Muslim Koran Interpretation: (1880 - 1960)"]. pp. 32-33. 1961.  Relates a typical defense by Azad of the Cyrus theory by explaining first why Alexander should be rejected based on the historical Alexander and not the legendary one.</ref> Allameh Tabatabaei,<ref>Allameh Tabatabae. Tafsir al-Mizan Vol 26 </ref> and Naser Makarem Shirazi.<ref>Naser Makarem Shirazi. Bargozideh Tafseer-i Nemuneh, Vol 3, p. 69</ref>
In order to connect Cyrus to the epithet Dhul-Qarnayn (i.e. man with two-horns), proponents of this theory have pointed to reliefs found at the tomb of Cyrus in Pasargadae, Iran.  In these depictions of Cyrus, a set of horns can be seen at the bottom of an elaborate head dress. However, the horns are extremely small and difficult to identify. When you compare this to the prominent placement of horns in Alexander coins and the depiction of Zeus-Ammon, upon which the Alexander coins are based, the horns on the Cyrus relief pale by comparison. We have no other physical engravings or any other archaeological evidence that connects Cyrus with the epithet "two horns".
 
It is important to note that these rejections of Alexander as Dhul-Qarnayn are primarily motivated by theological concerns and are not based on any convincing evidence. As we shall see, the claims of Cyrus the Great being Dhul-Qarnayn are far weaker than the obvious connection to the legendary stories of Alexander. Proponents of this theory, however, pre-suppose that the Qur'an is relaying an accurate, historical story and thus never take into consideration the possibility that the story is based on myth and folklore.
 
====Two Horns====
[[File:Cyrus_stele_in_Pasagardae.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Stele in Pasagardae, which some think depicts Cyrus, though it is simply a winged tutelary diety according to most scholars.]]
In order to connect Cyrus to the epithet Dhul-Qarnayn (i.e. man with two-horns), proponents of this theory have pointed to a relief found on a doorway pillar near the tomb of Cyrus in Pasargadae, Iran.  In these depictions, a set of horns can be seen as part of an Egyptian [[w:Hemhem crown|Hemhem]] head dress worn by a winged figure. Some scholars believe this to be a depiction of Cyrus, whose name was once inscribed at the top of the monument above the pillar.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mallowan |first1=Max |last2= |first2= |date=1972 |title=“Cyrus the Great (558-529 B.C.). |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4300460 |journal=Iran |volume= |issue=10 |pages=1-17 |doi=10.2307/4300460 |access-date=8 March 2021}}</ref> Others note that the complex also once included human-headed winged bulls with crowns, and regard this as a protective doorway figure, inspired by Assyrian winged genii, and the words to be a "foundation inscription", also visible in two of the other palaces there.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/pasargadae |title=PASARGADAE |last=Stronach |first=David |date=2009 |website=Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition |publisher=Encyclopædia Iranica |access-date=8 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/herzfeld-ernst-ii |title=HERZFELD, ERNST ii. HERZFELD AND PASARGADAE  |last=Stronach |first=David |date=2003 |website=Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition |publisher=Encyclopædia Iranica |access-date=8 March 2021}}</ref> We have no other physical engravings or any other archaeological evidence that connects Cyrus with the epithet "two horns".
 
====Religious practices of Cyrus====
There is some uncertainty about the personal religious beliefs of Cyrus, though he was widely praised for religious tolerance. Supporters of the Cyrus theory claim he followed Zoroastrianism, which they also claim is monotheistic. However, the Encyclopedia Iranica in its online article on Cyrus, in a section on his religious policies, notes the following:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/cyrus-iiI|title=CYRUS iii. Cyrus II The Great|publisher=Encyclopedia Iranica |website=iranicaonline.org}}</ref>
 
* Babylonian texts record that Cyrus "restored the statues of the Babylonian gods to their sanctuaries"
* In a temple in Uruk he called himself "caretaker of the temples of Esagila and Ezida," respectively the sanctuaries of Marduk in Babylon and Nabû in Borsippa
* In another inscription, from Ur, he boasted that "the great gods have delivered all the lands into my hands"
* On the Cyrus cylinder he claimed that the god Marduk had ordered him to become ruler of the whole world and to treat the Babylonians with justice
* According to the same text, the idols that Nabonidus had brought to Babylon from various other Babylonian cities were reinstalled in their former sanctuaries, as were the statues of alien gods from Susa and the cities of northern Mesopotamia. The ruined temples of Babylonia, Elam, and what had been Assyria were reconstructed.
A translation of the Cyrus Cylinder by Irvin Finkel of the British Museum includes the following lines:{{Quote|Cyrus Cylinder translated by Irvin Finkel<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/166/the-cyrus-cylinder/ |title=The Cyrus Cylinder |last=Simonin |first=Antoine |publisher=worldhistory.org |date=2012 |website=worldhistory.org}}</ref>|"Marduk, the great lord, rejoiced at [my good] deeds [...] From [Shuanna] I sent back to their places to the city of Ashur and Susa,
Akkad, the land of Eshnunna, the city of Zamban, the city of Meturnu, Der, as far as the border of the land of Guti - the sanctuaries across the river Tigris - whose shrines had earlier become dilapidated, the gods who lived therein, and made permanent sanctuaries for them. [...] I collected together all of their people and returned them to their settlements, and the gods of the land of Sumer and Akkad which Nabonidus – to the fury of the lord of the gods – had brought into Shuanna, at the command of Marduk, the great lord, I returned them unharmed to their cells, in the sanctuaries that make them happy. May all the gods that I returned to their sanctuaries, every day before Bel and Nabu, ask for a long life for me, and mention my good deeds, and say to Marduk, my lord, this: 'Cyrus, the king who fears you [...] May Marduk, the great lord, present to me as a gift a long life and the fullness of age"}}


===Questions from the People of the Book===
====Questions from the People of the Book====


Another attempt to connect Cyrus to Dhul-Qarnayn comes from an analysis of the events that prompted the revelation of the Qur'anic story in the first place. The story begins in verse 83 by stating that someone has asked Muhammad about the story of Dhul-Qarnayn:
Another attempt to connect Cyrus to Dhul-Qarnayn comes from an analysis of the events that prompted the revelation of the Qur'anic story in the first place. The story begins in verse 83 by stating that someone has asked Muhammad about the story of Dhul-Qarnayn:
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{{Quote|{{Quran|18|83}}|'''They ask thee''' concerning Zul-qarnain. Say, "I will rehearse to you something of his story."}}
{{Quote|{{Quran|18|83}}|'''They ask thee''' concerning Zul-qarnain. Say, "I will rehearse to you something of his story."}}


The "they" in question is often identified as Jews, or sometimes generally as the [[Islam and the People of the Book|People of the Book]], living near Mecca who use the question as a test of Muhammad's prophet-hood
The "they" in question is often identified as Jews, or sometimes generally as the [[People of the Book|People of the Book]], living near Mecca who use the question as a test of Muhammad's prophet-hood


{{Quote|The Meaning of the Qur'an, Introduction to Chapter 18|This Surah was sent down in answer to the three questions which the mushriks of Makkah, in consultation with the people of the Book, had put to the Holy Prophet in order to test him. These were: (1) Who were "the Sleepers of the Cave"? (2) What is the real story of Khidr? and (3) What do you know about Dhul-Qarnayn? As these three questions and the stories involved concerned the history of the Christians and the Jews, and were unknown in Hijaz, a choice of these was made to test whether the Holy Prophet possessed any source of the knowledge of the hidden and unseen things.<ref name="Maududi18">{{cite web|url= http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/maududi/introductions/mau-18.php|title= Tafsir Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an|publisher= |author= Maududi|date= 1972 |series= Introduction to Chapter 18|archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usc.edu%2Forg%2Fcmje%2Freligious-texts%2Fmaududi%2Fintroductions%2Fmau-18.php&date=2013-11-22|deadurl=no}}</ref>}}
{{Quote|The Meaning of the Qur'an, Introduction to Chapter 18|This Surah was sent down in answer to the three questions which the mushriks of Makkah, in consultation with the people of the Book, had put to the Holy Prophet in order to test him. These were: (1) Who were "the Sleepers of the Cave"? (2) What is the real story of Khidr? and (3) What do you know about Dhul-Qarnayn? As these three questions and the stories involved concerned the history of the Christians and the Jews, and were unknown in Hijaz, a choice of these was made to test whether the Holy Prophet possessed any source of the knowledge of the hidden and unseen things.<ref name="Maududi18">{{cite web|url= http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/maududi/introductions/mau-18.php|title= Tafsir Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an|publisher= |author= Maududi|date= 1972 |series= Introduction to Chapter 18|archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usc.edu%2Forg%2Fcmje%2Freligious-texts%2Fmaududi%2Fintroductions%2Fmau-18.php&date=2013-11-22|deadurl=no}}</ref>}}


Some Apologists argue that the identity of Dhul-Qarnayn must have been well known to the Jews and should therefore be found in the Bible. However, no justification is ever given as to why only the Bible is considered and not other literature used by Jews and Christians of the 7<sup>th</sup> century.  This includes the Talmud, apocryphal books, and other non-canonical writings. In fact, this very account refers to another non-canonical story, [[Seven Sleepers of Ephesus in the Quran|the Sleepers of the Cave]], which is a 5<sup>th</sup> century legend popular in both Syria and Arabia. In point of fact the Alexander Romance was well known to both Christian and Jewish audiences in late antiquity, so the assumption that the story is well known to the audience of this verse once again points to the Alexander Romance.  
Some Apologists argue that the identity of Dhul-Qarnayn must have been well known to the Jews and should therefore be found in the Bible. However, no justification is ever given as to why only the Bible is considered and not other literature used by Jews and Christians of the 7<sup>th</sup> century.  This includes the Talmud, apocryphal books, and other non-canonical writings. In fact, this very account refers to another non-canonical story, [[Seven Sleepers of Ephesus in the Quran|the Sleepers of the Cave]], which is a 5<sup>th</sup> century legend popular in both Syria and Arabia. In point of fact the storyline of the Alexander Legend was well known to both Christian and Jewish audiences in late antiquity, so the assumption that the story is well known to the audience of this verse once again points to the Alexander Legend.  


Another detail about this account is that the audience of the verse is not asked to simply identify Dhul-Qarnayn. If that were the case, the answer would have been something such as "he is Alexander" or "he is Cyrus". The speaker in the verse actually asks the audience to relate a ''story'' about Dhul-Qarnayn. This once again points to a well known narrative about Dhul-Qarnayn, the Alexander Romance.  In order for the audience to know the "right" answer to that question, they must already know the details of this story. This story does not appear anywhere in the Bible; but it does occur, point-by-point and detail-by-detail in the Alexander legend. Therefore, they must be using the Alexander legend as their source for the "right" answer.
Another detail about this account is that the audience of the verse is not asked to simply identify Dhul-Qarnayn. If that were the case, the answer would have been something such as "he is Alexander" or "he is Cyrus". The speaker in the verse actually asks the audience to relate a ''story'' about Dhul-Qarnayn. This once again points to a well known narrative about Dhul-Qarnayn, the Alexander Legend.  In order for the audience to know the "right" answer to that question, they must already know the details of this story. This story does not appear anywhere in the Bible; but it does occur, point-by-point and detail-by-detail in the Alexander legend. Therefore, they must be using the Alexander legend as their source for the "right" answer.


An argument based on this verse ignores the wide range of stories in circulation by Jews and Christians of the 7<sup>th</sup> century. It projects a modern understanding of the cannon of scripture back upon the people of that time. The Alexander legends were incorporated into the writings and theology of the Jews and Christians in Syria and Arabia, thus it is easy to see why the speaker in the verse expects a well-rehearsed answer.  
An argument based on this verse ignores the wide range of stories in circulation by Jews and Christians of the 7<sup>th</sup> century. It projects a modern understanding of the cannon of scripture back upon the people of that time. The Alexander legends were incorporated into the writings and theology of the Jews and Christians in Syria and Arabia, thus it is easy to see why the speaker in the verse expects a well-rehearsed answer.  


===Reference in the Bible===
====Reference in the Bible====


Another point brought up in defense of the Cyrus thesis is a passage from the Bible, Daniel 8 that mentions a ram with two horns:
Another point brought up in defense of the Cyrus thesis is a passage from the Bible, Daniel 8 that mentions a ram with two horns:
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The horn on the goat is considered by many to be a reference to Alexander the Great. The horn is called "the king of Greece" that comes form the west and charges to the east destroying everything in its path; a basic summary of Alexander's conquest of the Persians. Later in the chapter, we are told that the horn is broken (a reference to Alexander's death) and four horns appear in its place (a reference to the four rulers that divided up Alexander's kingdom).<ref name="Guzik" /> This again provides further evidence that the ram is not Cyrus, as Alexander lived three centuries after Cyrus and the two never fought each other on the battle field.
The horn on the goat is considered by many to be a reference to Alexander the Great. The horn is called "the king of Greece" that comes form the west and charges to the east destroying everything in its path; a basic summary of Alexander's conquest of the Persians. Later in the chapter, we are told that the horn is broken (a reference to Alexander's death) and four horns appear in its place (a reference to the four rulers that divided up Alexander's kingdom).<ref name="Guzik" /> This again provides further evidence that the ram is not Cyrus, as Alexander lived three centuries after Cyrus and the two never fought each other on the battle field.


===Building a Wall===
====Building a Wall====


We have no evidence that Cyrus the Great built large walls or was famous for such deeds. In his commentary, Maududi all but admits as much:
We have no evidence that Cyrus the Great built large walls or was famous for such deeds. In his commentary, Maududi all but admits as much:
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==Historicity of the Story==
==Historicity of the Story==


Another problem for apologists is the complete lack of physical evidence for the existence of this massive wall of iron and bronze that Dhul-Qarnayn supposedly built at the end of his final journey. If this story is historically accurate then they should be able to point to the location of this large wall, between two mountains that is holding back a tribe of people bent on destroying the earth.
As for the story itself, either in the Syriac Legend or in the Qur'an, it would seem to be almost entirely legendary. Besides the fact that Alexander was not a Christian, Muslim, or "believer" of any type all of the adventures of the Legend have no basis in the historical sources available on Alexander. The trope about Alexander damming up Gog and Magog till the end of the world is clearly mythical, feeding into established Judeao-Christian tropes on the end of the world, and has no basis in history or archaeology as there is no giant iron wall anywhere on the earth which is containing an entire nation of people. The very existence of such a wall for the past 2300 years would defy all of logic and science as it is known, and in any event would have been spotted by modern satellite technology, which it has not been.  


===Historical Claims in the Hadith===
===Historical Claims in the Hadith===


The historical nature of the story is affirmed by the following Sahih Hadith by Bukhari which relates that Muhammad viewed this wall (here called a dam) holding back Gog and Magog as a real structure that was facing immanent demise. In this account, he also reiterates that the wall's destruction will bring about death and destruction of the land when the tribes held behind it are let loose.
The historical nature of the story in the Islamic narrative is affirmed by the following Sahih Hadith by Bukhari which relates that Muhammad viewed this wall (here called a dam) holding back Gog and Magog as a real structure that was facing immanent demise. In this account, he also reiterates that the wall's destruction will bring about death and destruction of the land when the tribes held behind it are let loose.


{{Quote|{{Bukhari|9|88|249}}|Narrated Zainab bint Jahsh:
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|9|88|249}}|Narrated Zainab bint Jahsh:


That one day Allah's Apostle entered upon her in a state of fear and said, "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah! Woe to the Arabs from the Great evil that has approached (them). Today a hole has been opened in the dam of Gog and Magog like this." The Prophet made a circle with his index finger and thumb. Zainab bint Jahsh added: I said, "O Alllah's Apostle! Shall we be destroyed though there will be righteous people among us?" The Prophet said, "Yes, if the (number) of evil (persons) increased."}}
That one day Allah's Apostle entered upon her in a state of fear and said, "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah! Woe to the Arabs from the Great evil that has approached (them). Today a hole has been opened in the dam of Gog and Magog like this." The Prophet made a circle with his index finger and thumb. Zainab bint Jahsh added: I said, "O Alllah's Apostle! Shall we be destroyed though there will be righteous people among us?" The Prophet said, "Yes, if the (number) of evil (persons) increased."}}As well as in the Sahih Muslim collection as one of the 10 signs of judgement day:
{{Quote|{{Muslim|7|2650}}|Hudhaifa b. Usaid al-Ghifari reported: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) came to us all of a sudden as we were (busy in a discussion). He said: What do you discuss about? They (the Companions) said. We are discussing about the Last Hour. Thereupon he said: It will not come until you see ten signs before and (in this connection) he made a mention of the smoke, Dajjal, the beast, the rising of the sun from the west, the descent of Jesus son of Mary (Allah be pleased with him), <b>the Gog and Magog,</b> and land-slides in three places, one in the east, one in the west and one in Arabia at the end of which fire would burn forth from the Yemen, and would drive people to the place of their assembly.}}
And in the Sunan Ibn Majah collection, a hadith (rated 'Sahih' (authentic) by Darussalam) says that they will try to dig out, but Allah will replace the wall overnight when they are close to breaking through. Until eventually they will be allowed to break through, drink all the water, and defeat the people on Earth and heaven, and then Allah will kill them:
{{Quote|{{Ibn Majah||5|36|4080}}|It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
"Gog and Magog people dig every day until, when they can almost see the rays of the sun, the one in charge of them says: "Go back and we will dig it tomorrow." Then Allah puts it back, stronger than it was before. (This will continue) until, when their time has come, and Allah wants to send them against the people, they will dig until they can almost see the rays of the sun, then the one who is in charge of them will say: "Go back, and we will dig it tomorrow if Allah wills.' So they will say: "If Allah wills." Then they will come back to it and it will be as they left it. So they will dig and will come out to the people, and they will drink all the water. The people will fortify themselves against them in their fortresses. They will shoot their arrows towards the sky and they will come back with blood on them, and they will say: "We have defeated the people of earth and dominated the people of heaven." Then Allah will send a worm in the napes of their necks and will kill them thereby.'" The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, the beasts of the earth will grow fat on their flesh."}}As the Quran and hadith claim the story to be real, it was believed to be so by Muslims. So after the Abbasid [https://www.britannica.com/topic/caliph Caliph][https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Wathiq al-Wathiq bi-llah] reportedly had a dream that this barrier was being breached, he sent a subject to investigate the issue:<ref>van Donzel, Emeri; Schmidt, Andrea. ''Gog and Magog in Early Eastern Christian and Islamic Sources: Sallam's Quest for Alexander's Wall.'' Leiden: Brill. pp. 25–31. <nowiki>ISBN 9789004174160</nowiki>, 2010. The full book and their analysis of the journey taken by Sallam can be read on the ''[https://archive.org/details/gogandmagoginearlyeasternchristianandislamicsources/page/n17/mode/1up Internet Archive linked here].'' </ref>
{{Quote|{{cite web| url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PtxOXRlPMA0C | title=Gog and Magog in Early Eastern Christian and Islamic Sources: Sallam's Quest for Alexander's Wall pp.17| author=van Donzel, Emeri; Schmidt, Andrea. | publisher= Leiden: Brill. | date=2010.|}}|The ‘Abbasid Caliph al-Wathiq bi-llah saw in a dream that Alexander’s barrier was breached. In 842 the caliph ordered Sallam, probably a Khazarian Jew from Samarra, to investigate the barrier. After his return in 844 to the court in Samarra, Sallam dictated his report for the caliph to the famous geographer Ibn Khurradadhbih (d. 912). The text of this dictation is preserved in Ibn Khurradadhbih’s Book of Itineraries and Kingdoms.}}


===Great Wall of Gorgan===
===Great Wall of Gorgan===
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The Great Wall of Gorgan is sometimes offered as a possible candidate for the wall built by Dhul-Qarnayn. Made of clay from the local soil, the wall is called the Red Snake due to the color of its bricks. The wall is 195 km (121 mi) long and interspersed with forts. It covers an area between the Caspian Sea and the mountains of northeastern Iran. Dr. Kiani, who led an archaeological team in 1971, believed that the wall was built during the Parthian Empire (247 BCE–224 CE), and that it was restored during the Sassanid era (3<sup>rd</sup> to 7<sup>th</sup> century CE).<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.shca.ed.ac.uk/staff/academic/esauer/pubs/iranian_walls.pdf|title= The enigma of the red snake: revealing one of the world’s greatest frontier walls|publisher= Current World Archaeology|series= No. 27|pages= 12-22|author= Omrani Rekavandi, H., Sauer, E., Wilkinson, T. & Nokandeh, J. (2008)|date=February/March 2008 |archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shca.ed.ac.uk%2Fstaff%2Facademic%2Fesauer%2Fpubs%2Firanian_walls.pdf&date=2013-11-25|deadurl=no}}</ref>
The Great Wall of Gorgan is sometimes offered as a possible candidate for the wall built by Dhul-Qarnayn. Made of clay from the local soil, the wall is called the Red Snake due to the color of its bricks. The wall is 195 km (121 mi) long and interspersed with forts. It covers an area between the Caspian Sea and the mountains of northeastern Iran. Dr. Kiani, who led an archaeological team in 1971, believed that the wall was built during the Parthian Empire (247 BCE–224 CE), and that it was restored during the Sassanid era (3<sup>rd</sup> to 7<sup>th</sup> century CE).<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.shca.ed.ac.uk/staff/academic/esauer/pubs/iranian_walls.pdf|title= The enigma of the red snake: revealing one of the world’s greatest frontier walls|publisher= Current World Archaeology|series= No. 27|pages= 12-22|author= Omrani Rekavandi, H., Sauer, E., Wilkinson, T. & Nokandeh, J. (2008)|date=February/March 2008 |archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shca.ed.ac.uk%2Fstaff%2Facademic%2Fesauer%2Fpubs%2Firanian_walls.pdf&date=2013-11-25|deadurl=no}}</ref>


This wall cannot be same as the one described in the story of Dhul-Qarnayn for a number of reasons. First, it is made of bricks not iron and brass. It also does not cover an area between two mountains. The story in the Qur'an says that the wall built by Dhul-Qarnayn holds back a tribe but this wall in northern Iran is not holding back anyone; it is in a state of disrepair.  The Qur'an also says the wall of iron will not be destroyed until the Day of Judgement; unless apologists are willing to admit that this Qur'anic prophecy has failed, then this cannot be the wall described in Surat 18. Finally, even its earliest dating of 247 BC puts it almost three centuries after the reign of Cyrus the Great (576–530 BC) and almost a century after Alexander the Great (356–323 BC).
This wall cannot be same as the one described in the story of Dhul-Qarnayn for a number of reasons. First, it is made of bricks not iron and brass. It also does not cover an area between two mountains. The story in the Qur'an says that the wall built by Dhul-Qarnayn holds back a tribe but this wall in northern Iran is not holding back anyone; it is in a state of disrepair.  The Qur'an also says the wall of iron will not be destroyed until the Day of Judgement; if that is true, then this cannot be the wall described in Surat 18 unless the prophecy has failed. Finally, even its earliest dating of 247 BC puts it almost three centuries after the reign of Cyrus the Great (576–530 BC) and almost a century after Alexander the Great (356–323 BC).


===Caspian Gates of Derbent===
===Caspian Gates of Derbent===
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Derbent, a city on the other side of the Caspian Sea from the Great Wall of Gorgon is located just north of the Azerbaijani border. Historically, it occupied one of the few passages through the Caucus mountains and it has often been identified with the word 'gate'. Fortresses and walls have been built at this location probably dating back thousands of years. The historical Caspian Gates were not built until the reign of Khosrau I in the 6<sup>th</sup> century, long after Alexander, but they likely were attributed to him in the following centuries. The immense wall had a height of up to twenty meters and a thickness of about 3 meters when it was in use.
Derbent, a city on the other side of the Caspian Sea from the Great Wall of Gorgon is located just north of the Azerbaijani border. Historically, it occupied one of the few passages through the Caucus mountains and it has often been identified with the word 'gate'. Fortresses and walls have been built at this location probably dating back thousands of years. The historical Caspian Gates were not built until the reign of Khosrau I in the 6<sup>th</sup> century, long after Alexander, but they likely were attributed to him in the following centuries. The immense wall had a height of up to twenty meters and a thickness of about 3 meters when it was in use.


This wall cannot be the same as the one in the Qur'an because it is not built between two mountains. The walls near Derbent were built with the Caspian sea as one border. In his comments on Derbent, Yusuf Ali mentions, that "there is no iron gate there now, but there was one in the seventh century, when the Chinese traveler Hiouen Tsiang saw it on his journey to India. He saw two folding gates cased with iron hung with bells".<ref name="YusufAli" /> Again, if this gate is the same as the one in the Qur'anic story then the apologist must admit that the revelation of the gate holding back Gog and Magog must have failed since they did not rampage over the nations nor bring about judgement day. Additionally, the solitary claim of a single eye witness from the 7<sup>th</sup> century is spurious at best. We should expect a massive structure would have left copious amounts of archaeological evidence, instead all we have are rumors and folktales.
This wall cannot be the same as the one in the Qur'an because it is not built between two mountains. The walls near Derbent were built with the Caspian sea as one border. In his comments on Derbent, Yusuf Ali mentions, that "there is no iron gate there now, but there was one in the seventh century, when the Chinese traveler Hiouen Tsiang saw it on his journey to India. He saw two folding gates cased with iron hung with bells".<ref name="YusufAli" /> Again, if this gate is the same as the one in the Qur'anic story thenthe revelation of the gate holding back Gog and Magog must have failed since they did not rampage over the nations nor bring about judgement day. Additionally, the solitary claim of a single eye witness from the 7<sup>th</sup> century is suspect at best. One should expect a massive structure would have left copious amounts of archaeological evidence, but rather of Alexander of the Two-Horns and his Great Wall all that is to be found are legends and folktales.


==See Also==
==See Also==


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{{Hub4|Category:Dhul-Qarnayn|Dhul-Qarnayn}}


* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty_2G_esUvI The Masked Arab - The lost tribes of Gog and Magog] - YouTube Video
{{Hub4|Cosmology|Cosmology}}
{{Hub4|Cosmology|Cosmology}}


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Reflist|30em}}
 
[[Category:Dhul-Qarnayn]]
[[Category:Sacred history]]
[[Category:Qur'an]]
[[Category:Qur'an]]
[[Category:Dhul-Qarnayn]]
[[Category:Christian tradition]]
[[Category:Islamic mythology]]
[[ar:ذو_القرنين_ورومانسية_الإسكندر]]
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