Alexander the Great in the Quran called them the Caspian Gates. Twenty and two Kings did I shut up therein. These pseudepigraphic letters from Alexander to his mother Olympias and his tutor Aristotle, describing his marvellous adventures at the end of the World, date back to the original Greek recension α written in the 4th century in Alexandria. The letters are "the literary expression of a living popular tradition" that had been evolving for at least three centuries before the Quran was written. Several historical figures, both Muslim and Christian, searched for Alexander's Gate and several different identifications were made with actual walls. During the Middle
Alexander the Great in the Quran evidence, in the form of ancient coins, to identify the Arabic epithet "Dhul-Qarnayn" with Alexander the Great. Finally, ancient Christian Syriac and Ethiopic manuscripts of the "Alexander romance" from the Middle East have been found which closely resemble the story in the Quran. This leads to the theologically controversial conclusion that Quran refers to Alexander in the mention of Dhul-Qarnayn. The literal translation of the Arabic phrase ""Dhul-Qarnayn,"" as written in the Quran, is "the Two-Horned." Alexander the Great was portrayed with two horns in ancient Greek depictions of Alexander: It is well known that already in his own time