Personality Profile: Is Alexander ‘the Great’ actually the Quran’s Dhul-Qarnayn ?

The Holy Quran in many ways is mysterious in that it remarkably conveys multiple facets of a story within a single verse or a bunch of verses. It is therefore only natural that over the course of history, multiple interpretations (or ‘tafsirs’) have come about to help Muslims understand the meaning of these stories. Though most of the interpretations have remained more or less similar, the identification of characters in the Quran to history have somewhat been ambiguous. One such example is the story of Dhul-Qarnayn (Zulkarnain). The Quran describes him as a just ruler who built a great iron wall for a foreign group of people to save them from the threat of ‘Gog’ and ‘Magog’.The interpretations of ‘Gog’ and ‘Magog’ are itself a topic for another day, however, this implies that the conditions for any historical figure to meet the description of Dhul-Qarnayn (Zulkarnain) are as follows: 

1. He should have been a great conqueror from history who was known to be just and righteous
2. He should be identified with the literal translation of ‘Dhul-Qarnayn ‘which could mean ‘the one with two horns’ or alternatively it could also mean ‘the one who leads two generations’.
3.  Among the nations, he has conquered should be a land where in the language is foreign and not of his own
4.  Among the lands he has conquered should be an iron gate / wall to protect its people from the threat of what is arguably a ravenous tribe from a land referred to as Gog/ Magog
5. Given his reference in the Quran, he should have been a proponent of’ Tawheed’ i.e the oneness of God

Alexander the Great

Merriam-Webster dictionary describes Alexander as follows: 

Alexander the great, (born 356 BC, Pella, Macedonia—died June 13, 323 BC, Babylon) was King of Macedonia (336–323) and the greatest military leader of antiquity. The son of Philip II of Macedonia, he was taught by Aristotle. He soon showed military brilliance, helping win the Battle of Chaeronea at age 18. He succeeded his assassinated father in 336 and promptly took Thessaly and Thrace. In 334 he crossed to Persia and defeated a Persian army at the Granicus River. In 332 he completed a seven-month siege of Tyre, considered his greatest military achievement, and then took Egypt. There he received the pharaohs' double crown, founded Alexandria, and visited the oracle of the god Amon, the basis of his claim to divinity. Conquering what is now Tajikistan, he married the princess Roxana and embraced Persian absolutism, adopting Persian dress and enforcing Persian court customs. By 326, he reached the Hyphasis in India, where his weary men mutinied; he turned back, marching and pillaging down the Indus, and reached Susa with much loss of life. He continued to promote his unpopular policy of racial fusion, a seeming attempt to form a Persian-Macedonian master race. He fell ill at Babylon after long feasting and drinking and died at age 33. He was buried in Alexandria, Egypt. His empire, the greatest that had existed to that time, extended from Thrace to Egypt and from Greece to the Indus valley. 

Alexander's Empire

Condition 1: He should have been a great conqueror from history who was known to be just and righteous.

The greatness of Alexander’s empire is without doubt unparalleled and hence he fits this description easily. Whether he was a righteous ruler or not, is subject to debate.  An incident of his meeting with the leader of Jews, Simeon (‘the just’) relates that on meeting Simeon, Alexander withdrew from his carriage and bowed down inciting criticism from his followers as it was not customary for a man of Alexander’s stature to bow to a Jew. This incident shows he was certainly not arrogant, yet there are other incidents the describe Alexander’s love for Alcohol, women and even men that casts doubts on if he was a righteous ruler. My verdict on whether this condition is met is therefore partial.

Condition 2: He should be identified with the literal translation of ‘Dhul-Qarnayn ‘which could mean ‘the one with two horns’ or alternatively it could also mean ‘the one who lead two generations’.

Egyptian God Amun

By 333 B.C, Alexander had reached Egypt, and one of his first directives there was to declare himself the son of the Egyptian God Amun , thus linking him with divinity. Amun, the Egyptian God is depicted with two plumes on his head that look like horns and coins that were produced in Alexander’s land at the time had this depiction. Consequently, the people started identifying Alexander as the ‘one with the two horns’.

As for the second translation, it could obviously not be literal since Alexander’s rule lasted for less than 15 years and his son who would be his successor died at the age of 12. There is, therefore no direct relation to this version of the translation.

Given that at least one version of the translation matches, I will consider this condition to have been met.

Condition 3: Among the nations, he has conquered should be a land where in the language is foreign and not of his own

Alexander’s Empire spanned many kilometers and modern day continents. This condition is therefore easily met.

Condition 4: Among the lands he has conquered should be an iron gate / wall to protect its people from the threat of what is arguably a ravenous tribe from a land referred to as Gog/ Magog

If we look at the traditional definition of a gate, its main purpose is to define a boundary whereby the other side is restricted from entering. In most cases, this means that there is only one road that leads into the area that the gate is protecting. Going by this definition, it follows that identification of a single path leading to Alexander’s lands are a starting point to see if this condition holds true. For example: Mountain passes. Furthermore, investigating if this area had or still has a gate like structure would confirm that this condition holds true.

The Cilician Gates in Turkey

Alexander’s lands extended from his home in Macedonia (Greece) to the edge of India and from parts of modern day Iran to modern day Egypt. Given condition 3, we can safely discount Macedonia and its surrounding areas since the language would have been easily comprehended by Alexander. The remaining lands were foreign to Alexander and this is where this condition should most likely be tested. If we assume mountain passes as the most likely pathways in which such a gate would have existed on, Egypt can be crossed out since there are no major mountain passes in the Egypt that Alexander had conquered. The closest mountain pass in this area is the Halfaya Pass at the border of Libya and at the time Alexander had not conquered this region.  The highest probability therefore of such a mountain pass lies in the Afghan plains towards the borders of modern day Tajikistan and Iran or on the Anatolian plains of Turkey. There are multiple large gate-like structures here including the ‘Gates of Alexander’ in Derbent close to Tajikistan, Great wall of Gorgan in Iran and the Cilician Gates in Turkey. All of these are close to naturally forming iron and copper deposits making it ideal that this could be the gate identified in the Quran. Thus, it can be safely assumed that this condition is very possible in the case of Alexander.

'Gates of Alexander' near Derbent

Interestingly, if we look at the empires that existed beyond the approximate locations of any one of these gates, the description of Gog and Magog could be referring to the Scythians, a nomadic tribe who are considered to be ancestors of the Mongols thus fulfilling the prophecy that they would cause widespread death and destruction. 

Condition 5: Given his reference in the Quran, he should have been a proponent of ’Tawheed’ i.e the oneness of God

 Alexander, soon after his Egyptian campaign, associated himself with divinity. In fact even during his teens, he was constantly told that he would go on to do great things since he was spawn of the Greek Gods. This surely instilled a lot of confidence but it also contributed to him believing in multiple Gods. He therefore fails miserably to fulfill this condition.

Conclusion:

Depiction of Cyrus the Great

With 3.5 of the 5 conditions being met, it is NOT very probable in my opinion that Dhul-Qarnayn (Zulkarnain) was a description of Alexander. Among scholarly interpretations, there is one other ruler who fits the conditions slightly better i.e Cyrus the Great, King of Persia. In addition to his emblem having two horn like structures, all the lands he conquered were similar to that of Alexander. Furthermore, he was also known to be righteous and a monotheist. It is also interesting to note that in a mere oddity among great civilizations that existed at the time, Cyrus’ empire was carried forward by only his sons before being taken over by Darius I. Thus, only two generation of rulers lead the empire further meeting the definition of Dhul-Qarnayn – “The one who leads two generations”.

The 3 Great Ottoman Sultans

When Mehmet conquered Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453,
one of his first actions was to convert Hagia Sophia to a
Mosque but keep Christian symbols intact as a sign of respect

Among Islamic civilizations, if there is one that has transcended the glory and pomp of all that was royalty, it is undoubtedly that of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans ruled from 1299 to 1922 and reached their peak after the fall of Constantinople (what is today Istanbul) in 1453. At their greatest extent, an area twice the size of India was under their rule including key strategic cities such as Cairo, Mecca, Medina, Damascus and Jerusalem.

Where the Byzantine Empire (Roman) died, the Ottoman Empire flourished and thus Osman, the founder had six generations comprising of 42 sultans after him who carried on the Ottoman name.

The three greatest Sultans among them in my opinion are as follows (no particular order):

Osman, the Founder

The Beginning

The story of Osman and how he founded the Empire is intriguing as it again proves that events in history like all things in life have a deeper, finer purpose that can only be seen in retrospect. Genghis Khan and his Mongol forces moved westwards towards the end of 13^th century forcing fleeing Muslims in the region to move closer to Constantinople, establish the Sultanate of Rum and thus setting the stage for the start of the mighty Ottoman Empire. The Sultanate of Rum (or Roman Sultanate) was a loose area of land controlled by Muslim tribes taken over from the Roman Byzantine rule as a result of the threat of Mongol invasions. Osman’s father was one of the tribe leaders of the Sultanate of Rum and on his demise, the title of ‘Bey’ (tribe leader) went to young Osman.

Osman's dream renewed his confidence
to attack the Byzantines

The Dream

The Muslim tribes in the region were highly influenced by Sufi teachings and among the Sufi preachers at the time was a man named Sheikh Edebali. The Sheikh was a close friend and preacher to Osman and on his guidance, Osman used to visit the Sheikh very often. One night Osman had a dream where the sheikh had appeared with a crescent moon rising from his chest and a tree growing to cover the world, symbolically indicating to Osman that it was time to be independent from the Sultanate of Rum and move westward to conquer the Roman Byzantines. After the incident, Osman found renewed confidence and received blessings from the Sheikh to conquer all of Byzantium except for Constantinople (Istanbul) which would be conquered 150 odd years later by his great grandson. Interestingly, the dream spawned the symbol of the Crescent moon on Osman’s military flag which is still used as a Turkish and Islamic marking.

 

Mehmet, the Conqueror

The fall of Constantinople (Istanbul)

Mehmet was the great grandson of Osman and is believed to have been the most religious among the Sultans owing to his strict Islamic upbringing. It is said Prophet Mohammed (Pbuh) referenced Mehmet when he said:

"Verily you shall conquer Constantinople. What a wonderful leader will her
leader be, and what a wonderful army will that army be!"

His story, like his great grandfather, involves mystical circumstances in that just like Osman, Mehmet was close to a Sheikh by the name of Aksemsuddin who was both a Sufi preacher as well as a man of science. At the time, Byzantine was already weak with its lands conquered and most of its people killed in war and through disease. The final strong stronghold for the Byzantines was Constantinople. Mehmet made numerous efforts to scale the walls of the city through the sea route by having complete control of the Bosporus strait but could not succeed.

Before Constantinople fell finally in 1453,
Mehmet tried numerous times to capture the city

Aksemsuddin reportedly on one of the nights had  a dream, in which he was instructed by a voice to identify the tomb of Ayub al Ansari, a companion of the prophet and on doing this, Constantinople would be theirs.  Owing to the Hadith mentioned above, this was not the first time that Muslims had set out to conquer Constantinople. Various Islamic leaders set out in the 8^th and 9^th centuries to capture this city and it was during one of these expeditions that Ayub al Ansari, the standard flag bearer and close companion of the prophet was killed in war. His body assumed to be buried among the casualties on that fateful day somewhere in the Anatolian plains. On hearing of Aksemsuddin’s dream, Mehmet immediately dispatched a team led by Aksemsuddin in search of the grave and on finding it declared a proper burial for this companion of the prophet. Shortly afterwards, Constantinople fell and in honor of Ayub Al Ansari, Mehmet built the Eyup Sultan Mosque complex in Istanbul which is even today a sacred location for Turkish Muslims.

Ayub Al Ansari's tombstone at Istanbul

Post Constantinople, Mehmet led numerous campaigns to capture large portions of Eastern Europe thus expanding the Ottoman Empire to Europe. The campaigns were comprised largely of “holy warriors” from the Sultanate of Rum called the ‘Ghazis’. Interestingly, in one of these campaigns, Mehmet in retaliation for the killing of numerous Ghazis, attacked the Romanian ruler Vlad Dracul who is the inspiration for the character ‘Count Dracula’.

Suleiman, the Magnificent

Portrait of Suleiman the Magnificent

The Golden Age

The Ottoman Empire peaked in 1520 when Suleiman, the great grandson of Mehmet took over its reigns. It was in fact Suleiman’s father Selim who shortly before his death captured large parts of the Middle East including Mecca and Medina thus establishing the Ottomans as the Custodians of the two Holy Mosques- a title reserved for the Prophet and his caliphs. Consequently, when Suleiman took over, not only was he the ruler of Ottoman people, but he also had the additional responsibility of taking care of the two Holy Mosques and tending to the needs of a million Muslims.

This additional responsibility did not deter the young Sultan as he laid out for the first time in Ottoman history, a set of laws to govern the ever expanding Empire. With these laws in place, the Empire now was complete and stable. Suleiman was a man of style, artistic by nature with an eye for good poetry. He identified the success of his Empire with good infrastructure and to meet these needs, he appointed the great Mimar Sinan as his Chief Architect. With the help of Sinan, over 400 major architectural monuments were built, most of which are icons of modern day Turkey including the Blue Mosque, Sulamaniye Mosque and Selimiye Mosque. Mimar Sinan was so good at his architectural prowess that his apprentices would later apply it to structures outside the Ottoman Empire such as the Taj Mahal in India.

With his chief Architect, Mimar Sinan, Suleiman was responsible for most of Istanbul's modern day architectural marvels such as the Suleymaniye Mosque built to pay homage to the Sultan

The Maverick

Aside from the grandeur and showmanship that Suleiman was known for, he was also the most maverick among the Sultans. Breaking away from Ottoman traditions, he married a Christian slave girl Roxelana (Hurrem Sultan). Such was Roxelana’s influence in Suleiman’s administrative decisions that she managed to convince the Sultan to let her stay throughout his reign even though it was customary for wives who bore sons to be transferred to various provinces in the Empire. 

Suleiman was also the first to assign an unimaginable amount of power and control to the Grand Vizier, a title reserved previously for advisors to the Sultan. During Suleiman’s time, his close friend and aide Ibrahim Pasha was made the Grand Vizier only to be executed by Suleiman a few years later owing to the emerging threat of the Vizier in overthrowing the Sultan.