View source for Dhu al-Qarnayn

{{Short description|Figure in the Quran}}
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[[File:Iskandar (Alexander) builds a wall against Gog and Magog (CBL Per. 395.1).jpg|thumb|{{Transliteration|ar|Dhu al-Qarnayn|italic=no}} building a wall with the help of the [[jinn]]s to keep away [[Gog and Magog]]. [[Persian miniature]] from a book of [[Falnama]] copied for the [[Safavid Iran|Safavid emperor]] [[Tahmasp I]] ({{reign|1524|1576}}), currently preserved in the [[Chester Beatty Library]], Dublin.]]
'''{{Transliteration|ar|Dhu al-Qarnayn|italic=no}}''', ({{langx|ar|ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَيْن|Dhū l-Qarnayn}}, {{IPA|ar|ðu‿l.qarˈnajn|IPA}}; {{lit.}} "The Owner of Two-Horns"<ref>{{cite book |author1=Cándida Ferrero Hernández |author2=John Tolan |title=The Latin Qur'an, 1143–1500: Translation, Transition, Interpretation |year=2021 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |isbn=978-3110702712 |page=311 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mdtwEAAAQBAJ |access-date=4 August 2024}}</ref>) is a leader who appears in the [[Quran|Qur'an]], [[al-Kahf|Surah al-Kahf (18)]], [[Ayah]]s 83–101, as one who travels to the east and west and sets up a barrier between a certain people and [[Gog and Magog]] ({{langx|ar|يَأْجُوجُ وَمَأْجُوجُ|Yaʾjūj wa-Maʾjūj|label=none}}).{{sfn|Netton|2006|p=72}} Elsewhere, the Qur'an tells how the [[Muslim eschatology|end of the world]] will be signaled by the release of Gog and Magog from behind the barrier. Other apocalyptic writings predict that their destruction by [[God in Islam|God]] in a single night will usher in the [[Islamic eschatology|Day of Resurrection]] ({{Langx|ar|یوم القيامة|translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah|label=none}}).{{sfn|Cook|2005|p=8,10}}

Dhu al-Qarnayn has most popularly been identified by Western and traditional Muslim scholars as [[Alexander the Great]].<ref>{{harvnb|Watt|1960–2007}}: "It is generally agreed both by Muslim commentators and modéra [sic] occidental scholars that Dhu ’l-Ḳarnayn [...] is to be identified with Alexander the Great." {{harvnb|Cook|2013}}: "[...] {{Transliteration|ar|Dhū al-Qarnayn|italic=no}} (usually identified with Alexander the Great) [...]".</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Maududi |first=Syed Abul Ala |author-link=Abul A'la Maududi |url=http://www.englishtafsir.com/Quran/18/index.html#sdfootnote62sym |title=Tafhim al-Qur'an |quote=The identification ... has been a controversial matter from the earliest times. In general the commentators have been of the opinion that he was Alexander the Great but the characteristics of Zul-Qarnain described in the Qur'an are not applicable to him. However, now the commentators are inclined to believe that Zul-Qarnain was Cyrus ... We are also of the opinion that probably Zul-Qarnain was Cyrus... |access-date=4 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191120233633/http://www.englishtafsir.com/quran/18/index.html#sdfootnote62sym |archive-date=20 November 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Bietenholz|1994|pp=122–123}}{{sfn|Stoneman|2003|p=3}} Historically, some tradition has parted from this identification<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hämeen-Anttila |first=Jaakko |title=Khwadāynāmag The Middle Persian Book of Kings |date=2018-04-17 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-27764-9 |quote=Many Mediaeval scholars argued against the identification, though. Cf., e.g., the discussion in al-Maqrizi, ''Khabar'' §§212-232.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Maqrīzī |first1=Aḥmad Ibn-ʿAlī al- |title=Al-Maqrīzī's al-Ḫabar ʻan al-bašar: vol. V, section 4: Persia and its kings, part I |last2=Hämeen-Anttila |first2=Jaakko |date=2018 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-35599-6 |series=Bibliotheca Maqriziana Opera maiora |location=Leiden Boston |pages=279–281}}</ref> in favor of others,<ref name="Cottrell" /> like [[pre-Islamic Arabia]]n kings such as the (mythical) [[Sa'b Dhu Marathid]] of [[Himyar]]<ref name=":13">{{Cite book |last1=Wheeler |first1=Brannon M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9_Wj9Ld4kUEC |title=Moses in the Quran and Islamic Exegesis |last2=Wheeler |first2=Associate Professor of Islamic Studies and Chair of Comparative Religion Brannon M. |date=2002 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=9780700716036 |pages=16–19 |language=en |quote=Of particular relevance to the origins of the later Alexander stories is the possible identification of Dhu al-Qarnayn with a South Arabian, Himyarī king, variously named Şa'b Dhu Marāthid, ... In al-Tabarī, for example, the king, ...conquers the Turks in Azerbaijan, ... There are a number of elements in Ibn Hisham's account that parallel elements not found in the early Greek and Syriac recensions ... This suggests that Ibn Hisham's account, coupled with Q 18:83-101, upon which he comments, could represent the immediate source for the stories which attribute these elements to the Alexander stories. These elements originally associated with Sa'b as Dhu al-Qarnayn were incorporated, along with the elements attributed to Dhu al-Qarnayn in Q 18:83-101, into the stories which identified Dhu al-Qarnayn with Alexander. ... It is not possible to show that the Ethiopic and Persian versions of the Alexander stories are derived directly from the Syriac versions. There are a number of problems with the dating of the Syriac versions and their supposed influence on the Quran and later Alexander stories, not the least of which is the confusion of what has been called the Syriac Pseudo-Callisthenes, the sermon of Jacob of Serugh, and the so-called Syriac "Legend of Alexander." Second, the key elements of Q 18:60-65, 18:83-101, and the story of Ibn Hisham's Șa'b Dhu al-Qarnayn do not occur in the Syriac Pseudo-Callisthenes. |access-date=26 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523092213/https://books.google.com/books?id=9_Wj9Ld4kUEC |archive-date=23 May 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Zadeh |first=Travis |title=Mapping Frontiers Across Medieval Islam: Geography, Translation and the 'Abbasid Empire |date=2017-02-28 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-78673-131-9 |pages=97–98 |quote=In the early history of Islam there was a lively debate over the true identity of Dhū 'l-Qarnayn. One prominent identification was with an ancient South Arabian Ḥimyarī king, generally referred to in the sources as al-Ṣaʿb b. Dhī Marāthid. [...] Indeed the association of Dhū 'l-Qarnayn with the South Arabian ruler can be traced in many early Arabic sources.}}</ref> or the historical figure [[al-Mundhir III ibn al-Nu'man]] of the [[Lakhmid kingdom]] (d. 554).<ref name="Cottrell" /> [[Cyrus the Great]] has also gained popularity among modern Muslim commentators.<ref name=":02" /><ref>Tabatabai, Muhammad Hussein. "Al-mizan." ''Beirut: Academic Press Co'' 1403 (1995): 353.</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Besharati |first1=Mohammad Reza |last2=Shojaie |first2=Hossein |last3=Talebpour |first3=Alireza |date=2022-01-23 |title=A study in matching the time and the names of Cyrus and Dhu al-Qarnayn |url=https://osf.io/9cekn/download |doi=10.31235/osf.io/9cekn |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=doi.org}}</ref>

==Quran 18:83–101 ==
[[File:Derbent wall.jpg|thumb|200px|The Caspian Gates in [[Derbent]], Russia, part of the defence systems built by the [[Sasanian Empire]], often identified with the [[Gates of Alexander]].]]
[[File:Verses 83-101, al-Kahf (Murattal) - Recitation of the Holy Qur'an.mp3|thumb|right|Recitation of al-Kahf, verses 83-101, taken from a [[:File:Chapter 18, Al-Kahf (Murattal) - Recitation of the Holy Qur'an.mp3|full recitation of Al-Kahf]].]]The verses of the chapter reproduced below show Dhu al-Qarnayn traveling first to the Western limit of travel where he sees the sun set in a muddy spring, then to the furthest East where he sees it rise from the ocean, and finally northward to a place in the mountains where he finds a people oppressed by Gog and Magog:

{|class="wikitable" style
! scope="col" width="10%" | Verse Number
! scope="col" width="45%" | [[Arabic]] (Uthmani script)
! scope="col" width="45%" | English ([[Marmaduke Pickthall]])
|-
! scope="row" | 18:83
|وَيَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَن ذِى ٱلْقَرْنَيْنِ ۖ قُلْ سَأَتْلُوا۟ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْهُ ذِكْرًا
|{{Cite Quran|18|83|quote=They will ask thee of Dhu'l-Qarneyn. Say: I shall recite unto you a remembrance of him.}}
|-
! scope="row" | 18:84
|إِنَّا مَكَّنَّا لَهُۥ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَءَاتَيْنَٰهُ مِن كُلِّ شَىْءٍ سَبَبًا
|{{Cite Quran|18|84|quote=Lo! We made him strong in the land and gave him unto every thing a road.}}
|-
! scope="row" | 18:85
|فَأَتْبَعَ سَبَبًا
|{{Cite Quran|18|85|quote=And he followed a road.}}
|-
! scope="row" | 18:86
|حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ مَغْرِبَ ٱلشَّمْسِ وَجَدَهَا تَغْرُبُ فِى عَيْنٍ حَمِئَةٍ وَوَجَدَ عِندَهَا قَوْمًا ۗ قُلْنَا يَٰذَا ٱلْقَرْنَيْنِ إِمَّآ أَن تُعَذِّبَ وَإِمَّآ أَن تَتَّخِذَ فِيهِمْ حُسْنًا
|{{Cite Quran|18|86|quote=Till, when he reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring, and found a people thereabout. We said: O Dhu'l-Qarneyn! Either punish or show them kindness.}}
|-
! scope="row" | 18:87
|قَالَ أَمَّا مَن ظَلَمَ فَسَوْفَ نُعَذِّبُهُۥ ثُمَّ يُرَدُّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِۦ فَيُعَذِّبُهُۥ عَذَابًا نُّكْرًا
|{{Cite Quran|18|87|quote=He said: As for him who doeth wrong, we shall punish him, and then he will be brought back unto his Lord, Who will punish him with awful punishment! }}
|-
! scope="row" | 18:88
|وَأَمَّا مَنْ ءَامَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَٰلِحًا فَلَهُۥ جَزَآءً ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ ۖ وَسَنَقُولُ لَهُۥ مِنْ أَمْرِنَا يُسْرًا
|{{Cite Quran|18|88|quote=But as for him who believeth and doeth right, good will be his reward, and We shall speak unto him a mild command.}}
|-
! scope="row" | 18:89
|ثُمَّ أَتْبَعَ سَبَبًا
|{{Cite Quran|18|89|quote=Then he followed a road.}}
|-
! scope="row" | 18:90
|حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ مَطْلِعَ ٱلشَّمْسِ وَجَدَهَا تَطْلُعُ عَلَىٰ قَوْمٍ لَّمْ نَجْعَل لَّهُم مِّن دُونِهَا سِتْرًا
|{{Cite Quran|18|90|quote=Till, when he reached the rising-place of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had appointed no shelter therefrom.}}
|-
! scope="row" | 18:91
|كَذَٰلِكَ وَقَدْ أَحَطْنَا بِمَا لَدَيْهِ خُبْرًا 
|{{Cite Quran|18|91|quote=So (it was). And We knew all concerning him.}}
|-
! scope="row" | 18:92
|ثُمَّ أَتْبَعَ سَبَبًا
|{{Cite Quran|18|92|quote=Then he followed a road.}}
|-
! scope="row" | 18:93<td width="23%">حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ بَيْنَ ٱلسَّدَّيْنِ وَجَدَ مِن دُونِهِمَا قَوْمًا لَّا يَكَادُونَ يَفْقَهُونَ قَوْلًا
|{{Cite Quran|18|93|quote=Till, when he came between the two mountains, he found upon their hither side a folk that scarce could understand a saying.}}
|-
! scope="row" | 18:94
|قَالُوا۟ يَٰذَا ٱلْقَرْنَيْنِ إِنَّ يَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ مُفْسِدُونَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَهَلْ نَجْعَلُ لَكَ خَرْجًا عَلَىٰٓ أَن تَجْعَلَ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَهُمْ سَدًّا
|{{Cite Quran|18|94|quote=They said: O Dhu'l-Qarneyn! Lo! Gog and Magog are spoiling the land. So may we pay thee tribute on condition that thou set a barrier between us and them ?}}
|-
! scope="row" | 18:95
|قَالَ مَا مَكَّنِّى فِيهِ رَبِّى خَيْرٌ فَأَعِينُونِى بِقُوَّةٍ أَجْعَلْ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَهُمْ رَدْمًا
|{{Cite Quran|18|95|quote=He said: That wherein my Lord hath established me is better (than your tribute). Do but help me with strength (of men), I will set between you and them a bank.}}
|-
! scope="row" | 18:96
|ءَاتُونِى زُبَرَ ٱلْحَدِيدِ ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا سَاوَىٰ بَيْنَ ٱلصَّدَفَيْنِ قَالَ ٱنفُخُوا۟ ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا جَعَلَهُۥ نَارًا قَالَ ءَاتُونِىٓ أُفْرِغْ عَلَيْهِ قِطْرًا 
|{{Cite Quran|18|96|quote=Give me pieces of iron - till, when he had levelled up (the gap) between the cliffs, he said: Blow! - till, when he had made it a fire, he said: Bring me molten copper to pour thereon.}}
|-
! scope="row" | 18:97
|فَمَا ٱسْطَٰعُوٓا۟ أَن يَظْهَرُوهُ وَمَا ٱسْتَطَٰعُوا۟ لَهُۥ نَقْبًا
|{{Cite Quran|18|97|quote=And (Gog and Magog) were not able to surmount, nor could they pierce (it).}}
|-
! scope="row" | 18:98
|قَالَ هَٰذَا رَحْمَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّى ۖ فَإِذَا جَآءَ وَعْدُ رَبِّى جَعَلَهُۥ دَكَّآءَ ۖ وَكَانَ وَعْدُ رَبِّى حَقًّا
|{{Cite Quran|18|98|quote=He said: This is a mercy from my Lord; but when the promise of my Lord cometh to pass, He will lay it low, for the promise of my Lord is true.}} 
|-
! scope="row" | 18:99
|وَتَرَكْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَمُوجُ فِى بَعْضٍ ۖ وَنُفِخَ فِى ٱلصُّورِ فَجَمَعْنَٰهُمْ جَمْعًا
|{{Cite Quran|18|99|quote=And on that day we shall let some of them surge against others, and the Trumpet will be blown. Then We shall gather them together in one gathering.}} 
|-
! scope="row" | 18:100
|وَعَرَضْنَا جَهَنَّمَ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِّلْكَٰفِرِينَ عَرْضًا
|{{Cite Quran|18|100|quote=On that day we shall present hell to the disbelievers, plain to view,}} 
|-
! scope="row" | 18:101
|ٱلَّذِينَ كَانَتْ أَعْيُنُهُمْ فِى غِطَآءٍ عَن ذِكْرِى وَكَانُوا۟ لَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ سَمْعًا
|{{Cite Quran|18|101|quote=Those whose eyes were hoodwinked from My reminder, and who could not bear to hear.}} 
|}

== Quranic exegesis ==

=== Occasion of revelation ===
The story of Dhu al-Qarnayn is related in chapter 18 of the Qur'an, [[al-Kahf]], revealed to Muhammad when his tribe, [[Quraysh|Al-Quraysh]], sent two men to discover whether the [[Jews]], with their superior knowledge of the scriptures, could advise them on whether Muhammad was truly a prophet of God. The rabbis told the Quraysh to ask Muhammad about three things, one of them "about a man who travelled and reached the east and the west of the earth, ask what his story was. If he tells you about these things, then he is a prophet, so follow him, but if he does not tell you, then he is a man who is making things up, so deal with him as you see fit." (Qur'an 18:83-98).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Itani |first1=Talal |url=https://www.clearquran.com/018.html |title=Quran in English - Clear and Easy to Read |language=en |access-date=26 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926164006/https://www.clearquran.com/018.html |archive-date=26 September 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== ''Qarnayn'' ===
A well known narration from a Companion of Muhammad, [[Ali]] denies that the term "Qarnayn" literally meant horns. He instead narrates that the term "Dhul Qarnayn" was not a literal term but instead referred to injuries that took place on the two sides of the head of the ruler.<ref>''Musnaf Ibn Abi Shaybah'': 6/346

''Al Ahaad wal Mathani by Ibn Abi Asim'': 141

''Jami' Bayan al Ilm by Ibn Abd al Barr'': 464

''Al Mashyakha al Baghadadiyya by Abi Tahrir al Silafi'': 27</ref>

Cyril Glasse writes that the reference to "He of the two horns" also has a symbolical interpretation: “He of the two Ages”, which reflects the eschatological shadow that Alexander casts from his time, which preceded Islam by many centuries, until the end of the world. The Arabian word ''qarn'' means both "horn" and “period” or “century”.{{sfn|Glassé|Smith|2003|p=38}} Classical commentary from [[Al-Qurtubi]] has reported the narration from [[Al-Suhayli]] commentaries that he favored the identification that Dhu al-Qarnayn were actually two different persons, where one lived during the time of [[Abraham]], while the other has lived during the time of [[Jesus]].<ref name="Prophets in the Quran An Introduction to the Quran and Muslim Exegesis; Dhulqarnayn" />

=== Gog and Magog ===
{{main|Gog and Magog}}
Regarding the Gog and Magog, a minority of Muslim commentators argue that Gog and Magog here refers to some barbaric North Asian tribes from pre-Biblical times which have been free from Dhu al-Qarnayn's wall for a long time.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ghamidi |first=Javed Ahmed |author-link=Javed Ahmad Ghamidi |url=https://www.javedahmedghamidi.org/#!/quran?chapter=18&paragraph=30 |title=Al-Bayan |chapter=18 |access-date=8 November 2019 |archive-date=2 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200302072829/https://javedahmedghamidi.org/#!/quran?chapter=18&paragraph=30 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Cook|2005|p=205-206}} Modern Islamic apocalyptic writers put forward various explanations for the absence of the wall from the modern world, such as "not everything in existence can be seen", similar to human intelligence and angels, or that God has concealed the Gog and Magog from human eyes.{{sfn|Cook|2005|p=205-206}}

== People identified as {{Transliteration|ar|Dhu al-Qarnayn|italic=no}} ==
===Alexander the Great===
[[File:Alexander-Coin.jpg|thumb|Silver [[tetradrachm]] of Alexander the Great shown wearing the horns of the ram-god [[Amun|Zeus-Ammon]].]]
{{Main|Theories about Alexander the Great in the Quran}}

According to most historians, the story of {{Transliteration|ar|Dhu al-Qarnayn|italic=no}} has its origins in legends of [[Alexander the Great]] current in the Middle East, namely the ''[[Syriac Alexander Legend]]''.<ref name="Bladel2">{{Cite book |last=Van Bladel |first=Kevin |title=The Qurʼān in Its Historical Context |publisher=Routledge |year=2008 |editor1-last=Reynolds |editor1-first=Gabriel Said |chapter=The Alexander Legend in the Qur'an 18:83-102 |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/33727330 |access-date=18 August 2018 |archive-date=13 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213042218/https://www.academia.edu/33727330 |url-status=live }}</ref> The first century Josephus repeats a legend whereby Alexander builds an iron wall at a mountain pass (potentially at the [[Caucasus Mountains]]) to prevent an incursion by a barbarian group known as the [[Scythians]], whom elsewhere he identified as [[Gog and Magog|Magog]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Donzel |first1=Emeri Johannes van |title=Gog and Magog in early syriac and islamic sources: Sallam's quest for Alexander's wall |last2=Schmidt |first2=Andrea Barbara |last3=Ott |first3=Claudia |date=2009 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-17416-0 |series=Brill's Inner Asian Library |location=Leiden |pages=10–11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bøe |first=Sverre |title=Gog and Magog: Ezekiel 38 - 39 as pre-text for Revelation 19,17 - 21 and 20,7 - 10 |date=2001 |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |isbn=978-3-16-147520-7 |series=Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2. Reihe |location=Tübingen |pages=221–222, 230}}</ref> The legend went through much further elaboration in subsequent centuries before eventually finding its way into the Quran through a Syrian version.{{sfn|Bietenholz|1994|p=122-123}} However, some have questioned whether the ''Syriac Legend'' influenced the Quran on the basis of dating inconsistencies and missing key motifs,<ref name="wheelerq1998">{{harvnb|Wheeler|1998|p=201|ps=: "There are a number of problems with the dating of the Syriac versions and their supposed influence on the Qurʾan and later Alexander stories, not the least of which is the confusion of what has been called the Syriac Pseudo-Callisthenes, the sermon of Jacob of Serugh, and the so-called Syriac Legend of Alexander. Second, the key elements of Q 18:60-65, 18:83-102, and the story of Ibn Hishām's Saʿb dhu al-Qarnayn do not occur in the Syriac Pseudo-Callisthenes."}}</ref><ref name="Klar">{{Cite book| last = Klar| first = Marianna| title = The Oxford Handbook of Qur'anic Studies| chapter = Qur’anic Exempla and Late Antique Narratives| date = 2020| url = https://www.academia.edu/download/64572053/09-Shah-and-Haleem-Chap08-v1.pdf| page = 134| quote = The Qur’anic exemplum is highly allusive, and makes no reference to vast tracts of the narrative line attested in the Neṣḥānā. Where the two sources would appear to utilize the same motif, there are substantial differences to the way these motifs are framed. These differences are sometimes so significant as to suggest that the motifs might not, in fact, be comparable at all.}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=":1" /> although others have in turn rebutted these arguments.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tesei |first=Tommaso |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197646878.001.0001 |title=The Syriac Legend of Alexander's Gate |date=2023-10-19 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-764687-8 |pages=171–172 |doi=10.1093/oso/9780197646878.001.0001 |access-date=15 January 2024 |archive-date=23 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523092118/https://academic.oup.com/book/51697 |url-status=live }}</ref>

While the ''Syriac Alexander Legend'' references the horns of Alexander, it consistently refers to the hero by his Greek name, not using a variant epithet.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Bloomsbury Publishing| isbn = 978-1-78673-131-9| last = Zadeh| first = Travis| title = Mapping Frontiers Across Medieval Islam: Geography, Translation and the 'Abbasid Empire| date = 2017-02-28|page=241}}</ref> The use of the Islamic epithet {{Transliteration|ar|Dhu al-Qarnayn}} "Two-Horned", first occurred in the Quran.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book| publisher = University of Toronto Press| isbn = 978-1-4426-4466-3| last = Faustina Doufikar-Aerts| title = Alexander the Great in the Middle Ages: Transcultural Perspectives| chapter = Coptic Miniature Painting in the Arabic Alexander Romance| date = 2016|page=169}}</ref> The reasons behind the name "Two-Horned" are somewhat obscure: the scholar [[al-Tabari]] (839-923 CE) held it was because he went from one extremity ("horn") of the world to the other,{{sfn|Van Donzel|Schmidt|2010|p=57 fn.3}} but it may ultimately derive from imagery of the [[horns of Alexander]], inspired by the tradition of his descent from the ram-god [[Amun|Zeus-Ammon]], as popularised on coins throughout the [[Hellenistic]] Near East.{{sfn|Pinault|1992|p=181 fn.71}}

The wall {{Transliteration|ar|Dhu al-Qarnayn|italic=no}} builds on his northern journey may have reflected a distant knowledge of the [[Great Wall of China]] (the 12th-century scholar [[Muhammad al-Idrisi]] drew a map for [[Roger II of Sicily]] showing the "Land of Gog and Magog" in [[Mongolia]]), or of various [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] walls built in the [[Caspian Sea]] region against the northern barbarians, or a conflation of the two.{{sfn|Glassé|Smith|2003|p=39}}
[[File:Alexander visits Elias and Khizr at the Fountain of Life', Folio from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Ferdowsi MET cropped.jpg|left|thumb|Persian miniature of Alexander (top left) visiting the fountain of Youth and meeting [[Khidr]] and [[Elijah in Islam|Ilyas]] there]]
{{Transliteration|ar|Dhu al-Qarnayn|italic=no}} also journeys to the western and eastern extremities ("qarns", tips) of the Earth.{{sfn|Wheeler|2002|p=96}} Ernst claims that {{Transliteration|ar|Dhu al-Qarnayn|italic=no}} finding the sun setting in a "muddy spring" in the West is equivalent to the "poisonous sea" found by Alexander in the Syriac legend. In the Syriac story Alexander tested the sea by sending condemned prisoners into it, while the Quran refers to this as an administration of justice. In the East both the Syrian legend and the Quran, according to Ernst, have Alexander/{{Transliteration|ar|Dhu al-Qarnayn|italic=no}} find a people who live so close to the rising sun that they have no protection from its heat.{{sfn|Ernst|2011|p=133}}

Some exegetes believed that Dhu al-Qarnayn lived near the time of [[Abraham]] following accounts by [[al-Azraqi]] and Ibn Abi Hatim.{{sfn|Wheeler|2002|p=64}} To avoid this chronological discrepancy, several medieval exegetes and historians did not identify Dhu al-Qarnayn with Alexander. [[Al-Tabari]] inferred that there were two Dhu al-Qarnayn's: the earlier one, called Dhu al-Qarnayn al-Akbar, who lived in the time of [[Abraham]], and the later one, who was Alexander.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = BRILL| isbn = 978-90-04-30772-8| title = Fictional Storytelling in the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean and Beyond| date = 2016-10-10 | last = Rubanovich |first = Julia|chapter=A Hero Without Borders: Alexander the Great in the Medieval Persian Tradition|page=211}}</ref> In one account concerning Abraham building a well at [[Beersheba]], Dhu al-Qarnayn seems to have been placed in the role of [[Abimelech]] as described in Gen 21:22–34.{{sfn|Wheeler|2002|p=65}}

Other notable Muslim commentators, including [[ibn Kathir]],<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/Qasas-ul-QuranByShaykhHifzurRahmanSeoharvir.a|title=Qasas-ul-Qur'an|last=Seoharwi|first=Muhammad Hifzur Rahman|volume=3|author-link=Muhammad Hifzur Rahman Seoharwi}}</ref><sup>:100-101</sup> [[ibn Taymiyyah]],<ref name=":2" /><sup>:101</sup><ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.sunnahfollowers.net/library/books/The%20Criterion%20Between%20The%20Allies%20Of%20the%20Merciful%20&%20The%20Allies%20Of%20the%20Devil.pdf|title=الفرقان - بین اولیاء الرحمٰن و اولیاء الشیطٰن|last=Ibn Taymiyyah|publisher=Idara Ahya-us-Sunnah|pages=14|translator-last=Ibn Morgan|translator-first=Salim Adballah|trans-title=The Criterion - Between Allies of the Merciful & The Allies of the Devil|author-link=Ibn Taymiyyah|access-date=19 March 2022|archive-date=21 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021004939/http://www.sunnahfollowers.net/library/books/The%20Criterion%20Between%20The%20Allies%20Of%20the%20Merciful%20%26%20The%20Allies%20Of%20the%20Devil.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Naser Makarem Shirazi]],<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|url=http://tafseerenamoona.net/topicResult/2341|title=Tafseer-e-Namoona|last=Shirazi|first=Naser Makarem|author-link=Naser Makarem Shirazi|access-date=8 November 2019|archive-date=14 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814223046/http://tafseerenamoona.net/topicResult/2341|url-status=live}}</ref> have used theological arguments to reject the Alexander identification: Alexander lived only a short time whereas {{Transliteration|ar|Dhu al-Qarnayn|italic=no}} (according to some traditions) lived for 700 years as a sign of God's blessing, though this is not mentioned in the Quran, and Dhu al-Qarnayn [[tawhid|worshipped only one God]], while Alexander was a polytheist.{{sfn|Van Donzel|Schmidt|2010|p=57 fn.2}} Due to this, most modern [[Ulama|Muslim Scholars]] deny that Alexander the Great is Dhu al-Qarnayn<ref>{{Cite web |last=IslamQA |date=2012-07-29 |title=Alexander the Great, is he the Dhul Qarnayn mentioned in the Qur'aan? |url=https://islamqa.org/hanafi/askimam/11435/alexander-the-great-is-he-the-dhul-qarnayn-mentioned-in-the-quraan/ |access-date=2025-09-02 |website=IslamQA |language=en-GB}}</ref>

=== Ṣaʿb Dhu-Marāthid ===
{{Main|Sa'b Dhu Marathid}}
The various campaigns of {{Transliteration|ar|Dhu al-Qarnayn|italic=no}} mentioned in Q:18:83-101 have also been attributed to the South Arabian [[Himyarite Kingdom|Himyarite]] King [[Sa'b Dhu Marathid|Ṣaʿb Dhu-Marāthid]] (also known as al-Rāʾid).{{sfn|Wheeler|1998|pp=200-1}}<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Taylor & Francis| isbn = 978-0-415-18571-4| editor-last1 = Meisami| editor-first1 = Julie Scott| last = Canova | first = Giovvani| title = Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature| date = 1998| contribution=Alexander Romance| page=68}}</ref> [[Ibn Hisham]] gives an extensive forty-five page account of King Ṣaʿb in his work ''[[The Book of Crowns on the Kings of Himyar]]'', relying on the Yemeni author [[Wahb ibn Munabbih]] (b. 655 CE).{{sfn|Stoneman|2003|p=11}}{{Sfn|Durmaz|2022|p=102}}<ref>{{Wikisourcelang-inline|ar|2=التيجان/النص_الكامل#ملك_الصعب_ذي_القرنين|3=Account of Sa'b dhu al-Qarnayn}}</ref> In this account, King Ṣaʿb was a conqueror who was given the epithet Dhu al-Qarnayn after meeting a figure named Musa al [[Khidr]] in Jerusalem. He then travels to the ends of the earth, conquering or converting people until being led by al Khidr through the [[Land of Darkness]].{{sfn|Wheeler|1998|p=200}} Other elements include a journey to a valley of diamonds,<ref name="Akasoy 2017">{{Cite book |last=Akasoy |first=Anna |editor1-last=Glei |editor1-first=Reinhold |editor2-last=Jaspert |editor2-first=Nikolas |year=2017 |chapter=Geography, History and Prophecy: Mechanisms of Integration in the Islamic Alexander Legend |title=Locating Religions |publisher=Brill |pages=23–4 |url=https://brill.com/edcollchap-oa/book/9789004335066/B9789004335066_003.xml |isbn=978-90-04-33506-6}}</ref> a castle with glass walls,{{sfn|Stoneman|2003|p=11}} and a campaign as far as the [[Iberian Peninsula|Andalusia region]] (classical era Spain).<ref name="The Ten Lost Tribes A World History; Wahb ibn Munabbih">{{cite book |author1=Zvi Ben-Dor Benite |title=The Ten Lost Tribes A World History |date=2013 |publisher=OUP USA |isbn=9780199324538 |pages=93–4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a3gTDAAAQBAJ |access-date=27 April 2024 |language=En |archive-date=23 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523092101/https://books.google.com/books?id=a3gTDAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> However, according to [[Al-Qurtubi]], the original opinion of Wahb ibn Munabbih identified the legendary conqueror as a Roman, contradicting Ibn Hisham's commentary.<ref name="Prophets in the Quran An Introduction to the Quran and Muslim Exegesis; Dhulqarnayn">{{cite book |author1=Brannon M. Wheeler |title=Prophets in the Quran An Introduction to the Quran and Muslim Exegesis |date=2002 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=9780826449573 |page=228 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qIDZIep-GIQC |access-date=27 April 2024 |language=En |format=Paperback |archive-date=23 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523092101/https://books.google.com/books?id=qIDZIep-GIQC |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Al-Tabari]] also reports that Wahb believed Dhu al-Qarnayn was a man from [[Byzantium]] named Iskandar.{{Sfn|Durmaz|2022}}

Academic scholars consider the Sa'b story to be an appropriation of the Syriac Alexander Legend.<ref name="Akasoy 2017" />{{Sfn|Durmaz|2022|p=101}} While Ibn Hisham's book made use of Wahb's material, Tilman Nagel doubts that Wahb's text included this particular story given Ibn Hisham's sceptical attitude to the claims of Southern Arabians, and notes that al-Tabari relied on Wahb's Alexander story yet included no Himyarite (South Arabian) elements. Following a detailed analysis, Nagel instead defines the milieu in which this version emerged as that of South Arabians in early eighth-century Egypt,<ref name="Akasoy 2009">{{cite journal| volume = 72| issue = 2009| pages = 9–10| url=https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1982&context=gc_pubs |title=Alexander in the Himalayas: Competing Imperial Legacies in Medieval Islamic History and Literature |last=Akasoy |first=Anna |date=2009 | journal = The University of Chicago Press| doi = 10.1086/JWCI40593762| url-access=subscription}}</ref> and observes that Southern Arabs were one of two factions who vied for power in the Umayyad empire.<ref name="Akasoy 2017" />

Richard Stoneman notes that Wahb was known for the composition of ''qisas'', in which folklore is served up as history. According to Stoneman, the South Arabian legend was composed within the context of the [[Qays–Yaman rivalry|division between the South Arabs and North Arabs]] that began with the [[Battle of Marj Rahit (684)|Battle of Marj Rahit]] in 684 AD and consolidated over two centuries. He too dates the story to the 8th century CE, intended to give a parallel for, and to justify, the Islamic conquests in the west, representing a glorification of the South Arabian traditions and their conquests in Egypt.{{sfn|Stoneman|2003|p=11-12}} Anna Akasoy agrees with Alfred Beeston that Sa'b's entire existence is fictional and a product of Yemeni chauvinism, noting that later Yemeni Kings whose existence is confirmed were assigned similar exploits borrowed from legends of Alexander.<ref name="Akasoy 2009" /> According to Wheeler, it is possible that some elements of these accounts that were originally associated with Ṣaʿb have been incorporated into stories which identify Dhu al-Qarnayn with Alexander.{{sfn|Wheeler|1998|p=201}}

=== Cyrus the Great ===
{{multiple image| width = 85 | image1 = Cyrus Great.jpg | image2 = Illustrerad Verldshistoria band I Ill 058.jpg | footer = The relief of a [[winged genie]], or according to some scholars, [[Cyrus the Great]], in [[Pasargadae]]. The two horns of the [[Hemhem crown]] have been related to the name "{{Transliteration|ar|Dhu al-Qarnayn|italic=no}}".}}

In modern times, some Muslim scholars have argued in favour of {{Transliteration|ar|Dhu al-Qarnayn|italic=no}} being actually [[Cyrus the Great]], the founder of the [[Achaemenid Empire]] and conqueror of Persia and Babylon. Proponents of this view cite [[Daniel (biblical figure)|Daniel]]'s vision in the [[Old Testament]] where he saw a two-horned ram that represents "the kings of [[Media (region)|Media]] and Persia" ({{Bibleverse|Daniel|8:20|KJV}}).{{sfn|Wheeler|1998|p=200}} They also cite the [[Hemhem crown]] (a type of ancient Egyptian crown mounted on a pair of long spiral ram's horns) of the [[Pasargadae]] [[winged genie]], once thought by some to be a representation of Cyrus,<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Oxford University Press| last = Stronach| first = David| title = Pasargadae: a report on the excavations conducted by the British Institute of Persian Studies from 1961 to 1963| date = 1978|page=53|quote=Abol Kalam Azad has adopted the view that Cyrus, not Alexander, should be ‘Zu'l Qarnain’ or ‘the Lord of the Two Horns’ of Islamic tradition and he has invoked the horned crown of the Pasargadae figure as one proof of his theory, while G. de Francovich refers to an unpublished paper of his own that purports to endorse the identity of the winged figure with Cyrus.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| publisher = John Wiley & Sons| isbn = 978-1-119-17428-8| editor-last1 = Jacobs| editor-first1 = Bruno| editor-last2 = Rollinger| editor-first2 = Robert| title = A Companion to the Achaemenid Persian Empire| contribution=Statuary and Relief| first=Margaret| last=Cool Root|date = 2021-08-31|page=1380}}</ref> though this is no longer accepted.{{sfn|Sekunda|2010|p=268-9|ps=: "It was once held that the figure must represent Cyrus because he is labelled with this inscription. It has since been pointed out, however, that the inscription is not unique to this doorway or to this particular figure. Two other examples of the same inscription still survive engraved on stone antae at Pasargadae, and two further examples of this same inscription (CMa in Kent's categorization) are known to have once flanked the south-west poritico of Palace S. These inscriptions are now known to have been retrospectively inscribed by Darius at a later date (Stronach 1990). They did not label anything."}}<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 |archive-date=29 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429191208/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/herzfeld-ernst-ii |url-status=live }}</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 |archive-date=17 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717200529/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/pasargadae |url-status=live }}</ref>

This theory was proposed in 1855 by the German [[philologist]] G. M. Redslob, but it did not gain followers in the west.<ref name="tatum">{{Cite book| publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press| isbn = 978-0-8018-4619-9| last = Tatum| first = James| title = The Search for the ancient novel| date = 1994| page = 342}}</ref> Among Muslim commentators, it was first promoted by [[Sayyed Ahmad Khan]] (d. 1889), then by [[Abul Kalam Azad|Maulana Abul Kalam Azad]], whose commentary became popular in 1970s [[Pahlavi Iran]],{{sfn|Merhavy|2015|pp=936-937}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sirry |first=Mun'im A. |title=Scriptural polemics: the Qur'an and other religions |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-935936-3 |location=Oxford New York |pages=106, 244n35}}</ref> and generated wider acceptance over the years.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Routledge| isbn = 978-1-317-29476-4| last1 = Daneshgar| first1 = Majid| last2 = Riddell| first2 = Peter G.| last3 = Rippin| first3 = Andrew| title = The Qur'an in the Malay-Indonesian World: Context and Interpretation| date = 2016-06-10|page=222}}</ref>

Brannon Wheeler argues that it would be possible to make that identification based on what is known of the conquests of Cyrus. However, the Arabic histories did not view Cyrus as a conqueror in the sense described in Q 18:83-102, and the early Quran commentaries did not identify Cyrus with Dhu al-Qarnayn.{{sfn|Wheeler|1998|p=200}}

=== Others ===
Other persons who either were identified with the Quranic figure or given the title {{Transliteration|ar|Dhu al-Qarnayn}}:

* Afrīqish al-Ḥimyarī, king of [[Himyar]]. [[Al-Biruni]] in his book, ''[[The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries]]'', listed a number of figures whom people thought to be Dhu al-Qarnayn. He favoured the opinion that Dhu al-Qarnayn was the Yamani prince Afrīqish, who conquered the Mediterranean and established a city called [[Afrīqiah]]. He was called {{Transliteration|ar|Dhu al-Qarnayn}} because he ruled the lands of the rising and setting sun. To support his argument, al-Biruni cited Arabic [[onomastics]], noting that compound names beginning with {{Transliteration|ar|Dhū}}, such as {{Transliteration|ar|[[Dhu Nuwas|Dhū Nuwās]]}} and {{Transliteration|ar|[[Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan|Dhū Yazan]]}}, were common among the kings of Himyar.{{sfn|Daneshgar|2016|p=226}}
* [[Fereydun]]. According to [[al-Tabari]]'s ''[[History of the Prophets and Kings|Tarikh]]'', some say Dhu al-Qarnayn the Elder (''al-akbar''), who lived in the era of [[Abraham]], was the mythical Persian king Fereydun, who al-Tabari rendered as Afrīdhūn ibn Athfiyān.<ref>{{The History of al-Tabari | volume = 3 | page = 3}}</ref>
* In an account attributed to [[Umar bin Khattab]], Dhu al-Qarnayn is said to be an [[angel]] or part angel.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = BRILL| isbn = 978-90-04-52876-5| last = Hämeen-Anttila| first = Jaakko| title = Al-Maqrīzī's al-Ḫabar ʿan al-bašar: Vol. V, Section 4: Persia and Its Kings, Part II| date = 2022-10-31|page=287}}</ref>
*[[Imru' al-Qays ibn 'Amr|Imru'l-Qays]] (died 328 CE), a prince of the [[Lakhmids]] of southern Mesopotamia, an ally first of Persia and then of Rome, celebrated in romance for his exploits.<ref name="Cottrell" />{{sfn|Ball|2002|p=97-98}}
*[[Messiah ben Joseph]], a fabulous military saviour expected by [[Yemenite Jews]].{{sfn|Wasserstrom|2014|p=61-62}}
*[[Darius the Great]].<ref>Pearls from Surah Al-Kahf: Exploring the Qur'an's Meaning, Yasir Qadhi Kube Publishing Limited, 4 Mar 2020, {{ISBN|9781847741318}}</ref>
* Kisrounis, [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] king.<ref>[[Agapius of Hierapolis|Agapius]], ''Kitab al-'Unvan'' [Universal History], [https://archive.org/details/PatrologiaOrientalis5-Agapius/page/n76/mode/1up p. 653]</ref><ref name=Cottrell>{{Cite book |editor=Krzysztof Nawotka | last = Emily Cottrell| title = Alexander the Great and the East: History, Art, Tradition| chapter = An Early Mirror for Princes and Manual for Secretaries: The Epistolary Novel of Aristotle and Alexander| page=323)}}</ref>

==In later literature==
{{further|Alexander the Great in Arabic tradition|Alexander the Great in Islamic tradition}}
Dhu al-Qarnayn, the traveller, proved a popular subject for later writers. In [[Al-Andalus]], for instance, an Arabic translation of the [[Syriac Alexander Legend]] appeared, entitled ''[[Qissat Dhulqarnayn]]''. This work explores Dhu al-Qarnayn's life – his upbringing, journeys, and eventual death. The text identifies Dhu al-Qarnayn with Alexander the Great and portrays him as the first person to complete the Hajj pilgrimage.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last1=Miyashiro |first1=Adam |title=Teaching the global Middle Ages |last2=Fang Ng |first2=Su |date=2022 |publisher=Modern Language Association of America |isbn=978-1-60329-516-1 |editor-last=Heng |editor-first=Geraldine |series=Options for teaching |location=New York |pages=99–113}}</ref>

Another Hispano-Arabic legend featuring Dhu al-Qarnayn, representing Alexander, is the ''[[Hadith Dhulqarnayn]]'' (or the ''Leyenda de Alejandro''). In one of the many Arabic and [[Persian language|Persian]] versions depicting [[Alexander the Great in legend|Alexander's encounter with Indian sages]], the Persian Sunni Sufi [[theologian]] [[al-Ghazali]] (1058–1111) describes a scene where Dhu al-Qarnayn meets a people who own nothing but dig graves outside their homes. Their king explains that death is life's only certainty, a reason for their practices. Ghazali's interpretation found its way into the ''[[One Thousand and One Nights]].{{sfn|Yamanaka|Nishio|2006|p=103-105}}''

The esteemed medieval Persian poet [[Rumi]] (1207-1273) wrote about Dhu al-Qarnayn's eastward travels. Here, the hero climbs [[Mount Qaf]], the emerald 'mother' of all mountains encircling the Earth, its veins spreading below every land. Upon Dhu al-Qarnayn's request, the mountain reveals how earthquakes occur: when God wills it, one of its veins pulsates, triggering a tremor. Atop this grand mountain, Dhu al-Qarnayn encounters [[Israfil]] (archangel [[Raphael (archangel)|Raphael]]), prepared to sound the trumpet on Judgement Day.{{sfn|Berberian|2014|p=118-119}}

The Malay epic ''[[Hikayat Iskandar Zulkarnain]]'' links several Southeast Asian royal lines to Iskandar Zulkarnain;<ref name="(Malaysia)19992">{{cite book |author=Balai Seni Lukis Negara (Malaysia) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZL-fAAAAMAAJ |title=Seni dan nasionalisme: dulu & kini |publisher=Balai Seni Lukis Negara |year=1999 |isbn=9789839572278 |access-date=14 September 2020 |archive-date=23 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523092602/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZL-fAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> this includes the [[Minangkabau people|Minangkabau]] royalty of [[Central Sumatra]]<ref>Early Modern History {{ISBN|981-3018-28-3}} page 60</ref> and the [[Chola Empire|Cholan emperor]] [[Rajendra I]] in the ''[[Malay Annals]]''.<ref name="TasaiDjamari20052">{{cite book |author1=S. Amran Tasai |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YcVkAAAAMAAJ&q=Rajendra+Chola+zulkarnain |title=Sejarah Melayu: sebagai karya sastra dan karya sejarah : sebuah antologi |author2=Djamari |author3=Budiono Isas |publisher=Pusat Bahasa, Departemen Pendidikan Nasional |year=2005 |isbn=978-979-685-524-7 |page=67 |access-date=14 September 2020 |archive-date=23 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523092713/https://books.google.com/books?id=YcVkAAAAMAAJ&q=Rajendra+Chola+zulkarnain |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Sapiee20072">{{cite book |author=Radzi Sapiee |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wMLXAAAAMAAJ |title=Berpetualang Ke Aceh: Membela Syiar Asal |publisher=Wasilah Merah Silu Enterprise |year=2007 |isbn=978-983-42031-1-5 |page=69 |access-date=14 September 2020 |archive-date=23 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523092701/https://books.google.com/books?id=wMLXAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uQobAAAAMAAJ |title=Dewan bahasa |publisher=Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka |year=1980 |pages=333, 486 |access-date=14 September 2020 |archive-date=11 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111152533/https://books.google.com/books?id=uQobAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Gates of Alexander]]
*[[Iron Gate (Central Asia)]]
*[[Epic of Ergenekon|Ergenekon]]
*[[Alexander the Great]]
*[[Cyrus the Great]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
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{{Refend}}

{{Quranic people}}
{{Cyrus the Great}}
{{Doomsday}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Dhul-Qarnayn| ]]
[[Category:Legendary Muslims]]
[[Category:Alexander the Great in legend]]
[[Category:Arabic words and phrases]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Cyrus the Great]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Alexander the Great]]
[[Category:Islamic mythology]]
[[Category:Mythological kings]]
[[Category:People of the Quran]]
[[Category:Pseudohistory]]