The reception of Alexander the Great in arabic cultural periodicals from the late 19th to the first half of the 20th century

This article explores the representations of Alexander the Great in Arabic cultural periodicals between the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th. After an overview of the contents published in relevant journals concerning the figure of Alexander, this contribution focuses on the analysis of two case studies: an adaptation of a story about Alexander published in serialised form in al-Muqtaṭaf, and a debate on the location of Alexander’s tomb published in al-Risālah. This paper aims to demonstrate that the Arab reception of texts, figures, and myths from Greco-Hellenistic antiquity since the 19th century is not only a consequence of contact with Europe and its cultural production, but it must be placed within the context of a broader process of re-elaboration and renegotiation of the Arab literary canon, which was being redefined on new foundations in those decades.