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Dhul-Qarnayn and the Alexander Romance: Difference between revisions
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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> | 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. | 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: | 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: | ||
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====Tommaso Tesei's revised analysis==== | ====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> | 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 name="Tesei2023">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> | 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> | ||
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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==== | ||