Budge_Ethiopic_Alexander

372
THE HISTORY OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT
Alexander earth, and he arrived at the land of Kaf/ the place
and' Magog^ where the sun riseth, and he made a strong gate
and shut in Gog and Magog," and he fastened it
upon them with chains of iron. Now the peoples
that were left lived outside the wall, and for this
reason they were surnamed Terkue.^ And he came
to the Land of Darkness, and there are some who
say that when he wished to enter therein the
people thereof counselled him and his followers
to ride upon mares which were suckling foals, and
that they left the foals behind them with the company
of his soldiers in order that the mares might find
their way back for the sake of the foals.* And
The Land of after this he went into the Land of Darkness,
wherefrom he and every one of those who were
' /. ^., i^sLiJI, the mountain which was supposed to encircle
the whole world as a ring encircles the finger. The
sun rose behind it, and the false dawn was caused by a
hole or gap which existed in it, and in it the sun set. ^\^
i^J-yi giiJj i^ ( >jjj-! ^_^.„-iJl Yakut, torn. iv. p. ia. Popular
tradition identified Kaf with the Caucasus.
^ See above, p. 2S0.
3 /. e., Turks. A play on the name is here intended, and
the writer seems to think that the name "Turk" is derived from
the Arabic root ii)J "to leave." Compare ^'^) ^iJ JJl l.v«-^v^
^^ Si 1},\ ^^ JLs J-J.O JCJl li; see Lidzbarski in Bezold's
Zeitschrift, Bd. VIII. p. 301, 1. 11.
* This statement is based on Pseudo-Callisthenes, Bk. ii.
chap. 39. 'ETTiXeSov ouv mTTOui; QriXeia^ k\Q\}