Date of Award
Spring 5-4-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
History
First Advisor
Nurten Kiliç-Schubel
Second Advisor
Alex Novikoff
Abstract
Gog and Magog are peppered throughout the monotheistic traditions of the Near East and consistently are referred to as harbingers of the end times. The duo also appears in the secular “Alexander Romance,” one of the most significant legends to circulate in the medieval world. These portrayals of Gog and Magog in both the Alexander Romance and the Abrahamic corpora directly led to their representation in the maps and geographic accounts of the Ibn Khordadbedh, Ibn Fadlan, and al-Idrisi. These medieval geographers, however, increasingly placed Gog, Magog, and The Land of Darkness to the north and East, bordering the limits of their known world. I intend to study the role of Gog and Magog in these sources so as to understand why geographers extended their location further away, "beyond humanity’s furthest extents."
Recommended Citation
Gonzalez, Alejandro, "“There is Nothing Known Beyond This.” Gog, Magog, and Humanity’s Furthest Extents" (2024). Honors Theses. 898.
https://digital.kenyon.edu/honorstheses/898
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