Coptica 15, 2016

Alexander the Great among Medieval Copts: Some comments on the uses of Alexander-materials in Copto-Arabic literature

Important recent publications by Faustina Doufikar-Aerts and Adel Sidarus have reminded students of Copto-Arabic literature both of the presence of anecdotes about Alexander the Great in various genres of the literature (historical and sapiential, but also homiletic and even liturgical) as well as its role in the ongoing transmission of Alexander-material, e.g. to the Christians of Ethiopia. The present author was reminded of the presence and significance of Alexander-material in Copto-Arabic literature in the course of work towards a Catalogue of Coptic and Arabic manuscripts at the Syrian Monastery (sponsored by Yale University's Egyptological Endowment and led by Prof. Stephen J. Davis). Over the course of a few days in June 2015, our team found two initially puzzling treatises that turned out to be anecdotes concerning Alexander the Great. The present communication will present these findings, along with other instances of Alexander-material that have been pointed out in recent literature, in order to make some simple observations about the various ways in which this material functioned - and also to introduce some speculations as to the particular circles in which, and the particular purposes for which, medieval Copts might have been reading stories about Alexander the Great Prof. Mark N. Swanson Harold S. Vogelaar Professor of Christian-Muslim Studies and Interfaith Relations

Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago 1100 East 55th St. Chicago, Illinois 60615 mswanson@lstc.edu