Hadith Dhi'l-Qarnayn

The Hadith Dhi'l-Qarnayn^[a] (Arabic: حديث ذي القرنين Ḥadīṯ Ḏī l-Qarnayn), also known as the Leyenda de Alejandro, is an anonymous Hispano-Arabic legend of Alexander the Great (whom it identifies as Dhu'l-Qarnayn, a figure known from the eighteenth chapter of the Quran). It dates to the 15th century.^[1]

As with other Arabic Alexander legends in the tradition of the Alexander Romance literature, the story describes Alexander's journeys across the world (such as an encounter with the king of China), his relationship with the mystical prophet Khidr, and the piety of the main character, Alexander.^[2]

It is closely related to the Sīrat al-Iskandar, including in how both texts interpolate from the Syriac Alexander Legend,^[3] such as in how it describes the construction of the Gates of Alexander designed to keep out and confine Gog and Magog.^[4] The text identifies Gog and Magog with the Khazars, a semi-nomadic Turkic ethnic group.^[5]