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|title=Dhul-Qarnayn and the Alexander Romance | |||
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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, 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. | 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 | 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. | ||
===The Syriac Alexander Legend=== | |||
Separately to the Greek recensions of the ''Alexander Romance'' traditions (known as ''Pseudo-Callisthenes''), a Syriac legend with a distinctive storyline bears a close resemblance to the Quranic account of Dhu'l Qarnayn. This legend is titled Neṣḥānā d-leh d-Aleksandrōs (“the victory of Alexander”), and is commonly known simply as the Neṣḥānā, or the ''Syriac Alexander Legend''. It has been intensively studied and academic scholars now date its composition to the mid sixth century CE, with a small interpolation around 629-630 CE to update it for a later situation (previously, the prevailing opinion had been that the entire text dated to 629-636 CE; see dating sections below). As the legend of Alexander spread, so too did the claims of his miraculous deeds grow in scope and size. | |||
===Historical vs Legendary Alexander=== | ===Historical vs Legendary Alexander=== | ||
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===Alexander and the Water of Life=== | ===Alexander and the Water of Life=== | ||
In addition to the Dhu'l Qarnayn episode and its relationship with the Syriac Alexander legend, the | 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 or intermediate source. Tesei, and similarly Muriel Debie, has since suggested that the Song could be as early as the last quarter of the 6th century, which has become possible following the redating of the Syriac Alexander Legend on which it is based (see Dating sections below).<ref>Tommaso Tesei 2024, p. 22</ref> | |||
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 /> | {{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 /> | ||
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{{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.}} | {{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 sixth century CE | 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 Alexander 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" /> 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. | 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. | ||
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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, | 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, “[https://www.academia.edu/33727330/van_Bladel_2008_The_Alexander_Legend_in_the_Quran_18_83_102 ''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| | {{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 /> | ||
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|87}}|He said: "'''Whoever doth wrong, him shall we punish'''; then shall he be sent back to his Lord; and He will punish him with a punishment unheard-of (before).}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|18|87}}|He said: "'''Whoever doth wrong, him shall we punish'''; then shall he be sent back to his Lord; and He will punish him with a punishment unheard-of (before).}} | ||
===Sun Rises on People with No Cover=== | ===Sun Enters the Window of Heaven and Rises on People with No Cover=== | ||
After leaving the muddy | After leaving the muddy spring where the sun sets, The Qur'an tells us that Dhul-Qarnayn travels to the east where the sun rises. The author then conveys an odd and cryptic detail that the people living there have "no covering protection against the sun"; however, it gives no further explanation as to what that means. Again, the Syriac legend not only has an expanded, parallel account but it helps clarify the Qur'anic story. The reader is told that Alexander goes up to where the sun "enters the window of heaven" (i.e. sets above the flat earth). Next, it explains that where the sun rises, the people there must seek cover because the sun is much closer to the ground and its rays burn the people and animals there. Van Bladel interprets the last line in the quote below such that "he straightway bows down" refers to Alexander, who himself then travels to the place where the sun rises,<ref name="VanBladel"/> though other scholars have criticised this interpretation of the Syriac text, insisting that it refers to the sun's journey only. | ||
{{Quote|The History of Alexander the Great, Being the Syriac Version, p. 148| | {{Quote|The History of Alexander the Great, Being the Syriac Version, p. 148| | ||
So the whole camp mounted, and Alexander and his troops went up between the fetid sea and the bright sea '''to the place where the sun enters the window of heaven'''; for the sun is the servant of the Lord, and neither by night nor by day does he cease from his travelling. The place of his rising is over the sea, and the people who dwell there, when he is about to rise, flee away and hide themselves in the sea, that they be not burnt by his rays; and he passes through the midst of the heavens to the place where he enters the window of heaven; and wherever he passes there are terrible mountains, and those who dwell there have caves hollowed out in the rocks, and '''as soon as they see the sun passing [over them], men and birds flee away from before him and hide in the caves''', for rocks are rent by his blazing heat and fall down, and whether they be men or beasts, as soon as the stones touch them they are consumed.<ref name="Budge"/>}} | So the whole camp mounted, and Alexander and his troops went up between the fetid sea and the bright sea '''to the place where the sun enters the window of heaven'''; for the sun is the servant of the Lord, and neither by night nor by day does he cease from his travelling. The place of his rising is over the sea, and the people who dwell there, when he is about to rise, flee away and hide themselves in the sea, that they be not burnt by his rays; and he passes through the midst of the heavens to the place where he enters the window of heaven; and wherever he passes there are terrible mountains, and those who dwell there have caves hollowed out in the rocks, and '''as soon as they see the sun passing [over them], men and birds flee away from before him and hide in the caves''', for rocks are rent by his blazing heat and fall down, and whether they be men or beasts, as soon as the stones touch them they are consumed. And when the sun enters the window of heaven, he straightway bows down and makes obeisance before God his Greater; and he travels and descends the whole night through the heavens, until at length he finds himself where he rises. <ref name="Budge"/>}} | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|18|89|90}}|Then followed he (another) way, Until, when '''he came to the rising of the sun''', he found it rising on a people for whom We had '''provided no covering protection against the sun'''. }} | {{Quote|{{Quran-range|18|89|90}}|Then followed he (another) way, Until, when '''he came to the rising of the sun''', he found it rising on a people for whom We had '''provided no covering protection against the sun'''. }} | ||
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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 | Van Bladel in his paper 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"/>}} | ||
== | ==Older Elements in the Story== | ||
The parallels between the Syriac Legend and the Qur'an detailed above are | The parallels between the Syriac Legend and the Qur'an detailed above are very striking. There are in fact elements to the story pre-dating both the Qur'an and Syriac legend 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. Both van Bladel<ref name="VanBladel"/> and Tommaso Tesei mention some of these in their work on the topic.<ref name="Tesei2013" /> | ||
===Epic of Gilgamesh=== | ===Epic of Gilgamesh=== | ||
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===Prophecy about Gog and Magog=== | ===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. | 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 final 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== | |||
Representing the old prevailing view, Gerrit J. Reinink, a Near East philogist and scholar writing in the 1990s/early 2000s, influencially dated the legend to 629-630 CE as a piece of pro-Byzantine propaganda, its purpose probably being to win the separated Syrian Monophysite Christians back to a union with the church at Constantinople. In his view, it was composed by a Mesopotamian Christian probably in Amida or Edessa, shortly after 628 CE following the victory of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius over the Sasanian king Khusrau Parvez.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=PtxOXRlPMA0C|title= Gog and Magog in Early Eastern Christian and Islamic Sources|publisher= BRILL|author= Ed. Emeri J. van Donzel, Andrea Barbara Schmidt|page= 18|date= 2010|archiveurl= |deadurl=no}}</ref> Reinink's view and the general topic of the Syriac Legend's relationship with the Quran saw a revival thanks to Kevin van Bladel's 2007 paper, which too was influential for the next decade.<ref name="VanBladel"/> | |||
Van Bladel agreed with Reinink's dating, and argued that the Syriac Legend was a direct source for the Quranic account.<ref name="VanBladel"/> In his early work on the topic, Tommaso Tesei concurred with van Bladel's thesis, though allowed for the possibility that they shared 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 argued 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 (see sections above), which it shares with the Qur'an. Crucially, these appear in the same order in both versions. Tesei argued that while this sequencing could go back to a common source, he found 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 (note that Tesei later revised some of his earlier views and now dates the Syriac Legend to the 6th century; see the next subsection below). | |||
Stephen Shoemaker has discussed the arguments of Reinink, van Bladel and Tesei's early writings on the topic, 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". In his view 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 (writing in 2018) 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> | |||
===Strong shift towards a 6th century dating=== | |||
====Tommaso Tesei's revised analysis==== | |||
In 2023, Tommaso Tesei revised his earlier opinions (see above) in a detailed and well received book ''The Syriac Legend of Alexander's Gate: Apocalypticism at the Crossroads of Byzantium and Iran''.<ref>Tommaso Tesei, ''The Syriac Legend of Alexander's Gate: Apocalypticism at the Crossroads of Byzantium and Iran'', Oxford University Press, 2024<BR />See the [https://academic.oup.com/book/51697 individual chapter summaries] on the Oxford University Press webpage for Tesei's book.</ref> His analysis finds that the ''Neṣḥānā '' (i.e. the Syriac Legend) was composed in the mid 6th century during the reign of Justinian, with a later redactor interpolating a short prophecy under the reign of Heraclius. He presents a detailed case which has pursuaded a number of prominent academic scholars including Sean Anthony who accepts Tesei's redating of the text<ref>After being asked on x.com on 22 Dec 2023 "Do you find Tesei's dating of the Neshana compelling?" [https://x.com/IanCook321/status/1738002406947029450 (see here)], [https://x.com/ShahanSean/status/1738009790163664896 Sean Anthony replied] "Yes, but it's the whole package, not merely the redating." An account on x.com is needed to view the full thread.</ref> and Stephen Shoemaker, who describes it as "the most definitive study of the Syriac Alexander Legend to date".<ref>See the back cover editorial reviews [https://www.academia.edu/108962156 here]</ref> Van Bladel states that "Tesei forces us to reconsider the meaning of the whole work as well as its relationship to the apocalyptic genre and to the Qur'an".<ref>Ibid.</ref> | |||
Firstly, the author of the Neṣḥānā has detailed geographical knowledge of the regions of Roman Armenia and its political matters in the 6th century, including the raiding of the area by the Sabir Huns at that time (Alexander's first prophecy, about the year 826 AG / 515 CE).<ref>Ibid. pp. 17-20</ref> Tesei argues that the 2nd prophecy about the year 940 AG / 629 CE must be missing some words, as grammatically, it doesn't make sense, and in any plausible reconstruction cannot be about glorifying Heraclius (it was, after all, his Kok Turkic allies who invaded), but rather is an interpolation representing the redactor's hopes that these Huns (who invaded in 629 CE) and the Persians will destroy each other. He further argues that the 826 AG / 515 CE prophecy immediately preceding it makes most sense if composed in a 6th century setting in which there were repeated Sabir Hun invasions. Van Bladel, who assumed that the whole text was composed in 629-630 CE, had proposed that the fulfilled 515 CE prophecy was included merely to lend credence to the 2nd, genuine prognostication. However, Tesei argues that invasions due to Alexander's flawed defensive wall a century earlier and which played no role in the eschatological drama would be a highly dysfunctional choice for such a purpose.<ref>Ibid. pp. 30-40</ref> | |||
Tesei also notices an important point about the first prophecy, which actually begins by prophecising an even earlier Hun invasion which subjugated the Romans and Persians, with the shooting of arrows, and returned to their own land. This is a reference to the Hun invasions of 395 CE, but the author seems unable to date it in his prophecy, unlike the much less significant 515 CE (826 AG) invasion. It is understandable that an original author writing within a few decades after the 515 CE invasion would be able to date it precisely, but could only mention without a date the much more significant invasion that had occurred more than a century earlier in 395 CE. It is less likely that an author could correctly date that relatively minor 515 CE invasion if he was writing the entire Neṣḥānā more than a century later. Moreover, the elders speaking prior to the prophecies describe the exact territories where the 515 CE Sabir Hun invasions took place and the kinds of damage caused, which suggests the author had likely witnessed their devastation.<ref>Ibid. pp. 41-42</ref> | |||
Also significant are two 6th century writers, John Malasas, who associated the 515 CE Sabir Hun invasion with the Caspian gates, and John of Ephesus, who mentioned the invasion of Gog and Magog (but not the gates) in his own eschatological prophecy.<ref>Ibid. p. 43</ref> | |||
A major indication of a 6th century context for the Neṣḥānā is Alexander's negotiation with Tubarlaq, King of the Persians after defeating him. Alexander extracts peace terms including tribute, and having done so, then agrees to military and financial cooperation in defending the Caucasus passes against Hunnic invasion. Tesei argues that this reflects popular concerns, apparent in various 6th century Byzantine writers who sought to assuage them, regarding the deals their own side had made with the Sassanids, as well as the latter's unreasonable demands about sharing security costs. These writers, and their own side's negotiators, had been anxious that peace payments to the Persians should not be perceived as tribute. The Byzantines had also resisted any linking of such payments to demands to share the financial or military cost of defending the Caucasus passes. In the Neṣḥānā, Alexander's cooperative agreement reflects the kind of non extortive, mutual assistance pacts these writers claimed had supposedly occurred in the past between the two empires. It ceased to be a hot topic and was never raised again with the Fifty Year Peace deal of 562 CE in which the Sassanid demands were dropped as they agreed to secure the Caucasus themselves and the Byzantines to never invade.<ref>Ibid. pp. 52, 57-59</ref> | |||
Yet another specifically mid 6th century context in the Neṣḥānā is identified by Tesei in the otherwise puzzlingly detailed role of the Egyptian blacksmiths who at the end are rewarded with lands conquered by Alexander. Details of the story serve to justify Byzantine rule over Lazica, close to the Caucasian passes: Both were said to be of Egyptian origin and became vassals to the Neṣḥānā's Alexander/the Byzantine empire without having to pay any tribute. The Neṣḥānā's blacksmiths provide 7,000 men to help Alexander, the same number that Justinian sent to aid the Lazis in their 547 CE anti-Persian uprising. The Lazis were also seen as useful non-Persian allies to defend the Caucusus from the Huns. These mid 6th century political concerns are given a historic parallel in the Neṣḥānā's story of Alexander.<ref>Ibid. 59-67</ref> | |||
The rest of Tesei's book argues that various aspects of the Alexander-Tubarlaq story in the Neṣḥānā do not fit an early 7th century Heraclius context, but rather reflect the writer's criticisms of Justinian's agreements with the Sassanids, while also mocking the latter through the character of Tubarlaq. The story also served to counter specific propaganda from the Syriac Christian leadership, particularly Mar Aba, who interpreted sacred history in ways favourable to their Sassanid rulers. Ultimately, the Neṣḥānā's prophecies aim to raise hopes among Syriac Christians that universal rule will transfer to the Romans in the eschatological grand scheme of things. | |||
====Muriel Debie's analysis==== | |||
In 2024 Muriel Debie, a historian of the Syriac world, similarly dated the Ur-text of the Neṣḥānā to the sixth century. Her main reason is that with changing threats, the wall defensive systems against the Huns mentioned in the text had lost their importance after the mid sixth century, and the importance of a Greek (Roman)-Persian mutual defence treaty against the Huns similarly reflects the early sixth century situation. She also argues that the wall construction techniques mentioned in the text are evidence for an earlier dating.<ref>Muriel Debie (2024), ''Alexandre le Grand en Syriaque: Maitre des lieux, des savoirs etdes temps'' (Alexander the Great in Syriac: Master of places, knowledge and times), Les Belles Lettres<BR />For machine translated English of the relevant pages, see [https://www.reddit.com/r/AcademicQuran/comments/1g0naod/muriel_debie_on_the_dating_of_the_syriac/ this Reddit/r/AcademicQuran thread].</ref> | |||
==Relationship with the Syriac Legend== | |||
===Dating the Qur'anic Verses=== | ===Dating the Qur'anic Verses=== | ||
According to the traditional Muslim narrative, Al-Kahf (The Cave) was | 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 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}}</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" /> | 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 | 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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====Two Horns==== | ====Two Horns==== | ||
[[File:Cyrus_stele_in_Pasagardae.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Stele in Pasagardae, which some | [[File:Cyrus_stele_in_Pasagardae.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Stele in Pasagardae, which some earlier scholars interpreted as Cyrus, though it is now regarded as a winged tutelary diety.]] | ||
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 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 earlier scholars believed 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> It is now regarded as a protective doorway figure, inspired by Assyrian winged genii. It has been established that the incription was added later by Darius, and that the same inscription appeared in at least four other places in the complex (on two support pillars and on both sides of a portico). The complex also once included human-headed winged bulls with crowns.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sekunda |first=Nicholas |contribution=Changes in Achaemenid Royal Dress |title=The World of Achaemenid Persia. History, Art and Society in Iran and the Ancient Near East |editor-last1=Curtis |editor-first1=John |editor-last2=Simpson |editor-first2=St John |publisher=I. B. Taurus |year=2010 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_World_of_Achaemenid_Persia/DmGJDwAAQBAJ?gbpv=1 |isbn=9781848853461}}</ref><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==== | ====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> | 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 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism], which they also claim is monotheistic (despite being hugely different to Islam), and he is remembered fondly by Jews in the bible ''(see the below: [[Dhul-Qarnayn and the Alexander Romance#Reference%20in%20the%20Bible|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Alexander Romance - Reference in the Bible]])''. 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" | * Babylonian texts record that Cyrus "restored the statues of the Babylonian gods to their sanctuaries" | ||
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* In another inscription, from Ur, he boasted that "the great gods have delivered all the lands into my hands" | * 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 | * 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. | * 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. | ||
Touraj Daryaee (2013)<ref>Touraj Daryaee (2013) [https://www.academia.edu/108699173/Cyrus_the_Great_An_Ancient_Iranian_king ''Cyrus the Great: An Ancient Iranian king''] Chapter 2. The Region of Cyrus. pp. 25-44. Afshar Publications.</ref> similarly notes that Cyrus, in both the Babylonian (pagan) and Jewish texts, acts as a restorer of a chaotic situation, where the rightful god(s) and men are dissatisfied, while the unrighteous men are in charge... Cyrus is chosen by the god(s) and evokes the love of the god(s) of each city and people.<ref>Ibid. pp. 26.</ref> An Akkadian text from Babylon or Sippar, condemning the preceding ruler of Babylon, Nabounides, for his carelessness in regard to proper ceremonies and religious practices, states that “he (Cyrus) declared peace for them” and that he provided the proper sacrifices for the gods and even increased the amount for the sacrifice (Kuhrt 2007; 78).<ref>Ibid. pp. 27.</ref> In this way, Cyrus becomes the chosen instrument of the gods who have been neglected by the ill reputed ruler.<ref>Ibid. pp. 27-28.</ref> In a similar fashion, Cyrus is seen by the Jewish God as his supporter: “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight” (Isaiah 42.1).<ref>Ibid. pp. 28.</ref> | |||
A translation of the Cyrus Cylinder by Irvin Finkel of the British Museum includes the following lines: | He also notes that the Cyrus Cylinder is the best example of presenting the conquering king as the restorer of Order and the harbinger of peace to an otherwise chaotic world. According to the cylinder, what had taken place before Cyrus was the forsaking of the New Year festival with its proper rituals, which caused much dissatisfaction, not only for men, but also for the gods. Of course, Marduk, the most important of the Mesopotamian gods, just like Yahweh, chose Cyrus to reinstate what had gone wrong.<ref>Ibid. pp. 30.</ref> Honoring other Gods would of course be among the worst forms of [https://www.britannica.com/topic/shirk shirk] and an unthinkable sin in Islam.<ref>[https://islamqa.info/en/answers/34817/what-is-shirk-and-its-types What Is Shirk and its types?] IslamQA. 2021.</ref> | ||
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, | |||
{{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"}} | 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"}} | ||
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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 [[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. Academic scholars in contrast tend to notice that the stories which appear in surah al-Kahf have a Christian background. | ||
{{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>}} | ||
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{{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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{{Hub4|Category:Dhul-Qarnayn|Dhul-Qarnayn}} | {{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}} | ||
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[[Category:Qur'an]] | [[Category:Qur'an]] | ||
[[Category:Christian tradition]] | [[Category:Christian tradition]] | ||
[[ar:ذو_القرنين_ورومانسية_الإسكندر]] | |||