After Alexander reigned his "caliph", Ptolemy. He was a wise man, held the reins of power firmly, and was an excellent ruler. His reign lasted forty years – of course, others claim it only lasted twenty. This successor of Alexander had wars to wage against the children of Israel and the kings of Syria.
Some writers from the people of knowledge, who refer to the history of the kings of this world, testify that Ptolemy was the first king who owned a falcon, played with it, and trained it to hunt.
One day, he got on his horse to go for a ride to one of his favorite places. Then he saw a hawk flying. He saw it beat the air with its wings as it flew up, then wobble as it descended toward the earth, and finally pick up speed just before it landed. King Ptolemy followed the bird with his gaze, until he saw it crash down into a bush full of thorns. The clarity, the golden color of its eyes, its wings, the perfection of its form, amazed him and he said: “It is a beautiful bird and has the weapons of nature. Kings should have it as their ornament in councils.'
So he ordered a number of these birds to be caught to adorn his council chambers. And it came to pass that a male serpent came into the way of the hawk. The bird swooped down on him and killed him. And Ptolemy said: "Here is a king who is angry at what troubles other kings."
A few days later, a tamed fox appeared before him. The hawk pounced on her and the animal barely managed to save itself, with difficulty and half dead. King Ptolemy then said: "This proud king cannot bear injustice." Then again another bird passed in front of him, the hawk fell on it and devoured it. And the king said: "Here is a king who defends his holy person and does not allow his spoil to perish."
Thus, falcons became his favorite game, and his habit was imitated by the kings of other nations, such as the Greeks, the Byzantines, the Arabs, the Persians, and others. Later, Byzantine emperors played with falcons and hunted with them. However, it was said by many that Roderick – the last Visigoth king of Andalusia before it was conquered by the Muslims – and his dynasty were the first to play with falcons and use them in hunting. This is how it was said that the Greeks were the first to hunt with eagles and had fun with them; the Byzantine princes also followed them.
The ancient sages of the Greeks said that the birds of prey were divided into different species created by God and classified into separate categories and orders. They counted four species and thirteen genera. The four species are: the bazi falcon, the Indian peregrine falcon, the arctic sakre falcon and the black ukab eagle. We have described these species and genera in every detail.
Al Masoudi – The Greeks through the eyes of the Arabs– Daedaleos Publications