Alexander the Great and Iskander Dhu'l-Qarnayn: Memory, Myth and Representation of a Conqueror from Iran to South East Asia through the Eyes of Travel Literature

In writing the Man Who Would Be King (1888) Rudyard Kipling could rely on a long date tradition about the expedition of Alexander in the East. In fact, the alleged presence of descendants of the Macedonians in the mountainous region of Kafiristan had aroused the interest of the European scholars and adventurers since the beginnings of the XIXth century. Although the popularity of Alexander, especially in Arabian and Persian poetry, has been the object of many researches, its impact on the eastern societies as well as its reception still awaits for an in-depth study. From this point of view, travel literature represents an invaluable source for a better understanding of this issue, as it provides us with a close look on the oriental traditions concerning the Macedonian conqueror. By analysing the diaries and memoirs of western travellers in the area between Persia (then Iran) and NW India it is possible to learn how and to what extent the image of Alexander has been employed, modified and re-appropriated by the local populations during a considerable amount of time. Actually, this kind of documentation allows us to study this phenomenon in the longue durée, for it covers a period going from at least the Vth to the XXth centuries. The picture emerging from this study is that of a multifaceted Alexander: not only as builder and destroyer, hero and invader, but also as prophet and ancestor of royal dynasties. All these aspects, as contrasting as they can be, are nevertheless part of one and only image, that of Alexander as cultural mediator between East and West.