The Library

medieval

translated by Moses Gaster
​1897

​NOTE

The Alexander Romance is often described as Antiquity's most successful novel. The Romance is a collection of legendary narratives about Alexander the Great that blend history, myth, and fantasy into a highly imaginative biography. Probably originating in the Hellenistic period, but certainly before the Latin translation of 334 CE, and later attributed falsely to Callisthenes (hence the “Pseudo-Callisthenes”), the text recounts Alexander’s miraculous birth, his conquests across the known world, and a series of fantastical adventures—such as encounters with strange peoples and monsters, journeys to the ends of the earth, and even ascents into the sky and descents beneath the sea. Over centuries, the work was translated and adapted into numerous languages, including Greek, Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and medieval European vernaculars. The Hebrew version, composed sometime during the Middle Ages, differs markedly from its Western counterparts and contains numerous incidents and details not found in other versions. The translation of this unusual text is taken from Moses Gaster, who published it in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1897 and again in the second volume of his three-volume Studies and Texts in the 1920s. 

An Old Hebrew Romance of Alexander.
(Translated from Hebrew MSS. of the twelfth century)

THE BOOK OF ALEXANDER OF MACEDON.

1. It happened in the days of yore that there reigned over the land of Egypt a man named Polipos (Philipus). He was a liberal and kind-hearted man, and he did righteousness and justice, and there was none like unto him. All his people loved him. The name of his wife was Golopira (or Gloptiria, Cleopatra), and she was a most beautiful woman, such as had never been before her. A certain man lived in the land of Egypt whose name was Bildad, the son of Ason. This man was an astrologer and a wizard, and was such as none has ever equalled in cleverness. Whatever he desired he brought about by means of his witchcraft. Now it happened that he had set his eyes upon Cleopatra the Queen, the wife of Polipos, king of Egypt. He desired her, for she was most beautiful in form and appearance, so that he pined within himself on account of his ardent love for her. When he had almost died through his strong desire, Bildad strengthened himself, and relied upon his knowledge of astrology and witchcraft to find out if his destiny would be to go to the Queen or not. He therefore drew a lot by means of his witchcraft, and the lot fell upon the Queen, so that he rejoiced exceedingly, [B, C. and going into the fields hither and thither he sought to find a certain herb, the name of which was chervil, and conjuring it by means of his witchcraft, he buried it for nine consecutive days.]
 
2. It came to pass on the third day that a letter reached King Polipos (Philip), as to whether he would not deliver the land of Togarma from the hands of King Kos, who had invaded the country, for then he would lose his whole kingdom. When the King Polipos heard this, he feared very much, and having taken counsel he issued a command to all his kingdom that they should all be prepared, everyone that drew the sword, to come to the help of the King, so that all the people of his kingdom were assembled before him as one man. And the King and his army went to save the land of Togarma.
 
3. When Bildad saw that the King had gone out of his land, [B. he went on the ninth day to the place where he had buried the herb, and taking it up he performed therewith some witchcraft, according to the desire of his heart, and] going to the queen Cleopatra, he said to her: “Hear, O my lady, for I have brought a message unto thee from Digonia (or, Rigonia) our God.” The Queen thereupon rejoiced very much. She arose from the throne, and making obeisance to Bildad, she said to him: “Tell me what thou hast to say, and do not keep back anything from me.” Bildad replied, and said unto the Queen: “Digonia, our God, hath sent me unto thee, saying, since he has seen thy modesty and the uprightness of thine heart, he has therefore filled his heart with desire to come to thee, and having lain with thee to beget a son, who will also become a God.” The Queen upon this said to him: “Give me a true sign by which I may know that thy words are just and true.” And Bildad answered, and said to the Queen: “Let this be a sign: when the God shall come to thee, there shall be three horns on his forehead, one of silver, the other two of gold; and at the end of an hour, one of them shall be sunken and the other two shall continually grow.”? When the Queen heard this she rejoiced, and bowed and prostrated herself to the ground.
 
4. It came to pass on that night that Bildad performed some witchcraft: [B. he came into the court and garden of the Queen, after he had caused a deep sleep to fall upon all the household of the Queen’s palace; he then entered from one chamber to the other until] he came before the bed of the Queen. He then performed those signs of which he had spoken to her. And the Queen saw all these signs, and hearkened unto him, so that he went in unto her, and she conceived by him. She then said unto him: “What shall be the name of the boy who is about to be born?” And he replied, “Alexander” [A. Alexandron]; for Alexandron in the Egyptian language signifies ‘Lord over all.’ The Queen then rejoiced very much. And it came to pass in the morning that the Queen sent for her wise men and princes, and made a great banquet for them.
 
5. While they were eating and drinking and their hearts were merry, Polipos returned from battle rejoicing and of good cheer, for he had conquered King Kos. The Queen then ran to meet him; she embraced him and kissed him, and related to him everything that had happened to her [A. and she told him that the God Digonia had been with her]. When, however, the King heard it, he became enraged; he smote his hands together, for he knew very well that Bildad the wizard had gone to her. The King thereupon sent a messenger for Bildad, and Bildad was very much afraid, and fled the land of Egypt, and dwelt in a cave all the days of his life, for the King had sent after him in all the borders of his kingdom to slay him, but he had hidden himself and could not be found. The King then said to the Queen: “The punishment of death shall not be awarded thee; but stifle the report, so that no man shall know of this, lest we come to shame.”
 
6. It came to pass after a time that the Queen bore a son, and she said to the midwife: “Strangle this my son, and I will give thee a shekel of [A. his weight in] gold.” But the midwife answered: “Far be it from me to do such a thing, to stretch forth my hand against a son of the King, and besides which, considering the fact that I foresee in him signs of royalty, for he will reign over the whole world, although he shall die in his youth in another land.”
 
The Queen heard this, but refrained from replying. Thus the child escaped. This was the form of the child. One eye resembled the eye of a cat, and the other eye the eye of a lion; he looked towards the earth, and he was fearful, and his appearance was strange. His mother called his name Alexander. The lad grew, and was prosperous in all his ways, and the land trembled before him. The fear and the dread of him fell upon all those who saw him or heard him. [A. And the Queen said to her husband: “Let us kill this bastard, so that he may not inherit with our own children”; for they had besides four other sons. But Polipos said: “Far be it from us to kill him. Maybe, our children will benefit through him.”]
 
7. It once happened, when the lad went out among the ministers of the King in the court of the garden of the King’s palace, that a wizard, one of the magicians of Egypt, came there, and on beholding the lad trembled exceedingly, and fell at full length on the ground, prostrating himself before the lad. At this the lad said: “What art thou doing?” The wizard replied: “Behold, I see that thou art destined in the future to vanquish the whole world, and many shall the number of the slain be; thou shalt go to a distant land, and [A. thou wilt die in the prime of thy days, and thou wilt be buried in Egypt] and thou shalt go down to the depths of the waves, and thou wilt place thy seat among the stars, and during thy life thou shalt come to the place of those who fear God.” The lad rejoiced very much at this, and said to the wizard: “If thou speakest the truth, behold I will make thee and all the family of thy father and mother free men, and thou shalt be my second in rank.” The wizard then made obeisance to him, and gave some presents to the lad as a sign and as a memorial.
 
8. Now King Polipos became old and ill, and was about to die. He therefore assembled all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men, and asked them to make known unto him in truth who was to be king after him. They all thereupon answered at once, and said: “Give us time until the morning, and we shall then tell the King.” The King did so. In the morning all the magicians of Egypt and the astrologers came to him, and said with one voice: “This lad Alexander shall reign after thee, and his throne shall be more powerful than the throne of our Lord the King, and whatever he shall do will prosper.” The King then became very angry and wept very loudly, for he had many sons, and not one of them was destined to inherit the kingdom, and moreover the King knew that Alexander was not his own son.
 
9. The King then called his sons together, and said unto them: “Hear me, O my sons: you have heard from all the wise men that the kingdom is decreed to Alexander: therefore do you listen to my counsel, and do not fight with Alexander, for this thing is destined by God; do not be angry, nor let your countenances fall, and do not break the yoke of Alexander from off your neck, lest he be to you a stumbling-block and a danger, for the kingdom and the dominion are in the hand of the King of Kings, who grants or takes away the kingdom, and it is in His hand to make great and to strengthen all.” When he had finished exhorting his sons he was gathered to his people. He died in his old age of 93 years. They buried him with great honour, and erected a large and wonderful building upon his grave.
 
10. It came to pass after the death of Polipos that his sons sought to kill Alexander by poisoning him. This was told to Alexander, who said to them: “What sin or transgression have I committed that you seek to kill me and shed innocent blood? Do you not know, and have you not heard, that the kingdom has been granted me from Heaven; and, moreover, has not the King exhorted you to give me the kingdom?” When the brothers heard that their deed had become known, they said to each other: “We are indeed trying in vain, for all the magicians and astrologers have declared that he was to reign after our father. If we make him king it will be well for us, for he is our brother and our own flesh; and if we are stiff-necked towards him, then, when the kingdom is strengthened in his hands, he will slay all of us.” The King’s sons then called all the princes, and said in their hearing and in the hearing of the wise men, the sages, and the astrologers, saying: “You have heard what our father commanded us, viz. to make Alexander king; why, then, do ye delay this thing; for is not the kingdom given to him by God, just as the magicians and wise men have said?” All the princes replied, saying: “You have spoken the truth. But we were afraid to make him king on account of you; but now that we see you are pleased with it, we shall certainly not prevent it.” So the princes assembled all the people of the land, and made Alexander king, and they exclaimed, “Long live the King!” The King then ordered for himself a chariot and horsemen, and he prospered in all his ways.
 
11. The King then said to his mother: “If it is pleasing to thee I shall build a new Temple to our God Digonia. His mother replied: “Do not thus waste the treasures of thy ancestors, but hear thou my counsel, and issue a command in all the provinces of thy kingdom that every man from the age of thirty years and upwards should come unto thee to go to war and to vanquish all the kingdoms under thee, and do thou gird thy loins and become a warrior to fight thy battles in thy youth, and then it shall be well with thee in thine old age.” Alexander the king hearkened to the words of his mother, since it pleased him. He accordingly did whatever she had spoken, not knowing that she was eagerly desirous that he should fall into the hands of his enemies, as a consequence of which she would then be able to give the kingdom to her eldest son begot by Polipos the king.
 
12. King Alexander then gathered all the princes of the armies and took counsel with them, and their counsel agreed with that of the Queen; for she had (previously) induced them to do so. The king Alexander accordingly commanded his army to be assembled, and had many iron chariots made. Having gone forth at the head of the army he took his standard, and they all followed after him, and came to a very huge forest, through which they travelled twenty-nine days, and they came to a beautiful meadow, in the midst of which was a fountain. Alexander rested there with his army. Whilst he was walking to and fro he alone beheld a dwarf riding on a richly caparisoned horse, the trappings of which were of gold and the stirrups of precious stones, and decked all over with jewellery. Alexander, beholding him, went up to him and said to him: “Who art thou, and whence art thou coming, and why art thou so richly and gorgeously dressed? Dost thou not know that here are desperate men among my company who covet money and riches?” The dwarf replied: “My name is Antalonia (Antoninus?), and I am a king, and many are now riding along with me, and we are not afraid of anyone; we are now conducting a bride to the house of her parents-in-law, and I have more riders with me than thou hast.” And Alexander replied: “But I do not see anyone except thyself.” The dwarf said: “Every one of us carries in his hand a stone of invisibility, by means of which no creature is able to see the man who holds one of those stones in his hands. I have, however, shown myself to thee in order to warn thee.” And he gave him one of those stones of making invisible. Alexander asked him: “About what wishest thou to warn me?” And the dwarf replied, and said: “O King, thou hast more than one enemy among thy servants who wish to take thy life.” And Alexander asked: “Who are they?” The dwarf said: “They are a great number. Come to-morrow and sit here close to the fountain, and I will sit next to thee, and whomsoever I will strike know that he is not thy friend. I will all the time be invisible, and thou call all thy servants, and do afterwards as seems best to thee.” Alexander said: “Antalonia, blessed art thou, for thou art a good man. How can I thank thee? I will come to-morrow, according to thy word.” The dwarf asked leave to go, and it was granted to him. On the morrow, Alexander came and looked for the dwarf, and he found him sitting close to the fountain on the stone, as he had promised. And Alexander rejoiced very much, and he embraced and kissed him. When the dinner-time came, a servant brought the meals to the King, and the dwarf struck him so violently that the blow could be heard some distance. The servant turned round and asked the King why he had struck him. But Alexander denied having touched him. Another servant came, and he again was struck, and he fell down to the ground. He also said to the King: “Why dost thou strike thy servant?” But the King denied having touched him, so he turned upon the other servant, and said: “O wicked man; why dost thou strike thy fellow-man?” And thus arose a mighty tumult in the camp, for the dwarf struck all those who wished to lay hands on the King. The King kept quiet all that day, noticing only those who were struck by the dwarf. On the morrow, the King took counsel and deposed those men who had been struck from their positions, and appointed others in their stead; and he told them: “Egypt is now like unto a flock without the shepherd, and there is no one who could help them against their enemies. Return therefore to my country Egypt, and bring this crown to my eldest brother Qanitor, and take also servants with you.” And Alexander gave them those very men who had been struck by Antalonia as servants. And all those who remained behind with Alexander loved him very much, and he loved them, and he rejoiced mightily on that day, and appointed new governors and generals, and the rejoicing was general. And they stayed in that place ten days.
 
13. Leaving the forest, they arrived at a great and very high hill, upon which was a large, beautiful building. The King (on noticing this) said: “Who will ascend with me upon this mountain?” At which 200 men volunteered to do so, saying: “Come, we will ascend with thee.” They thereupon went to the top of the mountain and there found a large and broad gate, beside which an old man was sitting. When the old man saw the King he ran to meet him, to embrace him, and to kiss him; but the King’s warriors intervened, and, pushing him aside, did not allow him to approach the King. The old man then asked: “Why do you not allow me to embrace and kiss my Lord the King Alexander?” At which the warriors retorted: “Who told thee that his name is Alexander?” The old man replied: “Because his name and image are engraved on my temple, and I have dwelt upon this mountain many days and years to guard this fortress for him.” “But,” said the warriors, “what is thy power and thy might, that thou dwellest here alone. We, who are not a few, have caught thee and shall not allow thee to approach the King.” The old man thereupon became angry with the warriors, and said to them: “Do you imagine that you are going to conquer me? for were it not that the fear of the King is upon me, I should not be afraid of you all, since I have thus been commanded not to do anything against the King.”
 
14. The warriors then said to the old man: “If now we have found favour in thine eyes, show us thy power.” To which the old man replied: “If the King will grant me permission, I will show you my power and my might.” The King said: “Permission is granted thee.” When the old man heard this he cried so loud that the warriors had no strength left to stand, but all fell upon their faces, as did the King also. The King then said: “Thou takest too much upon thyself: do not repeat this cry, for neither I nor my warriors have the strength to stand before the power of thy voice.” The old man then said to the King: “If thou desirest, I shall show you my might by another means.” But the King refused. The old man continued, and said to the King: “Come with me, thou and thy men standing before thee, and I will show thee the beauty of this fortress and the whole of the building in detail, for it is wonderful and pleasant to behold.” The King replied: “If it is agreeable to thee, let one of my warriors descend the mountain and call one of my scribes, that he may write down everything that he shall see on this mountain.” The old man assented. One of the warriors accordingly went down and brought back with him Menahem the Jew, the principal scribe of the King. The King then went with the old man into the fortress, and after them there followed his warriors and Menahem, the chief of the scribes. The King and his warriors entered a chamber of red glass, which was very lofty and wide and contained ninety-five windows, and on every window there were all kinds of birds, clean and unclean, chirping so that it could be heard very far off, and on the highest window there sat an old black man, who waved his turban (kerchief) towards the birds and they were immediately silent.
 
15. The King then went with his warriors from that chamber into another, built of green glass, wherein lay all kinds of beasts, clean and unclean, and in their midst there sat a strange beast, from the sole of the foot unto the head of which there was no hair, but it was quite smooth; its feet resembled those of a lion and its face that of a bird. eyes were large and as broad as two cubits. The height of the beasts was about five cubits; and the length of the tail, which was green, was about three cubits, and that of the teeth was about one cubit and a half. When the King appeared very much astonished, the old man said: “Do not be amazed, because I will show thee something much more wonderful than this.” The old man then took a certain herb, and, placing it in the mouth of the beast, there came out of its bowels a strange beast covered with white hair. Its voice resembled that of a human being, and its teeth were green. The old man then said: “The hair of this beast is very powerful in its effects, for whoever carries it in battle will be sure to conquer, while his enemies fall before him slain in multitudes.” The King scoffed at the words of the old man, and he appeared to be laughing at him. On seeing this the old man waxed angry, and said to the King: “How darest thou to scoff at my words? Know for a certainty that it shall be bitter for thee in thy latter end.” When the King saw that he was very angry, he spoke to him mildly to try and appease the wrath of the old man, saying: “If it appears to thee that I have said anything that is not right before thee, pardon me for the sake of thine honour and show honour to the King.” The old man replied to the King, saying: “I have hearkened to thy entreaty, but do not do this again.”
 
16. The King then said to the old man: “If now I have found favour in thine eyes, show me yet further the beauty of this fortress”; to which the old man replied: “Come with me and I will show thee a great and marvellous wonder.” The King went with the old man, and they came to a very beautiful chamber built of red marble. In it were all kinds of spices (perfumes). When the King felt the extraordinary odour, he marvelled greatly at it. Through it he regained his former strength and might. On raising his eyes, the King saw a beautiful marble stone, on which a red glass vessel was placed. “What is this?” he exclaimed. “This,” replied the old man, “is balsam-oil, all of which has been brought from Jericho, the city of the palm-trees.” On further looking round, the King saw a stone of green marble, like the sepulchre of kings. On asking the old man what it was, he replied: “Beneath this stone King Altinos, who was anointed with oil of balsam, was buried, and his body still remains (intact).” “Dost thou know how long ago he was buried?” asked the King. “Wait a little time,” answered the old man, “and I will read the inscription which is engraved upon the stone.” On reading the inscription he found that it was 285 years old. The King then said to the old man: “If I still find favour in thine eyes, I entreat thee to show me the body of King Altinos, so that I may verify what thou hast said, that his body still exists.” “I will grant thy request,” answered the old man; “but be warned and take heed of thy life that thou touch not the body of this king if thou hast been with any woman this night.” The King replied, falsely, that he had not been with a woman that night. “Also tell thy men,” said the old man, “not to touch the body of this king unless they are quite clean.” The King then said: “He who touches the flesh of this dead person shall surely die.” Thereupon the old man drew near, and removing the lid from the marble, he took the shroud from off the dead, so that the King and his warriors saw the dead king. They expressed their intense astonishment to each other. On the King asking whether he might touch the dead man’s flesh, the old man said, “No!” But no sooner had he asked the question, than he stepped forward suddenly and touched the body. He immediately fell down backwards, perspired very much, and became changed in his appearance. When his warriors saw it, they uttered a loud and bitter cry, and all fell down before the old man prostrating themselves to the ground. “O my Lord! What shall we do with our king?” they exclaimed. But the old man replied: “Did I not tell you not to touch the dead body, lest you die.” The warriors continued, however, to lament very loudly, and entreated the old man a second time, to which he replied: “Were it not that I wish to show favour to you, I should not trouble myself about your King. Now stand up, and see what I shall do to him.” They all said simultaneously: “We shall do just as our Lord commands us.” “Be not afraid,” said the old man, “for there is yet some hope for the King.” The old man then took a black horn of a ram, and bringing some glowing coals, and placing them in the horn, he put it upon the neck of King Alexander. Alexander stood up as before, but was dumb, and could not utter a word. His warriors were afraid, and wept, so their joy was turned to lamentation. “Do not be afraid,” exclaimed the old man, who took a certain herb, and placed it on the left ear of the King, when he opened his mouth and spoke to his men. They were all exceedingly rejoiced. “Why,” said the old man to the King, “didst thou not fear to touch the dead body, and why didst thou not listen to me and take care? Through it thou didst stumble. Did I not command thee, saying: ‘Take heed of thy life, that thou touch not the body.” The King replied by saying: “The mouth of a fool is a snare to him”; and he said further: “O my Lord, I entreat thee to measure the length of this dead body for me.” The old man complied with his request, and found the measurement to be ninety cubits. The King and all his warriors were greatly astonished. “Place now the covering upon the body,” said the King; and the old man did so.
 
17. After this the old man said to the King: “Come thou with me into another chamber, and I will show thee the desire of thine eyes.” On entering the chamber with the old man, he saw there a very beautiful girl, and the heart of the King was broken on account of the girl, his face changing many colours. The old man then said to him: “Why dost thou tremble so?” To which he replied: “I will not withhold from thee that my heart is broken within me, on account of the beauty of this maiden.” “Swear, then,” said the old man, “that thou wilt not make her thy concubine, and I will give her to thee as a wife.” The King rejoiced very much, and took three oaths. “Now thou mayest go thy way,” said the old man; “take her and let her be to thee as wife, since thou hast sworn.” The King approached the maiden, took her by the hand, and led her into his tent. He then said to his warriors: “Take my first wife and carry her into Egypt, until I return in peace.” They accordingly took her away to Egypt, and told his mother all that had happened to them. And the Queen rejoiced, and said in her heart: “Why should I hate my son, who came forth from my womb. What matters it whether the King or another man has begotten him; he is just the same my son, and I shall be honoured through him.” She then sent a certain horse named Busifal to her son, since it was very swift and strong, the like of which was not to be found in the 
whole of Egypt. When the horse was brought to the King he tried it, and found it to be according to the desire of his heart. The King then ordered a great banquet to be given to his princes and servants, so that the King and his warriors rejoiced. The King then took the maiden to wife, and he loved her. The old man, after presenting the King with precious stones and all kinds of beautiful vessels, blessed him and sent him away, and the King and his army went from this tower.
 
18. They came to a forest, whence there emerged a number of very hairy men, who destroyed many people of his small army. They pressed the King very sorely, so that he commanded his men to shoot the rebels of the forest. But when they shot at them they caught the arrows in their hands, and they did not harm them. As soon as the King saw that this kind of war was of no avail against them, he ordered his men to burn the forest with fire, which they did, and they fled [A. and they were burned in the fire].
 
19. After the King had departed thence, he came to the land of Carthage (Qartigonia), the length of which was a thirty days’ journey. In the whole of this land there was not a woman to be seen; they were kept in subterranean places. The King asked the people for tribute, and they brought him a hundred thousand talents of gold and precious stones. They moreover brought him a large, strange-looking fish. Its scales were red, it had but one eye in its forehead, and its teeth were as black as pitch. The King did not wish to eat it, and ordered it to be cast away to the dogs, but when the dogs ate it they died. The King was very angry at this, and said to them: “Why do you seek to kill me and all my people?” They were silent, and were not able to reply, so the King ordered his men, saying: “Arm yourselves and go to war against these men, who sought to lay their hands on you.” They did so. They fought a great battle with them, which lasted for three days and three nights, and the King prevailed over them, and slew of them men without number. The women then came out from beneath the ground, and fought against the King and all his host, but the King again prevailed over these also, and slew a great number of those who had hidden themselves under the ground.
 
20. The King then went forth from thence and fought against the inhabitants of Antiochia and slew of them 30,000 men, and took away all their arms. They fell before him to the ground, and the King had mercy upon them, and ordered them to be saved alive. They afterwards brought him 500 talents of gold, and putting upon them a tribute, the King went away from them.
 
21. He next came to the land of Alsilah, which was as black as pitch. The men of that place fought against the King, who said to them: “Why are ye stiff-necked towards me?” “Because,” they replied, “we have never had either king or ruler, and we have hitherto been free from all the peoples of the land.” The King then said: “I do not seek your silver or your gold, but only all the young children that were born this year. Give me them as a present with which to feed my dogs.” “We do not think it right,” they replied, “to give our children away as food for thy dogs. If thou desirest it, take our silver and our gold in abundance, but if not we must fight with thee.” The King then took counsel with his wise men, who said: “Do not take their silver or their gold, but fight against them, and then thou wilt obtain fame among the nations.” The King listened to their voice, and went to war against the enemy, and prevailed. He slew of them numberless men, and took their silver and gold and all their precious objects, until they scorned silver and gold and only took precious stones.
 
22. The King went forth from that place and came to the land of Armenia (Argonia). The men of that place went out to meet him, all the men of war, and fought against him and slew many of his men, but the King prevailed over them on the second day and slew a great number of them. The King went forth with his standard and came with great strength against the fortress of their king. There he found an exceedingly great number of precious stones; he took all their precious objects and divided them among his men. He made a great feast to all his servants, and remained there nine days. It happened in the night-time that a frog came before the bed of the King, and in its mouth it held a certain herb. The King said to himself: “This has not come here for nothing.” He thereupon drew his sword upon the frog and slew it. It emitted a stench so foul that many of his men died through it. The King also became very ill, but the physicians cured him.
 
23. The King went from that place and came to the land of ‘Ofia (or ‘Arpola). The people of that land came out to meet him and killed many of his people. But the King ultimately prevailed over them, and slew of them about 40,000 men, and took their gold and precious stones.
 
24. [Versions B and C] He then passed from that land across the water, and came to a certain forest, in the midst of which sweet waters were flowing. The King then had rafts made, and ordered his men to go up to its source, and he abode there on the rafts with his men, but a wind blew up and cast the King and all his army into a cave, from which the water issued. For twenty-nine days the King was wading through the waters, seeing neither the sun nor the moon during this time. At the end of the twenty-nine days he emerged from the cave into the light of the world, and found two large red trees, upon which two old men were sitting. One of them was blind and (the other) dumb. On seeing them the King said: “Why are you sitting here?” To which the other old man replied: “To hear tidings of the future from these trees.” “Is it possible,” said the King, “that these trees are able to speak?” “O my Lord the King,” said the old man, “do not be surprised, for I tell thee the truth, that these trees speak on the third hour of the day, and whatever one asks of them they tell, except of the day of death.” The King expressed his great astonishment, and fixed his tent there. It came to pass on the morrow, at the third hour, that a voice went out from the tree and called the King, saying: “O my Lord the King, ask of me whatever thou art searching for, except one thing, and I will tell thee?” The King then said: “Shall I reign ten years?” “Thou wilt reign,” said the tree, “ten years and more.” “Shall I reign forty years?” asked the King, but the voice was silent and did not answer him. The King further asked: “Shall I reign thirty-five years?” “Thou wilt reign thirty-five years and more.” “How much longer (than thirty-five years)?” The voice was again silent and did not reply. The King then knew that he would not reign as long as forty years. The King then asked: “Shall I return to Egypt?” To which the voice answered: “Thou shalt die in a strange land, and shalt be buried in the land of Israel (?).” “Shall my son reign after me?” asked the King. “Thy son shall not reign after thee, but thy kingdom shall be divided among four rulers.” The King, on asking further questions, was not answered.
 
24. [Version A, which reads totally differently, and in some particulars more correctly.] And the King went away from that place and came to the land of the Dwarfs, and their King Antalonia who ruled over them came to meet the King Alexander, who on seeing him exclaimed: ‘Art thou it, O King Antalonia! tell me what thou wishest and I will do for thee.’ But Antalonia replied: Nay, I am willing to offer thee any amount of gold and silver if thou desirest it.’ Alexander said: ‘I do not wish anything from thee, except thou givest me herbs which are good for healing.’ So they told Alexander the virtues of all the herbs and their curing powers. Alexander stayed there three days and ordered the scribe Menahem to write down the virtues of the herbs. He then said to Antalonia: ‘Which way am I to turn from here, as I have gone out of my country for the purpose of encompassing the whole world?’ Antalonia replied: ‘‘There are a great number of kingdoms here round this country who are all subject to my rule; if thou wishest I will place them all under thy power, and they shall go to war for thee and pay thee tribute.’ But Alexander refused, and said: ‘Far be it from me to take anything that belongs to thee; only tell me which way I am to take?’ And he said: ‘Thou must pass through the Dark Mountains, and I will give thee precious stones which are brilliant as the sun.’ And he gave him those stones and food to last for seven days for him and his whole army. And Alexander passed through the Dark Mountains. When he came again forth to the light of the world he said to his followers, ‘Let us encamp here for two or three days.’ There were at that place two red and tall trees, and two old men were sitting close to those trees, one of them blind, the other dumb. The King asked them, What are you sitting here for?’ One replied, To hear the future from these trees.’ And Alexander said: ‘Is such a great thing possible that trees should be speaking and foretelling the future? And the old man said: ‘In truth it is so; at the third hour of the day these trees speak and tell the man what he asks for, except the day of his death.’ The King was greatly astonished, and he fixed his tent close to the trees. On the morrow, at the third hour, a voice came forth from the tree, saying: ‘My lord King, ask whatever thou wishest, and I will tell thee, except the one thing.’ And he said, ‘Shall I reign ten years?’ And the tree replied, Ten and more.’ And he asked, ‘Shall I reign twenty years?’ Twenty years and more.’ And the King asked, ‘Shall I reign thirty years?’ ‘Thirty years and more.’ And he asked, Shall I reign forty years?’ But no answer came. He then asked again, ‘Shall I reign thirty-five years?’ And the answer came, ‘Thirty-five years and more.’ He thereupon asked, ‘How many more?’ But again no answer was given. Thus he knew that he would not reign forty years. He then asked, Will my son rule after me?’ And the tree replied: Thy son will not rule after thee, for thy kingdom will be divided among thy four generals.’ He asked many more questions, but the tree did not reply any longer.”
 
25. The King went forth thence, passing through the Mountains of Darkness by means of a pearl which gave him light. A king came out to meet him, and, paying him great honour, did whatever he commanded. It happened while the two kings were sitting together with their crowns on their head, that two men came before the king. One of them said to the king: “O my Lord! I bought a piece of ground from this man and desired to build upon it, but on digging it I found a treasure and an immense store of riches, so I said to the seller: ‘Take thy treasure, for I have not bought this from thee, but only the ground.” The other man answered, and said to the king: “My Lord, when I sold my ground to this man, I sold him also everything that it may have contained, from the depth of the ground to the height of the firmament, and since this man does not wish to associate himself with robbery so do I not wish to do so.” The king thereupon said to one of them: “Hast thou a son?” He replied: “Yes, my Lord.” To the other the king asked: “Hast thou a daughter?” On replying that he had, the king said: “Then give thy son to his daughter, and let the treasure be given to both of them.” Alexander laughed at this decision, which seemed wonderful to him. The king, noticing Alexander, said: “Why dost thou laugh? Have I not judged well, and have I not acted justly?” “Thou hast judged well,” answered Alexander, “and thou hast acted justly, but if this had been my kingdom I should not have decided thus.” “How, then, wouldst thou have acted?” asked the king. “Why, if this had been my kingdom,” he said, “I should have killed the two men and have taken all their money.” The king was much astonished at this, and said: “Does God’s sun shine in thy kingdom?” “Yes.” “Are there dews in thy kingdom?” “Yes.” “Are there small and large cattle in thy kingdom?” “Yes.” Then said the king: “It is, then, through the merit of the animals that you live and are sustained, as it is said, ‘Both man and animal God saves.”
 
26. Alexander went forth from that place and came to Afriq, which he subdued. They gave him 180 talents of gold and very precious stones. The King, departing thence, came to the land of Ansiq, and found there only women; the men dwelt on the other side of the river. The men, however, never crossed the river, but the women used to do so in order to have relations with the men, and if a woman bore a male child she carried it across the river, and the men took it and reared it; but when a female was born the woman reared it until it was five years of age, and then taught it the art of war. The women rode horses, and continually crossed the river two or three times every year to fight their neighbours. King Alexander sent word to the Queen, saying: “Do not refrain from coming to me with thy princesses and with all thy precious things; do not be stiff-necked before me, because it will act as a stumbling-block to thee.” The Queen answered the messengers of Alexander, saying: “What right has my Lord to come to my land in order to war against me?” “He humbles,” said they, “all his enemies beneath his feet; there is no wall which is too high for him; kingdoms and peoples have fallen beneath him, and whatever he does, prospers.” “Tell then your Lord that he does not appear to me to be wise, but only his lucky hour favours him.” “Why dost thou speak thus,” they said, “of our master?” “Because,” said she, “we are recognized to be speakers of truth. If your Lord were wise, he would not have come here to war with women, because, if he conquers, the world will say: ‘What glory is there in having conquered women? are not men swifter than they? he was sure to conquer them.’ On the other hand, if the women are victorious, what will the world say? ‘Women have been found able to conquer so great a king.’ None of his former victories will then redound to his honour and praise, but shame will come upon him and will be magnified by all those who hear of it.” The messengers returned to Alexander, and said to him: “Thus and thus has the Queen said to us”; and her words pleased Alexander and all his people, to whom he said: “What shall I do? If I go away without having gone to war against them and without obtaining a victory over them, all who hear of it will say that women have conquered me.” He therefore said: “I shall not go away from here until I see the Queen herself and speak to her face to face.”
 
27. When the Queen heard that the King was coming to see her, she assembled 5000 virgins, clothed them in fine linen, silk, and lace-work, and mounted them on camels. In this manner they came to meet the King. When the Queen approached Alexander’s camp, she said to her maidens: “Look at me and do what I do.” Thus they did. The Queen then hastened and uncovered one of her breasts, and all followed her example. The King and all his people were much amazed when they saw this. The King immediately hastened to ride up to her, and, embracing and kissing her, said: “Why did you act like this?” to which she replied: “It is customary and right in this kingdom, when receiving a king, to show him the beauty of our bodies.” “What can I do for you?” said the King. “Thou shalt do nothing,” said the Queen, “except leave us and do not destroy our land.” The King then said: “If thou wilt accept the kingdom from me I will leave you, but if not, I shall destroy your land?” “Why,” answered the Queen, “wilt thou destroy my land, and add iniquity to thy iniquity; for we have of old sworn that we shall not bear (submit to) the yoke of any king; but if thou desirest I shall give thee gold, silver, and brass, and very precious stones, the like of which thou, nor thy fathers, nor thy grandfathers, have never seen.” The King then said to her: “If I fight with thee and conquer thee I shall take the precious stones, the gold and silver, and everything which thou hast from thee.” But the Queen replied: “Thou hast thought foolishly in this, because I have stored with my maidens all our treasures in a place which it is impossible for thee to find, wert thou even to turn the earth topsy-turvy.” But the King said to her: “If thou dost not reveal all thy treasures I shall torture thee and all thy maidens, until thou show me the place of thy treasures.” The Queen replied: “We have already sworn, both we and our handmaidens, not to reveal any of our treasures to any man in the world. Therefore, stop thy words, because it will not help thee.” At this the King said: “What can I do for thee, for thou art much wiser than I am? I have only spoken in this manner to test thee, and now give me the gold and the precious stones as thou hast spoken, and I shall depart in peace from thee.” The Queen thereupon hastened to blow upon a strange little trumpet, and there came to her a very beautiful maiden, to whom the Queen said: “Take with thee my maidens and bring me the gold and the precious stones which I have stored in the place shown to thee.” The girl hastened and brought the King gold and the precious stones, at which all wondered who saw it. Even the King wondered at it.
 
28. And he said to her: “Comply, I entreat thee, with my request, and I shall then know that I have found favour in thine eyes.” The Queen replied: “I will do anything thou askest, except one thing, viz. to accept my own kingdom from thee.” He then said: “I only ask thee to be with thee this night.” “I have hearkened,” said the Queen, “to thy request; but swear to me that thy men will not do the same to my maidens, for such things are not done in the whole of my land.” The King said: “I will do according to thy word,” and he swore unto her and passed the word of command in all his camp, saying: “He who molests the Queen’s maidens shall surely be put to death.” It came to pass in the night that the King sent messengers to bring the Queen to his tent; but she refused to go, saying: “It is not proper here for a woman to go to a man”; and the King said: “She has spoken the truth,” and rising, he went to the Queen, and she conceived by him. In the morning the Queen said: “I have conceived by thee.” “How dost thou know?” said the King. “Because,” she said, “I noticed by the planets of the sky that I had conceived a male, who will be a mighty warrior, and he will slay very many, and in his old age will be slain himself.” While she was yet speaking with the King, one of her maidens came up and, crying to the King, said: “One of thy men has done violence to me.” The King thereupon grew angry, and said: “Who is the man that has done this thing?” “Ga’tan,” they replied, “the guardian of thy treasures.” “Hasten, then,” said the King, “and bring him to me.” They accordingly hastened to bring him before the King. The King said: “Why hast thou transgressed my command?” to which Ga’tan answered : “Why should I banter with words? Know thou that if thou wilt not swear to me that thou wilt do no harm to me, thou shalt not see again any of the treasures entrusted to my care; for I have hidden them in a place, which it is impossible for thee to discover.” The King waxed exceedingly angry, and did not know what to do. At length he said to Gatan: “Wherefore hast thou acted so evilly and committed such iniquity against me?” “Because,” said Ga’tan, “my evil inclination got the better of me, and I had not the strength to restrain myself.” The King then said, “I shall swear”; and he did so. “Show me now,” said the King, “my treasures.” He showed them to the King, who took them away, and entrusted them to Asan (or Asdan, Isdan) the chamberlain. It came to pass one day, when the King was dining at his table, that he raised his eyes and beheld Ga’tan standing in front of him, with his eyes fixed upon the King. The King was terrified, and cried: “Remove this man from me.” But while he was giving his command, Ga’tan suddenly ran against him with his knife, and stuck it into the King. When his men saw this they trembled, and, dashing forward, caught hold of Ga’tan. Antipal (or Antofil), the physician, however, came quickly, and, applying some herb to the wound, cured him immediately, as the reward for which the King gave him many presents. The King commanded Ga’tan to be torn to pieces by the dogs, limb by limb. This being done, the anger of the King was assuaged.
 
29. After this the King journeyed, with all his army, in the direction of the land of Hagar. It was soon told him that the King of Hagar had set out to fight against him; but he laughed and scoffed at the idea. He sent messengers to the King of Hagar, saying: “What hast thou seen that thou art stiff-necked, and that thou leviest thine army to fight against me? Has it not been told thee of the deeds I have done by the strength of my hand, and of the kingdoms and peoples I have subjected beneath my sway.” The messengers accordingly carried the wish of the King, saying: “Thus and thus are the words of Alexander.” The King of Hagar replied to the messengers of the King (Alexander), saying: “Say unto your Lord: ‘What sin have I committed or what transgression have I made that thou hast come to war against me, and to destroy my land?’“ They reported his words to the King, upon which the King said to his people: “Prepare ye the implements of war, for at this time to-morrow I shall go to him and shall humble his pride.” They accordingly prepared their implements of war and went to fight with the king. But the King of Hagar anticipated this, and commanded his men to dig pits and to hollow caves throughout the whole land, and to cover them with straw, so that Alexander and his army should stumble thereon and fall in them. This, however, was told Alexander, and it appeared dangerous to him, so that he feared to go there, on account of the depth of the pits which the servants of the King of Hagar had dug. He therefore sent word a second time, saying: “Listen to my counsel and do not be stiff-necked; come, now, to me and bring me a tribute, and I shall go away in peace and not destroy thy land.” The King of Hagar sent word saying: “I willingly will empty my treasure-houses if he then only will leave my country.” The messengers brought this word to Alexander, who accepted it, and the King of Hagar came to him with the choicest of his men and with very precious stones. The King, on receiving them, departed from his land.
 
30. He then turned in the direction of Jerusalem, for he was told of the power, of the strength, and of the might of the Jews, so that Alexander said: “If I do not conquer the Jews, my glory will be accounted for nothing.” He therefore journeyed thence, and arrived in twenty-six days with all his camp at Dan. He then sent messengers to Jerusalem, saying: “Thus sayeth the mighty king Alexander: ‘You have dwelt here so many years, in which you have never yet paid me tribute, poll-tax, or (other) taxes; now that this letter is brought to you, collect and send me your tribute, and this is the tribute which I ask of you: all the treasures of the house of God, which you have stored in the Temple for several years.” When the people heard this, they were very much afraid, and proclaiming a fast they clothed themselves with sackcloth, and prayed to God. And the old men and the sages in Jerusalem took counsel together as to the reply they should send King Alexander. The High Priest Anani accordingly wrote to Alexander, saying: “Thus say the men of Jerusalem, the thing that thou askest is too difficult for them; they are not able to do this thing, because we have not the power to bring forth the treasures contained in the house of our God and to send them to thee, for our ancestors have dedicated them for the wants of widows and orphans, for the lame and the crippled, to support them; but if thou desirest, we shall send thee from every house in Jerusalem a dinar of gold, but we have no power to bring forth the treasures of the Temple which our ancestors have dedicated.” When King Alexander read the letter of the men of Jerusalem, he grew very angry, and swore by his idol that he would not leave that land ere he had made Jerusalem and its temple a heap of ruins. It happened on that night, when the King was lying in his bed and could not sleep, that he opened the window, and lifting up his eyes he saw an angel of God with drawn sword standing before him. He trembled very much, and said to the angel: “Why will my Lord smite his servant?” But the angel answered, and said, “Am I not he who subdues kings beneath thee; why, then, wilt thou do evil in the eyes of the Lord, to destroy his land and his people?” The King, replying to the angel who addressed him, said: “Whatever thou tellest me I will do.” The angel, clothed in linen, then said: “Beware lest thou doest evil to the men of Jerusalem, but when thou enterest it thou shalt ask after the welfare of the city, and do good to them, and give thy treasures to be stored up in the House of God. If thou rebellest against my word know that thou shalt surely die, thou and all that belong to thee.” Alexander was grieved at this, and said to the angel clothed in white linen: “It is very hard for me to do this thing, to degrade my honour, but if it is evil in thine eyes I shall return and not enter Jerusalem.” But the angel retorted: “By thy life! return not until thou enter Jerusalem, and there place thy treasures in the House of God.”
 
31. It came to pass on the morrow that the King journeyed with all his host to Jerusalem. When he arrived at the gate of the city, the High Priest Anani, together with eighty priests clad in holy garments, came forth to meet the King, and to entreat him not to destroy the city. When Alexander saw the High Priest Anani, he alighted from his horse, and prostrating himself to the ground, embraced the feet of the High Priest, and kissed them. The warriors of Alexander, seeing this, were very much angered, and said to the King: “Why dost thou do this, and humble thy honour before an old man like this? Do not all the kings of the earth bow down before thy feet, and now thou degradest thy honour before this man: what will the world say?” “Do not be surprised,” answered he, “for this old man who has come here is the likeness of the angel of God who goes before me at the time of battle, and who tramples down nations beneath me; I therefore do him this great honour.” When the High Priest Anani heard the words of the King, he bowed down to the God of Israel, and blessing God in a loud voice said: “O my Lord, if I have found favour in thy sight, do not harm the men of Jerusalem, for they are thy servants ready to perform thy will.” The King replied: “Instead of entreating me on behalf of the men of Jerusalem, entreat the men of Jerusalem on my behalf, for I am not able to do any harm to them, for the angel of God has warned me, and commanded me to do no evil to them.” All the warriors of Jerusalem, its old and its wise and its pious men, brought the King to the upper castle in Jerusalem, where he remained three days, and on the fourth day the King said to the High Priest: “Shew me, I entreat thee, the temple of the great God who subdues nations beneath me.” The King and his warriors then went into the temple of God, and on lifting up his eyes, behold, an angel clad in white linen stood before him. The King, on seeing him, instantaneously prostrated himself at his full length upon the ground, and lifting up his voice he cried: “This is indeed the house of God, the like of which there is none in the world.” The King then brought forth vessels of gold and silver and precious stones, and placed them in the treasury of the Temple, and he sought the High Priest Anani and the other priests who took the gold that they should make a statue of him in the Temple as a token and a remembrance. But the High Priest and the other priests replied: “We cannot do this thing, to make a graven image or any likeness (or figure) in the Temple, but listen to our counsel : give this gold, of which thou desirest a statue to be made, to the treasury of the House of God, by means of which the poor and the crippled of the city will be maintained. As for thy good name and thy remembrance, all the males born this year shall be named Alexander after thee.” This thing pleased the King, who forthwith weighed forty talents of the finest gold, and placed it in the hands of the High Priest Anani and the other priests, saying to them, “Pray for me continually”; and he added more silver and gold and other precious stones to the treasury, and entrusted them to the High Priest, who acceded to his wish to pray for him continually.
 
32. The King then journeyed from Jerusalem, and passed over to Galilea, and thence to Qardonia (or Qironia), a land very fruitful and fat. The inhabitants lived in tents, and they had no houses, and the only clothes they possessed were those made from camel’s hair, but on account of the extreme heat they could not bear any clothing on them. When they heard the report of Alexander’s arrival they went forth to meet him, and made obeisance to him. The King received them and spoke to them, and testing them with riddles and in various sciences, found them very clever. He wondered at the greatness of their wisdom, and said to them: “Whatever you ask of me I will give you.” They thereupon all cried: “Give us everlasting life.” The King, however, was confused, and confessed his inability to do that. “If, then,” they replied, “thou hast not the power to do this, we shall not ask thee anything more.” They then said: “Do thou ask what shall be given to thee.” The King replied: “I only ask for some choice herbs which you are so clever in knowing their virtue.” “We shall do,” said they, “what thou askest.” They accordingly brought the King many herbs, and explained to him their virtue, their use, and their power of healing, and the King went searching everywhere for similar herbs, so that he should be able to recognize them in any place. He commanded his physicians to write down all the herbs and their use, and ordered them to place the book in which they were written into the treasure-house. After these things King Alexander became very ill, and he commanded the book of cures, which was placed in the treasury, to be brought to him. They brought it, and found instructions as to his disease, and the physicians accordingly cured him by means of it. Among the physicians there was one who hated the King, so he stole the book of cures and burned it in the fire. When it was told the King he was very much grieved, and he rent his garments, and commanded the culprit to be brought before him, but he had fled and was not to be found.
 
33. After this the King journeyed to the land of Qartinia, where they received the King with great honours. The name of the king was Ardos (or Amzosh). He brought him into his residence, the name of which was ‘Amaq (or ‘Ariq; Zeriq). There was a woman there whose beauty was so great that all who looked at her praised her, and testified that there was not her equal in the whole world. Now every month it was the custom of this woman to go once to the temple of the god Asilin (Apolon?), in order to offer there a sacrifice of idolatry, and whenever she passed through the market-place of the city all the workmen ceased from their work and ran after her to gaze upon her beauty. This woman continually passed to the temple, and burned incense. One day Matan, the priest of Asilin, in the temple of the god, saw her and had almost lost his mind after her. Once when she had come to the temple to offer incense to Baal, Matan the priest said to her: “I have been sent to thee from our holy Asilin.” The woman rejoiced, and said to Matan: “Tell me, I entreat thee, what thou wishest to say, and do not hide anything from me.” “Know,” said Matan, “that Asilin desires to come to thee, and to beget a son by thee like himself, for there is not another woman in the world that is fit to be with him except thee.” The woman rejoiced, and said: “Whatever Asilin commands me I shall do, and shall not neglect anything.” Matan then said to the woman: “If, then, thou hearkenest to the words of Asilin, go thou and obtain permission from thy husband, and if he be willing, do thou come to the temple this very night and thou shalt beget a son by Asilin.” The woman thereupon hastened to her husband, and told him whatever Matan had said to her, to which her husband replied: “Do that which seemeth good in thy eyes, but take with thee into the temple of Asilin pillows, coverings, and wraps, and silk garments to spread over them.” She did so, and having taken them, made a couch in the temple behind the altar. It came to pass on the night that the woman went to the temple that her handmaid came with her, and Matan said to the woman: “It is not right that thy handmaid should come with thee into the temple, because she is not worthy of it.” The woman therefore told her handmaid to go out of the temple, and to lie down before the door until dawn. In the middle of the night Matan came into the temple by way of the door of the second gate, and the handmaid, hearing the creaking of the door, was frightened, and, rising from her bed, she went softly into the temple, and beheld Matan coming into it. She was afraid lest he should kill her, therefore she did not speak, but beheld him kissing and embracing her mistress. She waited until he had exhausted his strength, and then, going in secretly, she took the statue of Asilin and struck him upon his head with it, so that he died on the bed of her mistress. The handmaid then said: “What is this thou hast done, for thou hast defiled thyself with another man?” The woman quaked and trembled, for she knew that she was defiled, and, lifting up her voice, she wept; but her handmaid said to her: “Do not cry, because what has been done cannot be undone; therefore remain silent, and go to thy house, and do not say anything about it.” But the woman replied: “Do not tell me to remain silent, for it is impossible for me to restrain my words, for I am defiled, and no other man than my husband has ever touched me.” She then went out, and, placing her hand upon her head, she wailed until she came to her husband, who said unto her, “What ails thee?” and she told him all that had happened, but her husband could not reproach her, since he had given her permission to go to the temple of Asilin.
 
34. Her husband then went to the king and related to him everything that had occurred, and that his handmaid had killed Matan. The king then asked Alexander how he would decide in this case, and Alexander said: “If the kingdom were mine, I would pull down the temple of Asilin to its very foundation, since it has been defiled, and it is therefore not right to pray within its precincts.” The king thereupon commanded the temple of Asilin to be pulled down to its foundations, and that Matan, who was killed, should be burned with fire. Alexander then said: “Send the woman to me, that I may see her beauty.” The king sent for her. She came to the king. When Alexander beheld her he was amazed at her beauty, which appeared wonderful to him. On asking the king to give her to him, he replied: “Far be it from me to do such a thing, to take a woman from her husband while he is yet living. The land would be filled with wickedness.” Upon this King Alexander went away in great anger, and sent a message to the king, saying: “If thou wilt not give me this woman, know that fierce wars will be waged in thy kingdom.” But the king replied: “Let him do that which seems right to him, for I shall not give her to him, because I am honoured in all my kingdom through her, and if she goes away from my kingdom it will create a great rebellion.” As soon as Alexander saw that the king would not part with her he got ready his implements of war, and fought against the king and was victorious. He killed many of his warriors, and, seizing the king, ordered him to be put in chains of iron. Alexander then took the woman by force, and he loved her very much, and made for her a temple of gold, the length of which was eleven cubits, its breadth six cubits, and its height fifteen cubits. He covered the beams of the temple with very precious stones. It contained no windows, but the precious stones gave light during the day and night. The King then placed the woman within it. The temple was placed on iron wheels, and several horses drew it along, but the woman did not move from her place within the temple, for all the food was prepared for her. She conceived by Alexander, and bore a son, whose name they called Alexander. The King rejoiced very much, and made a large banquet for all his princes and servants, and he placed the crown of sovereignty on her head and made her Queen. And the King was very merry, with all his host, and distributed money and presented many gifts.
 
35. It came to pass after this that Alexander, the King’s son, died after nine months, and also his horse Busfal and the King wept very bitterly for both of them, and commanded his son and his horse Busfal to be buried by the side of each other. He then ordered a large and beautiful mausoleum to be built over them, and he consoled his wife and went to her so that she conceived, and at the time of her bearing, which was very hard, she died. The King and all his host showed great mourning, and the King rent his garments, beat his hands one upon the other, tore out his hair, and fell upon the ground. His princes came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted, so they went away from the King and left him alone. He then took a rope and tried to hang himself, but his princes perceiving it, ran to him and took the rope away and reproved him, saying: “Why wilt thou refuse to reign? Are there no more women in the world that thou seekest to hang thyself for one?” Thus they continued to speak to him for a long time, and they said: “If it be pleasing to thee let us send scribes and messengers in all the provinces of the King, and let them seek and search for virgins or beautiful wives, and let the King crown her who appears best in the eyes of the King.” This thing pleased the King, so he sent messengers and they found a very beautiful maiden in the land of Africa (Afriqia). They brought her to the King, and he loved her, and placing the crown of sovereignty upon her head he made her Queen.
 
36. It came to pass after this that the King journeyed with all his camp and arrived at a certain very large forest. At that place there ran against the army strange beasts with five horns, which destroyed a great part of the army. On seeing this the King said to his men: “Take fire and brimstone and pitch and burn the forest; perhaps God, with His abundant mercy, will save us from these wild beasts.” They accordingly hastened to burn the trees of the forest, and the wild beasts ran away: thus the King and the army were saved.
 
37. They then went forth from that place and came to the land of ‘Ofrat. There they found a large river strange to behold. Both the King and his army were thirsting for water, but were afraid to drink the waters of that river, so the King commanded them to dig wells round about the river. They thus found plenty of water to quench the thirst of the King, themselves, and the cattle. The King then said to his army: “Let us encamp here by the water, because I like the odour emanating from it, which is healthy.” They accordingly encamped there for ten days. And it came to pass on the tenth day that one of the King’s hunters caught some birds, and killing them, washed them in the water of that river, but when he put them in the water, in order to wash them, they came to life and flew away. When the servant of the King saw this he hastened to the river and drank of its waters, and then told the King, who exclaimed that it must be the water of the Garden of Eden, and whoever drank of it would live for “Go and bring me some to drink.” The servant, taking a vessel, went to bring the water; he sought, but was not able to find it, so, returning, he said to the King: “I was not able to find the water of that river, for the Lord has hidden it from me.” The King, on hearing this, grew so angry that he took his sword and cut off his head. The headless servant then went to the great sea. Menahem, the scribe, says in the name of our sages that there exist headless men in the sea who overturn ships, but when one approaches to overturn a ship, if the passengers cry out, “Flee, flee! Behold thy master, Alexander,” they at once run away, and the ship is saved.
 
38. The king Alexander, ordering the image of himself to be brought to him, swore by it that he would not return until he came to a place where there is no way to turn either to the right or to the left, nor any place through which to pass. The King then journeyed with all his host, and, passing the river, came to a very large gate about thirty cubits high. The King was amazed at the height of it, and heard a voice calling to him. It was the voice of the keeper of the gate, behind which the righteous are. The King then, raising his eyes, saw letters engraved on the gate. He thereupon called Menahem the scribe, who read the inscription, which was: “Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be elevated, ye gates of the world,” etc. The King went from that place, and wandered among the hills with all his army for fully six months, during which time the way of the hills did not come to an end, until the end of that time, when they came to a plain where stood another immense beautiful gate, whose height the eye of no man could reach. Upon it there was an inscription in very large and exceedingly beautiful letters. Menahem read the inscription, which said: “This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteous shall enter.” Menahem explained the letters and the words to the King, who exclaimed: “This is certainly the Garden of Eden!” The King then cried out: “Who is there upon this gate?” and a voice answered: “This is the gate of the Garden of Eden, and no uncircumcised man may enter it.” Accordingly, in the night-time, Alexander circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, and his physicians cured him immediately by means of herbs. But nothing of this was known in the camp, for he commanded his physicians not to say anything. On the morrow, the King said unto the gate-keepers : “Give me a token and I shall go on my way.” They then gave him a box (chest) in which was something like a piece of the eye. The King stretched forth his hand to lift it from the ground, but was unable to do so. The King then cried, and said: “What have you given me?” They replied, “This is an eye.” “What is the use of it to me?” the King said. “This is a sign,” said they, “that thine eye is not satisfied with riches, nor will thy desire be satisfied by thy roaming over the earth.” “But how,” said Alexander, “can I lift it from the earth?” “Place,” they said “some dust upon the eye, and then thou canst do what thou wilt with it, and this is a sign that thine eye will not be satisfied with riches until thou return to the earth from which thou wast taken.” The King did so: he placed some dust on the eye, and lifting it from the ground, placed it in his treasure-house, together with his treasures, to be a remembrance of his having obtained a token from the Garden of Eden.
 
39. It came to pass after this that the King said to himself: “I am not yet satisfied with what I have hitherto done.” He then ordered his warriors to bring him four large and strong eagles. The King then ordered them to be starved for three days. On the third day the King took a board, and ordered his men to bind him upon it. The King then ordered four iron pikes to be fixed at the four ends of the board, and then ordered four pieces of meat to be stuck on the four pikes. The King then said: “Take the four eagles and bind their legs to the four corners of the board.” They did so. Now the eagles were starving, and, on seeing the meat fixed above them, they lifted their wings and flew to reach the meat, but they, of course, could not. They flew until they reached the clouds. When the King had almost died on account of the heat of the clouds, he quickly turned the pikes, on which the meat was stuck, downwards. When the eagles saw this they descended after the meat until they reached the land. The King said: “When I was placed between heaven and earth I saw all the world in the midst of the waters, and the world, with all its inhabitants, seemed to me like a cup floating on the waters of Oceanus.”
 
40. The King then said to his wise men: “Make me a hollow (bell of) white glass, for I am not satisfied yet that I have been and I have seen what is above, for now I will descend and see what is under the earth.” The King then sat in the glass, and took with him a fowl and a brilliant stone which gives light. He then said to his wise men: “Let me descend into the sea, and wait for me a whole year; if I do not return after the year, return then to your tents.” His sages accordingly let him down into the sea, and the glass floated from sea to sea, and descended into the depths, where he saw everything the sea contains, large and small. When the King had seen all that he wished, he took the fowl and strangled it, so that the blood issued from it. Now the great sea (Mediterranean ?) does not retain any blood, so it vomited the King upon the dry land at the end of three days (months), and cast him among a people which he did not know, and whose language he did not understand. The form of the people of this land, both of the men and the women, was as follows: their faces were about two cubits in width, in the middle of which they had one eye, and their legs were very broad. When they saw the King they were struck with terror, and prostrated themselves to the ground.
 
41. It came to pass in the night that the King suddenly became frightened, and fied from the land. For nine whole months he was searching for his army; the cold was consuming him in the day and the frost in the night. At the end of his nine months’ wandering, he met a lion, and being afraid ran away, but the lion ran after him, and seizing hold of his garment it crouched before him. Alexander then sat upon the lion, which carried him by force into a cave, where he found an old man and greeted him. “Art thou,” said the old man, “my lord Alexander?” The King was surprised at the question, and said: “Who told thee that my name is Alexander?” The old man replied: “Because I saw thee when thou camest to Jerusalem to destroy it.” “Of what people art thou,” said the King, “or who art thou and what is thy name?” “Why dost thou ask for my name?” said the old man: “I will not tell thee anything, but if thou wilt swear to me that thou wilt not do any harm to the Jews, I will bring thee to thy army.” The King rejoiced very much, and swore to him. The old man then brought the King into one of the chambers of the cave, and bringing forth a lovely horse said to the King: “Do thou ride, and I shall walk by thy side.” The old man walked with him fo. six months, until he brought him to his camp. When they saw their King they were exceedingly rejoiced, and blew the trumpets, so that the earth quaked at its sound. The King then related to his army all that had happened to him, and commanded Menahem, his scribe, to write it down. “But where is the old man who brought me to you?” he asked. They searched for him, but could not find him, so that the King was very grieved and commanded his men to search for him in every place, but they could not find him.
 
42. The King then journeyed thence with all his camp, and came to the land of Kalbina. All the people of that land barked like dogs, and were very weak and very hairy from the soles of their feet to the crowns of their heads. They were dwarfs, about one cubit and a half in height. They neither sowed nor reaped, and the only food they possessed was nuts. They covered themselves with the leaves of the nuts, which was all the clothing they had. The King ordered one to be brought before him. He barked like a dog before him. The King then took him to the Queen, whom he had brought with him from Africa. When the Queen looked at this man she was terrified and the beauty of her face was changed. She became livid, and fainting she fell backwards. The King, seeing this, cried aloud, smote one hand upon the other, and tore out his hair. One of his physicians immediately ran for a herb, which he placed in her mouth, and she stood up again. The King and all his host therefore rejoiced.
 
43. The King went forth thence with all his army, and crossed the sea in large ships. They were on the sea fifty-two days. One night the King, raising his eyes, saw a very large fish come up from the sea; its eyes were like two great torches. The King immediately drew his bow and shot the fish, and, through its struggling, it sank three of the King’s vessels. The King was very grieved on account of this, and wept bitterly. Soon after this a storm arose and carried the King’s ships to the Salt Sea, where many of his men died, on account of which stench emanated from it. Alexander then cried to God, and God sent a wind which carried the King’s ships to the dry land, the land of Alfariq a land fruitful and fat. The King encamped here for three months. When the King saw the juice of the fruits he passed word to his army not to eat the fruit of this land, because they were too rich and dangerous to eat. But there were some who did not listen to the King, and ate of the fruits. On account of this about 3000 of them died.
 
44. The King then said: “Prepare to go forth from this land, lest it be to you a stumbling-block and a hindrance.” They accordingly went forth from that land, and came to the land of Togirah, and the king of Togirah went out to meet Alexander with a large army, and they arrayed themselves for war. Many were slain on both sides, but Alexander was ultimately victorious, and the king of Togirah fled away into a cave. This was told Alexander, and he forthwith commanded his men to kindle wood at the mouth of the cave, so that the smoke ascended in the cave, and the king of Togirah died. Alexander then pursued the army, and he smote them until there were but few left. On these Alexander had pity, and sent them away in peace.
 
45. The King then journeyed thence and came to the land of Igoli, and, having crossed the water by means of rafts, he came to the land of Jobilah (or Havilah, where it was customary for women to wear breeches, but not for men. When a woman bears, and has lain for two months in bed, she goes out and her husband confines himself for four months. When Alexander heard this he was astonished, and sent a messenger to the king of Jobilah, saying: “Come, let us see each other.” The messengers returned to Alexander, and said to him: “Thus says thy servant the king of Jobilah: Behold, I am to seclude myself for twenty-nine days more, because my wife has born a son, and I may not go out until my time is fulfilled, viz. four months. I will then come to thee.” When Alexander heard this he was much amused, and scoffed at the king, and he said to his princes and his servants: “Prepare yourselves and come with me to the king, who is lying in bed.” Alexander accordingly went to the king, and found him in bed. The queen waited upon him, and served him with food and drink and all kinds of dainties. Alexander, on seeing the king, laughed, and said: “During the time that thou liest in bed, who reigns instead of thee, who judges, who sits upon thy throne instead of thee?” “My chosen dog sits upon my throne with an interpreter at his side, and before him the people come to obtain justice.” “But is it right,” said Alexander, “for a dog to sit on the throne of thy kingdom?” “This is the glory of the kingdom,” the king replied, “that a dog should sit upon the throne and people should obtain justice from him.” “I entreat thee,” said Alexander, “to show me the dog which reigns instead of thee.” “I am not allowed,” answered the king, “to go out of this bed until the four months are fulfilled, and, were I to go out before the time, the people would appoint another king in my stead, and thrust me from the kingdom.” Alexander then said to the king: “Tell me now whether, during the six months of conception, thou goes to thy wife, as it is the usual thing, or not?” The king replied: “Herein lies the power of the king, that whenever man and wife come together during the six months of conception, their eyelashes fall off, and the messengers of the king go forth every day searching to see whether any man and woman during that time have come together, and the presence or absence of their eyelashes prove this to them. They bring the culprits before the king, and burn them in the fire, and their ashes they send in all the king’s provinces; but the king, after two months, may go to his wife once a week, and, on the day of his coronation, they make him swear that, after the two months, he will not go to his wife more than once a week!” “What does the king do,” said Alexander, “when the six months have expired?” “It is a custom and a law of the country,” said the king, “that all the people then bring him a present, each according to his means—one brings a horse, another a beast—and the king gives a banquet lasting three days, after which each one returns to his own home.” At this Alexander said: “From the day I went forth from my kingdom, Egypt, I have not seen a custom so peculiar.”
 
46. The King departed thence with his whole army, and journeyed in the wilderness nine days. On raising their eyes they saw smoke ascending to the very heart of the heavens, and a fire burning in every direction, in the midst of the thick smoke. The King then said to a hundred of his men: “Go and see this great sight.” They accordingly ascended to the top of the mountain, which was very high; but they could not reach the place of the smoke, and of the fire which was burning in every direction, on account of the heat. They there heard the sounds of woe and lamentation, as the voices of men crying, “Woe, woe!” When these men returned and told the King, he said: “Hasten and go up the mount a second time, and ask what this great noise is.” They went up to the top of the mountain and cried aloud, saying: “What is this great noise?” They shouted the same question two or three times, and there was no reply; but after a good hour there appeared to them a form similar to that of a lion. Its hands and feet, however, were like those of men. “Why have you ascended here?” he said. To which they replied: “King Alexander has sent us to inquire what this great noise is?” The lion then said: “I shall not tell you until the King himself comes to me; and then, perhaps, I shall tell him whatever he asks of me.” The soldiers thereupon descended, and told the King to go to the top of the mountain; but his servants said: “If we have found favour in thy eyes, O lord the King, do not go up; for it does not appear to us advisable for thee to go alone to the lion.” But the King replied: “If you are desirous of showing me honour, do not say that; for it is not an honour to the King to appear afraid of anything. Now take heed, if I am detained for more than three hours on the mount, hasten ye up to me.” This, however, displeased the warriors. The King went to the top of the mountain, when the lion came up immediately to him, and seizing him by the hair, cast him to the ground. The King raised a very loud cry, for the lion vomited pitch upon the King. When his warriors heard him they hastened to the top of the mount, where they found the King between life and death. When they carried him down from the mountain, and the people saw him, they raised their voices and wept bitterly. All his physicians came to him and applied their arts and sciences, but they were of no avail. When they saw that, the lament for him was very great, and they remained with him nine days, during which time the King neither opened his eyes nor his mouth. But on the tenth night a serpent came to the King’s camp, with a very large herb in its mouth. When the people saw it, they tried to kill it, but an old man among the crowd, named Afiliis (or Apiliis),exclaimed: “Take care of your lives, that ye do not attempt to kill the serpent.” The people, therefore, let it go where it wished. The old men and the sages went after it to see what it would do. It placed the herb which it held in its mouth on the King, and the King forthwith opened his eyes, and having sneezed three times he stood up upon his feet, and all the people rejoiced and shouted aloud with joy, so that the earth resounded with their shouting. The King then made a large banquet to all his princes and servants, and distributed presents to each one of them, according to his rank. [A. His warriors asked him how it had come about, and he told them what had happened to him on the top of the mountain. They replied: “Did we not warn thee not to risk it, but thou didst not hearken unto our voices.”]
 
47. After these things a message was sent from Egypt to King Alexander as follows : “Thus say the men of Egypt: We are not able to govern the kingdom without thee. Since thou hast departed, every passer-by scoffs at us, and the kings of east and west wage war against us. We are left like unto orphans without parents, and like unto widows. We have no one to guide us, nor do we know what to do; therefore, if thou wilt return it will be better for us, but if not, then know that we shall appoint a king over us, who will go before us and obtain us rest from our enemies, for we are unable to keep ourselves free any longer from the oppression of other kings.” The King then took counsel with his sages and philosophers, and they advised him to return to his native land, the land of Egypt; but he replied to them: “Again I will not hearken to your advice to return to Egypt, for I have already sworn that I shall not return until I am not able to find a place where to turn; then I shall return with all my host.” But said his philosophers: “What wilt thou do to Egypt if they appoint a new king over themselves?” At this the King called Tikusa (or Tibusa),his nephew, and taking a royal crown and placing it upon the head of Tikusa, made him King of Egypt until The himself should return. He then sent him to Egypt with ten mighty men, for it was not advisable to give him very many horses, lest he should be swallowed up among the people and lest they should seize him by the way. The King then commanded Tikusa, saying: “When thou arrivest in peace at the land of Egypt, execute justice and right according to all that my mother teaches thee, and do not transgress her word either in trivial or important matters; and whoever rebels against thy word, do thou write it down until I return in peace.” Tikusa then went forth from the King, and journeyed secretly with horses and asses just as spies and merchants travel from city to city. After two years’ journey they came to the land of Egypt. They then brought forward the King’s seal and his crown, which the people recognized. They therefore made Tikusa king over them.
 
48. The king Alexander now commanded his army, saying: “Prepare your implements of war and make chariots.” They fulfilled the order of the King, and made 190 chariots of iron, in addition to those they had previously. Then, taking his standard, the King journeyed on in front of his army until he, together with his army, came to a very wide lake. In this brook they found large fishes, in the ears of which were things like golden earrings. Having caught the fishes, they boiled them and ate them, and many of his men died. The King was very grieved at this, and said: “Did you not have anything else to eat except these fishes?” While he was speaking a strange-looking man suddenly appeared before him from the lake. His head was like an eagle’s, his ears as long as an ass’s ears, his hands like a man’s, and his feet like a lion’s; he had a tail like that of a horse. The King commanded his men to seize him. But the man heard it, and casting some stones from the brook in front of these men, they were not able to catch him. The King then ran after him in order to catch him. When the man saw the King he prostrated himself to the ground and fell before his feet. The King then said: “Why didst thou cast stones before my warriors, and didst not do so before me?” “Because,” said he, “I saw an angel of God standing at thy right hand, by which I knew that thou wast a king. I therefore showed honour to royalty, that thou mightest have compassion upon me and upon my children.” “Hast thou children?” said the King, “and where are they?” “The fishes,” said he, “which thy men have eaten, are my children.” “If this is so,” said the King, “what shall I do for thee, since thy children are already eaten?” “Do thou command thy men,” said he, “to restore to me the rings which were in their ears, and then thou shalt see what I will do.” The King therefore commanded the earrings of the fishes to be brought before him. This being done, the King said to the man: “Take them.” The man took them, and cast them very high in the air nine times; at the tenth time he suddenly sprang in the midst of the water, and remained there a good hour, while the King and all the people were standing by the side of the lake, watching to see what would happen; after the hour the man ascended from the brook, and his wife after him. They then gathered the scales which had come off the fish, and the woman took them and carried them across the lake. She then took a herb and placed it on the scales, and she threw them afterwards into the water. The King [B. then sent messengers to look for the scales, but] they could not find out what had become of them. The woman and her husband also returned to the lake, and were not seen again.
 
49. The King then journeyed on to the land of Qalila (or Qalilin), where only tall, old men were to be seen. They had black hair and their teeth were small (sharp), nor was the King able to understand their language. The King then said: “Why should I quarrel with a people whose language I do not understand?” He therefore went forth from that land, but the men of Qalila pursued him. King Alexander looked behind him, and saw a great army following them, and the men of Qalila slew about 30,000 of Alexander’s men. The King then said: “Is this how the men of Qalila reward me?” and he swore that he would not quit that land until he had destroyed the whole of Qalila. On the second day Alexander said to his men: “Prepare ye the implements of war, and I shall avenge my people on the men of Qalila.” They then laid siege to their residence, ‘Iyuna (or Arimah). For five days they were battling against the town, without being able to capture it. On the sixth day the King himself dug some ditches and broke down the wall. In the night, however, the inhabitants of ‘Iyuna rebuilt their wall, so that the joy of Alexander was turned into lamentation. But he again broke down the wall, and entering with his warriors, they slew all the men that were in the city, and taking their spoil they divided it by lot. Whilst they were thus engaged they quite suddenly beheld a tremendous army of fighting women from ‘Iyuna pursuing them in order to fight with them. When it was told Alexander, he replied: “Why, I have not seen a single woman in the whole of this land.” “We must see what we shall do,” said his men. “But can you entertain the idea,” said Alexander, “of fighting with women? Wait, however, until you see what they intend doing.” The army accordingly stood on the alert, but the women fell upon them as a bereaved bear, and effected a great slaughter among Alexander’s army. They fought with them for eight days, until the strength of Alexander’s army was weakened. When Alexander saw that his army was being beaten, he cried aloud, and said to his men: “O ye men of Macedon, what will the peoples and nations which you have conquered say. They will say that ‘they have been ultimately conquered by women.’” The men of Alexander then strengthened themselves, and smote the women until not a trace of them remained, except an old woman whom they were not able to kill. Having seized her, they found round her neck a magical bag. The King commanded the bag to be cut; they cut it, and found therein nine stalks of garlic, nine grains of pepper, nine chips of stones, nine heads of serpents, and nine heads of fishes, called feliflan (or felifti), in the language of Ishmael (Arabic), and semiliya in the language of Macedonia. The King commanded them to be cast into the fire. When this was done, the woman raised a loud cry, and lifting up her voice she wept. “Why dost thou weep?” said the King; but they could not understand her reply. His servants then said: “Let us bind her with chains of iron.” With the King’s permission they did so. They then placed some food and drink before her. Having eaten sufficient for fifty men and drank very much, the woman, strengthening herself, broke the chains as if they were threads of flax, and smote 180 men with them. She then ran away, just as a hind runs after its lovers. The warriors ran after her, but were not able to overtake her. They then harnessed the chariot, but they were not able to overtake her. She ran into a brook, and not knowing what became of her, the men returned to the King and related all that had happened. The King had the river searched for eight days, but not a trace of her could be found. They then searched the clothes of the women whom they had killed, and found under the clothes of each of them two heads of serpents. Having burned them, they took all the spoil and divided it between them.
 
50. The King journeyed thence, and came to the land of Amrisa (or Abomarisa),which was very barren, with nothing growing therein. The men were very fat; their hair was as white as snow, but the hair of the women was as red as blood. Their food consisted only of nuts, which grew upon trees in the midst of the water. These nuts were as sweet as honey and black as pitch, and melted after they were eaten.
 
51. The King then journeyed on with all his army to the land of Lapos (or Lakis), which was full of pools of oily water. They were only able to pass through the land by means of ships. The King therefore ordered 300 ships to be made, in which he crossed the water, but a very strong wind blew up, and cast the King and his army, together with his ships, on the other side of the land of Lapos, which brought thein beyond the land of the rivers of Kus )כוש( which is near the Ten Tribes.
 
52. The King then came to the river which surrounds the land of the Tribes, but was not able to approach them, because huge stones were being thrown up by the river during all the week-days until Sabbath eve. The King therefore encamped there, with all his host, until Sabbath eve, when the stones were no longer thrown, and, passing across the water with his army, he encamped upon the water until he saw how he was placed. He then sent two messengers to the people of that land to inquire and to ascertain to what people they belonged. “We are,” said they, “the people of God, who went forth from our land in the time of Sannaherib, king of Assyria.” When the messengers returned and told the King, he was greatly rejoiced, and sent Menahem the scribe to the Jews to ask them whether they would give him permission to enter their land with all his army. As soon as Menahem came to the Jews and spoke to them in Hebrew, they asked him: “Art thou a Jew?” “Yes,” he replied. They then waxed very angry with him, and said: “Why wert thou not afraid of the Lord thy God, to do this evil, and profane the holy Sabbath. Know that thou shalt surely die.” At this Menahem replied: “Do not be angry, for the fear of the King is upon me. I was compelled to cross the water on the Sabbath, for if I had not done so I should have remained alone, and would have endangered my life on account of wild beasts, and the Law says, ‘Take care and guard thy life. Our sages, of blessed memory, have also said: ‘That man should perform God’s commandments and live by them, but not die through them.” “Thou speakest falsely,” said they, “for there are no wild beasts in the whole of this land, for our sons tend to our flocks, and no wild beast hurts them either by day or by night. Now go forth from this land, for thou deservest to die, because thou hast profaned the Sabbath in journeying more than 2000 cubits.” When Menahem heard this he was very grieved, and, coming to the King, was asked why he looked so sad. And Menahem related all that had happened. The King was very much perplexed at it, and sent several honoured princes to the Jews, but they refused to talk with them until they circumcised themselves. When they told this to the King, he commanded them to do so, which they did.
 
53. The King himself then went to the Jews, and found them all encamped in tents dyed with all sorts of colours. On going to one of these tents he found there an old man with a scroll in his hand. The King greeted him, but he did not reply. The King then said: “I am circumcised, just as thou art, and am a king, the son of a king.” When the old man heard this he rose up, asked him into his tent, and paid him great honour. “Why,” said the King, “did you not assemble to fight with me? Did you see that I have a great army, as numerous as the sand on the shores of the sea: why are you not afraid of me?” “How many men, then, does your army consist of?” answered the old man. “I do not know the exact strength of my army,” said the King. And the old man said: “We are not afraid of you, for the Lord will be avenged of us. Five of us shall pursue five hundred, and one hundred of us will pursue a myriad, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.” “But how do you maintain yourselves, and what is your work?” “There are ten tribes of us,” replied the old man, “five of which go out to war against our surrounding nations in the South once in ten years, where we capture the spoil and maintain ourselves therewith. At the end of these ten years the other five tribes go to the North, capture the spoil, and we maintain ourselves with it during the whole of the ten years; then going to the East and to the West, this we continually repeat.” The King then said: “And is this your piety and goodness, that you behave in this manner towards the nations?” “From the very day,” he replied, “that other nations refused to accept the Law, God permitted it.” “What do you do during the week-days?” said the King. “During the week,” replied the old man, “we occupy ourselves with study day and night, and on the Sabbath we enjoy ourselves with all kinds of food until noon, from which time we study the Law.” The King then said to the old man: “If I have found favour in thy sight, speak now in the hearing of thy people, and give me permission to cross their land.” “I will do as thou hast said,” said the old man. He then sounded the trumpet, and an army as numerous as the sand upon the seashore assembled before him. The old man then told them the wish of the King, but they answered: “We cannot do this, to allow unclean people to cross our land.” When the King heard this he was grieved in his heart. He remained there until the end of the second Sabbath, and then set sail with all his host.
 
54. They then prepared to go to the land of Sinoria (or Sidonia); for the King had heard that there the manna descends. So they journeyed in the wilderness seventy-five days, and crossing the water, they came to the land of Sidon, where they found very lofty hills, and upon them something similar to white snow. The King and his warriors then went to the top of the mountain, and found there something similar to manna. After the King tasted it, he was sick and vomited his food, on account of the sweetness of the manna. A very tall man of about twelve cubits in height then approached the King, and said: “What ails thee that thou art perturbed?” “I was ill on account of the sweetness of the manna.” “But does there not grow by
the side of the manna a very bitter herb? mix this herb with the manna, and it will not injure thee.” The King did so, and it then tasted like honey to him. The King and his men then gathered some manna and herb, and bringing it to the camp, they ate it, and it pleased them very much.
 
55. The King encamped, with all his army, in the land of Sidonia for thirty days, for he thought the land very healthy. It happened on one night that he saw two stars fighting with each other. One of them conquered the other and cast it to the earth, through which an earthquake was caused. The King, being very terrified at this, called his wise men and astrologers, and told them what he had seen. When they heard this they [B. trembled very much and] smote their hands upon each other; they were very grieved, and cried in a loud voice. The King said to them: “What has happened that you are so grieved?” They answered and said: “O our Lord the King, we are trembling because we understand that thy end has come; for no man can see the fight of the stars, except a king, at the end of his days.” The King, on hearing this, wept bitterly, and said: “Let the Creator do what is right in His eyes.”
 
56. It came to pass after these things that the King was angered against Apiq (or Afiq), the butler, so that Afiq took some poison and placed it in the King’s cup and in his food. When the poison entered the King’s stomach, he became ill, and his appearance was changed through grief and pain. Then, calling his servants, he said: “Bring me a feather which I shall place in my throat; perhaps I may be able to vomit the food.” Afiq accordingly hastened away, and taking a feather, dipped it in poison, and placed it in the King’s mouth, so that his pain and suffering increased. When the King saw that his end had come he called his wise men and warriors to him, and said to them: “Hear me, O my people; you know of all the troubles which you have encountered on your journeys. Now, strengthen yourselves, take courage, and be men of valour; you have subdued peoples as numerous as the sand of the sea, and they hate us because we have vanquished them beneath the soles of our feet. Behold, I am going the way of all the earth, and now act kindly and truthfully to my mother, and strengthen the kingdom in her hands, and transfer the kingdom from my nephew Tikusa and place the royal crown upon my mother.” The King then called Tomlaya, Sabil, Polysius, and Agmani, the chiefs of his army, and said to them: “You have always behaved towards me in a kindly and truthful manner, and you have left your father and mother and your inheritance; now divide the kingdom among yourselves, and do you strengthen the kingdom in the hands of my mother; do not rebel against her word, for she is a valiant woman; and after my death, take up my bones, and carry them to the land of Egypt, and bury them among the graves of the kings, and mourn over them seventy days: do ye divide my treasures, my gold, and my precious stones into two divisions; one is to be given to my mother, and the other consecrated to the temple of Digonia, the Egyptian god; and the other silver divide among yourselves.” When he had finished his command, he gathered up his feet in his bed, and he died in great suffering, for the poison broke all his bones.
 
57. His armies mourned for him seventy days. When the days of mourning were at an end, they took Alexander’s body, cut it up into pieces, and boiling it, took his bones and placed them in roeskin to bring them to Egypt. They [B. The Macedonians] returned after three years to Egypt, and they came to Macedonia, to the King’s mother (Gloptria), Cleopatra, and they brought all the treasures and jewels and placed the royal crown upon her head. After this she reigned fifteen years, during which time the Queen acted justly and truthfully. She entrusted the kingdom to the princes [A. Tolmiya, Şabil, Polysius, and Agmani. The Queen did not bury the bones of Alexander, but placed them in her treasure-house, and gave orders that they should be buried next to her after her death. The Queen died at the age of eighty-nine years, and they buried her in the burial-place of the kings, placing Alexander’s bones next to her. The kingdom was then given to the four chiefs, who ruled the land with justice and mercy. They took all the treasures which Alexander had gathered and deposited them in the temple of Digonia], and they erected an immense temple, the like of which has never before existed in Egypt.