Gates of Alexander facts for kids
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The Gates of Alexander is a legendary wall or gate that was said to have been built by Alexander the Great. Also known as the Caspian Gates, this mythical barrier was believed to stand in the mountains of the Caucasus region, between Europe and Asia. For centuries, people told stories about this massive gate, imagining it as a real wall that separated the known world from unknown lands and peoples.
According to legend, Alexander built the gates to keep fearsome, destructive tribes from invading. Over time, the story grew and became part of many famous tales, including the Alexander Romance and stories about a figure known as Dhu al-Qarnayn in the Quran.
While Alexander the Great was a real historical person, he did not actually build such a wall. Instead, the legend was likely inspired by real fortifications built by other empires, such as the Persians. Several real mountain passes and walls have been identified as the possible inspiration for the Gates of Alexander, including the Pass of Derbent in modern Russia and the Great Wall of Gorgan in Iran.
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How the Legend Was Told
The story of the Gates of Alexander was told by many different writers throughout history, and each one added new details.
Early Roman and Jewish Writers
The Roman writer Pliny the Elder, who lived in the 1st century AD, wrote about the "Caspian Gates" as a real place. He described them as a narrow mountain pass with iron-covered gates that blocked the way for many tribes.
Around the same time, the Jewish historian Josephus was one of the first to connect the gates directly to Alexander the Great. Josephus wrote that Alexander built iron gates to hold back the Scythians, a group of nomadic warriors. He also connected these people to Magog, a nation mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.
Later Christian writers, like Jerome, also wrote about the gates. They saw Alexander as a hero who protected civilization from what they considered "wild peoples" living beyond the Caucasus mountains.
Byzantine Historians
Historians from the Byzantine Empire, such as Procopius and Jordanes, also mentioned the gates. They wrote about the real-life mountain passes in the Caucasus and how important they were for defending their empire from invaders. Their writings show that these passes were a source of conflict between the Byzantine and Persian empires, as both wanted to control them.
Gog and Magog: A Story of the End Times
Over time, the story of the Gates of Alexander changed. It became more than just a tale about a military defense. It turned into an "apocalyptic" story—a story about the end of the world.
In these later legends, the people trapped behind the wall were identified as Gog and Magog. In Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions, Gog and Magog are destructive nations that are said to appear and cause chaos just before the end of the world.
The Alexander Romance, a popular collection of legends about Alexander the Great, tells a version of this story. In the book, Alexander prays to God, who causes two mountains to move closer together. Alexander then builds huge bronze gates in the narrow pass to trap 22 nations, including Gog and Magog.
A Christian text called the Syriac Alexander Legend also tells this story. It describes Alexander building a massive wall of iron and bronze to keep the Huns (who were identified with Gog and Magog) from invading. The legend claimed that the wall would hold them back until the end of time, when they would finally break free.
The Story in the Quran
A similar story appears in the 18th chapter of the Quran, called al-Kahf ("The Cave"). In this version, a great and righteous ruler named Dhu al-Qarnayn (which means "He of the Two Horns") travels the world. Many scholars believe this figure is a reference to Alexander the Great.
The Quran says that Dhu al-Qarnayn found a group of people who were being attacked by the destructive tribes of Ya'juj and Ma'juj (the Arabic names for Gog and Magog). The people asked him for help, so he built a mighty barrier between two mountains. He used blocks of iron and then poured molten copper over them, creating a wall so strong that Gog and Magog could not break through or climb over it. According to the Quran, this wall will hold them back until a time appointed by God.
The Legend in the Middle Ages
The story of the Gates of Alexander was very popular during the Middle Ages. Famous travelers wrote about it in their books, spreading the legend far and wide.
- The Travels of Sir John Mandeville*, a famous 14th-century travel book, claimed that Gog and Magog were actually the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. The book said they were imprisoned by Alexander and would emerge from behind the gates during the End Times to attack Christians.
- Marco Polo*, the famous Venetian explorer, also wrote about the Iron Gates in his travels. However, he said that a different group of people, the Comanians, were trapped behind them. He mentioned Gog and Magog separately, placing them in a land north of Cathay (China). Some experts think his story might be a confused reference to the Great Wall of China.
Where Were the Gates in the Real World?
While the legend of Alexander building the gates is a myth, it was inspired by real places. Historians and geographers have identified several real-world locations that might be the inspiration for the story.
The Gates of Derbent
The Gates of Alexander are most often identified with the Caspian Gates of Derbent. This is a massive ancient fortification in the modern-day Russian republic of Dagestan. The city of Derbent has a strong fortress and two long stone walls that used to stretch for 40 kilometers, from the Caucasus Mountains to the Caspian Sea.
These walls were not built by Alexander. They were built by the Sassanid Persians in the 6th century AD to protect their empire from northern invaders. Because they were so impressive, the legend of Alexander building them became attached to this location over time.
The Darial Gorge
The Pass of Dariel (or Darial Gorge) is another possible location. It is a deep river gorge that forms a natural pass through the Caucasus Mountains between Russia and Georgia. Because it was such a narrow and important passage, it has also been called the "Gates of Alexander."
The Great Wall of Gorgan
Another candidate is the Great Wall of Gorgan, sometimes called "Alexander's Wall." This is a huge wall, over 180 km long, located on the southeastern shore of the Caspian Sea in modern-day Iran. It was likely built by the Parthian or Sassanid empires to defend their lands. Like the walls at Derbent, its massive size probably inspired stories about a legendary builder like Alexander.
See also
- Dhu al-Qarnayn
- Alexander in the Qur'an
- Cilician Gates
- Dzungarian Gate
- Fortifications of Derbent
- Great Wall of China
- Horns of Alexander
- Iron Gate (Central Asia)
- Sasanian defense lines
