Recherches sur la tradition arabe du Roman d'Alexandre

This volume deals with the issue of the Arabic translation of the Greek Alexander Romance by Pseudo-Callisthenes. From a philological study of various Greek recensions, to a mosaic of Arabic sources related to one of the most popular texts of the Middle Ages - some of them yet unknown to a broader audience - it points out how the Alexander Romance, as a special example of the Graeco-Arabic translation movement, was rendered into Arabic. Apart from the written tradition, either in form of a translation from the Greek or a paraphrase, the oral tradition based on Surah 18 of the Qu'ran plays a central role. The influence of several Greek recensions can be traced in various Arabic sources. This synthesis of the most important Arabic translations of the legendary biography of Alexander the Great aims to give a detailed overview of those chapters of several Greek versions which have been received in the Orient, illustrating how Ancient Greek and Byzantine literature made their way into the Islamic world. Thus it also shows clearly which elements of the historical and legendary biography of the Macedonian have aroused the interest of not only Islamic but also Christian authors of the Abbasid times. In summary, this contribution offers a basis for further philological investigations of the extremely complex and eclectic translation process of the Alexander Romance, perceived even more as a historical than as a legendary account in the Orient.