Abstract
ALEXANDER THE GREAT IN THE SEYAHATNAME OF EVLİYA ÇELEBİ
Evliya Çelebi's Seyahatname, an unprecedented work of his lifetime travels throughout the Ottoman Empire mentions about four sovereigns who subjugated throughout the world. These sovereigns were Solomon, Alexander, Yanko bin Madyan and Buhtunnasr. Amongst them, Alexander is referred in the work of Evliya Çelebi as Zulkarneyn, Iskender-i Zulkarneyn, Iskender-i Kubra, Iskender-i Rumi, Iskender-i Yunan, Alexander, Feyleko Alexander, and Alexander the Son of Filkos and provided various aspects of information about him including stories, myths and tales. Despite the fact that there may be some inconsistencies and complexities in these sections in which Alexander the Great (Alexander of Macedon) who lived back in time and Zulkarneyn who is referred in the Koran were included, they contain rich and interesting materials for almost all fields of social sciences especially in terms of language, literature, folklore, history, and geography as in works such as Iskendername. The subject of this paper contains the contents about Alexander as included in the work of Evliya Çelebi. This paper consists of such titles as Evliya Çelebi's resources about Alexander, the identity of Alexander, the geography Alexander lived or influenced, his famous mirror and crown, how he was given the name of Zulkarneyn and the horn incident, the talismans he assigned to be made as well as the buildings constructed in during his time, straits and channels he assigned to be opened, his relationship with the Queen of Kaydafe, Alexander's influence on the history of Macedonia, Istanbul, and Izmit, his capture of the Castle of Van by trickery, the great war between Alexander and the famous Persian emperor Dara, his search for the water of immortality, and his relation with Khidr, the grand trees associated with Alexander and finally Iskendername with an aim to provide a comprehensive portrait of Alexander within the scope of Seyahatname.
Keywords
Evliya Çelebi, Seyahatname, Alexander the Great
