In the Western scholarhip, the issue of Dhul-Qarnayn's identity was finally brought to a close by Nöldeke who established that Dhul-Qarnayn was none other than Alexander and the source of the Qur'anic narrations was the Syrian
Christian Legend ascribed to Jacob of Serugh (
d. 521 CE). Nöldeke dated the
Christian Legend to 514-515 CE.[6] A similar
claim that identifies Dhul-Qarnayn with Alexander was made by Newton and other Christian missionaries/apologists.[7] Nöldeke's position was accepted by many scholars[8]
until it was discovered that the internal evidence of the Christian Legend suggested a post-Islamic date.