Venetis, Evangelos

English

Alexander is the hero of numerous legends and his life has been adjusted to the needs of
each era and region. Of all peoples. the Iranians were those whose glorious empire was
conquered by Alexander.

The Muslim image of Alexander in the Iranian literary and popular tradition
forms a substantial part of this dissertation which analyzes the Mandarntima (Book of
Alexander), the oldest prose version of the Alexander Romance in the Persian tradition
(eleventh century AD). Apart from the profile of Alexander in the Iskandarnama, there
are various other points to be analyzed regarding the content, language and historical
framework of this Persian account of the Alexander romance.

Given the existing vacuum concerning the study of the Iskandarnama both in
terms of content (stories, motifs, profile of the hero and general concepts concealed in the
narrative) and in terms of connecting of the text with the historical periods in which it
was compiled. This dissertation hopes to advance research on both of these areas.
Emphasis is given to the literary connection between the Greek tradition of the
Pseudo-Callisihenes romance and the 14andarndma. In terms of the historicity of the
text, the Muslim image of Alexander in the narrative is an unexplored and important
theme in order to comprehend the narrative and the messages which are transmitted in it.

The topic of kingship is a significant theme covered and aims to provide reflections of
Alexander as a ruler, revealing contemporary concepts about the role of kingship
amongst the Iranians. Both of the previous topics, Muslim profile and kingship, act as
preludes to the next and one of the main goals of this thesis, namely to date the narrative
and generally associate it with the historical development during which it was compiled.
The examination of the language of the narrative also contributes to setting the narrative
in its linguistic, social and historical environment. Lastly, another goal of this research is
to reveal some important literary themes and concepts unfolding in the narrative, such as
those of Time and Fate and Love

Edinburgh Research Archive

The Iskandarnama: an analysis of an anonymous medieval Persian prose romance

https://era.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/1842/7406/1/492657.pdf

The Iskandarnama : an analysis of an anonymous medieval Persian prose romance

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Edinburgh Research Archive