Dhul-Qarnayn and the Alexander Romance: Difference between revisions

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^th [[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 the Qur'an's understanding of Alexander differs remarkably from the image of him in history as a Greek [[Pagan Origins of Islam|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^th century. The theory that Dhul-Qarnayn is some other figure such as 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. The story in the Qur'an in fact parallels a medieval Syriac legend of Alexander quote 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. 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. In addition, the story speaks of a giant wall built by Dhul-Qarnayn to hold back the nations of Gog and Magog, yet today, 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==

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, though according to 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 too did the claims of his miraculous deeds grow in scope and size.  

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.

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>

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 at the bottom of an elaborate head dress. Some scholars believe this to be a depiction of Cyrus, whose name was once inscribed at the top of the monument above the pillars.<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".