- During his reign, Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre for thirteen years.
Baal, ten years
After him judges were appointed, and held office:
Ecnibalus, the son of Baslechus, two months
Chelbes, the son of Abdaeus, ten months
Abbar, the high priest, three months
Myttynus and Gerastratus, the sons of Abdelimus, six years
After them, Balatorus was king for one year
After his death they summoned Merbalus from Babylon, who reigned four years
After his death they sent for his brother Hirom, [p53] who reigned twenty years
- In his reign Cyrus became king of Persia.
So the whole period is fifty-four years and three months; for Nebuchadnezzar began to besiege Tyre in the seventh year of his reign , and Cyrus the Persian came to power in the fourteenth year of Hirom. Therefore the records of the Chaldaeans and the Tyrians agree with our writings about this temple.
That is what Josephus says about these matters. Later on, Abydenus includes another account of the kings of the Chaldaeans, which is similar to Polyhistor. Then he lists the kings of the Assyrians in [chronological] order, as follows.
[ THE ASSYRIANS ]
[From the writings] of Abydenus, about the kingdom of the Assyrians
"That is the account which the Chaldaeans give of the kings of their country, but they do not mention Ninus or Semiramis." After saying this, he immediately begins the history [of the Assyrians]: "Ninus was the son of Arbelus, the son of Anebus, the son of Babus, the son of Belus, king of the Assyrians."
Then he lists [the kings of the Assyrians] from Ninus and Semiramis up until Sardanapallus, who was the last of all the kings; and from Sardanapallus until the first Olympiad, there are 67 years. That is the account which Abydenus gives about each of the Assyrian kings. But he is not the only writer [to mention them]: Castor, in the first book of the Summary of his Chronicle, speaks about the kingdom of the Assyrians in the following words.
From the Summary of Castor, about the kingdom of the Assyrians
"Belus was the king of the Assyrians. During his reign, the Cyclopes brought lightning and thunder to assist Zeus during his battle against the Titans. At the same time, the kings of the Titans were in their prime - including king Ogygus." And shortly afterwards he says: "The giants attacked the gods, [p55] and were killed, after Heracles and Dionysus, who were descended from the Titans, came to the aid of the gods. Belus, whom we mentioned before, came to the end of his life, and was regarded as a god. After him, Ninus ruled the Assyrians for 52 years. His wife was Semiramis. After Ninus, Semiramis ruled the Assyrians for 42 years. Then Zames, who was also called Ninyas, [was king]."
Then he lists each of the subsequent kings of the Assyrians in order, up until Sardanapallus. He mentions all of them by name; and we also will write down their names, together with the length of each of their reigns, a little later on.
Castor writes about the Assyrians again in his Canons, in these words: " First we have listed the kings of the Assyrians, starting with Belus; but because the length of his reign is not stated for certain, we have only mentioned his name. We have started the list in this chronicle with Ninus, and ended with another Ninus, who succeeded Sardanapallus as king. In this way, the total duration of the kingdom can be clearly shown, as well as the length of each of the individual reigns. And it shows that the kingdom lasted for 1,280 years."
That is what Castor says. And Diodorus Siculus, who wrote the [Historical] Library, gives a similar account, in the following words.
From the writings of Diodorus, about the kingdom of the Assyrians
"No noteworthy deeds or even names have been recorded of the native kings who ruled in Asia in the most ancient times. Ninus of Assyria is the first king who is recorded in history. His achievements were great, and we will give a detailed account of him." And then a little later he says: "[Ninus] had a son by Semiramis, who was called Ninyas. But when Ninus died, Semiramis became queen, and she buried Ninus in the palace." And again, a little later he says: "[Semiramis] ruled over all of Asia, except for the Indians; [p57] and she died in the manner which we have described, when she had lived for 62 years and had reigned for 42 years." And he states separately that: "After she died, Ninyas the son of Ninus and Semiramis became king, and he remained at peace. He did not attempt to imitate the exploits of his mother, who had been eager for war and struggle."
And again, a little later he says: "And in a similar way the other kings ruled for 35 generations, handing down the kingdom from father to son, until the time of Sardanapallus. When he was king, the empire of the Assyrians was destroyed by the Medes, after lasting for over 1,300 years, as Ctesias of Cnidus says in his second book. There is no need to write down the names of these kings, or the lengths of their reigns, because they achieved nothing worthy of mention. The only event which is recorded is that the Trojans received assistance from the Assyrians, led by Memnon the son of Tithonus. They say that when the Greeks sailed with Agamemnon against Troy, Asia was ruled by Teutamus, who was the twenty-sixth king from Ninyas the son of Semiramis; and the empire of the Assyrians in Asia had already lasted for over a thousand years. Priamus the king of the Trojans, worn out by the pressure of war, submitted to the king of the Assyrians, and sent an embassy to ask the Assyrians to send aid and reinforcements. The king of the Assyrians gave him ten thousand men from the land of the Ethiopians, and a similar number of Susians, with two hundred chariots; and he sent Memnon the son of Tithonus to be their leader." And again he says: "The barbarians say that the splendid achievements of Memnon are reported in the royal books."