Song of Alexander

The Song of Alexander (also known as the Syriac Alexander Poem or Metrical Homily) is a Christian Syriac text written between the 6th and 7th centuries AD concerning legends about Alexander the Great. It had been falsely attributed nearly unanimously in the manuscript tradition to Jacob of Serugh (451–521), and for this reason, the author is sometimes referred to as Pseudo-Jacob (or Ps-Jacob). It is also presently thought to have been written closely after and have been influenced by the Syriac Alexander Legend, and so its date is closely tied to when the latter is dated.

There are two main hypotheses that concern the relation between the Song and the Legend. The first was proposed originally by Theodor Nöldeke and asserts that the Song textually depended on the Legend. The second was proposed by Wilhelm Bousset and argues that there is no direct dependence; instead, they share a common source. Today, opinion has shifted towards Nöldeke's position with its defense by Reinink, who placed the date of the Song to 628–636, in the immediate years after the composition of the Legend which he dated to around 628. Both positions nevertheless have remained options. The dating of the Song has typically depended on its post-dating the Legend and this has placed it in the years following the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628. A recent proposal however has dated the Legend to the mid-6th century and, in turn, views the Song as a composition of some time during or after the last quarter of the 6th century.

An English translation and Syriac edition of the text was published by Budge in 1889. The standard critical edition today is that of G.J. Reinink published in 1983.

In antiquity, the Song gave rise to an Arabic translation known from two manuscripts.

The fish and the water of life
The Song elaborates on a popular legend about Alexander the Great also known from the Alexander Romance, Talmud, and other sources. In this legend, Alexander is travelling along with his company in search of the Fountain of Life that grants the drinker immortality. He encounters a wise old man who tells Alexander that he might identify the water of life by washing salted fish in the diverse springs in his region. One of Alexander's cooks named Andrew is one of the ones instructed with the task of testing out the springs. He begins washing one of the fish in the water. Suddenly, the fish springs to life and escapes into the water, swimming away into a river. The cook is worried that this will anger the king, Alexander, and so he tries to catch it but to no avail. He notifies Alexander of the event but also tells him that, during his episode, he had discovered the fountain of life. Alexander is happy and goes to bathe in the water, but in trying to approach the water enters suddenly into a middle of darkness and is unable to reach it. Alexander is sad, but is consoled by the wise old man; at this point the story shifts into questions asked to the wise man by Alexander and the responses he receives. This story draws on Christian iconography, where bathing in the fountain is represented in baptismal terminology, and the fish symbolizes Jesus who rises from the dead.

Manuscripts
The Song is known from five manuscripts, which have been known to group into three recensions:


 * Recension 1:
 * Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France. Paris syriaque 13. Fols. 177r– 187v. 18th–19th century.
 * Mingana Collection at Selly Oak. Birmingham Mingana syr. 88. Fols. 16r–24v (with a lack of 4 fols. after fol. 19). 15th century.
 * Berlin 169 (Sachau 192). Fols. 65v–99v. From Ṭūr ʿAbdīn, 18th century.
 * Recension 2:
 * British Library. Add. 14624. Fols. 20v–34r. 9th century.
 * Recension 3:
 * BnF. Paris syriaque 243. Fols. 299v.–318r. A Maronite MS from Rome dated in 1610.

In turn, the Song gave rise to an Arabic version which is also known from two manuscripts.

Editions

 * G.J. Reinink, Das syrische Alexanderlied: Die drei Rezensionen (CSCO 454, SSyri 195 (text), CSCO 455, SSyri 196 (German transl.); Louvain: Peeters, 1983.