Islamic conquests—into the geographic frame. Many subsequent seekers went
to look for the tribes in China. Similarly, Eldad reinforced Ethiopia’s status as a
possible candidate. Ethiopia already played a role in the Greek, Roman, and
Jewish geographical imagination as one end of the world. Eldad introduced the
Himyarite/Arab legacy with its stories about the wars with the kings of Cush
and the wild Cushites. More important, Eldad the trickster introduced the
possibility of a real encounter between the ten tribes and human beings on
this side of the Sambatyon. If one of the tribes had made contact with “us,”
perhaps the reverse was also possible.
In Asia and in Africa, Eldad’s tribes travel, trade, communicate with each
other by pigeons, and fight with savage kingdoms and peoples. All of this
opened up new horizons to search for, and talk about, the ten tribes. Perhaps
the most important contribution of both Eldad the traveler and Eldad the
trickster storyteller to the story of the ten lost tribes was the inspiration he
gave to numerous travelers and seekers, Jewish and Christian. He had crossed
over from them to us; so, perhaps, we could cross over to them.
Prester John and Benjamin of Tudela
The military character of the ten tribes as presented by Eldad brings to mind
another of their occasional companions—Prester John, the legendary king and
great Christian hope in the war against Muslims and other heathens. Along
with Gog/Magog, he is one of their most common supporting actors. The story
of this non-European Christian king is comparatively well researched.^51 It is
worthwhile, however, to point to the connections forged among Eldad’s story,
the ten lost tribes, and Prester John.
The first recorded notice of Prester John appeared in 1145 when an
emissary carrying a message of distress from the Crusader states in the Middle
East arrived in Western Europe. The emissary, Bishop Hugo of Jabala (in
today’s Lebanon), recounted a story:
Not many years ago a certain John, a king and priest, who lives in the
extreme Orient, beyond Persia and Armenia, and who, like all his
people, is a Christian although a Nestorian, made war on the brothers
known as the Samiardi, who are the kings of the Persians and Medes,
and stormed Ecbatana [Hamadan, in Iran], the capital of their
kingdom.... The ensuing battle lasted for three days, since both sides
were willing to die rather than flee. At last Presbyter John—for so they
customarily call him—put the Persians to flight, emerging victorious