'Tales From Gabriel' is a collection of myths, legends, fables or stories I am collating, each of which are interesting on its own, but more fascinating is, a few hundred or thousand years later, they landed on the pages of the Holy Book of Islam. The Quran, supposedly compiled in the 7th century, is the spoken word of God conveyed to His Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. These tales are post-fact canonised. Have they been plagiarised into Truth? Opinions are strictly personal.
Of all the larger than life figures in antiquity, there is none other than Alexander the Great who had his extraordinary exploits further amplified by legends. To explain in today's lingo, Alexander's exploits went viral, thanks to the legends.
What does Alexander the Great have to do with the Quran? What does it explain about Lee Kuan Yew's house at No 38 Oxley Road? And why did a learned ISIS recruiter left Islam after learning the legends? Let the miller weave his tale.
The historicity of Alexander the Great
The above feature image of Alexander in battle against the Persian King Darius III is a reconstructed painting of a mosaic in Pompeii.
Alexander (356 – 323 BC) was the son of Phillip II, King of Macedonia, Greece. He succeeded his father at age 20 in 336 BC and thereafter spent almost his entire young life in military campaigns.
Greece consisted of several independent city states, constantly at war with each other. Within 1 year, Alexander had control over almost all of Greece, and achieved his father's pan-Hellenistic dream. He then moved East into the Balkans and then South into Phrygia (present day Turkey). Phrygia's capital Gordium is where the legend of the Gordian Knot was set. The knot was said to be impossible to untie. Anyone who can untie it was destined king of the world. Alexander simply used his sword to cut it loose. By 332 BC he had taken Gaza. (And by the way he didn't see any people known as Palestinians there). Next he turned West and took Egypt where he laid the foundation for the great city of Alexandria in 331 BC, a city whose name has never changed to this day.
On the fringe of the present day Libya, Alexander turned south for the city of Ammon. Take a mental note of this desert city for it has significance in my tale. Ammon lies on a huge depression in the desert so it sits on a great water basin. Thus there are numerous oasis. Where there is water, there is life. The region was inhabited by an indigenous African people the Romans called Berber. It was a term for all other people who were neither Hellenistic nor Egyptians living in the Maghreb, the Northern coastal regions of Africa, present day Libya, Morocco, Tunisia. These were the people who conquered the Iberian Peninsula (Spain) and ruled for 800 years where they were known as Moors. Shakespeare's Othello was a Moor. The Berbers eventually got Arabicised and assumed Arab identity.
This is a map of Alexander's travels and his empire. He traversed East-West, West-East, North-South, South-North. You can refer to this later for it has significance in my tale..
Alexander was tutored by Aristotle. The intellectual sophistication side of him was revealed in the way he treated his defeated foes and his respect for local customs and their gods. Alexander took back with him from India 10 gymnosophists. These were ancient Indian philosophers who pursued asceticism to the extreme of abstaining from food and clothing for purity of thought. Alexander was known to have had many fascinating Q&A sessions with these near naked wise men of the East. It is very plausible Alexander's quest for knowledge impressed Demetrius, one of his adjutants, to later request Ptolemy to build the famous library at Alexandria. The Great Library of Alexandria was eventually built by Ptolemy II.
The legends and myths of Alexander :
All these came from a book called Alexander Romance, thought to be written before 338 CE in ancient Greek and translated into Latin. The problem is the original manuscripts are lost. Extant copies are in various languages (Coptic, Ge'ez, Middle Persian, Byzantine Greek, Arabic, Persian, Armenian, Syriac, Hebrew) with copies of copies over different period between 4th and 6th century. There is thus not one book but several with variations as stuff got added. The original was attributed to Callisthenes who was Alexander's historian. Callisthenes was a Macedonian who followed Alexander in his campaigns. Since Callisthenes died before Alexander, he couldn't be the author. That is why all extant copies of "Romance" are attributed to Pseudo-Callisthenes.
It is in the style of 'credence narrative', based on historical events married with the genre of ancient mythologies full of pagan gods, demigod heroes, supernatural beings, strange beasts, prophecies, and oracles. "Romance" has a hundred more strange beasts than Homer's Iliad.
Independent of "Romance" is another collection called Alexander Legends which is in Syriac said to be written between 6th and early 7th century.
For my purpose here, only two myths are mentioned.
Alexander's Gate:
Alexander was said to have built a wall of iron at a mountain pass which prevented certain barbaric tribes from invading Persian territories. This is called Alexander's Gate. There are four places which are collectively known as the Caspian Gates. Details in "Legends" are vague so it is not clear which of the four is Alexander's Gate.
In real history, Alexander passed through Rhagae in pursuit of Darius III. Pliny The Elder (23-79 AD), a Roman philosopher, wrote in "Natural History" about the error of calling the Caucasus passes as Caspian Pass. His geographical description of the pass Alexander took fit the one near Rhagae which is close to today's Tehran. Pliny also noted remnants of iron gate across the river.
There is record of Alexander passing through Rhagae but he didn't build nor repair and gate. The four Caspian Gates were built before and after Alexander's era.
Gog is the people who lived in the land of Magog. In biblical eschatology, God calls on Gog to invade the land of Israel. Josephus (37-100 AD) a Jewish-Roman historian famous for his book "History of Jews", identified the Scythians living in today's southern region of Russia as Gog. (Josephus also wrote about a man called Jesus, thus attesting to the historicity of Christ.)
"Legends" fused the myth of Alexander's Gate with the Biblical apocalyptic tradition of Gog and Magog, which made it very popular in the Middle Ages. This found its way into later copies of "Romance" and the Quran. The myth depicted the pass as too wide. Alexander prayed and the mountains moved closer, allowing the iron gate to be constructed.
The Quran has a short story of Dhu al-Qarnayn, sometimes written as Du'l-Qarnain, together with Yajuj and Majuj. Dhu al-Qarnayn in Arabic means "the two horned man", a reference to Alexander as the mythical son of Ammon, the one depicted by rams. Yajuj and Maju is Gog and Magog. This story sits uncomfortably in its incoherence in Surah 18 together with the story of "Sleepers of the cave".
The seduction of Olympias:
"Romance" opens with the seduction of Olympias, wife of Philip II, by Nectanebo II, in all its duplicity and concupiscence. Nectanebo II was a king of Egypt who dabbled with the occult and black magic. An invading army nears and he saw his own defeat. He fled to Macedonia where he became a famous magician. He lusted after Olympias and by black magic he seduced her when Philip II was away on a campaign. He came to her as if in a dream in the form of god Ammon. The union birthed Alexander, thus giving him a demi-god status. "Romance" made Alexander the son of Nectanebo, not Philip II. Why this myth has great significance, you will soon see.
The Corpse of Alexander:
Towards the end, Alexander faced two internal problems. The Macedonian contingent had by then developed battle fatigue and wanted to return home. His infusion of Persian practices into the military did not go down well with Macedonian soldiers. Friction developed and a serious plot was uncovered. Callisthenes was implicated and thrown in prison where he died a few months later. Alexander died in 323 BC in Babylon from Malaria, which was common at the time. There were some suggestions he could have been poisoned.
In death as in life, Alexander casted a huge shadow over his empire. His body was embalmed for the grandest funeral that took two years in the planning. Alexander's death left a huge power vacuum. He had divided his empire amongst his 4 satraps - Antigonus, Cassander, Ptolemy, and Seleucus. All understood one thing. The body of Alexander was a talisman representing authority. Whoever was closest to Alexander in death earns legitimacy in the succession. All four would have wanted Alexander buried in their province. Perdiccas was the highest ranking official in Babylon and he determined Alexander was to be buried in Aegae in Macedonia where their kings were laid to rest. Alexander was placed in a golden coffin and escorted by a grand column on the journey.
Somewhere in Syria, Ptolemy hijacked the body and brought it back to Memphis. Some of Alexander's men switched allegiance and followed Ptolemy. Perdiccas needed to regain authority so he pursued. Due to some disastrous decisions at the River Nile which caused the death of many Macedonian troopers, Perdiccas was murdered by his own men. War was avoided.
Alexander's four generals fought several wars for supremacy. The last war was The Battle of Ipsus 301 BC. When he erroneously thought his coalition had lost, Ptolemy pulled out of the conflict and returned to Egypt.
Ptolemy set about to create his own empire in Egypt in what we might today call an elaborate disinformation programme. The last Egyptian pharaoh was Nectanebo II who was deposed by the Persians in 343 BC and died in exile. Egyptian tradition required a pharaoh to come from the same lineage. Ptolemy promoted Alexander as actually the son of Nectanebo II and therefore claimed the throne posthumously. While he made himself out as the illegitimate son of Philip II making him half-brother of Alexander, his rightful successor.
In 305 BC Ptolemy declared himself Pharaoh and made Alexandria his capital. Alexander's remains were placed in the golden coffin and transferred to Alexandria. Ptolemy II honoured Alexander with more cultish ceremonies. Ptolemy IV had to transfer Alexander's remains to a glass coffin to melt the gold coffin to fund his treasury. Imperial Rome saw Alexander as the epitome of power and several caesars visited his tomb. Over time the adulation cooled and eventually Alexander's remains were lost to history. It was thought following the rise of Christianity after Emperor Constantine there could have been a destruction of pagan culture and Alexander's tomb destroyed. In 1850s when Britain colonised Egypt, they carted back to London Museum what was thought to be Alexander's sarcophagus. Turned out that sarcophagus was for the exiled Nectanebo II.
Comments:
Coming back to 38 Oxley Road, the more astute reader would have understood by now the analogy to Alexander's body. Lee Kuan Yew's abode is a talisman for authority and power which legitimises the House of Lee. It has to be retained for the future generation of leadership from that lineage. Could this be the real reason for the son to deny a father's death wish for his house to be demolished?
It is apparent Ptolemy's disinformation also influenced "Romance" and "Legends" and all have been pedalled much like how online materials are shared carelessly nowadays, oblivious to authenticity.
It is difficult to understand the logic of Alexander for its place in the Quran. Readers may be interested to do some research on a Musa Cerantonio. He is Irish Australian, born Robert Cerantonio to an Irish family. At age 17 he converted to Islam. As a white convert, he was a novelty. Got paraded all over Muslim ummah to give speeches. Believed in fundamentalist version of Islam. Became a famed recruiter for ISIS. In 2014 went to Mindanao, Philippines, to help start a caliphate there. Got thrown out the country for overstaying. In 2016 organised a group to return to Philippines by boat illegally as his passport was impounded. Was arrested and landed in jail in Australia. In jail, he came across "Romance" and realised the similarities of Alexander in legends to Dhu al-Qarnayn in the Quran. He suffered a crisis of faith and thereupon committed apostasy. Served time and released from jail in May 2023. He is now an atheist. How strange what "Romance" can do to a fundamentalist-hardened man when many outreach programmes cannot.
The Quran, surah 18:83-97
(As translated by Quran.com)
They ask you ˹O Prophet˺ about Ⱬul-Qarnain. Say, “I will relate to you something of his narrative.”
Surely We established him in the land, and gave him the means to all things.
So he travelled a course,
until he reached the setting ˹point˺ of the sun, which appeared to him to be setting in a spring of murky water, where he found some people. We said, “O Ⱬul-Qarnain! Either punish them or treat them kindly.”
He responded, “Whoever does wrong will be punished by us, then will be returned to their Lord, Who will punish them with a horrible torment.
Then he travelled a ˹different˺ course
until he reached the rising ˹point˺ of the sun. He found it rising on a people for whom We had provided no shelter from it.
So it was. And We truly had full knowledge of him.
Then he travelled a ˹third˺ course
until he reached ˹a pass˺ between two mountains. He found in front of them a people who could hardly understand ˹his˺ language.
They pleaded, “O Ⱬul-Qarnain! Surely Gog and Magog are spreading corruption throughout the land. Should we pay you tribute, provided that you build a wall between us and them?”
He responded, “What my Lord has provided for me is far better. But assist me with resources, and I will build a barrier between you and them.
Bring me blocks of iron!” Then, when he had filled up ˹the gap˺ between the two mountains, he ordered, “Blow!” When the iron became red hot, he said, “Bring me molten copper to pour over it.”
And so the enemies could neither scale nor tunnel through it.
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