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Dhul-Qarnayn and the Alexander Romance: Difference between revisions
Dhul-Qarnayn and the Alexander Romance (view source)
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==Historicity of the Story== | ==Historicity of the Story== | ||
As for the story itself, either in the Romance 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 Romance 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. | |||
===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: | ||
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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; | 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 | 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== | ||