Bibliography
| Title: The Territory of Asia Minor, Anatolia and Persia as mentioned in the "Table of Nations" (Genesis 10) and the fortifications of Alexander the Great against "Gog and Magog" during his Caspian-Hyrcanian expedition Type: Thesis Year: 1997 Abstract: "In the summer of 1995, in the course of a journey to some remote areas of Asia Minor, Anatolia, Persia and Egypt, I visited numerous ancient cities, which have been mentioned in the Old and New Testament and also in Quran. The foremost objective of my dissertation is the study of the biblical tribes mentioned in the 'Table of Nations' (Genesis 10). Of primary concern are the Japhetites (Gomer, Magog, Madai, Jawan, Thubal, Meshek, Thiras, Ashkenaz, Riphat, Thogarma, Elisha, Tharshish, Kittim, Rodanim), descendants of Noah's son Japhet, who were supposed to have settled down in what is now Asia Minor, Anatolia and Persia. This 'palaeo-ethnological Exegesis' of topographical references in the Old Testament extends from the earliest times (Flavius Josephus and Talmud) to the present. In addition to this, I analyzed also other terms (Lud, Ludim, Heth, Pseudo-Sabians, Sepharad, Elam and Paras) in the Old Testament, which refer to this territory. Gog and Magog, for example, are mentioned in some sources of the ancient world and the early medieval ages in connection with the wars, invasions and fortifications of Alexander the Great. These sources include Curtius Rufus, Flavius Josephus, Plinius, the 'Story of Alexander' by Pseudo-Callisthenes and the Quran. This study also deals in detail with the Grave of Alexander the Great, in order to establish the correlation between the 'Dhu l-Qarnain' mentioned in the Quran, Alexander the Great and the son of Zeus-Ammon of Siwa. Another topic dealt with in this study is 'Alexander's Barrier'. This 150 km long wall, which extends from the Gurgan Plain of the Caspian sea up to the northern foothills of Elburz range (described as the 'chest of Boreas' in the 'Story of Alexander') played an important role in the confrontations between Iran and Turan. Sources belonging to the ancient world and the early medieval age (Josephus, Curtius, Arrian, the 'Story of Alexander' and Quran) mention Alexander's construction of a fortification for the so called Caspian Gate. They also mention that he ordered the construction of further fortifications on the other side of this gate, i.e. along the Caspian coast. The following study attempts to establish whether the references and legends (of Alexander's wall built to keep out Gog and Magog, and possibly other Caspian tribes - Scythians ?) are actually based on historical facts or on the Jewish-Christian concept of apocalypse (as in Hezekiel and Daniel of the Old Testament, or in the Talmud literature and the Apocalypse of St. John in the New Testament). This is the principal objective of this study. For this purpose, the study also includes a detailed historical, topographical and archaeological analysis of, the Caspian-hyrcanian expedition of Alexander the Great". Keywords: Archaeology, topography, local and regional history |