Alexander the Great in the Qur'an

Alexander the Great in the Qur'an refers to the conjecture that the story of Dhul-Qarnayn (in Arabic ذو القرنين, literally "The Two-Horned One", also transliterated as Zul-Qarnain or Zulqarnain), mentioned in the Qur'an, is in fact a reference to Alexander III of Macedon (356–323 BC), popularly known as Alexander the Great.Esposito

Dhul-Qarnayn is a figure who was well-known in the lore of the ancient dwellers of the Arabian Peninsula and is mentioned in the Qur'an, the sacred scripture of Islam. Dhul-Qarnayn is regarded by some Muslims as a prophet, and is identified with Alexander the Great in early Islamic literature. There have been many different cultural depictions of Alexander the Great since antiquity. Muslims have generally endorsed the identification of Dhul-Qarnayn with Alexander the Great, at least until recent times. At the same time, secular philologists studying ancient Syriac Christian legends about Alexander the Great independently came to the conclusion that the epithet Dhul-Qarnayn in the Qur'an refers to Alexander the Great.

The Alexander legends, known as the Alexander romance have many similarities to the story in the Qur'an but are also more elaborate and describe Alexander's fantastical deeds in detail, such as the story of Alexander building a wall to capture Gog and Magog. The identification of Alexander with Dhul-Qarnayn has been a matter of theological controversy amongst Islamic scholars since early...
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