On the historicity of the Assyrian royal family in Classical and Byzantine historiography

Edmonds, Alexander Johannes

Abstract

This note examines the membership and configuration Assyrian royal family according to Classical tradition, contrasting it with that of later Byzantine historiography. It is demonstrated that there are more and clearer resonances with historical reality than has previously been thought. Most notably, the king "Thouras" noted by Iōannēs Malalas can be neatly identified with Pūlu (i.e. Tukultī-apil-Ešarra IV* of Assyria). This suggests that the spurious Membrōnios/Semerōnios of Babylōn was a genuine Syriac source upon which Malalas drew. On the strength of these findings, traditions about the Assyrian royal family in Classical historiography must be re-investigated in detail, to establish better their inspiration and respective veracity.