The Life and Exploits of Alexander the Great: Being a Series of Translations of the Ethiopic Histories of Alexander by Pseudo-Callisthenes and Writers, Etc. by E.A. Wallis Budge

First published in 1896, this volume represents a significant scholarly effort by E.A. Wallis Budge, the longtime Keeper of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities at the British Museum. The work serves as an English translation of various Ethiopic manuscripts that detail the legendary exploits of Alexander the Great. These texts derive from the 'Alexander Romance,' a body of literature that transformed the historical Macedonian conqueror into a mythical figure of global folklore, blending genuine biographical details with fantastical elements, such as his supposed journey to the ends of the earth and encounters with mythical creatures.

Budge was motivated by a desire to make these obscure Eastern Christian accounts accessible to a Western academic audience. The design and presentation of the volume reflect the rigorous Victorian standards of philology, aiming to provide a bridge between the Hellenistic origins of the narrative and its later survival in Ethiopian literary tradition. While the texts are attributed to the ancient historian Callisthenes, the 'Pseudo-Callisthenes' designation acknowledges that the material is a later composite work. The book has since become a foundational reference for those studying the cross-cultural dissemination of the Alexander legend throughout the medieval world.