By Rasul Jafariyan | Translated by Sayyid Burair Abbas

Around the year 230 AH (845 CE), Wathiq the Abbasid caliph dispatched an exploratory group to discover the location of the barrier of Ya’juj and Ma’juj towards the Caucasus region. Simultaneously, under the supervision of Muhammad bin Musa al-Khwarizmi, another expedition was sent to Rome to locate the cave of the Seven Sleepers. This marked the first official effort to send a scientific group on a geographical exploration, but unfortunately, it did not continue. The aim of presenting this historical text is to reflect on the epistemological methods of Muslims in geographical knowledge, which, like many sciences of that time, remained incomplete and speculative.

The source of geographical reports by Muslim scholars in the early Islamic centuries could include their own travels, accounts from merchants or political envoys, as well as travelogues written professionally by individuals engaged in the art of travel writing.

They were well aware that to obtain accurate information, they needed “observation” and the recording of reports gathered from travellers or inhabitants of those lands. This was commonplace for ordinary lands, but for sacred lands, areas mentioned in myths, and those described as wonders of the world, their sources could include news, traditions, texts from the People of the Book, and myths that existed among nations about these places.

Regarding some locations, a combination of these sources was used. That is, geographers added some material from empirical sources and a part from religious, semi-religious, and mythological sources. For example, this was the case with Mount Damavand, or as the ancients called it, Denavand. Similar combined accounts existed for certain seas, rivers, or regions that held religious sanctity. Many such examples are well known to us.

When it comes to the observations of individuals and discerning how much of their reports are narrative or anecdotal versus factual and natural, we understand that these reports often blend local traditions with their own observations. Rarely do we find documented accounts with cited sources in ancient geographical works. However, some geographers, like al-Maqdisi, embarked on journeys themselves and directly recorded information. In such cases, notes derived from their own observations naturally hold the highest value.

Our discussion aims to evaluate the epistemological value of the information presented in geographical texts. Existing works are rich in significant knowledge that can reasonably demonstrate the geographical knowledge of Muslims. However, it’s important to recognize the blending of stories and observations as a common occurrence.

In this context, distinctions must be made between various works authored by different individuals. Some writers approached geography with professionalism and precision, employing geographical terminology and providing relative geographical concepts based on maps when discussing cities, roads, mountains, or seas. Yet, other works introduced into this field, akin to many local histories, often lacked a scientific understanding of geography but endeavoured, for example, to offer information about their own city from a biased perspective.

Many books extolling the virtues of cities contain data that may not be scientifically verifiable but should still be considered for their contextual use.

Wall of Gog and Magog and Their Connection with Eschatology

In this regard, information pertaining to places mentioned in the Quran or Hadith possesses a distinct quality. Gardens of Eden, the Sacred Land, the barrier of Ya’juj and Ma’juj, and many other places discussed in religious texts are of special interest to such writers.

Even professional geographers compile information and provide explanations in this field because their audience seeks such knowledge. This is where new sources emerge, sources that hold significant importance in satisfying the thirst of religious readers. We understand that these geographical centers are somewhat related to eschatological events, and therefore, every Muslim is interested in understanding what will happen in those times and whether it relates to them and their place.

For example, knowing from which city Dajjal will emerge, such as Isfahan or another location, is somewhat related to geography. Similarly, discussions about signs of the Hour and events preceding the Day of Judgment also hold this importance regarding certain regions. Consider this narration:

“And know that al-Bara’ bin ‘Azib and Hudhaifa bin al-Yamān (or Aseed) said: ‘We talked about the Hour one day in the presence of the Prophet (p). He appeared and said, ‘What were you talking about?’ We said, ‘We were discussing the Hour.’ He said, ‘It will not come until you see ten signs before it: Smoke, Dajjal, the beast of the earth, a landslide in the east, a landslide in the west, a landslide in the Arabian Peninsula, the emergence of Ya’juj and Ma’juj,  fire that will emerge from the land of Aden, the descent of Jesus, and the rising of the sun from the west.'”^[1]

This narration underscores the significance of geographical contexts in understanding and preparing for eschatological events according to Islamic teachings.

Another point in this issue was where is Matala’ al-Shams? The discussion here was about the definition of East. In this context, and to clarify this interpretation, stories that were a kind of geographical report were included in the sources. Of course, not necessarily geographical sources, but sometimes interpretations and on the occasion of the fact that people were looking for interpretations for such interpretations. Here, a narration which is a kind of “geographical report” related to the concept of the east and the dam of Gog and Magog has been narrated, which is interesting:

“And Amr bin Malik says that a man came to Samarqand and a person approached him. He said: I was travelling through China. Then I asked about the news of that group when the sun would rise on them. They said: There is a day and night between you and them. I paid a guide to take me there, I saw a group of people who had made their own carpet and sat on it and wore different types of clothes, and my friend who was with me understood their language and told them: We have come to see the rising of the sun, and it was early in the morning when we reached there and we were in the door when we heard a knocking noise, we left to see who it was and when I returned, they began to rub oil on me, and it was then that I saw that the sun appeared on the water, like a beautiful thing that falls on the water. And the side of the sky was attached to that water like how the side of a tent falls to the ground, then the sun inclined and rose to the top, and as the sun rose, they took me and my friend to the cellar. Once it was day time, they came out and went fishing, and put the fish under the sun until it was cooked. When Dhu al-Qarnayn looked east, he wanted to see those people who are under the North Pole, near Gog and Magog”^[2]

In some narrations, the story of the departure of Gog and Magog is considered to be the conditions of the Day of Resurrection: “Kalbi says that the dam is in the direction of Banat al-Na’sh.”^[3] Then, after reciting Dhul-Qarnayn and the story of Gog and Magog, he remembered the time of the Resurrection because the emergence of Gog and Magog is one of the conditions of the Resurrection”^[4]. Thus they are somewhere, say one of the heavens, and will come back down to earth and cause trouble.

Of course, this is not the only interpretation of “East” in the Qur’an, which has been captured by wonderful interpretations and interpretations on the verses of the story of Gog and Magog, but it is also the interpretation of al-‘Ālamīn in Rabb al-‘Ālamīn which deems it to be worlds that are to be travelled. For example:

“A group of scholars have said that God Almighty has three hundred and sixty thousand worlds, including seven heavens, seven earths, and seven seas. And every world is such that there is no more left, and there exists a generation of every worldly creature therein, and there are groups of angels therein. After these three hundred and sixty thousand worlds, the greatest world is these seven heavens and what you see in the seven heavens, and the seven earths and what you see in the seven earths, and the seven seas and what you see in the seven seas. It is one of the greatest wonders. And when you count all this it will come to three hundred and sixty thousand. And a group of scholars have said that these worlds are eighteen thousand worlds, and of these, four thousand five hundred worlds are near the east, four thousand five hundred worlds are near the west, and four thousand five hundred worlds are at the northern limit, and four thousand and Five hundred worlds are the limit of the south. This is eighteen thousand worlds. And Gog and Magog are among the eighteen thousand.^[5]

The story of Gog and Magog is also related to the Mi’raj, because even there exists a universe and it is geographically vast and there are strange things in it. In this interpretation, it is as if God and Magog have stayed there, i.e. in the heavens, until they come at the time of resurrection: “So Gabriel took me to Gog and Magog, and I presented my religion to them, and they did not accept it. And this Gog, Magog, Tars, Tafil, Maluk and Masukh are all from hell. And this Gog and Magog will come out at the time of resurrection. When the resurrection is near, they will come out.”^[6] There are also details about their appearance.

The story of resurrection is one aspect of the story, and the other aspect is the return of Jesus (a) and the Mahdi (a), and these two people will return at a close distance at that time. In fact, all of these things are involved in the end of time sedition:

“And they asked the messenger, peace be upon him, about Gog and Magog and their sedition. He said: They will come out at the end of time. And between Gog and Magog, the coming out of the Mahdi, and the descent of Jesus (a) from the sky, there should be nothing between these four. And they will all come out within a few years, and they will all perish in a few years. And Muhammad bin Jarir al-Tabari says that: I saw in the book of “Fitan”, that these four signs that we mentioned will be found at the end of time, all this when four hundred years have passed since the emigration, and they will be found everywhere, as the Almighty said: swarming down from every hill (21:96). Then the Mahdi will come out from behind them. And Mahdi is the caliph of Jesus. And Jesus will come from the sky to the earth, and the whole earth will be full of sedition from the Dajjal and from the hand of Gog and Magog. So the Mahdi will become the caliph, and will come and cleanse this world from sedition, from Dajjal and his followers, and Gog and Magog, and drown them in the sea. So, the world will return to righteousness. And not much time will pass after that until the Day of Judgement. And this hadith was taken out by Muhammad bin Jarir from the book “Fitan”.^[7]

And elsewhere, he says: “In the book of Fitan, we found that there are four signs of the Resurrection, which will all appear close to one another: one is Gog and Magog who will come forth, the second is the Dajjal who will come forth, the third is the Mahdi who will come forth, and the fourth is Jesus, son of Mary, who will descend from the heavens.”^[8]

Accordingly, there is an initial discussion about the location of Gog and Magog, which relates to the barrier of Alexander or Dhu al-Qarnayn and is presumably somewhere on this very earth. The next discussion is about their dwelling in a place from which they are expected to emerge before the appearance of Jesus or the Mahdi and shortly before the Resurrection.

In these statements, Gog and Magog are also connected to Jabalqā and Jabalṣā. Essentially, it seems the task of these two is to pierce the barrier of Dhu al-Qarnayn, thus they do not have a good reputation. They are inhabitants of hell, while the people of Jabalqā and Jabalṣā are inhabitants of paradise! (Translation of Tafsir al-Tabari: 1/198).

Our discussion is not about the nature of Gog and Magog themselves, nor about what kind of beings they are and how they lived. Rather, the discussion concerns the geography of the barriers associated with them, and indeed, there are many detailed accounts on this topic. However, our goal is not to determine this location but to understand the empirical perspective of Muslims in the field of geography and how much effort they put into discovering it.

In reality, most geographers have special explanations for the barrier of Gog and Magog and have attempted to provide explanations due to the attention Muslims pay to this issue based on the Quran. This area, like some other regions mentioned in the Quran, including the locations of some destroyed nations, has not been precisely identified geographically. Given this need, some have tried to gather information from every possible source.

Our aim here is to explore what has been expressed with what kind of epistemological perspective about such a geographical region, one of the areas mentioned by the Quran from the ancient world, and what empirical efforts Muslims have made to understand it.

In fact, our story, from a knowledge perspective, relates to a travel experience—an experience that was purposefully undertaken to gain an understanding of the barrier. In other words, it was a purposeful endeavour by the government to understand the state of Dhu al-Qarnayn’s barrier, a task that was carried out by Wathiq Abbasi (227-232 AH). For this purpose, he chose a professional translator known as Sallam the Interpreter.

The story goes that Wathiq had a dream in which the barrier of Dhu al-Qarnayn had been breached and water, or rather a flood, was flowing. To alleviate his concerns, he decided to send a delegation to investigate the geographical location of the barrier. This delegation travelled a long distance and then wrote a report about the region where he believed the barrier of Dhu al-Qarnayn was located.

In terms of this discussion, what is important is that this journey, if it indeed took place, can be considered a research expedition. It would be one of the earliest research expeditions, although there may have been other forms of such journeys, possibly for espionage or peripheral purposes, such as those undertaken by a merchant. However, from the perspective of a research and geographical exploration journey, it is highly significant.

Sallam the Interpreter’s Exploratory Trip to Azerbaijan’s Darband During the Reign of Wathiq Abbasi

Sallam the Interpreter’s report describes the route from Samarra to Darband in Azerbaijan. It includes several pages of reporting on various issues and concludes with the return journey, which involves circling the Caspian Sea from the north, travelling to Samarqand, then returning to Nishapur, and finally to Samarra.

The first geographer to document this report was Ibn Khordadbeh, who wrote his book al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik between 280 and 300 AH. In fact, there is no mention of this event before him. He both heard the story orally from Sallam the Interpreter and compared it with the written report that Sallam had prepared. Thus, the account is natural, although many statements may be fanciful and based on the tales and stories of the inhabitants of those regions.

The first statement of Ibn Khordadbeh is this:

Description of the wall of Gog and Magog:

Sallam the interpreter narrated to me that when al-Wathiq Billah saw in his dream that the wall which Dhul-Qarnayn had built between us and Gog and Magog had a breach, he sought a man to go to the place and report back to him. Ashnas said that there was no one more suitable for the task than Sallam the interpreter, who spoke thirty languages. Al-Wathiq summoned me and said, “I want you to go to the wall, inspect it, and bring me a report.” He assigned fifty strong young men to accompany me, gave me five thousand dinars, and paid me a compensation of ten thousand dirhams. He also ordered that each of the fifty men be given a thousand dirhams and provisions for a year.

According to the full Persian report from Ibn Khurradadhbih’s book:

“Sallam the Interpreter told me [Ibn Khurradadhbih]: when al-Wathiq Billah saw in his dream that it was as if the barrier, which ‘the two-horned one’ had built between us and Gog and Magog, had opened, he looked for a man whom he could send out to the place [of the barrier] in order to seek information about it. Ashnas then said:

“There is no one here [in Samarra] able [to fulfil the task] but Sallam the Interpreter: he speaks thirty languages.” He [Sallam] related: al-Wathiq summoned me and said: “I want you to go out to the barrier in order to examine it and report to me about it”. He [al-Wathiq] gathered fifty strong young men for me [Sallam] and gave me 5000 dinars, and 10000 dirhams as blood-money. He ordered that each one of the fifty men be given 1000 dirhams, and means of living for a year. He also ordered that felt cloaks covered with leather, saddle-cloths of fur, and wooden stirrups be prepared for the men. He also gave me two hundred mules to carry provisions and water.

We set out from Surra man ra’a [Samarra] with a letter from al-Wathiq bi-llah for lshaq b. lsma’il, the governor of Armenia, who was in Tiflis when we arrived there. lshaq wrote for us to the ruler of Sarir, and the ruler of Sarir wrote for us to the king of the Alans, and the king of the Alans wrote for us to the filan-shah, and the filan-shah wrote for us to Tarkhan, the king of the Khazars. We stayed a day and a night with the king of the Khazars, until he had found five guides for us.

From him we travelled for twenty-six days and then came to a black, fetid region. Before entering it, we had supplied ourselves with vinegar to sniff at against the evil odour. We travelled for ten days in that region.

Then we came to ruined towns among which we journeyed for twenty days. We asked what had happened to those towns. We were told that they were the towns which Gog and Magog had invaded and destroyed.

Then we came upon fortresses near the mountain in a gorge of which the barrier is found. In those fortresses were people who spoke Arabic and Persian; they were Muslims who read the Koran and had Koran schools and mosques. They asked us from where we came and we told them that we were envoys of the Commander of the Believers. They were astonished and asked: “The Commander of the Believers?” We said “Yes” They asked: “Is he an old man or a young man?” We said: “A young man”. They were again astonished and asked: “Where does he live?” We said: “In Iraq, in a city called Surra man ra’a. They said: “We never heard of it”. From each of these fortresses to the next the distance is one to two parasangs, more or less.

Then we came to a town called lgu. Its quadrangle is ten parasangs, and it has iron gates. These gates are closed from above. Inside the town are fields and mills. It was in this town that ‘the two-horned one’ used to dress his camp with his army.

The journey between this place and the barrier is three days [stages], and between it and the barrier are fortresses and villages, until one arrives at the barrier on the third day [stage]. It is a circular mountain-range. People relate that Gog and Magog dwell in it, and that the two are of two kinds. People say that Gog is taller than Magog, and that one of them has a length of between one cubit and one cubit and a half, more or less. Then we came to a high mountain on top of which was a fortress.

The barrier built by ‘the two-horned one’ is [in] a pass between two mountains, 200 cubits wide. That is the road along which they [Gog and Magog] will come out and spread over the earth. He [‘the two-horned one’] dug its foundations to the depth of 30 cubits; he made them of iron and copper and brought them up to the surface of the earth. Then he raised two side-pillars near to the mountain on both sides of the pass, each side-pillar being 25 cubits wide and 50 cubits high. Under both pillars 10 cubits [of the foundation] jutted out beyond the gate. The entire construction is built with iron bricks covered with copper. There is an iron lintel whose extremities rest on the two side-pillars; it is 120 cubits long and is mounted on the two side-pillars, on each of them 10 cubits; it is 5 cubits wide. On top of the lintel is a construction made of those iron bricks with copper, reaching to the top of the mountain, its height extending as far as the eye reaches: the construction above the lintel is some 60 cubits [high].

On top are iron merlons; on the edge of each merion are two horns, each bent towards the other. The length of each merion is 5 cubits, its breadth 4 cubits. There are 37 merlons on it.

The iron gate has two hanging leaves, each 50 cubits wide, 75 cubits high and 5 cubits thick. The uprights of the two leaves are fixed in pivots which are in proportion to the lintel. Air cannot penetrate by the gate nor by the mountain-side; it is as if it [the barrier] is created in one piece.

Over the gate is a bolt, 7 cubits long, 1 cubit thick, 1 fathom around. Two men cannot embrace the bolt; it is 25 cubits above the ground. 5 cubits above the bolt is a lock, which is longer than the bolt. Each of its two staples is 2 cubits long.

Over the lock a key is suspended, one cubit and a half long, with 12 wards, each ward like the pestle of a mortar. The key is 4 spans around and is suspended from a chain which is riveted to the gate; it is 8 cubits long and 4 spans around. The ring to which the chain is attached is like the ring of a balista. The threshold of the gate is 10 cubits wide and extends over 100 cubits, not counting the space under the two side pillars. The visible part of it is 5 cubits. All these cubits are black cubits.

Near the gate are two fortresses, each of them two hundred by two hundred cubits. At the gates of these two fortresses are two trees and between the two fortresses is a spring of sweet water. In one of the fortresses are the tools for the construction with which he [‘the two-horned one’] built the barrier: among other things the iron cauldrons and iron ladles, four cauldrons on each forge; they are like soap-kettles. There are here also the remainders of the iron tiles; they are sticking together with rust. The commander of these fortresses rides out every Monday and Thursday. They inherit [the custody of] that gate in the same way as the caliphs inherit the caliphate. He rides out accompanied by three men, each carrying an iron rod on his neck. At the gate is a ladder. He climbs to the top of the ladder and strikes the bolt once at the beginning of the day. He hears them [Gog and Magog] making a noise like a hornets’ nest, after which they are quiet. At midday he strikes it [the bolt] a second time and bends his ear towards the gate. The second time their noise is stronger than the first time; after that they are quiet. In the afternoon he strikes again, then they are noisy in the same way. After that he sits down until sunset and then leaves. The purpose of knocking against the bolt is that those who are on the other side of the gate, [Gog and Magog], hear it and realize that there are guards on this side, and that the latter know that the others have not been up to something unexpected at the gate. In the neighbourhood of this place is a large fortress of ten parasangs by ten, its area being one hundred parasangs.

Sallam said: “I asked the people of the fortress who were present whether the gate had ever sustained any damage. They said: Not at all, except this crack” The crack now was as wide as a thin thread. I then asked: “Are you afraid that anything might happen to it?” They said: “No, because this gate is 5 cubits thick, cubits of lskandar that is; every cubit of Iskandar equals one black cubit and a half.” He [Sallam] said: “I approached, took a knife out of my boot, scraped at the spot of the crack, took out as much as half a dirham, and tied it up in a piece of cloth in order to show it to al-Wathiq bi-llah. At the top of the right leaf of the gate is written in iron [letters] in the primordial language: “When the promise of my Lord comes, He will level it; and the promise of my Lord is true” [Koran xvm:98].

We were looking at the construction: the greater part of it is striped, a yellow row of copper alternating with a black row of iron. In the mountain the place was dug out in which the gates had been cast, and the place of the cauldrons in which the copper used to be mixed, and the place in which the lead and the copper used to be blended. There were cauldrons which looked like brass; each cauldron had three handles to which the chains and hooks were attached by which the copper was raised to the top of the wall [sur].

We asked the people who were there: “Have you seen anyone of Gog and Magog?” They recalled that they once had seen a number of them on the mountain, but a black wind had blown and thrown them back to their side [of the barrier]. The size of the men, as it appeared to the eye, was one span and a half.

The mountain on the outer side has neither slope nor foot, nor are there plants, herbs, trees or anything else of the kind. That mountain is perpendicular, smooth, white.

When we departed, the guides took us in the direction of Khurasan. There was the king called al-Lub. Then we left that place [of king al-Lub] and arrived at the place of a ruler called Tabanuyan who is inspector of the land-tax. We stayed with them for some days. We departed from that place [travelling] until we arrived at Samarkand in eight months. We came to Asbishab [Isfyab], crossed the river of Balkh, and then came to Sharusana [Usrushana], Bukhara and Tirmidh. Then we arrived at Nisabur [Nishapur].

Of the men who were with us, [a number] had died: on the outward journey twenty-eight fell ill; those of them who died were buried in their clothes, and those who fell ill we left behind in villages. On the return journey fourteen men died, and so we arrived at Nisabur with fourteen men. The commanders of the fortresses used to supply us with sufficient provisions.

Then we visited ‘AbdAllah b. Tahir. He gave me 8000 dirhams, and 500 dirhams to each man who was with me. To the horsemen he paid five dirhams, and to the foot-men three dirhams for every day till al-Rayy. From the mules we had only twenty-three had survived.

We arrived at Surra man ra’a. I was admitted to al-Wathiq, told him the story and showed him the iron which I had scraped from the gate. He praised God, ordered alms to be distributed and gave every one of the men 1000 dinars.

We had reached the barrier in sixteen months, and had returned in twelve months and some days.

Sallam the Interpreter told me [Ibn Khurradadhbih] this entire story. Afterwards he dictated to me from the report which he had written for al-Wathiq Billah.^[9]

The last sentence emphasizes Ibn Khurradadhbih’s assertion to validate the report. He states that in addition to hearing the information verbally from Sallam the Interpreter, he compared it with the written text that had been prepared for al-Wathiq, and in fact, Sallam read that text to Ibn Khurradadhbih: “We reached the wall in sixteen months and returned in twelve months and some days. Sallam the Interpreter told me this whole story, then dictated it to me from a book that he had written for al-Wathiq Billah.”^[10]

Later sources have written this report based on Ibn Khurradadhbih. If the book al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik was written around 280 to 300 AH, one of the first people to quote it was Ibn al-Faqih al-Hamadani (d. 365 AH), who quoted the exact Arabic text. It is evident that he trusted it and naturally considered it important.^[11]

The report of Sallam the interpreter in ancient geographical texts after Ibn Khurradadhbih

The report mentioned in al-Alaq al-Nafisa by Ibn Rustah (3rd century) refers to this account of Ibn Khurradadhbih.^[12] However, his wording regarding the validity of the story is somewhat ambiguous. In fact, he both doubts and asserts its correctness: “Ibn Khurradadhbih said, ‘Sallam the Interpreter told me, and he used to translate the Turkish books that were sent to the Sultan for Al-Wathiq billah. He said when Al-Wathiq billah saw that the wall built by Dhul-Qarnayn between us and Gog and Magog was open, he summoned me and said, ‘Inspect it and report back to me,’ and he assigned a group to accompany me… Ibn Khurradadhbih said, ‘Sallam the Interpreter told me this whole story, then dictated it to me from a book he had written for al-Wathiq, and we wrote it down to highlight the errors and exaggerations because such a story cannot be accepted as true. However, I found it consistent.’ … Such statements are, of course, not accepted, but I found him to be in agreement with me.”^[13]

Maqdisī (d. 380), another geographer, also reported this account from Ibn Khurradadhbih’s book: “The wall of Gog and Magog is located beyond it, about two months’ journey from the wall built by Dhul-Qarnayn. I read in the book of Ibn Khurradadhbih and others about the story of this wall in a uniform manner, and the wording and attribution are to Ibn Khurradadhbih because he was the caliph’s minister and more capable of accessing the knowledge in the library of the Commander of the Faithful. He also says that Sallam the Interpreter told him that when al-Wathiq billah saw in a dream that the wall built by Dhul-Qarnayn between us and Gog and Magog was open, he sent him and said, ‘Inspect it and report back to me.'”^[14]

The Dispatch of Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi to Discover the Cave of the Seven Sleepers

It is interesting that right at the beginning, from the words of Sallam the Interpreter, it is mentioned that: “Al-Wathiq dispatched Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi the astronomer to Tarkhan, the king of the Khazars.”^[15] This sentence appears as a parenthetical statement and is unrelated to the main story, except to show that al-Wathiq made a similar effort for another type of geographical information. Anyway, the story of Sallam continues, but the final part is summarized.^[16]

It is worth mentioning that the story of Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi’s expedition is also narrated by Ibn Khurradadhbih himself. He writes: “And Al-Wathiq billah sent Muhammad ibn Musa the astronomer to the lands of Rome to observe the Companions of the Cave, and he wrote to the Great Roman to send someone to guide him to them. Muhammad ibn Musa told me that the Great Roman sent someone with him to Kara, then they travelled through four stages, there was a mountain with a base of less than a thousand cubits, and it had a tunnel from the surface of the earth leading to the place where the Companions of the Cave were.” (And the story continues).^[17]

If this story is also true, it is clear that al-Wathiq Abbasi, who was a follower of the Mu’tazilite school, was pursuing a specific line of inquiry. Although it appeared to have a religious aspect, it could be considered an independent scientific movement in the field of geography and geographical explorations. This story is also mentioned by Mas’udi in Muruj al-Dhahab^[18] and by Biruni in al-Athar al-Baqiya^[19] and other sources. For more on this, see: The History of Geographical Writings in the Islamic World by Krachkovsky.^[20]

The Report of Sallam the Interpreter in Later Geographical Texts

Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Idrisi (d. 560 AH) mentions in Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi Ikhtiraq al-Afaq that he took the account from Ibn Khurradadhbih’s book and also references the book of Jihani: “As for the barrier of Gog and Magog, it is something that has been mentioned in books and has been continuously reported. Among those who reported it is Sallam the Interpreter, as related by Ubaydullah ibn Khurradadhbih in his book, and also by Abu Nasr al-Jihani, who said….”^[21]

Al-Bakri (d. 487 AH) also includes the story of Sallam the Interpreter in his book al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik and introduces him as “he was the one who translated the Turkish books that were sent to al-Wathiq”^[22]

A surprising point in Al-Bakri’s account is that before reporting Sallam the Interpreter’s story, he mentions Ibn ‘Afir saying: “Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan sent 25 people to the barrier of Gog and Magog to see its condition. He wrote to the king of the Khazars to allow them passage and sent gifts for them. They went until they reached two mountains….” This report is five lines long but indicates that a similar account existed before Sallam the Interpreter’s story.^[23]

Later geographers have consistently included the story of Sallam the Interpreter, and this narration continues until the time of Yaqut al-Hamawi, although he presents it briefly and ends with some skepticism: “I have written what I found about the barrier in books, and I do not assert the truth of what I have presented due to differing accounts, and Allah knows best its authenticity. In any case, there is no doubt about the truth of the barrier, as it is mentioned in the holy book.”^[24]

Yaqut’s critique is based on the discrepancies in the details of the reports, which is surprising considering that all sources refer to Ibn Khurradadhbih. It is necessary to admit that we are not fully aware of these discrepancies, and aside from the slightly more detailed account by al-Idrisi (who might have had access to a more extensive version of Ibn Khurradadhbih’s al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik), the other reports are very similar. However, all texts should be compared to understand Yaqut’s critique precisely, and if the minor discrepancies are not considered grounds for outright rejection, it might be possible to respond accordingly.

Sallam’s report is also mentioned in the book by Ibn Wasif Shah, who probably died in 599 AH.^[25]

After Yaqut, sources like Kharidat al-Aja’ib wa Faridat al-Ghara’ib^[26] and the author of al-Rawd al-Mi’tar (Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Mun’im al-Himyari, d. 900 AH) also included this report.^[27]

The Report of Sallam the Interpreter in Historical Books

Tha’alibi Marghani (350-429 AH), one of the literati and historians who reported this account, states: “The report by Sallam the Interpreter about the barrier, including the description of the gate, the hinge, the lock, the key, and the cylindrical rods, is not reliable because it does not align with the description given in the Qur’an…”^[28].

Gradually, the narration of this story extended from geographical works to historical books as well. Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597 AH) was one of the first to include it in his major work al-Muntazam^[29]. Naturally, his source was also Ibn Khurradadhbih.

The author of Mujmal al-Tawarikh (6th century AH) included it in Persian without mentioning Khurradadhbih’s name. The translation is beautiful, so in this virtual space where there is little cost, it is best to include this summary translation as well:

“And it is narrated by Sallam the Interpreter that the Commander of the Faithful, al-Wathiq Billah, saw in a dream that the barrier of Gog and Magog had been opened. Then he ordered me to prepare and go there to see it first hand. He gave me fifty men, fifty thousand dinars, ten thousand dirhams in provisions, and ordered one thousand dirhams for each man. He also gave me a year’s supply of food and two hundred camels to carry the provisions. He wrote a letter for me to Ishaq ibn Isma’il, the ruler of Armenia, and we went there. Ishaq gave me a letter to the ruler of Sarir, and we reached there. He made arrangements and sent a guide and a letter to the king of Alan, who then sent us to the king of filan-shah. From there, they wrote a letter to the king of Tarkhun. We went there and stayed for a day and a night. He sent fifty men with us and made arrangements. We travelled for twenty-five days until we reached a black land with a terrible stench of decay. We had prepared fragrant substances to counteract the smell, guided by the Khazars, and we travelled in this condition for twenty-nine days.

We asked about the situation and the place, and they said: ‘In this land, countless people have died.’ Then we reached ruined cities and traveled for twenty days. They said: ‘These are all cities that were destroyed by Gog and Magog years ago.'”

Afterward, we reached numerous fortresses near the barrier, on a ridge of it. There, we found a people who were Muslims, recited the Quran, had mosques, and schools for teaching, as was their custom, and they spoke Arabic and Persian very fluently. They asked us about our situation. We said: “We are the messengers of the Commander of the Faithful.” They were astonished and, in amazement, asked each other: “The Commander of the Faithful?” Then they asked: “Is he young or old, and where is he?” We said: “He is young and resides in the city of Samarra in Iraq.” They said: “We have never heard of this before.”

Then we headed towards the barrier and the mountain. We found a smooth mountain without any vegetation, very massive, and a mountain cut off by a valley, its width being one hundred and fifty spans. Opposite it, there were two iron pillars built on each side of the valley, each being twenty-five spans wide and ten cubits thick, extending outwards like a tray. All of it was made of iron bricks and soldered with molten copper, and fifty spans high. There was an iron gate built into it, with its corners resting on the pillars, extending one hundred and twenty spans across these pillars. On each side of the gate, there was a segment ten cubits high and five cubits wide; above this gate, there were iron bricks, as far as the eye could see, rising up to the top of the original mountain, with battlements constructed on top and iron horns interlocked. There was an iron door hanging on it, consisting of two panels, each fifty spans by fifty spans and five spans thick, with hinges as wide as the gate.

Above this door, fifteen cubits high, there was a lock weighing seven minas and a span in circumference, and five cubits above this lock, there was a ring longer than the lock, with enormous hoops, and a key one and a half spans long with twelve teeth, each as large as a powerful pestle, hanging in an eight-span chain, and its circumference four spans, hanging in a larger ring than a catapult chain. The threshold of the door was ten spans long, extending a hundred spans wide, straight between the two pillars, and what was visible was five spans, all measured by the black cubit.

The leader of these fortresses would ride out every Friday with ten riders, each carrying an iron mallet weighing fifty minas. They would strike the lock three times forcefully, so those near the barrier would hear the sound; thus, they knew that the guards were still present. They could hear the sound and the commotion of those on the other side. Near this mountain, there was a large fortress, ten parasangs by ten parasangs in area, and near the barrier were two other fortresses and a water spring. In one fortress, there were remnants of construction tools from the time of Dhu al-Qarnayn: large cauldrons for melting copper, like soap cauldrons, iron ladles, and iron bricks soldered with copper, each brick measuring one and a half spans long and the same width and about a handspan thick. We then asked if they had ever seen any of them (the people of Gog and Magog). They said: “At one time, many of them came to the battlements, each person no more than a handspan and a half tall. Then a black wind arose and blew them back. After that, we never saw them again.”

When we had seen all this, we decided to return. They provided us with guides and provisions. We emerged seven parasangs east of Samarqand and came to Abdullah ibn Tahir. He gave me a hundred thousand dirhams and five hundred dirhams to each of the men who were with me.

From there, we returned to Samarra and reported this story to the Commander of the Faithful. Our journey, from departure to return, lasted twenty-eight months. There is no account closer to the sight and description of the Barrier of Alexander than this one – and Allah knows best.”^[30]

The final sentence is interesting from an epistemological perspective: “There is no account closer to the sight and description of the Barrier of Alexander than this one.”

Minhaj Siraj (d. 698) also briefly wrote that Al-Wathiq Billah sent Sallama (Sallam) the Interpreter to bring him news about the Barrier of Alexander, as he had seen in a dream that the Barrier of Alexander had collapsed. Al-Wathiq gave Sallama a great amount of wealth and sent fifty thousand men with him. They travelled from Samarra to Khorasan and from there, according to one account, towards Khazar, and according to another, towards Karaj. They remained on that journey for two years and seven months and then returned. They brought back descriptions of the barrier, its length, width, height, the key, and the people assigned to guard it since the time of Dhu al-Qarnayn, as recorded in the stories.^[31]

It is evident how much this story has taken on a legendary aspect. Qazwini also recounted this tale in both Aja’ib al-Makhluqat and Athar al-Bilad.^[32] In later periods, it was also mentioned in Nihayat al-Arab^[33] and al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya.^[34]

Views of Researchers and Orientalists on Sallam the Interpreter’s Report

But what do modern scholars think about this report? On this matter, Kratchkovsky (d. 1951), in his outstanding work, “The History of Geographical Writings in the Islamic World” (translated by Abolghasem Payandeh, Tehran, 1379), provides an account of various researchers’ (especially Russians’) positions on the subject, which can help us evaluate their assessment of this report. Kratchkovsky writes:

“The famous journey of Sallam the Translator to the northern regions is associated with Caliph al-Wathiq, who was previously mentioned as an encourager of such travels. This travelogue holds particular significance for our Soviet homeland, and it is no surprise that it attracted attention more than two centuries ago. Bayer, one of our earliest academicians, wrote about Sallam the Translator in the first academic descriptions. Over the past seventy years, the scholarly community’s view on Sallam has not changed much. Although Sprenger considered it a ‘deliberate misleading’ in 1864/1281, and Grigoryev and Minorsky in 1937 viewed it as a mythical tale with several geographical names, opposing views should not be ignored. Since 1888/1306, de Goeje regarded this journey as a historical and undeniable event worthy of scholars’ attention, a view supported by Tomaschek, a reputable specialist in historical geography.

More recently, Vasiliev, a Byzantine scholar, believes that Sallam reported local narratives seen during his travels to the caliph. This recent view seems justified, but the travelogue, like all other works of this kind, cannot be considered a geographical treatise. Instead, it is a collection of narrative materials and some personal observations presented in a literary form. First and foremost, the travelogue should be seen as credible because Ibn Khordadbeh recounts it in Sallam’s own words, adding at the end that he first heard it from Sallam and then transcribed the report Sallam gave to the Caliph. Al-Maqdisi’s commentary on Ibn Khurradadhbih in this context also supports the narrative’s authenticity, stating, ‘He was the Caliph’s minister and had access to the Amir al-Mu’minin’s scientific treasury,’ and he heard the story directly from its author. This story was widely disseminated in Arab geographical writings, and early and later geographers such as Ibn Rustah, Yaqut, Abu Hamid al-Gharnati, al-Idrisi, al-Qazwini, al-Nuwayri, and others recounted it with minor variations. Al-Idrisi mentioned some parts that apparently were in Ibn Khordadbeh’s original text but have not survived in the current abbreviated version of his book.

The motive for sending this embassy, like that for sending Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi to investigate the news of the Companions of the Cave, was purely imaginative. The Caliph dreamt that the barrier Alexander the Great built to block Gog and Magog had been breached. This frightening dream might have been caused by rumours following the fall of the Uyghur state to the Kyrgyz in 840, regarding Turkish movements in Central Asia. Regardless of all the details, Sallam’s route was from Armenia and Georgia to the Khazar lands in the north, and from there eastward to the Caspian Sea, Lake Balkhash, and Zungaria, returning through Bukhara and Khorasan to Samarra in Iraq. Undoubtedly, he saw the famous Caucasian barrier at Derbent, and as de Goeje has demonstrated, it is entirely possible that he reached the Great Wall of China. The confusion in his report between the two walls can be explained by the fact that in al-Khwarizmi’s time, contemporary with Sallam, there were two narratives about the wall of Dhu al-Qarnayn, one placing it in the east and the other in the north. Sallam probably intended to record his observations while also conveying the Quranic narrative about the wall of Gog and Magog in a literary form. It is certainly impossible to limit his travel area to the region between Crimea and the Ural Mountains, as suggested in recent years by Zichy, a Hungarian scholar, who identified the wall with a mountain pass fortified by the Bulgars.

One of the historians of Eastern Europe and Central Asia concludes the discussion of Sallam as follows: ‘Undoubtedly, around 842-843, Sallam traveled eastward from the Caucasus and Khazar territories and then returned from his route through Berskhan, Taraz (Talas), and Samarqand to Khorasan, observing a wall or mountain pass resembling a wall during this journey.’ Thus, it can be said that recently, Sallam has gained some trust in scholarly circles. Some have tried to dismiss Sallam’s travelogue as merely a fictional tale, but we should not forget that the sources of geographical myths in Arabic writings are elsewhere and related to sea stories from the East such as India and the Malay Archipelago or the Maghreb, especially the eastern coasts of Africa. These stories flourished in the ports of the Caliphate like Basra, Siraf, and particularly Baghdad during the ninth/third century AH. Storytellers rarely included their tales in books, and these tales often survived through the writings of others, sometimes contemporaries or subsequent generations.”^[35]

Thus, we become familiar with some of the perspectives on this report, with some considering it a myth and others trusting its authenticity.

Footnotes 

[1] Tafsīr al-Tabari, v.18, pg. 526 https://shamela.ws/book/43/10544

Tāj al-Tarājim,  v.2, pg. 706 (Farsi, Tehran edition)

[2] Tafsīr al-Tha’labi, v.6, pg.192 https://shamela.ws/book/23578/1860#p1

Tāj al-Tarājim,  v.3, pg. 1331

[3] Banāt al-Na’ash refers to the Great Bear Constellation

[4] Tarīkh al-Khamīs, v.1, pg.103 https://shamela.ws/book/9784/102, Tāj al-Tarājim,  v.2, pg. 1341

[5] Tafsīr al-Tabari, v.1, pg.146, fn.1 https://shamela.ws/book/43/157#p1

[6] ‘Umdat al-Qāri Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari, v.15, pg.233 https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/303/13893/

Mustadrak ‘ala Sahihayn, v.5, pg.689 https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/

Tarīkh Al-Tabari, v.1, pg.70 https://shamela.ws/book/9783/68

https://t3beer.ahlamontada.com/t8471-topic

[7] Tafsīr al-Tabari, v.18, pg.530 https://shamela.ws/book/43/10548#p1

Bidāyah al-Nihāyah,v.19, pg.233 https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/59/2602/

[8] Sahih Muslim, h. 2937 https://dorar.net/hadith/sharh/139267

https://www.islamweb.net/ar/fatwa/121048/

[9] Al-Masālik wa al-Mamālik, pg.153-157 http://lib.eshia.ir/40540/1/153

[10] Al-Masālik wa al-Mamālik, pg.162-170 http://lib.eshia.ir/40540/1/162

[11] Akhbār al-Buldān, pg.595-600 https://shamela.ws/book/11685/583

[12]  al-‘Allāq al-Nafīsah, pg.149 https://archive.org/details/034507p.d.f325/page/n154/

[13] al-‘Allāq al-Nafīsah, pg.149 https://archive.org/details/034507p.d.f325/page/n154

[14] Ahsan al-Taqasīm fi Ma’rifah al-Aqālīn, pg.362 https://shamela.ws/book/23696/363

[15] ibid.,pg.362

[16] ibid., pg.365

[17] Al-Masālik wa al-Mamālik, pg.106 http://lib.eshia.ir/40540/1/106

[18] Murūj al-Dhahab, v.1,pg.348 http://ito.lib.eshia.ir/81454/1/348

[19] Athar al-Baqīyah, pg.360

[20] The History of Geographical Writings in the Islamic World, pg.116

[21] Nuzhat al-Mishtāq Fi Ikhtirāq al-Ãfāf, v.2, pg.934-938 https://shamela.ws/book/11787/932

[22] “Al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik, v.1, pg. 455-458 https://shamela.ws/book/23849/441

[23] ibid.,v.1, pg.455 https://shamela.ws/book/23849/441

[24] Mu’jām al-Buldān, v.3, pg.199-200 https://shamela.ws/book/23735/1273

[25] Mukhtasar Ajā’ib al-Dunyah, pg.192-194

[26] Kharidah al-Ajā’ib wa Faridah al-Ghara’ib, pg.186 https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://download.ghbook.ir/downloads.php

[27] Kitab al-Rawd al-Mitar, pg.310-311 https://shamela.ws/book/1043/326

[28] Ghurar al-Sayr, pg.440

[29] Al-Muntazam,v.1, pg.294-297 https://shamela.ws/book/12406/273

[30] Majmal Tawarīkh Wa Qasas, pg.379-380

[31] Tabaqāt al-Nāsiri,v.1, pg.115 https://lib.eshia.ir/10516/1/115

[32] Athar al-Bilād wa Akhbār al-‘Ibād, pg.597 https://shamela.ws/book/9631/594

[33] Nihayah al-Arab Fi Fanūn al-Adab, v.14, pg.309 https://lib.eshia.ir/41176/14/309

[34] Bidāyah al-Nihāyah, v.7, pg.125 https://shamela.ws/book/23708/2247

[35] The History of Geographical Writings in the Islamic World, pg. 113-114