This content argues that the Quranic story of Dhul-Qarnayn (Surah 18:83-102) is not a divine revelation but a direct borrowing and adaptation of the ancient Syriac Alexander Legend, which itself is rooted in earlier Mesopotamian epics and Hellenistic traditions.
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What I'm about to show you could get me
killed in 11 countries. In the holiest
book of 1.8 billion people, there's a
story, 20 verses, surah 18 verses 83-
102. Muslims have recited these words
for 1,400 years, believing [music] them
to be the literal speech of God.
But I can prove with documentation you
can verify for yourself that every
single word of this story was recycled,
not inspired, not revealed by God, taken
from men. Copied line by line from the
Syriak Alexander legend, Nashana. a
political apocalyptic text rooted in
mid6th century focused on Byzantine
Syriak Christian concerns.
And here's what makes this absolutely devastating.
devastating.
We know exactly which text it came from.
We know this text is 50 to 80 years
before Muhammad's ministry. We can show
you where Muhammad's sources got the
story. We can trace it motif by motif
and sometimes even word choice by word
choice. The story goes like this.
A mysterious hero with two horns marches
to the western edge of the world where
he finds and I quote the Quran the sun
setting in a muddy spring. the sun
setting in a pool of water at the edge
of the earth. He then travels east to
where the sun rises. Again, an actual
physical location in this ancient cosmology.
cosmology.
Finally, he reaches a mountain pass
where terrified people beg [music] him
to save them from Gog and Magog. The
apocalyptic forces of chaos that will
destroy the world at the end of days.
So, this hero performs an engineering
miracle. He commands his people to bring
blocks of iron which they pile between
the mountain cliffs. Then, bring molten
copper to pour over it. The result, an
indestructible wall that traps these
supernatural beings until God's
appointed hour when the world ends. Now,
here's the question that destroys 13
centuries [music] of Islamic theology.
Who is this twohorned hero? You will
know for sure soon.
In this video, we are going to show you
the exact Christian text from between
530 to 565 CE written 5 to 40 years
before Muhammad was even born. He was
born around 570 AD [music]
that contains this entire story. The
two-horned conqueror, the journey to the
sunset, the wall against Gog and Magog,
even the iron and brass construction
method. Same hero, same journey, same
wall, same details.
We will hear from Dr. Kevin Van Bledell
and Dr. Tamasotes, [music]
the world's leading experts on Quranic
sources related to this who call this
the only case of a [music] Quranic
passage that can be traced back to a
specific source contemporary with
Muhammad's life. We'll systematically
demolish every apologetic defense. the
it was Cyrus theory, the it's historical
claim, the Christians copied from the
Quran desperation move, the it's just
symbolic retreat, and we'll confront the
inescapable conclusion. If the Quran
claimed to be the literal dictation of
an omnisient god [snorts] had to copy a
Christian propaganda text about a pagan
Macedonian conqueror to answer a basic
question posed by mechan skeptics.
What does that tell you about its true origins?
origins?
Before we go further, let me be very
clear about what we are doing here at
We are not attacking [music] people. We
are examining text. We're following
evidence. We're doing the scholarship
that religious institutions are too
compromised to pursuit. Make sure you
are subscribed because this is episode
two of our human origins of the Quran.
Episode 1 [music] exposed how the seven
sleepers of Ephesus ended up in the
Quran. We've got dozens more coming. And
here's the deal. YouTube makes us walk
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and record the answer in highquality
video. A video all for you. Professor
Robert Hland will be visiting me in
December of this year. So join while you
can get your question in and make history.
history.
Now let's begin. Let's trace this tale
from its birth in Mesopotamia through
Greek legend, reshaped in Christian
apocalyptic literature, and finally into
its Quranic form. The story of Durarnain
isn't revelation. It's recycled legend.
The setting is Mecca, early 7th century
of the common era. The Prophet Muhammad
faces his most public test yet.
According to Islamic tradition, Jewish
rabbis and pagan skeptics have conspired
to challenge his claims of prophethood
with three impossible questions.
They want to know about mysterious
sleepers in a cave, about the nature of
the soul, and about a legendary king who
traveled to the ends of the earth. The
Quran preserves their challenge. They
ask thee concerning durarnain say I will
tell you something of his story. Quran 1883.
1883.
This isn't presented as optional
knowledge. This is framed as a test of
prophetic authority. If Muhammad can
recount this tell correctly, it will
prove his divine connection. This also
gives us the hint of this story having
apocalyptic significance during the 6th
to 7th centuries CE.
So who is this dual carnain? Literally
the one with two horns. The Quran never
explicitly names him. But the story it
tells is unmistakable to anyone familiar
with late antique legend.
The narrative unfolds in three epic
journeys. First, dual karnain marches
westward and the Quran describes
something that should make every
scientifically minded person's jaw drop
till when he reached the setting place
of the sun, he found its setting in a
muddy spring and found a peevil there.
Let that sink in. The sun, that massive
ball of nuclear fusion 93 million miles
away, sets in a muddy spring at the edge
of the Earth. This isn't poetic
language. This is flat earth cosmology.
The kind of mythological geography that
was common in ancient folklore, but has
no place in a text allegedly dictated by
the creator of the universe. This is
legendary geography at its finest. Next,
dulane travels eastward [music]
till when he came to the rising place of
the sun. He found it rising on a people
for whom we had provided no shelter from it.
it.
Again, [music] we're in the realm of
legend, a place where the sun physically
rises at a specific location where
people need to hide from its rays as if
it's a cosmic spotlight rather than a
distant star.
But it's the third journey northwards
that seals the deal of the story's true
origins. Dul Cornine reaches a place
between two mountain barriers where he
encounters desperate people who speak in
a broken language. They are very hard to
understand. They have a terrifying
problem. Oh, Darnain Gog and Magog are
wreaking havoc in our land. [music] Can
we pay you tribute so that you will
build a barrier between us and them?
The story of Gog and Magog, Yajud Wah
Majour, stretches from ancient prophecy
to medieval legend. Its earliest mention
is in Ezekiel 38 through39 where Gog of
the land of Magog is a distant enemy
prince leading nations against Israel.
Here Mog is clearly a land, not a
people. Over time, Jewish apocalyptic
imagination reshaped the picture. In the
book of Jubilees and one Enoch, Gog and
Magog become hostile nations
and by Josephus in antiquities, they are
explicitly identified with the Cythians.
This ethnicizing trend carried into the
Sibiline oracles and into the book of
Revelation where Gog and Magog stand for
the ultimate apocalyptic hordes
unleashed at the end of days.
The tradition takes a dramatic turn in
the Alexander romance and its later
Syriak and Christian legends where
Alexander the Great journeys to the
edges of the world and constructs a
massive iron gate or wall in the
Caucasus to lock away the wild nations
of Gog and Magog until the final
judgment. This story was wildly popular,
retold across Greek, Syriak, Armenian,
and Arabic traditions. By the time of
the Quran, Gog and Magog appear squarely
in this Alexander framework. They are
chaotic peoples pinned in behind dual
carn's barrier, destined to be released
only at the appointed hour of God's
esqueological plan. What began in
Ezekiel as land and ruler became through
centuries of Jewish and Christian reinterpretation
reinterpretation
apocalyptic nations. And by the time of
the Romance, the very hordes Alexander
himself was said to have chained behind
the mountains. A vision the Quran then
absorbed into its own prophetic picture.
What follows in the Quran is an
engineering marvel described in
surprising detail. Dual carnine
commands, "Bring me blocks of iron." The
workers pile iron blocks between the
mountain cliffs until they fill the gap.
Then comes the crucial step. Bring me
molten copper to pour over it. The
result, they Gog and Magog were unable
to scale it, nor could they pierce it.
An impenetrable barrier of iron and mass
sealed by divine engineering holding
back the forces of chaos until God's
appointed time when it will crumble and
the end will come. Darnain declares,
"This is a mercy from my Lord. But when
the promise of my Lord comes, he [music]
will level it." The wall becomes a
cosmic timer, a physical countdown to
judgment [music] day. You see, the Quran
portrays Dulcarnain as a just king and
pious hero, a world conqueror who
punishes the wicked, rewards the
righteous, [music] and defends
civilization from chaos, all under God's
guidance. But notably, the Quran never
names this figure explicitly.
The same issue happened with the
sleepers in the cave story earlier in
the same surah 18. The Quran strips it
of Christian details by removing their
names. The Emperor Deius in the
Christian iconography.
It's an epic tale worthy of [music]
legend. And that's exactly what it is
because this exact story with these
exact details appears in texts that
It's 356 B.CEE Macedonia. A child is
born who will become the most legendary
figure in Western history. Alexander III
of Macedon. Alexander the Great would
conquer an empire stretching from Greece
to India before dying at the impossibly
young age of 32.
In less than 10 years, this Macedonian
king toppled the Persian Empire, marched
into Egypt, where he was crowned
Pharaoh, crossed into India, fighting
war elephants, and built the largest
empire the world had ever seen. His
death came young, possibly from
poisoning, possibly from disease,
[music] possibly from drinking himself
to death, but his legend refused to die.
Alexander's achievements made him the
yard stick of greatness for all who came
after. From Julius Caesar to Napoleon,
rulers measured themselves against the
boy king of Macedon.
That's the power of Alexander's name.
Julius Caesar allegedly wept at a statue
of Alexander, lamenting that at
Alexander's age, Caesar had achieved
nothing. Roman emperors for centuries
marched eastward not just for conquest
but to prove they could rival Alexander
to be remembered as the next world
conqueror. Many Roman leaders Pompei
Cassus Caesar and other successive
emperors used Alexander as a template
for imperial ambition. But here's what
makes Alexander so crucial to our
investigation. His historical empire
collapsed almost immediately after his
death. His generals carved it up, fought
over the pieces, and within a
generation, the unity he'd created was
shattered. Alexander's [music] empire
collapsed, or rather fractured almost as
soon as he died. But his image proved indestructible.
indestructible.
He became a conqueror of imagination
as much as of territory. imagination.
imagination.
That's where Alexander truly conquered.
Within decades of his death, the legends
of Alexander began,
and they grew wilder and more
fantastical with each passing century.
These legends coalesed into what
scholars call the Alexander Romance, a
collection of fantastical tales that
spread across every major language of
the ancient world. Greek, Latin, Syriak,
Persian, Arabic, Armenian, Ethiopic, and
many others. In these legends, Alexander
doesn't just conquer Persia. He flies to
heaven in a chariot pulled by griffins. [music]
[music]
He doesn't just march to India. He
discovers the fountain of youth and the
land [music] of darkness. He doesn't
just die young. He becomes immortal in
legend. His story retold and reshaped by
every culture that encountered it.
Greeks made him a hero. Egyptians made
him the son of their god Ammon, [music]
crowned with ram's horns.
Jewish traditions wo him into the
Bible's story of world empires.
Syriak Christians, and this is crucial,
recast him as a pious prophet, king,
monotheistic figure, a builder of a
mighty gate to confine the chaos of Gog
and [music] Magog.
Paraphrasing Dr. Tomaso Tessi, one of
the world's leading experts on the
Syriak Alexander legend in his 2023
study, geopy of this book. I swear it's
amazing. He says this in the summary.
The Syriak Alexander legend, Syriak
Nashana, shows us how late antique
Christians recast Alexander as a prophet
king. He is not simply a pagan hero, but
an apocalyptic figure erecting barriers
against Gog and Magog in preparation for
the end of days. Alexander engraves a
prophecy over its gate, predicting the
future attacks of Gog and Magog and
endtime events. This is critical to
understand. By the sixth and seventh
century of the common era, Alexander
wasn't just a historical figure from the
past. He was a living symbol,
a template for divine kingship, a model
for righteous conquest, a hero who had
achieved what every empire dreamed of,
universal dominion under heaven's
mandate. And here's what makes this explosive.
explosive.
This is the Alexander who enters the
Quran. Not the mere Macedonian conqueror
of history. Not the actual pagan who
claimed to be Zeus Ammon's son, but the
sanitized Christianized
apocalyptic prophet king version, Dul
Carnain, the two-horned one. For the
early Muslim community in the 7th
century, forging its own path of world
conquest, Alexander was the perfect
model, a figure who had united nations,
subdued enemies, and embodied God's will
for the universal dominion.
But adopting him into scripture, the
Quran gave its audience a cosmic
precedent. The conqueror whose shadow
would forever stretch into new empires,
new faiths, and new ages.
Alexander conquered the world with
armies. His memory conquered the world
with stories. And in Islam, he became
immortal as the two warned one. But one
element of the Alexander legend is
crucial to our investigation.
And it's about to expose something
devastating about the Quran's origins.
We need to talk about the horns. The
pagan birth of the horns. Zeus Ammon.
It's Egypt. 331 B.CEE a 25-year-old
Macedonian king makes a dangerous
pilgrimage across the Libyan desert to
the oracle of Zeus Almond at Siwa.
Alexander the Great isn't just seeking
military advice. He's seeking divine
legitimacy. At Siwa, the oracle
proclaims what Alexander desperately
wants to hear. He is the son of Zeus
Almond, not Philip of Macedonia, but a
god. Zeus Almond was depicted as a
ram-headed deity. And from this moment
forward, Alexander would be portrayed
with two curling ram's horns sprouting
from his head. This wasn't symbolic.
This wasn't metaphorical. The horns were
an explicit claim of divinity, that
Alexander was literally the son of a
pagan god. Coins minted across his
empire, statues in conquered cities,
mosaics and palaces,
all showed Alexander with these ram's
horns as proof of his god man status.
In their original context, these horns
meant one thing and one thing only,
pagan divine sunship.
They linked Alexander directly to Zeus
almond worship. The kind of polytheistic
idolatry that the Quran explicitly
condemns throughout its verses, Jewish
apocalyptic reinterpretation.
But here's where it gets fascinating and
damning for the Quran's claims.
Centuries after Alexander's death,
Jewish apocalyptic writers couldn't
ignore his enduring cultural dominance.
But they couldn't accept the pagan
meaning of his horns either. So they did
what religious communities always do
with uncomfortable cultural symbols.
They reinterpreted them. The book of
Daniel 8 describes a prophetic vision. A
ram with two horns representing kings
and empires. As expert on Daniel, John
J. Collins in his commentary says,
Josephus reads many horns, but it is
clear from verse 20 that the horns
represent Media and Persia respectively.
Hence, the second is longer and arises
last. The representation of Media and
Persia as two horns of the same kingdom
departs from the view of the four
kingdoms standard throughout the book
which treats media separately.
Jewish interpreters seized on this.
Alexander could become the horned one.
No longer the son of Zeus Ammon, but an
instrument of biblical prophecy, a
figure in God's plan for history. This
Danielic picture opened the door for
later interpreters to see Alexander in a
new light. The pagan horns of divine
sunship were being scrubbed clean and
repurposed as prophetic symbolism.
This is cultural appropriation in
action. Taking a rival religion's
imagery and baptizing it into your own
theological framework. This process
creates a gap between the original
intent and the understanding for later
people knowing it through this Jewish filter.
filter.
Already in the first century, Josephus
in Antiquities 11, we're told that when
Alexander marched toward Jerusalem, the
high priest Yadawa went out in full
priestly robes to meet him. To
everyone's shock, Alexander dismounted
and bowed not to Yawa, but to the name
of the god he represented, he explained
that in a dream before his Persian
campaign, he had seen this very figure
promising him victory. Once in
Jerusalem, Alexander entered the temple,
offered sacrifice to the God of Israel,
and showed profound respect for Jewish
worship. He granted the Jews the right
to live according to their ancestral
laws and even exempted them from tribute
in the sabbatical year. It's a
remarkable scene. The world's greatest
conqueror humbling himself before
Israel's God and honoring the Jewish
people's way of life. This tradition
planted the seed of a later prophet king
of the one true God, Alexander.
By late antiquity, Syriakspeaking
Christians took this Jewish
reinterpretation even further. In texts
like the Nishana de Alexandros 6th to
7th century CE, Alexander becomes a
pious Christian prophet king. As Dr.
Tomaso Tessa demonstrates in his
research, this was a deliberate
theological transformation.
The horns that once screamed Zeus Ammon,
pagan god worship, divine sunship,
were now being presented as signs of
divine empowerment. Symbols that the one
true God had given Alexander to conquer
nations and most importantly to confine
Gog and Magog. In a sense, Alexander's
pagan roots [music] get baptized of
their icky polytheistic roots.
What had been explicitly pagan idolatry
was now being packaged as Christian
salvation history. The Syriak Christians
weren't stupid, but a real question
remains and should be asked. Did they
know the original meaning of the horns
of Alexander? Or did they blindly
inherit the sanitized Alexander from the
Jews? Either way, they were rewriting
the story for their own theological
purposes. In fact, the horns of
Alexander are described twice in the
Syriak Alexander legend. The first is
during a prayer by Alexanders.
King Alexander bowed and worshiping
said, "Oh God, master of kings and
judges, you who raise up kings and
dismiss their power, I perceive with my
mind that you made me great among all
kings and that you caused horns to grow
on my head so that I may gore with them
the kingdoms of the world. Give me the
power from the heavens of your sanctity
so that I may receive strength greater
than the kingdoms of the world and I
will humiliate them and glorify your
name forever, O Lord. The second
reference occurs towards the end of the
text as God speaks to Alexander and
tells him that he gave him two horns to
use them as weapon against other worldly
kingdoms. I made you great among all
kings and I caused horns of iron to grow
on your head so that you may gore with
them the kingdoms of the world.
The two-horned imagery of the Syriak
Alexander legend draws together elements
from the pashida of First Kings 22, 2
Chronicles, Micah, and the two-horned
ram in Daniel 8. In particular, the term
used in the legend for two horns,
Carneatha, is likely to be inspired by
the appearance of Carneatha in the
Pashittita. That's the standard Syriak
translation of Daniel 8:3. They are
lifting their interpretation of Daniel
83 for Alexander,
not Cyrus the Great, for those who might
take the Cyrus hypothesis. [music]
By the seventh century of the common
era, Rayun Muhammad was receiving his revelations.
revelations.
This Christianized version of Alexander
was everywhere in the near east. The
nickname the twohorned one had become
synonymous with Alexander.
As Dr. Kevin Vanladell suggests by this
time the connection was automatic,
universal, unmistakable.
To speak of the twohorned one in late
antiquity was to invoke Alexander the
Great. No explanation required. No
ambiguity possible. The association
would be equivalent to say basketball
being associated with Michael Jordan.
Bodybuilding with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Golfing with Tiger Woods. Baseball with
Babe Ruth. Boxing with Muhammad Ali with
a list that can go on and on. The
Quran's blind inheritance.
And here's where we arrive at the
devastating implications for Islamic
theology. The Quran picks up this
already Christianized Alexander legend
and presents him as Dulcarname,
literally the two-horned one, a
righteous ruler chosen by God, traveling
to the ends of the earth, building a
barrier against Gog and Magog,
fulfilling an apocalyptic role. But
here's what's absolutely devastating.
The Quran shows zero awareness of the
original context of these horns. There's
no acknowledgment that the horns were
born as symbols of pagan god man
worship. No explanation of why this hero
has two horns. No origin story. The
Quran just accepts the nickname as if
it's always meant what the Christianized
version says it means.
Just a reminder, the Christians and Jews
had divorced the pagan divine meaning
from Alexander. And the Quran blindly
carries this along with the tradition
already laid by those before it. Think
about what this means. An all- knowing
God dictating his eternal message
through the angel Gabriel uses a
nickname for a hero [music]
that originates from pagan divine
sunship claims. the exact kind of
polytheistic idolatry that the Quran
spends hundreds of verses condemning.
The author of the Quran inherited this
sanitized Christianized version of the
Alexander legend where the horns had
already been stripped of their pagan
meaning and repackaged as prophetic symbolism.
symbolism.
He didn't know or didn't care that just
900 years earlier, those same horns
represented Alexander's claim to be the
literal son of Zeus Almond. Come on. An
omnisient deity would know this entire
history. He would [music] know that the
two horns trace back to Zeus Almond
worship at Siwa.
He would know that Jewish and Christian
writers had deliberately reinterpreted
this pagan symbol for their own
purposes. He would surely mention this
problematic origin or avoid the nickname
entirely. But the Quran doesn't show
divine omniscience here. It shows
exactly what we'd expect from a 7th
century human author [music] working
with secondhand already sanitized
Christian legends.
He uses the nickname everyone in his
culture would recognize without
understanding its deeper history. So the
order of things, Zeus almond worship in 331
331
moves over to Jewish prophetic
reinterpretation in the 2n century B.CE
which gets picked up by Josephus's
mention, Christian apocalyptic
transformation in the 4th to 6th century
CE and Islamic adoption in the 7th
century of the common era. The Quran is
at the end of a centuries long game of
theological telephone, inheriting a
story that [music] had been edited,
sanitized, and repackaged multiple
times. And it shows no awareness of the
original message that started the whole
thing. This isn't just one detail. This
is a smoking gun that reveals the human
fingerprints all over [music] what is
claimed to be divine revelation.
Let's look at another key element that
became particularly important in
apocalyptic literature. Alexander's role
as the guardian against Gog and Magog.
The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus
writing in the first century of the
common era six whole centuries before
Islam already records the story.
Alexander shut up the citians identified
with Gog and Magog behind iron gates to
protect civilization from their
destructive hordes.
Let that date sink in. First century of
the common era. The story of Alexander
builds gates to contain Gog and Magog
was already ancient [music] when
Muhammad was born. It had been
circulating for half a millennium,
growing more elaborate with each [music]
retelling. But it's not just Jewish
legends we need to examine. The smoking
gun, the direct [music] source of the
Quran's version, comes from Syriak
Christianity, the Mesopotamian roots
from Gilgamesh to the Quran.
But before we examine the Syriak Smok
and Gun, we need to go deeper back to
the ultimate source of these legends.
Because the Alexander romance didn't
spring up from nowhere. It was built on
foundations that were already ancient
when Alexander himself was born. The
Epic of Gilgamesh, the original quest
for immortality.
Aruk, ancient Mesopotamia, circa 2,100 B.CE.
B.CE.
Nearly 4,000 years ago, Mesopotamian
scribes were recording what may be
humanity's first great epic, the story
of Gilgamesh, the legendary king of Eru,
who is 2/3 divine and one-third human.
When his beloved friend Inkyu dies,
Gilgamesh is devastated by the
realization that he too must die. He
becomes obsessed with finding the secret
of eternal life, a quest that will take
him to the ends of the earth. Gilgamesh
travels to the mouth of the rivers, a
mystical spot at the world's edge where
he hopes to find Utnapishim,
the survivor of the great flood, who was
granted immortality by the gods. To get
there, Gilgamesh must overcome nearly
impossible obstacles. He ventures
through a tunnel of total darkness
beneath Mount Mashu for 12 double hours,
essentially 12 hours of groping in pitch
black, guarded by terrifying scorpion
men who warn him not to continue. The
ancient tablet records, "One double hour
he travels, yet it is not light. Two
double hours he travels. Dense is the
darkness. It does not become light."
Finally, he emerges into [music] a
beautiful garden by the sea with jewels
growing on trees like fruit. At the
shore, he meets Siduri, a divine ellife
who urges him to abandon his quest. But
Gilgamesh insists, and she directs him
to a boatman who can ferry him across
the waters of death to Utnapishtim's
distant home. After selling for a month
and a half across these deadly waters,
touch them and you perish. Gilgamesh
finally reaches Utapishtim, who reveals
the secret, a magical plant that can
restore youth, growing deep under the
sea in the primeval waters of the Apsu.
And Gilgamesh actually does it. He
heroically dives into the waters and
plucks the precious plant. Victory at
last. or so it seems. But stopping to
bathe on the journey home, he places the
plant of life on the ground. In that
instant, a snake slithers up, drawn by
the plant's divine scent, and snatches
it away. The snake eats the plant
[music] and immediately sheds its skin,
reborn in youth. The ancient tablet
records his lament. A serpent who
snuffed the plant's scent, darted up
from the water and snatched it. He
vanished in the twilight, leaving his
spoil. Then Gilgamesh wept. For whom
have I labored? Oh, Ursa.
Not for myself have I gained the reward,
but for an earth lion only, it was
secured. The Alexander connection
discovered over a century ago. In 1894,
the Assyrianologist Bruno Mesner
published Alexander Un Gilgamos.
A groundbreaking study that demonstrated
the Alexander romanc's water of life
legend was directly inspired by the epic
[music] of Gilgamesh.
The parallels are impossible to dismiss.
A hero king seeks immortality.
Gilgamesh, spurred by Inkidoo's death,
undertakes a quest to escape death.
[music] Alexander similarly quests to
find the fountain of eternal life.
Journeying to the ends of the earth,
Gilgamesh travels to the mouth of the
rivers at the world's edge. Alexander
travels to the land of darkness and the
land of the blessed.
Traveling through darkness, Gilgamesh's
trek through pitch black tunnel of Mount
Mashu is mirrored by Alexander's march
through the sunless land of darkness.
Guardian figures and warnings. Gilgamesh
is met by scorpion men who try to
dissuade [music] him. Alexander is
advised by wise old men and ultimately
turned back by divine birds. The
encircling ocean in deadly waters.
Gilgamesh crosses the waters of death
with a [music] boatman. Alexander must
cross a perilous sea around paradise.
The life renewing gift for Gilgamesh.
It's a plant of youth from the ocean
floor. For Alexander, it's a spring of
life-giving water [music] hidden in
darkness. The stealing creature.
Gilgamesh loses his plant to a snake
which then sheds its skin. Alexander
loses his water of life moment to a fish
which comes back to life.
Mesner concluded over a century ago in
view of the totality of correspondence,
one cannot remain skeptical. The
Alexander legend descends directly from
the Gilgamesh epic. The Alexander
romance didn't just borrow from
Gilgamesh. It drew from multiple
Mesopotamian sources, proving these
ancient stories were wellknown and
actively circulating in the Henistic
period. In some versions of the
Alexander romance, Alexander isn't
content with traversing Earth and sea.
He also ascends to the heavens. One
famous legend has Alexander fashioning a
flying machine. He harnesses eagles or
griffins to a basket and holds out meat
on spears so the hungry birds carry him
upward into the sky. While airborne,
Alexander marbles at the earth below,
noting how small everything appears as
he ascends. The Greek rescension known
as version C includes this aerial
journey. And even the Talmud mentions
Alexander's attempt to ascend to the
firmament. The Jerusalem Talmud not only
sees the earth as flat, but that the
earth is completely surrounded by water,
just like typical ancient cosmology. But
the most impressive part is this mention
of Alexander. Rebeona said, "When
Alexander the Macedonian wanted to
ascend, he rose and rose and rose until
he saw the earth as a ball and the ocean
like a plate." Jerusalem Talmud. In the
Babylonian Talmud, tractate Tamid 32a
throughb written between the 3rd to 5th
century of the common era. Alexander the
Great becomes a figure through which the
rabbis teach moral lessons. They do a
spin on the very popular Alexander the
Great [music] legends which Christians
have popularized. Here's how it goes.
First, Alexander consults the elders of
the Ngev about marching into Africa.
They warn him that the mountains of
darkness block the way. But Alexander
insists. They advise him to take Libyan
donkeys which can walk in pitch
blackness and to carry ropes so he can
find his way back. The lesson is clear.
Even the greatest king must rely on
humble creatures and careful planning to
move forward. Next, he comes to a city
inhabited entirely by women. He prepares
for battle, but the women stop him with
sharp reasoning. If he kills them,
people will mock him as the king who
kills women. If they kill him, he will
be remembered as the king whom women
destroyed. Instead, he asks for bread.
They bring him golden bread on a golden
table, mocking his greed. Alexander
admits his folly and inscribes on the
city gate that he learned wisdom from
women. Later, Alexander eats near a
spring. As he watches salted fish, he
notices a sweet fragrance and realizes
the spring flows from the Garden of
Eden. He follows it to Eden's gate and
cries out to be admitted. But the
gatekeepers replied with Psalm 118 20,
"This is the gate of the Lord. The
righteous shall enter." Alexander
insists that as a king, he deserves
entry, but he is denied. Instead, they
give him a single eyeball. He weighs the
eyeball against all his gold and silver,
but it outweighs everything. Perplexed,
he asks the rabbis for an explanation.
They tell him, "It is the human eye
which is never satisfied. Only when he
covers it with dust does the scale
balance." This symbolizes that human
greed ends only in death. As Proverbs
27:20 says, "Shaol and Abdon are never
satisfied, so the eyes of man are never
satisfied." The section concludes with a
teaching, "Gehenna, the place of
punishment, is either above the heavens
or beyond the mountains of darkness,
meaning Alexander cannot conquer
everything." In these tales, Alexander
is not the invincible conqueror of
history. The rabbis reimagined him as a
man humbled by donkeys, mocked by women,
denied entry to Eden, and taught that
wealth cannot satisfy the human eye. He
conquers the world, but cannot conquer himself.
himself.
As mentioned before, Alexander ascends
to the heavens. This aerial adventure
has no parallel in the Gilgamesh epic,
but it perfectly matches another
Mesopotamian story, the legend of Atana,
a mythical Sumerian king of Kish, who
desperately wanted a plant of birth to
help his wife conceive a child. To
obtain it, Atana had to fly to heaven to
speak with the gods. And how did he fly?
He befriended a giant eagle and rode on
its back into the sky. As Atana and the
eagle ascended through the clouds, the
eagle gave him a bird'seye view tour of
the world. The cuneaoifor tablets
describe how as they went higher, the
earth looked even smaller. After the
first double hour of flight, the eagle
said, "Look, my friend, how the land
appears now. The vast sea is but small
waters. After the second, the land
looked like a garden, the sea like a
tub." This is exactly the kind of
perspective commentary later attributed
to Alexander in his flying basket,
marveling at how the great earth shrinks
to nothing from the heavens. The
correspondence is so specific, the eagle
ride, the comparisons of earth's
appearance from on high that we're
clearly dealing with another borrowed
motif. Mesner and others concluded that
the Alexander writers plugged in the
Atana legend to supply Alexander's
airborne adventure. It's a perfect fit.
Alexander's Griffin powered ascent is
the Hellenistic remix of Atana's Eagle
Ride. And here's what's crucial. Later
authors explicitly show awareness that
these Mesopotamian tales were
circulating and being conflated. The
Greco Roman writer Elon 3rd century of
the common era even tells a story about
Gilgamos Gilgamesh. That is essentially
the tale of a baby saved by an eagle
which properly belongs to a Tana or
related legends not to Gilgamesh. At any
rate, an eagle fostered a baby and I
want to tell the whole story. So the
guards from fear of the king hurled the
infant from the citadel, for that was
where the girl was imprisoned. Now an
[music] eagle which saw with its
piercing eye the child while still
falling before it was dashed to the
earth flew beneath it flung its back
under it and conveyed it to some garden
and set it down with the utmost care.
But when the keeper of the palace saw
the pretty baby, he fell in love with it
and nursed it and it was called Gilgamos
and became king of Babylon. Alen on
nature of animals. It seems some ancient
storytellers merged these two heroes,
confusing or combining their deeds. By
the time of Alexander's romance, all
these threads, Gilgamesh, Atana,
folktales like the hero on the eagle
were part of the world's Neareastern
lore. So Alexander's legend isn't based
on one Mesopotamian story. It's an
amalgam of at least two. Gilgamesh's
quest for immortality and a tennis
skyward journey for a different kind of
lifegiving plan. And both of those older
tales in turn reflect the ancient human
fascination with overcoming our natural
limits. Be it death with Gilgamesh or
gravity with Atana. The creators of the
Alexander romance ingeniously wo these
into Alexander's narrative as if [music]
saying, "Our hero did all the amazing
things of past heroes [music] and more."
It's a great example of mythological
synratism where popular motifs keep
getting recycled transcending their
original contexts.
What this proves about cultural transmission
transmission
this multiple source borrowing proves
something crucial by the henistic period
3rd century B.CE onward these ancient
Mesopotamian legends were widely known
actively circulated and being combined
into new narratives. These weren't
forgotten tales locked away in dusty
archives. They were living stories that
traveled across languages, cultures, and
centuries being adapted, merged, and
repackaged for new [music] audiences.
Which means by the seventh century of
the common era when the Quran was being
composed, these legendary traditions,
the immortality quest, the heavenly
ascent, the divine guidance were
thoroughly embedded in Neareastern
culture. The Christian remix. Plant
becomes water. Snake becomes fish.
Even more fascinating, the differences
between the stories of Gilgamesh and the
Alexander legends reveal deliberate
Christian adaptation.
By the 3rd to fifth centuries of the
common era, when the Alexander romance
was taking shape, storytellers were
living in an increasingly Christianized
society. Scholar Dr. Tomaso Tessa has
demonstrated that the changes weren't
random. They were theological. [music]
The plant of life became living water.
Because in Christian context, water is
loaded with meaning. Baptism, spiritual
cleansing, the living water Jesus spoke
of as eternal life. Gilgamesh's pagan
earth herb was replaced by Christ's holy
life-giving water that any late antique
audience would associate with baptism.
The snake became a fish because snakes
carried negative connotations
Eden's serpent Satan while fish had
become a potent Christian symbol. The
Greek word ectus was used as an acronym
for Jesus Christ son of God savior.
Early Christians called new believers
little fish born in baptismal water. As
Tessa observes about Alexander's legend,
the fish resurrecting when washed in
water of life implies a strong Christian
allegorical dimension in which the theme
of baptism as way of salvation is
central. A dead fish brought back to
life by water. That's a baptismal
resurrection allegory. The Gilgamesh
story had been Christianized, keeping
the narrative skeleton but infusing it
with new theological meaning. So that we
are clear Mesopotamian epic 2100 B.CE
influences Greek Alexander legends 3rd
to fifth century of the common era.
Christian symbolism adaptation that
moves into a Syriak Christian version
through the sixth to seventh centuries
of the common era and then the Islamic
inheritance where they stripped some of
these Christian elements for their own
theological purposes. By the time these
stories reached the 7th century Arabia,
they had been layered, adapted, and
repackaged through multiple cultures and
theological frameworks. [music] The
Quran inherited not the original
Gilgamesh, but the Christianized
Alexander version, which itself was a
reworking of an ancient Mesopotamian
tale. Even more important, the Alexander
legends contain another figure who
becomes crucial to Islamic tradition,
the mysterious servant or cook who
discovers the water of life and
allegedly drinks from it, gaining
immortality in Alexander's legend. This
figure would later be identified in
Islamic tradition as Kadir, the immortal
guide who appears in Surah 18 alongside
the Moses story. The connection between
Alexander's quest for the water of life,
the immortal companion, and the Quranic
Moses and Kadir narrative is profound,
but that's a story for our next episode
in this series. For now, understand
this. Surah 18 doesn't just contain one
story borrowed from Alexander legends.
It contains multiple interconnected
narratives, all tracing back to these
ancient sources.
What this means for divine revelation,
think about what we've just traced. A
4,000-year-old Mesopotamian polytheistic
epic about a demigod king seeking
immortality was adapted by Greek
storytellers into Alexander legends,
then Christianized with baptismal
symbolism, then transmitted in Syriak to
7th century Arabia, where it was
incorporated into what's claimed to be
the eternal unccreated word of Allah. At
no point in this centuriesl long journey
does the Quran indicate awareness of
this complex transmission history. It
presents the stories as if they're
original revelations with no
acknowledgement that they're reworked
legends that have traveled through
Mesopotamian, Greek, Jewish, and
Christian hands before reaching Islamic
scripture. An omnisient deity dictating
eternal truth would surely mention,
"This is a story humans have been
telling for millennia, and here's what
it actually means." Instead, the Quran
presents these pre-existing legends as
if they're new divine information.
Exactly what we'd expect from a human
author working with the legendary
materials available in his cultural
environment. Now armed with this
understanding of the deep roots of these
legends, let's return to the specific
Syriak text that the Quran copied. The
smoking gun that proves literary
borrowing beyond any doubt.
The Syriak smoking gun.
Mid6th century of the common era 530 to 565
565
Byzantine Empire. A Syriak Christian
author writing in the Aramaic dialect
used by Eastern Christians composes what
scholars call the Syriak legend of
Alexander or Nashana de Alexandros, the
victory of Alexander. This isn't just
another retelling of the Alexander
romance. It's an apocalyptic story
written in a time of extremely fierce
rivalry between the Byzantine Empire
under Justinian I and the Cisanian
Persian Empire under Casro I. At its
heart, the text is political theology.
Alexander re-imagined as a pious prophet
king becomes a cipher for the Roman
Emperor, a defender of Christrysendom,
the one who builds the cosmic gate that
restrains Gog and Magog until the ends
of time. For over a century, scholars
believed they had the Syriak Alexander
legend pinned down. The evidence seemed clear.
clear.
The text contained a prophecy dated to
the year 940 of the Seucid era, 628 to
629 of the common era. That just so
happened to match the reign of Emperor
Heraclus, fresh off his victory over the
Persians. Naturally, the conclusion was
obvious. The Nana de Alexandros was
propaganda, a Christian text glorifying
Heraclus as a new Alexander. But then
comes the twist. Tomaso Tessi looked
closer at the text line by line, and
what he found was strange. The so-called
Heraclean prophecy didn't fit. Its
vocabulary looked slightly different.
Its style broke the flow of the
surrounding narrative. Even more
suspicious, it was merely a carbon copy
of an earlier prophecy in the same text.
This is the smoking gun. The 940
prophecy wasn't original. It was an
interpolation, a later addition inserted
to make the story relevant again in the
620s. Think of it like patching an old
apocalyptic story to keep it fresh.
Strip away the patch and what's left is
a text that belongs not to Heraclus's
reign, but to the age of Justinian I
nearly a century earlier. That means the
core of the Syriak Alexander legend was
composed in the mid6th century of the
common era a whole generation before
Muhammad was even born. Dr. Tesse has
far more evidence supporting this
argument in his book the Syriak legend
of Alexander's gate apocalypticism at
the crossroads of Bzantium in Iran and
his work has persuaded other brilliant
scholars to reconsider the dating of
this text. Modern scholarship,
especially the work of Kevin Van Bledell
and Tomaso Tesse demonstrates that the
Syriak Alexander legend was not only
written before Islam, but was also
widely transmitted in oral form. its
distinctive details. The fedded sea, the
people with no covering from the sun,
the wall of iron and copper, Gog and
Magog confined until the last day are
exactly the motifs that reappear in the
Quran story of Duracarn in Quran 1883-102.
1883-102.
By the early 7th century, this Christian
apocalyptic legend had become part of
the cultural atmosphere of late
antiquity. The Quran preserved it almost
intact, showing how deeply intertwined
its origins are with the world of Syriak
Christianity. Let's examine the
evidence. I literally want you to see
with your own eyes how impossibly
specific these parallels really are.
One, the two horns. Syriak legend.
Alexander prays to God, acknowledging
that the Lord caused horns to grow on my
head so that I might thrust down the
kingdoms of the earth. Quran 1883-84.
The very name duoine means the twohorned
one. Historical context. Coins and art
across the Middle East showed Alexander
with ram's horns, a symbol of Zeus
almond. By lay antiquity, the two-horned
one automatically meant Alexander.
Two power from God. Syriak legend.
Alexander begs God to grant him heavenly
powers so he can subdue kingdoms and
glorify God's name. Quran God says of
dul carnine we established him in the
land and gave him the means of
everything. Both texts cast him not as a
mere conqueror but as an agent of divine
authority. Three the murky sea. Syriak
legend Alexander sails until he reaches
the fedded sea ocean at the edge of the
world described as dark deadly waters.
Quran 1886 dul carain finds the sun
setting in a spring of murky feted
water. The same rare adjective feted
murky appears in Syriak and Arabic
suggesting direct borrowing.
Four judging wrongdoers. Syriak legend
Alexander sends condemned criminals to
the shore of the fedded sea. reasoning
it's fitting that those guilty of death
should die. Quran 1887 dulang declares
whoever does wrong him shall we punish
then he shall be returned to his lord.
The Quran condenses what the Syriak
spells out in detail.
Five. The rising sun. The Syriak legend.
Alexander travels to where the sun rises
through the window of heaven. The people
there must hide in caves from its scorching rays. Quran 1890 durain
scorching rays. Quran 1890 durain reaches a people for whom we had
reaches a people for whom we had provided no covering against the sun.
provided no covering against the sun. The Syriak version explains the odd
The Syriak version explains the odd Quranic detail. Gog and Magog
Quranic detail. Gog and Magog Syriak legend. Alexander journeys north
Syriak legend. Alexander journeys north to pass between mountains where locals
to pass between mountains where locals warn of a savage tribes, the Huns, whose
warn of a savage tribes, the Huns, whose first kings are named Gog and Magog.
first kings are named Gog and Magog. Quran 1894. The people plead with
Quran 1894. The people plead with Dorrenine. Gog and Magog cause great
Dorrenine. Gog and Magog cause great corruption in the land. Both texts make
corruption in the land. Both texts make Alexander Dorrenine the warden holding
Alexander Dorrenine the warden holding back Gog and Magog until the end of
back Gog and Magog until the end of time.
time. Building the barrier. Syriak legend
Building the barrier. Syriak legend Alexander orders smiths to construct a
Alexander orders smiths to construct a massive gate of iron and brass to seal
massive gate of iron and brass to seal off Gog and Magog. Quran 1895 through96.
off Gog and Magog. Quran 1895 through96. Dulcarnain commands, "Bring me blocks of
Dulcarnain commands, "Bring me blocks of iron. Pour molten brass upon it." The
iron. Pour molten brass upon it." The materials and sequence match directly
materials and sequence match directly the end of times. Syriak legend. At the
the end of times. Syriak legend. At the last day, God will destroy Alexander's
last day, God will destroy Alexander's gate, and Gog and Magog will flood out
gate, and Gog and Magog will flood out to ravage the world. Quran 1898 and
to ravage the world. Quran 1898 and 2196, chapter 21. The barrier will
2196, chapter 21. The barrier will crumble when the Lord's promise arrives,
crumble when the Lord's promise arrives, and Gog and Magog will surge like waves
and Gog and Magog will surge like waves until judgment day. Both link the
until judgment day. Both link the collapse of the barrier to the final
collapse of the barrier to the final apocalypse. [music]
apocalypse. [music] Modern scholars such as Kevin Vanladell
Modern scholars such as Kevin Vanladell conclude that the Quran's tale is drawn
conclude that the Quran's tale is drawn straight from the Syriak Alexander
straight from the Syriak Alexander legend. Every step of the Quranic story
legend. Every step of the Quranic story from the murky sea to the rising sun,
from the murky sea to the rising sun, from Gog and Magog to the iron wall has
from Gog and Magog to the iron wall has its fuller explanation in the Syriak
its fuller explanation in the Syriak version. The Quran preserves the
version. The Quran preserves the skeleton, but the Syriak text shows the
skeleton, but the Syriak text shows the flesh and blood. The Quran's tale of
flesh and blood. The Quran's tale of Durarnain isn't some unique revelation,
Durarnain isn't some unique revelation, ladies and gentlemen. It's a rerun.
ladies and gentlemen. It's a rerun. Every beat of the story shows up in the
Every beat of the story shows up in the Syriak Alexander legend, only with more
Syriak Alexander legend, only with more detail.
detail. Same exact order, same exact events,
Same exact order, same exact events, same quirks. The parallels are so exact,
same quirks. The parallels are so exact, it's laughable to call it coincidence.
it's laughable to call it coincidence. The Quran is just retelling a
The Quran is just retelling a Christianized Alexander myth already
Christianized Alexander myth already making the rounds centuries earlier.
making the rounds centuries earlier. The apocalyptic panic when Muslims
The apocalyptic panic when Muslims realized their mistake.
realized their mistake. Now we arrive at one of the most
Now we arrive at one of the most revealing chapters in our investigation.
revealing chapters in our investigation. not about what the Quran says, but about
not about what the Quran says, but about how Muslims have desperately tried to
how Muslims have desperately tried to explain it away for the past two
explain it away for the past two centuries.
centuries. Because here's what's fascinating. The
Because here's what's fascinating. The identification of Dul Carain or Zul
identification of Dul Carain or Zul Carnain has been a controversial matter
Carnain has been a controversial matter from the earliest times. In general, the
from the earliest times. In general, the Muslim commentators have been found of
Muslim commentators have been found of the opinion that he was Alexander the
the opinion that he was Alexander the Great. Thanks to Dr. Joshua Little for
Great. Thanks to Dr. Joshua Little for providing five powerful authoritative
providing five powerful authoritative Muslim scholars who attest to this
Muslim scholars who attest to this understanding.
understanding. One, Mukatil Iben Sulleman. He died in
One, Mukatil Iben Sulleman. He died in 767 of the common era. One of the
767 of the common era. One of the earliest Quran commentators in Islamic
earliest Quran commentators in Islamic history. We're talking about a scholar
history. We're talking about a scholar writing just 135 years after Muhammad's
writing just 135 years after Muhammad's death. Stated in his taps, "Three
death. Stated in his taps, "Three individuals ruled over the entire earth.
individuals ruled over the entire earth. Nimrod Iben Cananan and Darnain whose
Nimrod Iben Cananan and Darnain whose name was Alexander Caesar. Then Tuba
name was Alexander Caesar. Then Tuba Iben Abi Shurahill the Hammerite. This
Iben Abi Shurahill the Hammerite. This is monumental. Mukatil authored one of
is monumental. Mukatil authored one of the earliest complete commentaries on
the earliest complete commentaries on the Quran. He clearly counts Alexander
the Quran. He clearly counts Alexander Khazar, [music] Alexander Caesar among
Khazar, [music] Alexander Caesar among the great world rulers calling him by
the great world rulers calling him by his name as Dulcarnain.
his name as Dulcarnain. Two, Kata Iben Diama. He died in 735 of
Two, Kata Iben Diama. He died in 735 of the common era via Iben Abed al-Hakam.
the common era via Iben Abed al-Hakam. Kata was an early Mufasir, interpreter
Kata was an early Mufasir, interpreter of the Quran and hadith transmitter in
of the Quran and hadith transmitter in Bazra, essentially a second generation
Bazra, essentially a second generation Islamic scholar barely a century after
Islamic scholar barely a century after Muhammad. Iben Abid alakam died in 871
Muhammad. Iben Abid alakam died in 871 of the common era. The Egyptian
of the common era. The Egyptian historian and jurish preserved Qatara's
historian and jurish preserved Qatara's blunt words in his Futamsir.
blunt words in his Futamsir. Alixander
Alixander Alexander was Dul Carnain.
Alexander was Dul Carnain. Let that sink in. A voice from barely
Let that sink in. A voice from barely 100 years after Muhammad already
100 years after Muhammad already equating Dulcarnain with Alexander the
equating Dulcarnain with Alexander the Great. This identification was part of
Great. This identification was part of early Islamic historical memory. Three.
early Islamic historical memory. Three. Iben Hisham died 833 of the common era.
Iben Hisham died 833 of the common era. The 9th century Abbasid era historian
The 9th century Abbasid era historian best known for editing the prophet
best known for editing the prophet Muhammad's biography. Arguably the most
Muhammad's biography. Arguably the most important biographical source in early
important biographical source in early Islam plainly wrote his name was
Islam plainly wrote his name was Aliscander
Aliscander Alexander. He was the one who built
Alexander. He was the one who built Alexandria,
Alexandria, the name of which traces back to him.
the name of which traces back to him. Iben Hisham's authority as the
Iben Hisham's authority as the transmitter of Iben Ishach's Sira makes
transmitter of Iben Ishach's Sira makes this identification especially notable.
this identification especially notable. He was no fringe writer but a central
He was no fringe writer but a central figure in early Islamic scholarship.
figure in early Islamic scholarship. Four Abu Jafar Alabari 839 to 923 of the
Four Abu Jafar Alabari 839 to 923 of the common era. the towering giant of
common era. the towering giant of Islamic scholarship described as an
Islamic scholarship described as an impressively prolific polymath of
impressively prolific polymath of Islam's golden age widely respected for
Islam's golden age widely respected for his historical honors and Quranic
his historical honors and Quranic exugesus in his monumental tapsier
exugesus in his monumental tapsier alabari records a Yemenite tradition
alabari records a Yemenite tradition from wab Iben Munabi dul carnain was a
from wab Iben Munabi dul carnain was a man of the Romans his name was
man of the Romans his name was alsandrris
alsandrris Alexandros
Alexandros The fact that Tibari chose to preserve
The fact that Tibari chose to preserve this Alexander tradition is powerful
this Alexander tradition is powerful evidence of what mainstream Muslims
evidence of what mainstream Muslims believed in the 9th to 10th centuries.
believed in the 9th to 10th centuries. Five. Abu al- Kasam al- Karmani circa
Five. Abu al- Kasam al- Karmani circa 1100 of the common era an established
1100 of the common era an established scholar of Quranic interpretation Arabic
scholar of Quranic interpretation Arabic grammar and jurish prudence in the 11th
grammar and jurish prudence in the 11th century in his taps gibb al tapsier al-
century in his taps gibb al tapsier al- karmani explicitly states but the bulk
karmani explicitly states but the bulk almer of exedites hold that he iscander
almer of exedites hold that he iscander Alexander
Alexander by the medieval period the
by the medieval period the identification had become consensus in
identification had become consensus in learned circles. This wasn't French
learned circles. This wasn't French speculation. This was mainstream Islamic
speculation. This was mainstream Islamic scholarship. From the 8th century
scholarship. From the 8th century through the 11th century, across three
through the 11th century, across three centuries of Islamic scholarship, from
centuries of Islamic scholarship, from Bazra to Yemen to Persia to Egypt,
Bazra to Yemen to Persia to Egypt, authoritative Muslim scholars
authoritative Muslim scholars consistently taught that dual carnine
consistently taught that dual carnine was Alexander the Great. They were right
was Alexander the Great. They were right in this identification. They weren't
in this identification. They weren't guessing in the dark. This was the
guessing in the dark. This was the standard interpretation echoed by
standard interpretation echoed by historians of the prophet's era, expert
historians of the prophet's era, expert Quran commentators, compilers of Islamic
Quran commentators, compilers of Islamic lore, the bulk of medieval exedites.
lore, the bulk of medieval exedites. So if for over 1,000 years this
So if for over 1,000 years this identification was standard, mainstream,
identification was standard, mainstream, uncontroversial,
uncontroversial, what changed? You see, they knew the
what changed? You see, they knew the Syriak Alexander legend and related
Syriak Alexander legend and related lore, which had already Christianized
lore, which had already Christianized Alexander into a monotheistic style
Alexander into a monotheistic style king. In those sources, Alexander prays
king. In those sources, Alexander prays to one God, receives divine help, and
to one God, receives divine help, and builds the Gog and Magog wall as part of
builds the Gog and Magog wall as part of an end times drama. So, the problem of
an end times drama. So, the problem of his paganism didn't exist for them. They
his paganism didn't exist for them. They weren't thinking of the historical
weren't thinking of the historical Alexander, but of the legendary
Alexander, but of the legendary Alexander. But then something happened.
Alexander. But then something happened. Muslim scholars began doing actual
Muslim scholars began doing actual historical research. I imagine they
historical research. I imagine they started reading the Syriak Alexander
started reading the Syriak Alexander legend. They traced the pagan origins of
legend. They traced the pagan origins of the ram's horns. They documented how
the ram's horns. They documented how Alexander claimed to be the son of Zeus
Alexander claimed to be the son of Zeus Ammon. They proved the Quranic story was
Ammon. They proved the Quranic story was borrowed from Christian sources. And
borrowed from Christian sources. And suddenly Muslim apologists had a massive
suddenly Muslim apologists had a massive problem on their hands.
problem on their hands. The cognitive dissonance crisis. Imagine
The cognitive dissonance crisis. Imagine you're a medieval Muslim scholar. You
you're a medieval Muslim scholar. You happily identify Dul Carnain as
happily identify Dul Carnain as Alexander because everyone in your
Alexander because everyone in your culture knows the Alexander legends. The
culture knows the Alexander legends. The Syriak Christians tell these stories.
Syriak Christians tell these stories. [music]
[music] Jewish communities have versions.
Jewish communities have versions. Persian poets write epics about
Persian poets write epics about Escander. It's common cultural
Escander. It's common cultural knowledge. Then you learn the
knowledge. Then you learn the uncomfortable truth. The historical
uncomfortable truth. The historical Alexander was a Greek pagan polytheist
Alexander was a Greek pagan polytheist who claimed to be the literal son of
who claimed to be the literal son of Zeus Almond. Woree ram's horns as
Zeus Almond. Woree ram's horns as symbols of his divinity. Sacrificed to
symbols of his divinity. Sacrificed to pagan gods at every temple. Declared
pagan gods at every temple. Declared himself a god and demanded worship. Died
himself a god and demanded worship. Died young, probably drunk, definitely not
young, probably drunk, definitely not righteous. And this pagan god man
righteous. And this pagan god man polytheist [music] is the hero of your
polytheist [music] is the hero of your holy Quran. Just praised as a righteous
holy Quran. Just praised as a righteous servant of Allah. The cognitive
servant of Allah. The cognitive dissonance hits like a freight train.
dissonance hits like a freight train. You have two choices. One, admit the
You have two choices. One, admit the Quran borrowed a pagan legend and didn't
Quran borrowed a pagan legend and didn't know the true history. Or two, make
know the true history. Or two, make something up to protect your sacred
something up to protect your sacred text. Many, or most, Muslim apologists
text. Many, or most, Muslim apologists choose option two. And what followed was
choose option two. And what followed was centuries of increasingly desperate
centuries of increasingly desperate intellectual gymnastics. I'm sure there
intellectual gymnastics. I'm sure there were other reasons for coming up with
were other reasons for coming up with different identifications, but to
different identifications, but to pretend finding out the real history of
pretend finding out the real history of Alexander didn't play a role, I think
Alexander didn't play a role, I think it's outright dishonest.
it's outright dishonest. Demolishing the apologetic defenses one
Demolishing the apologetic defenses one by one.
by one. Let's systematically dismantle some
Let's systematically dismantle some major apologetic strategies that have
major apologetic strategies that have been invented to avoid the obvious
been invented to avoid the obvious conclusion.
conclusion. Apologetic defense one. There were two
Apologetic defense one. There were two Alexanders. This is one of the boldest
Alexanders. This is one of the boldest apologetic inventions pushed in [music]
apologetic inventions pushed in [music] works like Mui Muhammad Shafi's Maharif
works like Mui Muhammad Shafi's Maharif El Kuran. The claim goes like this.
El Kuran. The claim goes like this. There weren't just one but two different
There weren't just one but two different Alexanders. The bad one is the
Alexanders. The bad one is the Macedonian pagan we all know from
Macedonian pagan we all know from history, son of Philip, student of
history, son of Philip, student of Aristotle, conqueror [music] of Persia.
Aristotle, conqueror [music] of Persia. But supposedly there was also another
But supposedly there was also another earlier righteous Alexander who lived
earlier righteous Alexander who lived 2,000 years before Christ. prayed to
2,000 years before Christ. prayed to Allah, met Abraham at the Cabba, had
Allah, met Abraham at the Cabba, had Kadir as his vizier, and ruled [music]
Kadir as his vizier, and ruled [music] as a faithful monotheist.
as a faithful monotheist. Reality check, ladies and gentlemen.
Reality check, ladies and gentlemen. There is zero evidence for this. None.
There is zero evidence for this. None. No inscription, no coin, no record in
No inscription, no coin, no record in Greek, Roman, Persian, Jewish, or
Greek, Roman, Persian, Jewish, or Christian sources ever mentions a second
Christian sources ever mentions a second Alexander. Every culture that knew him
Alexander. Every culture that knew him knew one Alexander, the Macedonian
knew one Alexander, the Macedonian conqueror. The Greeks knew Alexander,
conqueror. The Greeks knew Alexander, son of Philip of Macedon. The Persians
son of Philip of Macedon. The Persians knew Alexander, the destroyer of Poplos.
knew Alexander, the destroyer of Poplos. The Jews knew Alexander, the Greek king
The Jews knew Alexander, the Greek king who visited Jerusalem. The Syriak
who visited Jerusalem. The Syriak Christians knew Alexander, hero of their
Christians knew Alexander, hero of their apocalyptic legends. The Romans knew
apocalyptic legends. The Romans knew Alexander, the king they measured
Alexander, the king they measured themselves against. Not one culture
themselves against. Not one culture hints at an earlier holy Alexander.
hints at an earlier holy Alexander. This apologetic is basically like saying
This apologetic is basically like saying actually there were two Julius Caesars.
actually there were two Julius Caesars. One the dictator who crossed the Rubicon
One the dictator who crossed the Rubicon and another much earlier righteous
and another much earlier righteous Julius Caesar. Yeah, that's right. Who
Julius Caesar. Yeah, that's right. Who lived in Abraham's time, went on
lived in Abraham's time, went on pilgrimage to Mecca and secretly
pilgrimage to Mecca and secretly worshiped one God.
worshiped one God. That's how absurd this sounds. It's a
That's how absurd this sounds. It's a desperate attempt to conjure a second
desperate attempt to conjure a second figure out of thin air simply to protect
figure out of thin air simply to protect the Quran from the embarrassment of
the Quran from the embarrassment of having its righteous two-horned one
having its righteous two-horned one identified with a very pagan Greek king.
identified with a very pagan Greek king. So the verdict on that is pure
So the verdict on that is pure fabrication, a theological invention,
fabrication, a theological invention, not history. Apologetic defense number
not history. Apologetic defense number two. Historical blunders expose the lie.
two. Historical blunders expose the lie. But it gets worse. The Islamic sources
But it gets worse. The Islamic sources promoting the righteous Alexander theory
promoting the righteous Alexander theory are riddled with historical errors that
are riddled with historical errors that prove they're working from folklore and
prove they're working from folklore and not facts. Mui Muhammad Shafi's claim
not facts. Mui Muhammad Shafi's claim Alexander was a fire worshipping
Alexander was a fire worshipping polytheist. This is false. Alexander was
polytheist. This is false. Alexander was a Greek polytheist devoted to Zeus,
a Greek polytheist devoted to Zeus, Dionis, and Egyptian almond. Fire
Dionis, and Egyptian almond. Fire worship is Zoroastrian. That's the
worship is Zoroastrian. That's the [music] Persians. This error confuses
[music] Persians. This error confuses Alexander with the very people he
Alexander with the very people he conquered. Alexander's destruction of
conquered. Alexander's destruction of Zoroastrian temples suggest hostility or
Zoroastrian temples suggest hostility or conquest of that religion, not
conquest of that religion, not conversion to it or worship of its
conversion to it or worship of its fires. Historically, his actions make
fires. Historically, his actions make sense of the view that he was promoting
sense of the view that he was promoting his own religious political identity and
his own religious political identity and eliminating rivals like Zoroastrianism.
eliminating rivals like Zoroastrianism. Mu's claim, the Roman calendar begins
Mu's claim, the Roman calendar begins with Alexander. That's incorrect. The
with Alexander. That's incorrect. The Roman calendar dates from 753 B.CE, 4
Roman calendar dates from 753 B.CE, 4 centuries before Alexander was born.
centuries before Alexander was born. This is laughably false. Any classicist
This is laughably false. Any classicist of the Roman world would spit their
of the Roman world would spit their drink out at such a claim. Another one
drink out at such a claim. Another one of Mu's claim. Aristotle was Alexander's
of Mu's claim. Aristotle was Alexander's minister. In reality, Aristotle was
minister. In reality, Aristotle was Alexander's childhood tutor in
Alexander's childhood tutor in Macedonia. He never served as a vizier
Macedonia. He never served as a vizier or minister in Alexander's empire. This
or minister in Alexander's empire. This confusion comes from legendary
confusion comes from legendary embellishments in the romance much
embellishments in the romance much later, not history. Multi's claim
later, not history. Multi's claim Alexander killed Darius. Nope. Darius
Alexander killed Darius. Nope. Darius III was betrayed and murdered by Bessus,
III was betrayed and murdered by Bessus, one of his own sat traps. Alexander
one of his own sat traps. Alexander actually gave Darius a royal burial.
actually gave Darius a royal burial. Getting this basic fact wrong shows
Getting this basic fact wrong shows total historical ignorance. Not to say
total historical ignorance. Not to say Alexander wouldn't have killed him, but
Alexander wouldn't have killed him, but he factually didn't do it. These aren't
he factually didn't do it. These aren't minor mistakes. These are fundamental
minor mistakes. These are fundamental errors that prove the Islamic sources
errors that prove the Islamic sources are repeating folklore and legend, not
are repeating folklore and legend, not historical facts. Modern apologists are
historical facts. Modern apologists are just repeating them today. Apologetic
just repeating them today. Apologetic defense 3 fabricated genealogies.
defense 3 fabricated genealogies. Iben Cathir cited approvingly by modern
Iben Cathir cited approvingly by modern apologists preserves a genealogy tracing
apologists preserves a genealogy tracing Alexander back through Rome, Greece, and
Alexander back through Rome, Greece, and all the way to Isaac, son of Abraham.
all the way to Isaac, son of Abraham. You got that right. Here's the genealogy
You got that right. Here's the genealogy Iben Cathir quoting Iben Aakir gives
Iben Cathir quoting Iben Aakir gives broken down into plain English so it's
broken down into plain English so it's easy to follow. Technically Alexander
easy to follow. Technically Alexander the Great the Macedonian son of Philip
the Great the Macedonian son of Philip is said to be the second dualcarname.
is said to be the second dualcarname. His ancestry is traced backward through
His ancestry is traced backward through a long list of semi-leendary names. Iben
a long list of semi-leendary names. Iben Cathe reports it as Alexander Iscander,
Cathe reports it as Alexander Iscander, son of Philip, son of Mudrin, son of
son of Philip, son of Mudrin, son of Hermes, son son of Hardis, son of
Hermes, son son of Hardis, son of Mitten, son of Roomie, son of Lanti, son
Mitten, son of Roomie, son of Lanti, son of Eunan, Greek ion, son of Japheth, one
of Eunan, Greek ion, son of Japheth, one of Noah's sons. son of Nuna, son of
of Noah's sons. son of Nuna, son of Saram, son of Ruma, son of Thornet, son
Saram, son of Ruma, son of Thornet, son of Taffil, son of Roomie, son of Alasar,
of Taffil, son of Roomie, son of Alasar, son of Elephas or Elifas, son of Esau,
son of Elephas or Elifas, son of Esau, East, son of Isaac, Ishach, son of
East, son of Isaac, Ishach, son of Abraham, Ibraham, Al Khalil. So
Abraham, Ibraham, Al Khalil. So basically, this genealogy tries to graft
basically, this genealogy tries to graft Alexander directly into the biblical
Alexander directly into the biblical family trees, making him a descendant of
family trees, making him a descendant of Esau, Isaac, and Abraham. In simple
Esau, Isaac, and Abraham. In simple terms, Iban Ca saying Alexander wasn't
terms, Iban Ca saying Alexander wasn't just a Greek king but part of the
just a Greek king but part of the Abrahamic line related to the patriarchs
Abrahamic line related to the patriarchs of Judaism and Islam.
of Judaism and Islam. It's a classic example of Islamic legend
It's a classic example of Islamic legend making where historical figures are
making where historical figures are adopted into a biblical genealogy to
adopted into a biblical genealogy to make them fit the Quran's framework.
make them fit the Quran's framework. Historically, of course, Alexander was
Historically, of course, Alexander was Macedonian, the son of Philip II and not
Macedonian, the son of Philip II and not related to Abraham at all. And we know
related to Abraham at all. And we know Alexander's lineage. He was from the
Alexander's lineage. He was from the Arjad dynasty of Macedon. This genealogy
Arjad dynasty of Macedon. This genealogy is pure fabrication, a retroactive
is pure fabrication, a retroactive insertion designed to make a Greek pagan
insertion designed to make a Greek pagan king seem connected to biblical history.
king seem connected to biblical history. Similarly, stories that Alexander
Similarly, stories that Alexander performed Haj with Abraham or that
performed Haj with Abraham or that Kiddier was his vision are late
Kiddier was his vision are late embellishments. looking backwards,
embellishments. looking backwards, forcing Alexander into a biblical
forcing Alexander into a biblical framework he never belonged to.
framework he never belonged to. Apologetic defense for the Cyrus
Apologetic defense for the Cyrus substitution.
substitution. Maybe Darnain wasn't Alexander at all.
Maybe Darnain wasn't Alexander at all. Maybe it was Cyrus the Great of Persia
Maybe it was Cyrus the Great of Persia all along, says Muslim apologist. The
all along, says Muslim apologist. The logic. Cyrus was praised in the Bible,
logic. Cyrus was praised in the Bible, Isaiah 45, as God's anointed and
Isaiah 45, as God's anointed and liberator of the Jews. He was a
liberator of the Jews. He was a relatively righteous ruler. Surely, he's
relatively righteous ruler. Surely, he's a better fit than Pagan Alexander.
a better fit than Pagan Alexander. Problem number one, Cyrus was never
Problem number one, Cyrus was never depicted with horns in any ancient
depicted with horns in any ancient source. The two-horned epithet obviously
source. The two-horned epithet obviously belongs to Alexander. Get me all those
belongs to Alexander. Get me all those Cyrus sources or ancient depictions with
Cyrus sources or ancient depictions with him wearing two horns. Problem two,
him wearing two horns. Problem two, Cyrus built no iron wall against Gog and
Cyrus built no iron wall against Gog and Magog. That entire legend is tied to
Magog. That entire legend is tied to Alexander, not Cyrus. Problem three, the
Alexander, not Cyrus. Problem three, the Syriak Alexander legend. The specific
Syriak Alexander legend. The specific text that supplies the Quran story is
text that supplies the Quran story is about Alexander, not Cyrus. Problem
about Alexander, not Cyrus. Problem four.
four. For 1,000 plus years, Muslim scholars
For 1,000 plus years, Muslim scholars broadly identified this figure as
broadly identified this figure as Alexander, but they and others also
Alexander, but they and others also entertained qualifications,
entertained qualifications, alternate opinions, or recognized
alternate opinions, or recognized theological difficulties. The Cyrus
theological difficulties. The Cyrus hypothesis has become more popular in
hypothesis has become more popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, especially
the 19th and 20th centuries, especially in Muslim revivalist and apologetic
in Muslim revivalist and apologetic context. Even Madudi himself had to
context. Even Madudi himself had to admit historical facts are not
admit historical facts are not sufficient to make any categorical
sufficient to make any categorical assertion about Cyrus. Translation: We
assertion about Cyrus. Translation: We have no evidence, but we prefer this
have no evidence, but we prefer this theory anyway.
theory anyway. Apologetic defense number five,
Apologetic defense number five, dismissing the real sources as Israel. A
dismissing the real sources as Israel. A common apologetic strategy is to wave
common apologetic strategy is to wave away the Jewish, Christian, and
away the Jewish, Christian, and historical sources as unreliable
historical sources as unreliable Israeli, Jewish stories that shouldn't
Israeli, Jewish stories that shouldn't be trusted. But here's the devastating
be trusted. But here's the devastating irony. Those Jewish and Christian
irony. Those Jewish and Christian stories are precisely the sources the
stories are precisely the sources the Quran drew from. The motifs in Surah 18
Quran drew from. The motifs in Surah 18 don't line up with Cyrus or with some
don't line up with Cyrus or with some unknown Yemen king or with any
unknown Yemen king or with any mysterious lost prophet. They line up
mysterious lost prophet. They line up perfectly with the Alexander Romance, a
perfectly with the Alexander Romance, a legendary cycle that had been translated
legendary cycle that had been translated into Syriak and adapted by Jewish and
into Syriak and adapted by Jewish and Christian writers centuries before
Christian writers centuries before Islam. Alexander journeys to the ends of
Islam. Alexander journeys to the ends of the earth where the sun sets in a muddy
the earth where the sun sets in a muddy spring. He builds a gate of iron and
spring. He builds a gate of iron and brass against Gog and Magog. He seeks
brass against Gog and Magog. He seeks the water of life accompanied by a
the water of life accompanied by a servant who discovers it when a fish
servant who discovers it when a fish comes back to life.
comes back to life. These are not coronic innovations. They
These are not coronic innovations. They are direct borrowings from the romance
are direct borrowings from the romance itself, indebted to earlier Mesopotamian
itself, indebted to earlier Mesopotamian epics like Gilgamesh and Atana. So,
epics like Gilgamesh and Atana. So, let's be clear. You can't dismiss the
let's be clear. You can't dismiss the Jewish and Christian sources as
Jewish and Christian sources as unreliable while simultaneously claiming
unreliable while simultaneously claiming the Quran's version is original or
the Quran's version is original or correct when the Quran is clearly using
correct when the Quran is clearly using those same sources.
those same sources. This is honestly wild. I hear Muslims
This is honestly wild. I hear Muslims constantly claim they have the real
constantly claim they have the real version of scriptures. When you ask for
version of scriptures. When you ask for evidence of these earlier, more accurate
evidence of these earlier, more accurate sources, they don't show any evidence
sources, they don't show any evidence and don't see the problem. It's
and don't see the problem. It's ludicrous.
ludicrous. Apologetic defense number six. The Jews
Apologetic defense number six. The Jews were satisfied.
were satisfied. Another rhetorical move claims that when
Another rhetorical move claims that when the Jews posed the question about durain
the Jews posed the question about durain to Muhammad, his answer satisfied them,
to Muhammad, his answer satisfied them, proving it was correct. Problem? No
proving it was correct. Problem? No evidence is given for this claim. It's
evidence is given for this claim. It's merely asserted to close off inquiry. In
merely asserted to close off inquiry. In reality, Jewish traditions about
reality, Jewish traditions about Alexander were complex, often satirical
Alexander were complex, often satirical or moralizing, sometimes even critical.
or moralizing, sometimes even critical. We even read one earlier from the
We even read one earlier from the Talmud. Remember when I read it with a
Talmud. Remember when I read it with a negative view of Alexander? The idea
negative view of Alexander? The idea that the rabbis would be satisfied with
that the rabbis would be satisfied with the retelling that matched their own
the retelling that matched their own legends is circular reasoning. For all
legends is circular reasoning. For all we know, they could have been laughing
we know, they could have been laughing at this so-called prophet for reciting a
at this so-called prophet for reciting a Christian legend of a recycled pagan
Christian legend of a recycled pagan polytheistic king. All we have are the
polytheistic king. All we have are the Muslim sources saying, "Trust me, bro."
Muslim sources saying, "Trust me, bro." And apologist, trust the hell out of it.
And apologist, trust the hell out of it. How do I know the story of Jews asking
How do I know the story of Jews asking the three questions isn't legend itself?
the three questions isn't legend itself? Just saying, guys. Apologetic defense
Just saying, guys. Apologetic defense number seven, inventing new identities.
number seven, inventing new identities. When Alexander became problematic and
When Alexander became problematic and Cyrus didn't work, apologists started
Cyrus didn't work, apologists started throwing out random alternatives. Maybe
throwing out random alternatives. Maybe it was an ancient Yemen king. No
it was an ancient Yemen king. No evidence. Maybe it was a himarite ruler.
evidence. Maybe it was a himarite ruler. Doesn't [music] fit the details. Maybe
Doesn't [music] fit the details. Maybe it's just symbolic. Then why the
it's just symbolic. Then why the specific details? Each new theory gets
specific details? Each new theory gets proposed, debunked, and replaced with
proposed, debunked, and replaced with another equally baseless speculation.
another equally baseless speculation. Notice the pattern of modern apologist.
Notice the pattern of modern apologist. The goal isn't to follow the evidence
The goal isn't to follow the evidence wherever it leads. The goal is to find
wherever it leads. The goal is to find any alternative to the obvious
any alternative to the obvious conclusion that the Quran borrowed from
conclusion that the Quran borrowed from pagan Alexander legends. You see, one of
pagan Alexander legends. You see, one of the most fascinating and frustrating
the most fascinating and frustrating features of religious text is what
features of religious text is what happens when they leave the door wide
happens when they leave the door wide open. The Quran introduces Duro Carnain,
open. The Quran introduces Duro Carnain, the two-horned one in Surah 18, but it
the two-horned one in Surah 18, but it never tells us who he actually was. No
never tells us who he actually was. No name, no genealogy, just fragments of a
name, no genealogy, just fragments of a legendary journey. And what happens when
legendary journey. And what happens when human beings encounter a mystery in a
human beings encounter a mystery in a sacred book? They can't leave it alone.
sacred book? They can't leave it alone. They fill in the blanks. Muslim
They fill in the blanks. Muslim commentators across the centuries did
commentators across the centuries did exactly this. Most said he was Alexander
exactly this. Most said he was Alexander the Great, and they were spot on. Others
the Great, and they were spot on. Others insisted he was Cyrus of Persia. Some
insisted he was Cyrus of Persia. Some made him a prophet, others a messenger,
made him a prophet, others a messenger, others a righteous king, and a few even
others a righteous king, and a few even imagined him as a supernatural being
imagined him as a supernatural being with angelic qualities. To explain his
with angelic qualities. To explain his horns, traditions sprang up. copper
horns, traditions sprang up. copper horns, two braids of hair, two realms of
horns, two braids of hair, two realms of rule, even being struck twice on the
rule, even being struck twice on the head and resurrected. None of these
head and resurrected. None of these explanations are in the Quran. They're
explanations are in the Quran. They're human inventions trying to patch the
human inventions trying to patch the silence. You literally have to go
silence. You literally have to go outside of the Quran to find out who he
outside of the Quran to find out who he was. The Syriak Alexander legend is the
was. The Syriak Alexander legend is the key.
key. Let's step back and look at what the
Let's step back and look at what the actual evidence shows. Outside the
actual evidence shows. Outside the apologetic circle, we have Gilgamesh
apologetic circle, we have Gilgamesh 2100 B.CE. Quest for immortality, plant
2100 B.CE. Quest for immortality, plant stolen by serpent, journey through
stolen by serpent, journey through darkness. Itana eagle carries king
darkness. Itana eagle carries king heavenward earth shrinks below.
heavenward earth shrinks below. Alexander romance 3rd to fifth century
Alexander romance 3rd to fifth century of the common era. Two-horned king iron
of the common era. Two-horned king iron gates against Gog and Magog. Life-giving
gates against Gog and Magog. Life-giving spring servant reviving fish journeys to
spring servant reviving fish journeys to sunset and sunrise. Syriak legend 530 to
sunset and sunrise. Syriak legend 530 to 565 of the common era Christian
565 of the common era Christian adaptation of Alexander with apocalyptic
adaptation of Alexander with apocalyptic themes. Quran [music] 18 dulcarnain the
themes. Quran [music] 18 dulcarnain the two-horned one travels to the ends of
two-horned one travels to the ends of the earth builds barrier. This is a
the earth builds barrier. This is a literary chain. Mesopotamian epic,
literary chain. Mesopotamian epic, Hellenistic legend, Jewish Christian
Hellenistic legend, Jewish Christian adaptation, Syriak Alexander lore,
adaptation, Syriak Alexander lore, Quran. Every apologetic maneuver from
Quran. Every apologetic maneuver from two Alexanders to Cyrus, from fabricated
two Alexanders to Cyrus, from fabricated genealogies to miracle pilgrimages is
genealogies to miracle pilgrimages is transparent once you set it against the
transparent once you set it against the actual historical record.
What the evidence actually proves. Let's be absolutely clear about what
Let's be absolutely clear about what we've established. One, the Alexander
we've established. One, the Alexander legend predates Islam by centuries.
legend predates Islam by centuries. Josephus, the first century Jewish
Josephus, the first century Jewish historian, mentions Alexander the Great,
historian, mentions Alexander the Great, shut up the iron gates from the Nation
shut up the iron gates from the Nation of the Allens, also known as Cythian
of the Allens, also known as Cythian tribe, Jewish Wars book 7, chapter 7.4.
tribe, Jewish Wars book 7, chapter 7.4. He also relates a known Jewish legend of
He also relates a known Jewish legend of Alexander the Great visiting Jerusalem
Alexander the Great visiting Jerusalem and conveys that he owes everything to
and conveys that he owes everything to the God of the Jews, Jewish antiquities.
the God of the Jews, Jewish antiquities. You see the source multiple versions of
You see the source multiple versions of the legend existed in Greek, Latin,
the legend existed in Greek, Latin, Syriak, and Persian before the 7th
Syriak, and Persian before the 7th century. This was a well-known story
century. This was a well-known story throughout the near east. Two, the
throughout the near east. Two, the Quranic version matches the Syriak
Quranic version matches the Syriak version with impossible
version with impossible specificity.
specificity. Not just general themes, exact details.
Not just general themes, exact details. The two-horned epithet, the journey to
The two-horned epithet, the journey to sunset, sunrise, the iron and brass
sunset, sunrise, the iron and brass wall, the Gog and Magog connection, the
wall, the Gog and Magog connection, the end times prophecy. These are literary
end times prophecy. These are literary fingerprints. Dr. Tomaso Tessa has made
fingerprints. Dr. Tomaso Tessa has made a solid case. Three, early Muslims
a solid case. Three, early Muslims recognized it as Alexander. For over a
recognized it as Alexander. For over a millennium, many Muslim scholars, I'd
millennium, many Muslim scholars, I'd say most, identified Doc Cararnain as
say most, identified Doc Cararnain as Alexander.
Alexander. Four, every alternative explanation
Four, every alternative explanation fails. Cyrus has no connection to the
fails. Cyrus has no connection to the story elements. The its historical claim
story elements. The its historical claim contradicts archaeology and the text's
contradicts archaeology and the text's mythical geography. The parable defense
mythical geography. The parable defense contradicts the text's own framing. Dr.
contradicts the text's own framing. Dr. Kevin Van Blladell summarizes the
Kevin Van Blladell summarizes the Quranic version retells the story
Quranic version retells the story reflecting the interest of Muhammad's
reflecting the interest of Muhammad's community [music]
community [music] removing pro- Byzantine components from
removing pro- Byzantine components from the Syriak source. Dr. Tomasu Tessa
the Syriak source. Dr. Tomasu Tessa calls it the only case of a Quranic
calls it the only case of a Quranic passage traceable to a specific
passage traceable to a specific contemporary source. The scholarly
contemporary source. The scholarly consensus is overwhelming. The
consensus is overwhelming. The historical evidence is conclusive. The
historical evidence is conclusive. The Quran story of Duro Cararnain is a
Quran story of Duro Cararnain is a retelling of the Syriak Alexander
retelling of the Syriak Alexander legend. We've traced the journey, a
legend. We've traced the journey, a Macedonian conqueror turned Christian
Macedonian conqueror turned Christian allegory finally recast in the Quran as
allegory finally recast in the Quran as Duo Cararnain and the evidence is
Duo Cararnain and the evidence is overwhelming. This isn't divine
overwhelming. This isn't divine dictation. It's the Alexander romance
dictation. It's the Alexander romance dressed in Islamic garb. For centuries,
dressed in Islamic garb. For centuries, Muslims themselves openly identified him
Muslims themselves openly identified him as Alexander. Only later when history
as Alexander. Only later when history reminded us Alexander was a pagan son of
reminded us Alexander was a pagan son of Zeus Almond did the panic set in.
Zeus Almond did the panic set in. Suddenly there were two Alexanders or
Suddenly there were two Alexanders or maybe Cyrus or some forgotten Yemen
maybe Cyrus or some forgotten Yemen king. Anything but the obvious. That's
king. Anything but the obvious. That's not revelation. That's that's called
not revelation. That's that's called freaking scrambling. The illiteracy
freaking scrambling. The illiteracy defense. It collapses. These stories
defense. It collapses. These stories were oral, retold across the markets of
were oral, retold across the markets of Arabia. The Quran itself admits Jews and
Arabia. The Quran itself admits Jews and Christians were asking Muhammad about
Christians were asking Muhammad about them. Unless the next apologetic move is
them. Unless the next apologetic move is that the prophet was deaf and blind, the
that the prophet was deaf and blind, the excuse won't hold. And this isn't an
excuse won't hold. And this isn't an isolated slip. The seven sleepers,
isolated slip. The seven sleepers, Jewish midrash, apocryphal gospels,
Jewish midrash, apocryphal gospels, Zoroastrian legends, they all found
Zoroastrian legends, they all found their way into the Quran. It isn't the
their way into the Quran. It isn't the voice of a god breaking into history,
voice of a god breaking into history, but the voice of 7th century Arabia
but the voice of 7th century Arabia remixing the folklore of its time.
remixing the folklore of its time. Here's the tragedy. Desperate
Here's the tragedy. Desperate apologetics stripped the Quran of its
apologetics stripped the Quran of its real significance as a human text. It's
real significance as a human text. It's fascinating. Muhammad took the stories
fascinating. Muhammad took the stories around him, reshaped them, and gave them
around him, reshaped them, and gave them new meaning for his community. That's
new meaning for his community. That's impressive. But pretending it dropped
impressive. But pretending it dropped untouched from heaven demands terrible
untouched from heaven demands terrible history and intellectual gymnastics.
history and intellectual gymnastics. The wall of Gog and Magog was never
The wall of Gog and Magog was never real. The only wall is the one between
real. The only wall is the one between believers and historical truth. Tear it
believers and historical truth. Tear it down and the Quran becomes what it truly
down and the Quran becomes what it truly is. Not the perfect word of God, but
is. Not the perfect word of God, but part of humanity's eternal struggle to
part of humanity's eternal struggle to wrestle meaning out of chaos. The story
wrestle meaning out of chaos. The story of Dor Cararnain is beautiful, not
of Dor Cararnain is beautiful, not because Gabriel whispered it in a cave,
because Gabriel whispered it in a cave, but because humans told it and retold
but because humans told it and retold it, reshaping it across cultures and
it, reshaping it across cultures and centuries. That's the real miracle.
centuries. That's the real miracle. Not divine dictation, but human
Not divine dictation, but human creativity. The legend has been traced,
creativity. The legend has been traced, the evidence is clear, and the gates are
the evidence is clear, and the gates are open. [music]
open. [music] What you do with that knowledge, that's
What you do with that knowledge, that's your choice. Oh, and before I close the
your choice. Oh, and before I close the door on this episode, if someone tries
door on this episode, if someone tries to die on the hill that the Quran didn't
to die on the hill that the Quran didn't borrow from the Syriak Alexander legend,
borrow from the Syriak Alexander legend, the fact that this legend was so viral
the fact that this legend was so viral all over the world prior to the Quran.
all over the world prior to the Quran. The elements that overlap in this
The elements that overlap in this assessment leave the conclusion
assessment leave the conclusion undeniable that this is rifting off the
undeniable that this is rifting off the same genre in legend. Also, the
same genre in legend. Also, the direction of influence would have
direction of influence would have clearly been from the more dominant
clearly been from the more dominant cultures or empires of the day [music]
cultures or empires of the day [music] into Arabia and not the other way
into Arabia and not the other way around. I ask everyone watching to
around. I ask everyone watching to please take the time to subscribe and
please take the time to subscribe and check that bell so you get notified
check that bell so you get notified every time we release a new video.
every time we release a new video. Consider helping us produce these videos
Consider helping us produce these videos by joining the Patreon. Links are in the
by joining the Patreon. Links are in the description below. Our next episode will
description below. Our next episode will deal with Moses and Kadir. We plan to do
deal with Moses and Kadir. We plan to do an entire series on the human origins of
an entire series on the human origins of the Quran. Stay tuned and never forget
the Quran. Stay tuned and never forget we
we are
are Myth Vision.
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