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Hikayat Iskandar Zulkarnain (Arabic: حكاية إسكندر ذو القرنين, lit. 'The Story/Exploits of Alexander') is a Malay epic in the tradition of the Alexander Romance describing fictional exploits of Dhu al-Qarnayn (Zulkarnain), a king briefly mentioned in the Quran. The oldest existing manuscript is dated 1713, but is in a poor state. Another manuscript was copied by Muhammad Cing Sa'idullah about 1830.[1]
There are two versions of the text: a recension from the Malayan peninsula and a Sumatran recension. The Sumatran version begins with a doxology not found in the Peninsular, whereas the ending of the Peninsular is extended past that of the Sumatran to include up to the point when Alexander died.
Influence of the Alexander legends on Malaysian tradition was significant. Court chronicles were produced to claim genealogical descent from Alexander. Some claimed this descent from Alexander occurred through the lineage of Raja Rajendra Chola, an emperor from the eleventh century described in the Malay Annals.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Influence also poured into Buginese and Javanese literature.[9]