CYRUS THE GREAT IN THE QURAN

Cyrus the Great in the Quran is a theory that holds that the character of Dhul-Qarnayn, mentioned in
the Quran, should be identified with Cyrus the Great, or at least he is a better fit than the other proposed
figures.

Dhul-Qarnayn (Arabic for "the two-horned") is mentioned in the Quran. The story of Dhul-Qarnayn appears in
sixteen verses of the Quran, specifically the 16 verses 18:83-98 (Al Kahf).
There is extensive ongoing debate on who exactly was the historical character of Dhul-Qarnayn, with various
historical, mythical, and sacred figures being proposed. The most popular identification, especially by classical
Quran commentators, has been with Alexander the Great.[1]
In recent years, alternative theories supporting other explanations have become dominant. The most
prominent of these is the theory that Dhul-Qarnayn was Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Persian
Empire.[2][3][4] This theory was first proposed by Indian scholar Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and was later
endorsed by many Sunni and Shia scholars and commentators including Israr Ahmed, Maududi, Javed Ahmed
Ghamidi, Allameh Tabatabaei (in Tafsir al-Mizan),[5], Naser Makarem Shirazi (et al., in Tafsir
[6] [7] [8]
Nemooneh), Muhammad Ali, among others.

Contents

Analysis

o 1.1The characteristics of Dhul-Qarnain in the Quran

o 1.2The characteristics of Cyrus the Great
o 1.3Journey towards the West
o 1.4Journey towards the East
o 1.5Journey towards the North/Gog and Magog
o 1.6Wall of Cyrus to protect from Gog & Mogog
o 1.7Further indications

Analysis[edit]
Abul Ala Maududi, a 20th-century Quran commentator, writes in his Tafsir[9] that the identification of Dhul-
Qarnain has been a controversial topic among Islamic scholars from the earliest times. Generally,
commentators have been of the opinion that Dhul-Qarnayn is actually Alexander the Great. However, some
characteristics of Dhul-Qarnain described in the Quran, it has been argued, are not applicable to the historical
Alexander. The fact that the Alexander-as-Dhul-Qarnain theory actually refers to the semi-mythical Alexander
described in the Alexander Romance makes the connection even more problematic for some Islamic scholars.
In recent years some commentators are inclined to believe that Dhul-Qarnain was actually Cyrus The Great, an
ancient king of Achaemenid Persia.
The characteristics of Dhul-Qarnain in the Quran[edit]
The characteristics of Dhul-Qarnain in the light of his story as given in the Quran are as follows:
1
 (1) The title Dhul-Qarnain ("The Two-Horned") should have been quite familiar to the Jews, for it was
at their instigation that the disbelievers of Mecca put this question to Muhammad.
According to Maududi's commentary on Surah 18 states:
This Surah was sent down in answer to the three questions which the mushriks of Makkah, in
consultation with the people of the Book, had put to the Holy Prophet in order to test him. These
were: (1) Who were "the Sleepers of the Cave"? (2) What is the real story of Khidr? and (3) What do
you know about Dhul-Qarnain? As these three questions and the stories involved concerned the
history of the Christians and the Jews, and were unknown in Hijaz, a choice of these was made to test
whether the Holy Prophet possessed any source of the knowledge of the hidden and unseen things.
Allah, however, not only gave a complete answer to their questions but also employed the three
stories to the disadvantage of the opponents of Islam in the conflict that was going on at that time at
Makkah between Islam and un-belief.[1]
Therefore, one must investigate the Judaic literature and oral tradition available to Jews at the time of
Muhammad in order to learn the identity of the person known as "The Two-Horned".
(2) Dhul-Qarnayn must have been a great ruler and conqueror whose conquests might have spread from
the East to the West and then to the North or the South. Before the revelation of the Quran in 609CE,
there were several historical figures who were known to have been conquerors of such caliber.
(3) This title should be applicable to such a ruler who constructed a strong wall across a mountain pass to
protect his kingdom from the incursions of tribes or nations associated with Gog and Magog. In order to
investigate this, one must determine the identity of Gog and Magog. One must also consider where and
when such a wall was built, if at all, and by whom.
(4) Besides possessing the aforementioned characteristics, he should also be a mono-theist and a just
ruler, since the Quran has stressed these characteristics more than anything else in the quoted passages.
The characteristics of Cyrus the Great[edit]
(1) The first of these characteristics may be applicable to Cyrus. The Prophet Daniel, in the Biblical account,
saw a vision that the united kingdom of Media and Persia was like a two-horned ram before the rise of the
Greeks.
The Book of Daniel Chapter 8 says:
"2 In the vision I was looking and saw myself in Susa the capital, in the province of Elam, and I was by
the river Ulai. 3 I looked up and saw a ram standing beside the river. It had two horns. Both horns were
long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one came up second. 4 I saw the ram charging
westward and northward and southward. All beasts were powerless to withstand it, and no one could
rescue from its power; it did as it pleased and became strong. 5 As I was watching, a male goat
appeared from the west, coming across the face of the whole earth without touching the ground. The
goat had a horn between its eyes. 6 It came toward the ram with the two horns that I had seen
standing beside the river, and it ran at it with savage force."
The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible gives the following interpretation from Gabriel: "As for
the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia."

2
 A "two horned" Elamite figure wrestling with serpents.

The relief of Cyrus the Great near his tomb in Pasargadae, former capital of the Persian Empire.
The two horns have been related to the name "Dhul-Qarnayn".

Furthermore, two horns and two horned symbolism was not an unknown emblem of the kingdoms of
Persia and its predecessors, for we see that Elamite kings used this symbol routinely in their insignia.
The Jews had a very high opinion of Cyrus the Great, because it was his invasion which brought about
the downfall of the kingdom of Babylon and the liberation of the Israelites.
(2) The second characteristic is applicable to Cyrus to a great extent but not completely. Though his
conquests spread to Syria and Asia Minor in the West and to Bākhtar (Balkh) in the East, there is no
trace of any of his great expeditions to the North or to the South, whereas the Quran makes an explicit
mention of his third expedition. However some historians do verify the probability of such a voyage.
Nevertheless, this third expedition is not completely out of question for history tells us that Cyrus'
kingdom extended to Caucasia in the North.
(3) As regards Gog and Magog, it has been established that they were the wild tribes of Central Asia
who were known by different names: Scythians, Parthians, Tartars, Mongols, and Huns, who had been
making incursions on various kingdoms and empires from very ancient times. It is also known that
strong bulwarks had been built in southern regions of Caucasia, though it has yet to be determined
historically whether these were built by Cyrus.
(4) As regards the third characteristic, Cyrus is the only known conqueror among the ancient rulers, to
whom this may be applicable, for even his enemies have been full of praise for him for his justice,
and, Ezra, asserts that he was a God-worshiper and a God-fearing king who set free the Israelites
because of his God-worship, and ordered that the Temple of Solomon be rebuilt for the worship of
God.
Thus in the light of the above, it is possible to conclude that of all the historical conquerors who had
died before the revelation of the Quran, Cyrus alone is the one to whom the characteristics of "Dhul-
Qarnain" are most applicable. There is no other historical conquerors to whom the characteristics
stated in the Quran are as much applicable as to Cyrus.

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The historical Cyrus was a Persian ruler whose rise began about 549 BCE. Within a few years he had
conquered the kingdoms of Media and Lydia; by 539 BCE he had conquered Babylon. There was no
powerful kingdom left to oppose him. His conquests extended eastward to Turkistan; westward
to Ionia; northward to Caucasia—covering, in fact, much of the known civilized world.

Journey towards the West[edit]

The Achaemenid Empire after Cyrus's conquests.

According to Ibn Kathir, it means that he followed a route to the West of the earth until he reached
the last boundary of the land, beyond which there was ocean. Verse 18:86 says: "He found it setting in
a muddy spring" (Pickthall). If Dhul-Qarnain was Cyrus, then that place would be the western limit
of Asia Minor and the "muddy spring" (or "warm spring" according to some hadiths [10]) would be
the Aegean Sea. The word "`ain" in Quran verse 18:86 means spring or source of water from the
ground, as in other verses according to Lane's Lexicon:
The place [or aperture] whence the water of a ‫[ َق َناة‬i.e. pipe or the like,] pours forth : (K, TA:) as being
likened to the organ [of sight] because of the water that is in it. (TA.) And, (K, TA,) for the same reason,
(TA,) ‡ The place whence issues the water of a well. (TA.) And, (S, Msb, K, &c.,) for the same reason, as
is said by Er-Rághib, (TA,) ‡ The ‫( َعيْن‬S, Msb,) or source, or spring, (K, TA,) of water, (S, Wsb, K, TA,) that
wells forth from the earth, or ground, and runs : (TA: [and accord. To the Msb, it app. Signifies a
running spring:] of the fem. gender[11]
The word "bahr" (not used in this verse) means sea or large body of water [12] and appears in many
other verses in the Quran to mean sea.
Journey towards the East[edit]
That is, when he advanced towards the East in Babylon, the people, who had no shelter were the
captured tribes of Israel. The reason the Quran mentions no more on the topic is because the
whole epic is written in the Book of Kings, of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). [citation needed] The Quran
simply says at 18:90, "To the extent that when he reached the rising-place of the sun, he found it
rising upon a nation for which We had not kept any shelter from it."[13]
Journey towards the North/Gog and Magog[edit]
The "two mountains" must have been parts of that mountain range which runs between
the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. This must be, for beyond them was the territory of Gog and
Magog. "It was difficult to communicate with them: their language was almost foreign to Dhul-
Qarnain and his companions, and, as they were quite barbaric, none could understand their
language, nor were they acquainted with any foreign language."

4
 As has already been pointed out, Gog and Magog were the wild tribes of North Eastern Asia which,
from the very early times had been making inroads on settled kingdoms and empires in Asia and
Europe and ravaging them. According to Genesis (Chapter 10), they were the descendants
of Japheth, the son of Noah, and the Muslim historians have also accepted this. And according to
the book of Ezekiel (Chapters 38, 39), they inhabited the territories of Meshech (Moscow) and
Tubal (Tubalsek). According to the 1st century CE Israelite historian Josephus, Magog were
called Scythians by the Greeks,[14] and their territory spread to the north and the east of the Black
Sea. However, Josephus also says that the Scythians had been shut up behind an iron gate built
across a passage by Alexander [the Great].[15]According to Jerome, Magog inhabited the territory
to the north of Caucasia near the Caspian Sea:
The hordes of the Huns had poured forth all the way from Maeotis (they had their haunts between the
icy Tanais and the rude Massagetae, where the gates of Alexander keep back the wild peoples behind
the Caucasus)[16]
Wall of Cyrus to protect from Gog & Mogog[edit]
He said: "Though I have built a very strong iron-wall, as far as it was possible for me, it is not ever-lasting, for it
will last only as long as Allah wills, and will fall down to pieces when the time of my Lord's promise shall come.
Then no power in the world shall be able to keep it safe and secure."
Some people have entertained the misunderstanding that the wall attributed here to Dhul-Qarnain refers to
the famous Great Wall of China, whereas this wall was built between Derbent and Dar'yal, two cities
of Daghestan in the Caucasus, the land that lies between the Black Sea and the Caspian. There are high
mountains between the Black Sea and Dar'yal having deep gorges which cannot allow large armies to pass
through them. Between Derbent and Dar'yal, however, there are no such mountains and the passes also are
wide and passable. In ancient times savage hordes from the north invaded and ravaged southern lands
through these passes and the Persian rulers who were fearful of them had to build a strong wall, 50 miles long,
29 feet high and 10 feet wide, for fortification purposes, ruins of which can still be seen (e.g. Great Wall of
Gorgan).[17] Though it has not yet been established historically who built this wall in the beginning, Muslim
historians and geographers assign it to Dhul-Qarnain because its remains correspond with the description of it
given in the Quran, despite the fact that the wall is in fact Sassanid in origins, and thus is about 1000 years too
late to have been built by Cyrus. "The OSL and radiocarbon samples demonstrated conclusively that both walls
had been built in the 5th or, possibly, 6th century AD".[18]
Ibn Jarir Tabari and Ibn Kathir have recorded the event, and Yaqut al-Hamawi has mentioned it in his Mujam-
ul-Buldan that: when after the conquest of Azerbaijan, Umar sent Suraqah bin `Amr, in 22 A.H. (643CE) on an
expedition to Derbent, the latter appointed `Abdur Rahman bin Rabi`ah as the chief of his vanguard. When
'Abdur Rehman entered Armenia, the ruler Shehrbaz surrendered without fighting. Then when `Abdur Rehman
wanted to advance towards Derbent, Shehrbaz informed him that he had already gathered full information
about the wall built by Dhul-Qarnain, through a man, who could supply all the necessary details and then the
man was actually presented before `Abdur Rehman. (Tabari, Vol. III, pp. 235–239; Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah,
Vol. VII, pp. 122–125, and Mu'jam-ul-Buldan, under Bab-ul-Abwab: Derbent).
Two hundred years later, the Abbasid Caliph Al-Wathiq dispatched a party of 50 men under Sallam-ul-
Tarjuman to study the wall of Dhul-Qarnain, whose observations have been recorded in great detail by Yaqut
al-Hamawi in Mu jam-ul-Buldan and by Ibn Kathir in Al-Bidayah. They write:
this expedition reached Samarrah from where they reached Tbilisi and then through As-Sarir and Al-Lan, they
reached Filanshah, from where they entered the Caspian territory. From there they arrived at Derbent and saw
the wall. (Al-Bidayah Vol. II, p. 111, Vol. VII, pp. 122–125; Mu jam-ul-Buldan: under Bab-ul-Abwab). This clearly
5
shows that even up until the tenth century, Muslim scholars regarded this wall of the Caucasus as the wall of
Dhul-Qarnain.
Yaqut in his Mu jam-ul-Buldan has further confirmed the same view at a number of places. For instance, under
Khazar (Caspian) he writes:
"This territory adjoins the Wall of Dhul-Qarnain just behind Bab-ul-Abwab, which is also called Derbent." In the
same connection, he records a report by Ahmad bin Fadhlan, the ambassador of Caliph Al-Muqtadir, who has
given a full description of the Caspian land, saying that Caspian is the name of a country whose capital is Itil
(near the present Astrakhan) right through which flows River Itil, which joins the Caspian front Russia and
Bulghar.
Regarding Bab-ul-Abwab he says that this city is called both Al-Bab and Derbent, which is a highly difficult
passage for the people coming from the northern lands towards the south. Once this territory was a part of
the kingdom of Nausherwan, and the Persian rulers paid particular attention to strengthening their frontiers
on that side.
About Dhul-Qarnain, Muhammad Ali says (p586): The word qarn means a horn, as also a generation or a
century and dhul qarnain literally means the two-horned one, or one belonging to the two generations or two
centuries. The reference here seems to be to the two horned ram of Daniel's vision (Dan. 8:3), which he
interpreted as the Kingdoms of Media and Persia, which were combined into a single kingdom under one
ruler, Cyrus, who is erroneously called Darius in the Bible. The reference in Daniel's vision is, however, not to
Cyrus but to Darius I Hystaspes (521-485 B.C.), "who allowed the Jews to rebuild their temple, and is referred
to in Ezra 4:5,24;5:5;6:1;Hag1:1;2:10;Zech. 1;7, and probably in Neh. 12:22. His liberality towards the Jews is in
complete accord with what we know otherwise of his general policy in religious matter towards the subject
nations"
Maududi says: {Early commentators on the Quran were generally inclined to believe that it referred to
Alexander. The characteristics attribute to Dhul-Qarnayn, however, hardly apply to Alexander. In the light of
the latest historical evidence, contemporary commentators on the Quran are inclined to believe that Dhul-
Qarnayn signifies the Persian Emperor, Cyrus. This, in any case, seems more plausible. Nevertheless, the info
available to date does not enable one to form a definitive opinion concerning Dhul-Qarnayn's identity.

Key points:

The title "The Two-Horned' was at least familiar to the Jews. This is evident from the fact they had instigated
the Meccan unbelievers to ask the Prophet about him. One must, therefore, inevitably turn to Jewish
literature or oral traditions from the time of Muhammed to find out who this person was or to establish what
was the kingdom known as 'The Two-Horned.'

(in summary of Maududi) there are only a few people who fit this description

The title of Dhul-Qarnayn may be used for a ruler who, being concerned with the defense of his kingdom from
the assaults of Gog and Magog, had a strong protective wall constructed across a mountain pass.

He is a God conscious person.

6
 Further indications

The book Iranians in the Qur'an and Traditions by Ali Abtahi[19] mentions that a wall with characteristics
mentioned in the verses of the Quran exists in the Dariel passage in the Caucasus mountains, and that there is
even a stream nearby which is called "Saeres"[20] by the locals. According to this source, local Armenians called
this wall "Behag Gurai" (meaning "The passage of Cyrus").

In Arabic translations of the Old Testament, the word "Dhul-Qarnayn" (Hebrew: Ba`al Haqqərānayim ‫בעל‬
‫ )הקרנים‬appears once in the Old Testament, in the Book of Daniel 8:20:

“ ُ‫س‬
َ ‫ار‬ ُِ ‫أَمَّا ْال َكبْشُ الَّذِي َرأَ ْي َتهُ َذا ا ْل َقرْ َني‬
ِ ‫ْن َفه َُو ملوكُ َمادِي َو َف‬
[21]

Translation: The ram that you saw, the one with the two horns, represents the
kings of Media and Persia.[22] ”

Dhul-Qarnayn expanded his empire in three directions (east, west and north), which is the same as Cyrus'
expansions, where he did not make southern expansions (Achaemenid southern expansions began after
Cyrus). It should be noted that Alexander made his expansions towards south and east.

Gates of Alexander
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Gates of Alexander (Cyrus) was a legendary barrier supposedly built by Alexander the Great in
the Caucasus to keep the uncivilized barbarians of the north (typically associated with Gog and Magog[1]) from
invading the land to the south. The gates were a popular subject in medieval travel literature, starting with
the Alexander Romance in a version from perhaps the 6th century.
The wall, also known as the Caspian Gates, has been identified with two locations: the Pass of Derbent, Russiaor
with the Pass of Dariel, west of the Caspian Sea. Tradition also connects it to the Great Wall of Gorgan (Red Snake)
on its south-eastern shore.
Historically, these fortifications were part of the defence lines built by Sasanians of Persia. The Great Wall of
Gorgan may have been built by the Parthians.

Contents

 1Literary background
 2Geographical identifications
o 2.1Derbent
o 2.2Darial
o 2.3Wall of Gorgan
 3See also
 4Notes
 5References
 6External links

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Literary background[edit]
The name Caspian Gates originally applied to the narrow region at the southeast corner of the Caspian Sea,
through which Alexander actually marched in the pursuit of Bessus, although he did not stop to fortify it. It was
transferred to the passes through the Caucasus, on the other side of the Caspian, by the more fanciful historians of
Alexander.
Josephus, a Jewish historian in the 1st century, is known to have written of Alexander's gates, designed to be a
barrier against the Scythians. According to this historian, the people whom the Greeks called Scythians were known
(among the Jews) as Magogites, descendants of Magog in the Hebrew Bible. These references occur in two
different works. The Jewish War states that the iron gates Alexander erected were controlled by the king
of Hyrcania (on the south edge of the Caspian), and allowing passage of the gates to the Alans (whom Josephus
considered a Scythic tribe) resulted in the sack of Media. Josephus's Antiquities of the Jews contains two relevant
passages, one giving the ancestry of Scythians as descendants of Magog son of Japheth, and another that refers to
the Caspian Gates being breached by Scythians allied to Tiberius during the Armenian War.[a][2]
The Gates occur in later versions of the Alexander Romance of Pseudo-Callisthenes, in the interpolated chapter on
the "Unclean Nations" (8th century). This version locates the gates between two mountains called the "Breasts of
the North" (Greek: Μαζοί Βορρά[3]). The mountains are initially 18 feet apart and the pass is rather wide, but
Alexander's prayers to God causes the mountains to draw nearer, thus narrowing the pass. There he builds the
Caspian Gates out of bronze, coating it with fast-sticking oil. The gates enclosed twenty-two nations and their
monarchs, including Goth and Magoth (Gog and Magog). The geographic location of these mountains is rather
vague, described as a 50-day march away northwards after Alexander put to flight his Belsyrian enemies
(the Bebrykes,[4] of Bithynia in modern-day North Turkey).[5][6]
A somewhat similar story also appears in the Qur'an, Surat al-Kahf 83-98 with key differences. Rather than the
builder being a conquering emperor like Alexander, the Qur'an describes a liberating hero predating Alexander,
known as Dhul Qarnayn. Also the structure is a huge iron wall rather than a gate and its purpose is to defend people
at the foot of two mountains from Gog and Magog.[7]
During the Middle Ages, the Gates of Alexander story was included in travel literature such as the Travels of Marco
Polo and the Travels of Sir John Mandeville. The identities of the nations trapped behind the wall are not always
consistent, however; Mandeville claims Gog and Magog are really the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, who will emerge
from their prison during the End Times and unite with their fellow Jews to attack the Christians. Polo speaks of
Alexander's Iron Gates, but says the Comaniansare the ones trapped behind it. He does mention Gog and Magog,
however, locating them north of Cathay. Some scholars have taken this as an oblique and confused reference to
the Great Wall of China, which he does not mention otherwise. The Gates of Alexander may represent an attempt
by Westerners to explain stories from China of a great king building a great wall. [citation needed] Knowledge of Chinese
innovations such as the compass and south-pointing chariot is known to have been diffused (and confused) across
Eurasian trade routes.
The medieval German legend of the Red Jews was partially based on stories of the Gates of Alexander. The legend
disappeared before the 17th century.

8
Geographical identifications

Caspian Gates: Darial Gorge, Derbent, Rhaegae, Wall of Gorgan.

( Iberia or ancient Georgia); Hyrcania).

It is not clear which precise location Josephus meant when he described the Caspian gates. It may have been
the Gates of Derbent (lying due east, nearer to Persia), or it may have been the Darial Gorge, (lying west,
bordering Iberia or Georgia proper. Both are situated in present-day Dagistan.[8]
However, neither these were within Hyrcania, but lay to the north and west of its boundaries. Another suggestion is
some mountain pass in the Taurus-Zagros Mountains, somewhere near Rhaegae, Iran, in the heart of Hyrcania.[9]

Derbent

9
The Caspian Gates in Derbent, Russia are often identified with the Gates of Alexander

The Gates of Alexander are most commonly[citation needed] identified with the Caspian Gates of Derbent, whose thirty
north-looking towers used to stretch for forty kilometers between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains,
effectively blocking the passage across the Caucasus.
Derbent was built around the world's only[citation needed] surviving Sassanid Persian fortress, which served as a strategic
location protecting the empire from attacks by the Gokturks. The historical Caspian Gates were not built until
probably the reign of Khosrau I in the 6th century, long after Alexander's time, but they came to be credited to him in
the passing centuries. The immense wall had a height of up to twenty meters and a thickness of about 10 feet (3 m)
when it was in use.
Darial
The Pass of Dariel or Darial has also been known as the "Gates of Alexander" and is a strong candidate for the
identity of the Caspian Gates.[10]

The Darial Gorge before 1906.

Wall of Gorgan
An alternative theory links the Caspian Gates to the so-called "Alexander's Wall" (the Great Wall of Gorgan) on the
south-eastern shore of the Caspian Sea, 180 km of which is still preserved today, albeit in a very poor state of
repair.[11]
The Great Wall of Gorgan was built during the Parthian dynasty simultaneously with the construction of the Great
Wall of Chinaand it was restored during the Sassanid era (3rd-7th centuries)[12]

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