Al-Mi'raj

Iskandar, here also called Dhu'l-Qarnayn "The Two-Horned", vanquishes the dragon by the same means as in Qazwini's tale, namely, stuffing the two sacrificial oxen with active substances,[f] and the outcome was that the bait "ignites fire inside the [monster's] entrails, and it expires".

[16] In a modern edition of Idrisi, the name of horned hare is given as baqrāj[g] (Arabic: بقراج),[Arabic verification needed] but the account differs as to circumstances: it states that Iskandar had harvested aloeswood on Lāqā, which failed to give off fragrance at first, but turned into fine-scented dense black wood upon departure from the island, and he traded the best specimen with other goods, including the baqrāj which looked like a hare but had a coat of shiny gold and a single black horn; it also caused wild animals (whether predator, mammal, or birds) to flee.

[Arabic verification needed][18][h] There is a Turkish translation of Qazwini on illuminated manuscript (18th century, Walters Art Museum),[j][20][21] and the episode of the dragon's isle and the horned hare is illustrated on one of its leaves (Fig.

Also, the Ottoman historian Ibn Zunbul [de]'s Qanun al-Dunya ("Law of the World"), preserved in manuscript (Topkapi Sarayi Museum Library ms. R 1638, fol.

As for treatments in languages other than Arabic, it is pointed out that the dragon-slaying Iskandar of Qazwini can be identified with one of the shahs of the Persian epic Shahnāma, or "The Book of Kings".

[25] Here, Aleksandros[27] after several days orders two large sacrificial oxen be removed of flesh, and had them stuffed with gypsum, pitch, lead, and sulfur to feed to the dragon.

[29] Later, the Ottoman Turkish poet Ahmedî [tr] (d. 1413) composed the Iskendername, using the Persian Shahnāma and Nizami's Iskandarnāma [de] as source material.