Anonymous: Alexander Visits the Ka‘bah’ (16th century)

(The Khalili Collections, London, UK )

An illuminated page made by an unknown 16th century Iranian artist. This page shows a legend of Alexander the Great. In Middle Eastern legends Alexander the Great was identified with the Qur’anic prophet Dhu’l-Qarnayn (‘he of the two horns’). Dhul-Qarnayn appears in the Quran as a figure empowered by God to erect a wall between mankind and Gog and Magog, the representation of chaos. In the legend the Scythians, descendants of Gog and Magog, once defeated one of Alexander's generals, upon which Alexander built a wall in the Caucasus mountains to keep them out of the civilized lands. In the legend Alexander also traveled to the Ka'bah in Mecca where he declared himself master of Arabia and destroyed those who had distorted its religious tradition. The page shows Alexander kneeling in prayer next to the Ka'bah (note that the Kiswah, a cloth that covers the Ka'bah, is lifted up to reveal its white lining, just as it is done today during the Hajj). Page from the 16th century.