IYRCAE

iyrcae, an ancient nation on the north-east trade route described by herodotus (iv. 22) beyond the thyssagetae, somewhere about the upper basins of the tobol and the irtysh. they were distinguished by their mode of hunting, climbing a tree to survey their game, and then pursuing it with trained horses and dogs. they were almost certainly the ancestors of the modern magyars, also called jugra. the reading [greek: tyrkai] is an anachronism, and when pliny (_n.h._ vi. 19) and mela (i. 116) speak of tyrcae it is also probably due to a false correction. (e. h. m.)