Gog and Magog in early Syriac and Islamic sources : Sallam's quest for Alexander's wall / / edited by Emeri van Donzel, Andrea Schmidt ; with a contribution by Claudia Ott.

• Superior document: Brill's Inner Asian library, v. 22
• TeilnehmendeR: Donzel, E. J. van.; Schmidt, Andrea B., 1959-; Ott, Claudia.
• Year of Publication: 2009
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Brill's Inner Asian library ; v. 22.
• Physical Description: xviii, 279 p.
• Notes: Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Alexander's alleged Wall against Gog and Magog, often connected with the enclosure of the apocalyptic people, was a widespread theme among Syriac Christians in Mesopotamia. In the ninth century Sallam the Interpreter dictated an account of his search for the barrier to the Arab geographer Ibn Khurradadhbih. The reliability of Sallam's journey from Samarra to Western China and back (842-45), however, has always been a highly contested issue. Van Donzel and Schmidt consider the travel account as historical. This volume presents a translation of the source while at the same time it carefully looks into other Eastern Christian and Muslim traditions of the famous lore. A comprehensive survey reconstructs the political and topographical data. As so many other examples, also this story pays witness to the influence of the Syriac Christian tradition on Koran and Muslim Traditions.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Materials / E.J. Van Donzel and A.B. Schmidt -- Chapter 1. Gog And Magog In Pre-Islamic, Jewish And Christian Sources / E.J. Van Donzel and A.B. Schmidt -- Chapter 2. Alexander And Gog And Magog In Eastern Christian Sources / E.J. Van Donzel and A.B. Schmidt -- Chapter 3. Gog And Magog And Alexander ‘The Two-Horned’ In The Koran / E.J. Van Donzel and A.B. Schmidt -- Chapter 4. Gog And Magog In Islamic Tradition / E.J. Van Donzel and A.B. Schmidt -- Chapter 5. Gog And Magog In Mediaeval Arabic, Persian And Turkish Pros / E.J. Van Donzel and A.B. Schmidt -- Chapter 6. Gog And Magog And The Barrier In Arab Poetry, Adab Literature, Popular Epics And Anecdotes / E.J. Van Donzel and A.B. Schmidt -- Chapter 7. Sallam’S Travel Account To The Barrier Of Gog And Magog / E.J. Van Donzel and A.B. Schmidt -- 1. Sallam Al-Tardjuman—Interpreter And Traveller / E.J. Van Donzel and A.B. Schmidt -- Chapter 8. Gog And Magog And The Barrier: The Origin Of Sallam’S Description / E.J. Van Donzel and A.B. Schmidt -- Chapter 9. The Political Landscape In Samarra, The Caucasus And Central Asia In The 8th And First Half Of The 9th Century / E.J. Van Donzel and A.B. Schmidt -- Chapter 10. Sallam’S Outward Journey:Samarra-Yumenguan / E.J. Van Donzel and A.B. Schmidt -- Chapter 11. Destination Reached / E.J. Van Donzel and A.B. Schmidt -- Chapter 12. Sallam’S Homeward Journey: Yumenguan-Samarra (Ca. December 843/January 844-December 844/January 845) / E.J. Van Donzel and A.B. Schmidt -- Conclusion / E.J. Van Donzel and A.B. Schmidt -- Bibliography / E.J. Van Donzel and A.B. Schmidt.