Gog and Magog: Muslim Perception of their Location until The Mongol Era

The story of Gog and Magog and their final and dreadful exodos has a prominent aspect in the Islamic religious traditions. Thus, Muslim geographers and historians sought to locate their whereabouts, which according to religious narratives are to be found somewhere in this world. Meanwhile, the variable of historical situation and circumstances played a significant role in locating the whereabouts of the Gog and Magog. Using a historical analytical method and through a reexamination of the sources which related to before and after the Mongol invasion, the present paper studies the impact of the Mongol invasion on the Muslim perception of the Gog and Magog's geographic location. Although most of the sources consider probable that the whereabouts of the Gog and Magog was in the lands of the Mongolian tribes, increasing the geographic knowledge of the Muslims after Mongol invasion led them to distinguish between the two realms. Hence, the land of the Gog and Magog was located in lands far and beyond the lands of the Mongols.