"Sardanapallus was the 35th king from Ninus, who established their empire. He was the last king of the Assyrians, and he outstripped all his predecessors in luxury and indolence." And a little later he says: "He was so shameless, that he not only ruined his own life by his perversions, but also destroyed the entire empire of the Assyrians, which had lasted for longer than any other recorded empire. [p59] Arbaces, one of the Medes who was renowned for his bravery and his outstanding spirit, was the leader of the Medes who were sent every year to the city of Ninus [ Nineveh ]. While leading his army, he became acquainted with the general of the Babylonians, who urged him to overthrow the empire of the Assyrians." This is what Diodorus says in the second book of his Historical Library [ chapters 1-24 ].
Cephalion is another writer who mentions the empire of the Assyrians, and this is what he says.
[From the writings] of the historian Cephalion, about the kingdom of the Assyrians
"I begin my account with what the other writers have mentioned: firstly Hellanicus of Lesbos and Ctesias of Cnidus, and then Herodotus of Halicarnassus. In ancient times, the Assyrians ruled over Asia, and Ninus the son of Belus was their king. In his reign, many great events occurred." Then he writes about the birth of Semiramis, Zoroaster the magus, the war with the king of the Bactrians and the disaster [suffered] by Semiramis; and about the death of Ninus, after a reign of 52 years. After Ninus, Semiramis became queen. She built the walls around Babylon, in the manner which has been described by many writers, such as Ctesias, Zenon [(?) or Dinon], Herodotus, and later authors. Then he tells of her expedition into the land of the Indians, how she was defeated and fled; and how she killed her own sons, but was herself put to death by Ninyas, another of her sons, when she had reigned for 42 years. After her, Ninyas became king, but Cephalion says that he achieved nothing worthy of mention. [p61] Then he passes over all the other [kings]; "they ruled in total for a thousand years, handing down the kingdom from father to son; and none of them reigned for less than twenty years. Their unwarlike, unadventurous and effeminate character kept them safe. Because they were inactive and remained indoors, no-one had access to them except for their concubines and effeminate men. If anyone wishes to know, I think that Ctesias lists the names of 23 of these kings. But what pleasure or benefit would I provide, if I wrote down the names of barbarian kings, who achieved nothing, but were cowardly, weak and degenerate?"
And again he adds: "After about 640 years had passed, Belimus was king of the Assyrians; and in his reign, Perseus the son of Danaë, who was escaping from Dionysus the son of Semele, arrived in the country with 100 ships." Then, after describing the defeat of Perseus by Dionysus, he adds: "In a later generation, when Pannyas was king of the Assyrians, the expedition of the Argonauts sailed to the river Phasis, and to (?) Medeia of Colchis. They say that Heracles left the ship because of his love for Hylas, and wandered amongst the Cappadocians." And again he says; "A thousand years after Semiramis, when Mitraeus was king [of the Assyrians], Medeia of Colchis left king Aegeus; her son was Medus, [p63] who gave his name to the Medes and the country of Media."
Then he says: "Teutamus became king after Mitraeus, and he too lived according to the customs and laws of the Assyrians. Nothing else happened in his reign, but [at this time] Agamemnon and Menelaus the Mycenaeans sailed with the Argives and other Achaeans against the city of Troy, when Priamus governed Phrygia. [Priamus wrote to Teutamus:] 'The Greeks have invaded your territory and attacked me; we have met them in battle, and sometimes we have been victorious, but sometimes we have been defeated. Now even my son Hector has been killed, along with many others of my brave children. Therefore send a force to come to our relief, and appoint a valiant general to lead them.' " Then [Cephalion] describes in detail, how Teutamus sent assistance to him, and appointed Memnon the son of Tithonus to be the leader of the army; but the Thessalians killed Memnon in an ambush.
Then in another place, he says: "In the 1,013th year, Sardanapallus became king of the Assyrians." Later, he describes the downfall of Sardanapallus. "After the death of Sardanapallus, Arbaces the Mede destroyed the kingdom of the Assyrians and transferred their empire to the Medes." All this is what Cephalion says.
The kings of the Assyrians, as recorded by the most reliable of the writers, are as follows.
The kings of the Assyrians
Ninus, for 52 years.
They say that Ninus was the first to rule over all the inhabitants of Asia, except for the Indians. It can be shown that Abraham, the patriarch of the Hebrew nation, lived during his reign.
Semiramis, for 42 years.
Zames, also called Ninyas, for 38 years.
Arius, for 30 years.
Aralius, also called Amyrus, for 40 years.
Xerxes, also called Balaeus, for 30 years.
Armamithres, for 38 years.
Belochus, for 35 years.
Balaeas, for 12 years.
Aladas, for 32 years.
[p65] Mamythus, for 30 years.
Machchalaeus, for 30 years.
Spherus, for 22 years.
Mamylus, for 30 years.
Sparethus, for 40 years.