Through the prophet Ezekiel, God says to Gog (of the land of Magog), You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army. I am a professional archeologist. Many end times aficionados believe that Magog represents Russia and that Russia will soon come to invade Israel. 12:29, Judg. How, Islamic traditions. Thus they shall (BK)cleanse the land. . Deepen your knowledge of Scripture for less than $5/mo. They are thought to represent two giants who were taken The conflation of Gog and Magog with the legend of Alexander and the Iron Gates was disseminated throughout the Near East in the early centuries of the Christian and Islamic era. 14Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, Thus says the Lord God: (AA)On that day when My people Israel (AB)dwell safely, will you not know it? . WebGog and Magog Hike - Google My Maps Gog and Magog Hike Gog and Magog Hike Sign in Open full screen to view more This map was created by a user. This article was most recently revised and updated by. The Gates of Alexander may represent an attempt by Westerners to explain stories from China of a great king building a great wall. Your email address will not be published. Trafic Police Checkpoint R-10, UzbekistanCoordinate: 41.5711818, 70.111312. "The appearance of the lands of Gog and Magog in many early maps is one the most interesting and enduring examples of Biblical lore being translated into the cartographic medium. God, however, will send terrible natural disasters that will destroy Gog and his forces. These fortifications were historically part of the defence lines built by the Sassanid Persians, while the Great Wall of Gorgan may have been built by the Parthians. They are all subsequently defeated (38:18-23). He does mention Gog and Magog, however, locating them north of Cathay. But the only portal for armies was the Gate of Gates, through the area between the Black and Caspian seas. These, the first known mentions of the names Gog and Magog, occur in the Bible and are brief, jumbled and vague. You can use the Google Maps navigation app: Get directions to Dam of Yagog & Magog Where are the The opening of Gog and Magog and their first emergence has already happened, and they caused corruption on the earth against people generally, and against 6(AY)And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live [j]in security in (AZ)the coastlands. Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder? . In medieval world maps, the land of Gog and Magog is generally shown as a region in the far north, northeast, or east of Asia, enclosed by mountains or fortifications and often featuring a gate. If you have any questions, please review our Privacy Policy or email us at [email protected]. . The kingdoms of Gog, Generally these kingdoms are situated somewhere west of the Caspian Sea, north of China around Mongolia or Siberia. Save my name, email, and site URL in my browser for next time I post a comment. Idrisi. The Gates of Alexander are most commonly[citation needed] identified with the Caspian Gates of Derbent, whose thirty north-looking towers used to stretch for forty kilometers between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains, effectively blocking the passage across the Caucasus. They appear in the Koran, which has its own version of the Gog and Magog story; from these sources, they spread into common currency and become part of the Old Worlds travel mythsfables that spread among educated men, during those centuries when most of the earth was still terra incognita. gain access to 50+ premium resources to enhance your study of Scripture. On the border of the same map, closer to Europe, there is also text which describes the city and island of Taraconta which is inhabited by Turks of the race of Gog and Magog, a barbarous and wild people who eat the flesh of young people and aborted foetuses. Other maps identified Gog and Magog with the Lost Tribes of Israel, showing iudei inclusi (enclosed Jews) or Red Jews on maps of Asia and creating artwork depicting Gog and Magog that drew on overtly anti-Semitic imagery. 41He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: (D)Edom, Moab, and the [a]prominent people of Ammon. north. This battle will occur at the end of the great tribulation and during the battle of Armageddon. For instance, in 1971, Ronald Reaganthen governor of Californiaexplicitly stated that the communistic and atheistic USSR was the fulfilment of the prophecy in Ezekiel. I will summon every kind of terror against Gog, says the Lord GOD; every mans sword will be against his brother. And come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army; you will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land. WebThe enigmatic figure Gog from the land of Magog makes his flamboyant appearance in Ezekiel 38-39, being accompanied by the other foreign nations such as Persia, Cush, Lud, Meshech and Tubal (38:1-5; 39:1). [1] The name was transferred to the passes through the Caucasus, on the other side of the Caspian, by the more fanciful historians of Alexander. . Ezekiel Gog and Magog are described in the Book of Ezekiel. Here, Gog can not be a place , as Gog was the putative king of Magog, prophesied to be son of Japheth, and another that refers to the Caspian Gates being breached by Scythians allied to Tiberius during the Armenian War. They appear in the Hebrew Bible (Yechezkel/Ezekiel 38-39), in the Christian New Testament (Revelation 20:7-8) and the Quran (Surah Al-Kahf, 83-101). Sai, his 15th century religious classic City of God discourses at length on the duo suggesting that when, final judgment is imminent . And the sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. Gog & Magog Fragments, Everything there is toknow, n Islamic point of view of gog and magog in the modern world, Civil Litigation's . 13Indeed all the people of the land will be burying, and they will gain (BH)renown for it on the day that (BI)I am glorified, says the Lord God. And the sons of Javan: Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. In the Revelation to John (20:710), the names Gog and Magog are applied to the evil forces that will join with Satan in the great struggle at the end of time. Well, the East was vast, and the trade routes across it were guarded by Persian and Arab merchants; the Christians of Rome and Byzantium never got much further than the Holy Land. Used by permission. Gomer and all his hordes; the house of Togarmah in the uttermost parts of the north. Donald Trump has promised will soon stretch the length of the U.S.-Mexico border. Generally these kingdoms are situated somewhere west of the Caspian Sea and, more frequently, to the north of China around Mongolia or Siberia. (AJ)The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. 21I will (AK)call for (AL)a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains, says the Lord God. You can use the Google Maps navigation app: Get directions to Dam of Yagog & Magog . The biblical passages concerning Gog and Magog became the focus of later exegetes, who made repeated attempts to associate them with specific individuals and places. 2:22, NKJV Study Bible, Full-Color, Comfort Print: The Complete Resource for Studying Gods Word, NKJV, Chronological Study Bible: Holy Bible, New King James Version, NKJV, Spirit-Filled Life Bible, Third Edition, Red Letter Edition, Comfort Print: Kingdom Equipping Through the Power of the Word, NKJV, Woman's Study Bible, Red Letter, Full-Color: Receiving God's Truth for Balance, Hope, and Transformation, NKJV, The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People, NKJV, The American Patriot's Bible: The Word of God and the Shaping of America. With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him; and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples that are with him, torrential rains and hailstones, fire and brimstone. They produced mappa mundi, maps of the world, of increasing complexity and sophistication. Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; and I will turn you about, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you forth, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great company, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords . [a][6], The Gates are also mentioned in Procopius' History of the Wars: Book I. 43He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow (F)at his heels. They believed that they were normal, while the far reaches of Africa and Asia were inhabited by all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures barely recognisable as people. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. This state of affairs continued about the end of the 17th century, at which time the legend of Gog and Magog died away; today it is largely forgotten. The second pair was destroyed in a German air raid in 1940 and again replaced in 1953. The great hero Dhul, horned one, a reference to the ram horns Alexander wears on coins minted, during his rule to indicate his descent f, Al-Idrisi's World Map with Gog and Magog behind the wall and circled in red. WebA n Islamic point of view of gog and magog in the modern world Genesis, 10:2-4: The sons of Japeth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. [4] The medieval German legend of the Red Jews was partially based on stories of the Gates of Alexander. . Then they will know that I am the LORD. widely distributed in his lifetime, nor solely responsible for the presence of Gog and, European maps, the influence of Idrisis map and geographical notations cannot be ignored in any, element in mediaeval religious rhetoric, which preached of an imminent end of days. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword (N)and gathered from many people on (O)the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them (P)dwell safely. And the sons of Javan: Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. Public Domain/Wikipedia For Christians, Gog of Magog underwent a transformation in another apocalyptic text, the New Testament Book of Revelation. 4(F)I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and (G)lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, (H)all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. many Europeans came to the conclusion that they, communistic and atheistic USSR was the fulfilment of the prophecy, Political rhetoric turns desperate refugees into an overwhelming horde, it conjures up a criminal threat poised just the other side of the border. Another suggestion is some mountain pass in the Taurus-Zagros Mountains, somewhere near Rhaegae, Iran, in the heart of Hyrcania.[14]. [citation needed] Knowledge of Chinese innovations such as the compass and south-pointing chariot is known to have been diffused (and confused) across Eurasian trade routes. Josephus's Antiquities of the Jews contains two relevant passages, one giving the ancestry of Scythians as descendants of Magog But who are Gog and Magog? WebNo, the Gog and Magog will not be destroyed by Jesus, neither was the wall. Monday: Open 24 hoursTuesday: Open 24 hoursWednesday: Open 24 hoursThursday: Open 24 hoursFriday: Open 24 hoursSaturday: Open 24 hoursSunday: Open 24 hours, You can use the Google Maps navigation app:Get directions to Dam of Yagog & Magog , Latitude: 41.9217874 Longitude: 70.8072231, 1. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks In 1 Chronicles 5:4 (see Chronicles, books of the), Gog is identified as a descendant of the prophet Joel, and in Ezekiel 3839, he is the chief prince of the tribes of Meshech and Tubal in the land of Magog, who is called upon by God to conquer the land of Israel. The blemmyes had no heads but rather faces that were embedded in their chest; the homodubii were a kind of centaur with the body of a donkey; the panotti had ears so large that they could wrap them around their bodies like blankets, protection against the cold of their homeland in the far north. WebGog and Allies Attack Israel. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. It is depicted in this way on Arabian world maps starting from the 10th century, as also on the Tabula Rogeriana, an influential map drawn in 1154 by Muhammad al-Idrisi for Roger II of Sicily.[13]. And the reason that Europeans did not travel in Asia? (AM)Every mans sword will be against his brother. In the legends recounted by the medieval English historian Geoffrey of Monmouth, Gogmagog, or Gomagot, was a giant chieftain of Cornwall who was slain by Brutuss companion Corineus. 7(BA)So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them (BB)profane My holy name anymore. Note, this map is oriented to the south so here. The kingdoms of Gog and Magog appear in When the current holder of the gates dies, he bequeaths it to Emperor Anastasius. Ezekiel 39:1 And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal . His wish was granted. Everythings been said about Gog & Magog is mentioned here; almost. low without success before heading deeper into Asia where he, report influenced a number of important Islamic geographies, most importantly for this story, the 12th, century geographer Muhammed al-Idrisi, who was employed by the Sicilian monarch Roger II. "The appearance of the lands of Gog and Magog in many early maps is one the most interesting and enduring examples of Biblical lore being translated into the cartographic medium. In the north, the Islamic armies swept up into the present-day Soviet republics . Zabroshennaya Vodonasosnaya Stantsiya UzbekistanCoordinate: 41.6152955, 70.1132808, 4. Their origins lie far closer to home. 14:20; 2 Chr. Whether a foundation will ever actually be dug for this wall, or what that wall should look like, are matters of hot debate right now. Political rhetoric turns desperate refugees into an overwhelming horde; it conjures up a criminal threat poised just the other side of the border. and all his hordes; even many peoples with thee. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. During the Middle Ages, the Gates of Alexander story was included in travel literature such as the Travels of Marco Polo and the Travels of Sir John Mandeville. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. According to many medieval talesbased in part on the stories of the first-century CE Jewish historian JosephusAlexander the Great had come across wild and unclean peoples as he and his forces pushed eastwards across Asia. The Christians of Europe were certain that the land of Gog and Magog lay somewhere to the northeast; after the 17th century, Europeans began to travel in Asia and write accounts of their experiences . A 1619 map of Tartaria The Great Wall of China is depicted as well as the Bering Straight with Alaska, and the mythological lands of Gog and Magog. Jer. Ezekiel 38:2 is giving us information about Gog. He is the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal ruling in the land of Magog. Only one country, Magog, New King James Version (NKJV). 39And (AT)you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, [f]the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal; 2and I will (AU)turn you around and lead you on, (AV)bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. When it was rebuilt in Greenfield Village in 1931, it was scaled down as a two story building by architect, Edward J. Cutler. 23:6; Ezek. This nation, largely forgotten by history, seems to have been peopled by nomadic horsemen descended from the Huns, numerous enough and fierce enough to turn back the Muslims and retain their territory; at its height, the Khazar empire stretched from the rivers Volga to the Don and controlled the Caspian (then called the Khazar Sea) and the Caucasus mountains and large stretches of the northern coast of the Black Sea. [5] According to this historian, the people whom the Greeks called Scythians were known (among the Jews) as Magogites, descendants of Magog in the Hebrew Bible. Gog has been identified by modern scholars with Gyges, a 7th-century bce king of Lydia, and with the Akkadian god Gaga; and it has also been argued that the name Magog is derived from an Akkadian word meaning the land of Gyges. In the 1st century ce the Jewish historian Josephus claimed that Gog and Magog were the Scythians, and in the 5th and 6th centuries they were held to be the Huns. ", DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd, "The appearance of the lands of Gog and Magog in many early maps is one the most interesting and enduring examples of Biblical lore being translated into the cartographic medium. Some of the place-names can be tentatively identified: Madai may be Media, and the words Meshech and Tubal seem to appear in Assyrian inscriptions as Muschu and Tabal. Updates? The defeat of Gog will demonstrate the greatness and holiness of God and restore good relations between God and his people. Medieval Europeans sense of themselves was defined in part by what they were not. WebGog is the ruler of Magog and the prince of Meshech and Tubal, the demonic and sinister leader of ungodly peoples far distant from Israel, whom he leads in a final assault against the people of God, but is ignominiously defeated by the intervention of Yahweh upon the mountains of Canaan. Whether in medieval Europe or the modern West, people tend to define themselves by what they are notbut as was the case with Gog and Magog, these fears do not truly originate behind distant mountains in lands with unfamiliar names. 18And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel, says the Lord God, that My fury will show in My face. But map is made after Islam and gog and magog have been gone since the time of DulQurnain, which I believe to be Cyrus of Persia. The Gog Magog Hills are a range of low chalk hills, extending for several miles to the southeast of Cambridge in England. From Quran, Bibles, and ancient texts & lost fragments, still A big mystery, one thing for sure They are coming back, An Islamic point of view of gog and magog in the modern world. 22And I will (AN)bring him to judgment with (AO)pestilence and bloodshed; (AP)I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, (AQ)great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 15The search party will pass through the land; and when anyone sees a mans bone, he shall [n]set up a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog. Keywords United Kingdom, England, London Stores Jewelry stores Buildings (Structures) In an age of Google Maps and accurate cartography, its tempting to consign the land of Gog and Magog to the past, as simply yet another funny and ignorant quirk of the medieval European worldview. While the exact details of who they were and what actions they were prophesied to carry out varied, all faith traditions agreed that the inhabitants of Gog and Magog were a wild and fearsome people who were held at bay for now, but who would one day help to bring about the end of the world. Derbent was built around a Sassanid Persian fortress, which served as a strategic location protecting the empire from attacks by the Gokturks. A 1619 map of Tartaria The Great Wall of China is depicted as well as the Bering Straight with Alaska, and the mythological lands of Gog and Magog. Still, its proponents are adamant that a wall is necessary to preserve the integrity of the United States: that fearsome and alien things lurk just on the other side of the border, that a wall can be a firm dividing line between us and them. Dam of Yagog & Magog is a Point Of Interest, located at: Uzbekistan. [4], Josephus, a Jewish historian in the 1st century, gives the first extant reference to gates constructed by Alexander, designed to be a barrier against the Scythians. Making Women Matter, One Medieval Manuscript at a Time, city and island of Taraconta which is inhabited by Turks of the race of Gog and Magog, a barbarous and wild people who eat the flesh of young people and aborted foetuses. Then they shall know that I am the Lord. Both passages reference a figure named Gog and a huge army that attacks the people of God. The Jewish historian Josephus associates Magog with the Scythians. In both Jewish and Christian apocalyptic writings and other works, they were also identified with the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. The immense wall had a height of up to twenty meters and a thickness of about 10 feet (3 m) when it was in use. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). . Ezekiel 18:6: Only the passage at Rhagae between Media and Parthia, which Alexander crossed while pursuing Darius III, is said to be linked with the historical Alexander.[1]. WebYou can see Yajooj Majooj Wall Location built by Dhul Qarnayn as mentioned in Quran on Google Maps with a brief tutorial on how you can search for the wall in google maps. . 38 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, () set your face against () Gog, of the land of () Magog, [] the prince of Rosh, () Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. And the sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. Your email address will not be published. For less than $5/mo. Thus says the Lord GOD: Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them? Polo speaks of Alexander's Iron Gates, but says the Comanians are the ones trapped behind it. Marco Polo in the thirteenth century thought that Gog and Magog must be represented by the Mongol horde which had just conquered most of the East . Here is the first form of the legend. 1:2]; Heb. Therefore they will call it the Valley of [l]Hamon Gog. It is not clear which precise location Josephus meant when he described the Caspian gates. rs Gates, and consequently Gog and Magog, with the Great Wall of China. Then the nations will know that I the LORD sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary is in the midst of them for evermore. After the time of the Prophet (in the seventh century) the Islamic revolution swept across all Persiaalmost in an eyeblink against the map of the centuries. The geographic location of these mountains is rather vague, described as a 50-day march away northwards after Alexander put to flight his Belsyrian enemies (the Bebrykes,[9] of Bithynia in modern-day North Turkey). This brief passage seems to use Gog 36:5, 6; [Nah. They appear in Genesis and Ezekiel as c, nished, Satan shall be loosed from his prison, and shall go out to, location the four corners of the earth, is not exceptionally helpful save that it puts these nations at the, extreme edge of existence. It is depicted in this way on Arabian world maps starting from the 10th century, as also on the Tabula Rogeriana, an influential map drawn in 1154 by Muhammad al-Idrisi for Roger II of Sicily. 32:21, 22; Ps. Some scholars have taken this as an oblique and confused reference to the Great Wall of China, which he does not mention otherwise. 20:23; Hag. Bounded in a Nut Shell: Touching Faith in the Late Middle Ages, Papal Bull? . A wall cast a long shadow across the recent U.S. presidential election: the 1,954 mile-long wall which Donald Trump has promised will soon stretch the length of the U.S.-Mexico border. An independent legend of Gog and Magog surrounds two colossal wooden effigies in the Guildhall, London. Not only were they conquerors but their way of life was alien from that of the vast majority of Europeans. Effigies of Gog and Magog have existed in London from the time of Henry V (reigned 141322). This strait was mostly blocked by the Caucasus mountains; today, the remnants of fortifications can be found everywhere in the area; but at two points, the mountain barrier could be easily crossed. . All rights reserved. (The clock with Gog and Magog striking the hours has since been returned to a completely rebuilt St. Dunstan's [Church].)" After peace, Anastasius builds the city of Dara, which would be a focus point for war during the reign of Justinian and site of the Battle of Dara. When the Mongol empire was at its height in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, many Europeans came to the conclusion that theyappearing suddenly out of the east and sweeping all before them in the creation of an empire of unprecedented sizewere the peoples of Gog and Magog, or sometimes descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel who had abandoned Judaism. In another work, Josephus recounts that the Alans (whom he calls a Scythian tribe) were given passage by the Hyrcanian king, a warder of an iron gate built by Alexander. After Satan has been bound and chained for 1,000 years, he will be released and will rise up against God; he will go forth and deceive the nations of the worldGog and Magoggathering them together in great numbers to attack the saints and Jerusalem, the city God loves. WebI remember listening to a radio program in Saudi Arabia in Ramadan, and this preacher lady was talking about Gog and Magog. WebOriginally built as a five-story structure about 1730 in London, England. In medieval legends of Antichrist and the Last Emperor, Gog and Magog were allied with the armies of Satan. Mountain passes linked with Alexander the Great, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/16764/16764-h/16764-h.htm, The enigma of the red snake: revealing one of the world's greatest frontier walls, "Alexander and Gog and Magog in Early Oriental Christian Sources", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gates_of_Alexander&oldid=1146575853, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2015, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 25 March 2023, at 18:51. 44But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. Dukon (Permanently Closed) Burchmulla, UzbekistanCoordinate: 41.5932763, 70.1036337, 5. Coaches will be leaving from the track. Before about 500 AD, references to Gog and Magog occur many times, in the preserved sermons and letters of St Jerome and other early Christians; whenever Christendom was threatened by invaders, the names of Gog and Magog seem to have been bandied about. The Young Pope and Teaching the Middle Ages. All of them rise up to invade the land of Israel (38:8-9, 16). According to Joachim of Fiore, a Calabrian abbot and theologian, Gog is the Final Antichrist. In Joachims view, Gog will come just before the Last Judgment but only after the defeat of an earlier antichrist and a period of millennial peace. These lands, What else could they be but harbingers of the apocalypse? For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; the fish of the sea, and the birds of the air, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. Tradition also connects it to the Great Wall of Gorgan (Red Snake) on its south-eastern shore. Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection! There is evidence of a lively debate on just whom was meant by Gog and Magog: when the Scythians threatened, it was the Scythians; when the Huns threatened, it was the Huns; and when the Alans threatened, someone would call the Alans Gog and Magog; so too with the Khazars, the Turks, the Magyars, the Parthians, the Mongols. The legend disappeared before the 17th century. But on that day, when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, says the Lord GOD, my wrath will be roused. Here, he says gates with iron covered beams have been placed above a horribly odorous river, along with a fortress to bar the passage of the innumerable tribes. This story was repeated and embellished on in later influential medieval texts, such as the seventh-century Syriac Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius and the Alexander Romance cycle, where the peoples imprisoned by Alexander became identified with Gog and Magog. The most ferocious of these quasi-humans were the peoples of Gog and Magog, cannibalistic invaders who were kept at bay only by the walls which had been built around them. And they marched up over the broad earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city; but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. The Jewish War states that the iron gates Alexander erected were controlled by the king of Hyrcania (on the south edge of the Caspian), and allowing passage of the gates to the Alans (whom Josephus considered a Scythic tribe) resulted in the sack of Media. Names change and place-names change and the whole matter may be apocryphal anyway.
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