Dhū l-Qarnayn between Text and History: Achaemenid Political Geography and the Logic of the Qurʾānic Narrative

This article approaches the Qurʾānic narrative of Dhū l-Qarnayn not as a theological or mythological account, but as a late narrative source amenable to historical analysis. The Qurʾān is treated not as evidentiary proof, but as a set of narrative constraints within which historically plausible models must operate. The study argues that key elements of the narrative—westward and eastward movement, engagement with populations outside established political order, a stabilising mode of rule, and the construction of an engineered barrier at a natural chokepoint—correspond closely with patterns of expansion and frontier management in the early Achaemenid Empire. Both Cyrus II and Darius I emerge as historically credible candidates, though definitive identification with either figure is shown to be premature. A comparative analysis of the technical description of the barrier further demonstrates its compatibility with known Achaemenid engineering principles. The article concludes that Dhū l-Qarnayn can be situated within an Achaemenid historical framework without recourse to confessional assumptions.