CONTENTS -- Acknowledgements -- Note on Transliteration and Measures -- Preface -- PART ONE -- Chapter 1. Gog and Magog in Pre-Islamic, Jewish and Christian Sources -- 1. Names and Identification of Gog and Magog -- 2. Gog and Magog in the Bible -- 3. Gog and Magog in Jewish Literature -- 4. Gog and Magog in the Sibylline Oracles -- 5. Gog and Magog in Flavius Josephus -- 6. Gog and Magog in Early Christian Literature -- Chapter 2. Alexander and Gog and Magog in Eastern Christian Sources -- 1. The Syriac Alexander Romance -- 2. The Syriac Alexander Legend -- 3. The Syriac Alexander Poem -- 4. A Syriac Sermon On the Last Days -- 5. The Syriac Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius -- 6. The Coptic and Ethiopic Alexander Romance -- 7. The Coptic Apocalypses -- 8. The Armenian Alexander tradition -- 9. The Georgian Alexander tradition -- 10. Themes on Gog and Magog -- Origin and Identification -- Appearance -- Location -- The Breasts of the North -- Chapter 3. Gog and Magog and Alexander 'the two-horned' in the Koran -- 1. Koran xviii:83-98 -- 2. Koran xxi:95-96 -- 3. Rudi Paret's commentary on Koran xviii:82ff -- 4. Barrier/Rampart/Gate (sadd/radm/bab) -- Chapter 4. Gog and Magog in Islamic Tradition -- 1. The Sunni collections -- 2. The Shi'i collections -- 3. Authoritative Koran commentators and lexicographers -- 4. Themes on Gog and Magog -- Appearance -- Origin -- Numbers -- Food -- Role in eschatology -- Names -- Location -- Identification -- Appearance -- Description of the barrier -- Chapter 5. Gog and Magog in mediaeval Arabic, Persian and Turkish pros -- 1. Themes on Gog and Magog -- Appearance -- Origin -- Numbers -- Food -- Role in eschatology -- Names -- Location and Identification -- Description of the barrier -- Chapter 6. Gog and Magog and the barrier in Arab poetry, Adab literature, popular epics and anecdotes.

1. Arabic Poetry -- 2. Adab literature -- 3. Epic literature -- 4. Anecdotes on the paired names of Gog and Magog -- 5. Some modern works in Arabic on Gog and Magog -- PART TWO -- Chapter 7. Sallam's travel account to the barrier of Gog and Magog -- 1. Sallam al-Tardjuman-Interpreter and Traveller -- 2. Sallam's travel account-Text and Translation -- 3. Sallam's travel account in Arabic sources -- Ibn Khurradadhbih -- The manuscripts of Ibn Khurradadhbih's Book of Routes and Kingdoms -- al-Jayhani/al-Idrisi -- Ibn Rusta -- Ibn al-Faqih -- al-Ya#qubi and Ibn Hawqal -- al-Muqaddasi -- al-Tha#labi -- Abu Hamid -- Ibn al-Jawzi -- Yaqut -- al-Nuwayri -- 4. Sallam's travel account in Persian sources -- 5. Criticism on Sallam's travel account by some Arab and Western authors -- Chapter 8. Gog and Magog and the barrier: the origin of Sallam's description -- 1. Early Arabo-Muslim poets: links with the Syriac tradition -- 2. Islamic traditionists: links with the Syriac tradition -- 3. The barrier as described in the Syriac tradition compared with Sallam's description -- Chapter 9. The political landscape in Samarra, the Caucasus and Central Asia in the 8th and first half of the 9th century -- 1. Samarra -- 2. The Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia and the Ciscaucasus) -- The Master of Sarir -- The king of the Alans -- The Filan-shah -- 3. The Khazars -- 4. The Bashkirts -- 5. The Turks in Central Asia: Oghuz-Kimäks-Kipchaks- Türkesh -- 6. The Uygur Empire -- 7. Syrian Christians in Central Asia and West China -- 8. Islam in East Turkistan -- 9. The Tarim Basin -- 10. The battle for supremacy: Tibetans, Chinese, Arabs, Turks -- Chapter 10. Sallam's outward journey: Samarra-Yumenguan (ca. July/August 842-November/December 843) -- 1. Reasons for the journey -- 2. Sallam's journey and the so-called map of Caliph al-Ma"mun -- 3. Dates of the journey.

4. Stages -- Samarra-Tiflis -- Tiflis-Sarir-Alans-Filan-shah -- Khazars -- Fetid Land -- Ruined Towns -- Fortified Places -- Igu -- Igu-Anxi -- Anxi-Dunhuang -- Dunhuang -- 5. Summary of the outward journey -- 6. Distances and duration of the journey -- Chapter 11. Destination reached -- 1. Yumenguan or the Barrier of the Jade Gate -- 2. Various locations of Yumenguan -- 3. Abu Dulaf's Risala and Sallam's barrier -- 4. Yumenguan: the gate to the West -- 5. Yumenguan and the barrier of 'the two-horned one' -- Chapter 12. Sallam's homeward journey: Yumenguan-Samarra (ca. December 843/January 844-December 844/January 845) -- 1. Sallam's itinerary -- 2. Xuanzang's itinerary from Igu to Tirmidh -- 3. Stages -- Yumenguan-Lop Nor -- Lop Nor-Korla -- Korla-Kucha-Kara-köl -- Lakhman-Ghuriyan-Barskhan-Tabanuyan -- Kara-köl-Taraz -- Taraz-Isfijab -- Isfijab-Nishapur -- Nishapur-Samarra -- 4. Summary of the homeward journey -- 5. Distances and duration of the journey -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index of Names and Places.