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For when Tautanes was reigning 195 over Asia, who was the 26th from Ninus of Semiramis, they say that the Greeks with Agamemnon campaigned against Troy, while the Assyrians held the dominion of Asia for more than a thousand years. Diodorus relates these things to us, not even so daring to declare the number of kings or the precise amount of time, nor their names and under whom the attack of the Achaeans against Troy happened, but being cautious in all things because of the disagreement of the historians before him, but he declared only that the time of the 35 kings from Ninus is more than 1300 years, and that they say the capture of Troy happened under the 26th king from Ninus, Tautanes of the Assyrians, after more than 1000 years, attributing what was said to others, as if not entirely agreeing. For the time of Tautanes coincides with the 42nd year of the Assyrian rule, counting Tautanes as the 27th from Belus. For if we subtract the 55 years of Belus from the 42, it will be reduced by many years according to the precise calculation from the more than 1000 years or after more than 1000 according to Diodorus and the true sack of Troy. Therefore, the capture of Troy has been well arranged by us and by those who set it somewhere near the 1100th year of the Assyrian rule, in the 4329th year of the world, under the 32nd king of the Assyrians, Babius, under Demophon son of Theseus, the 12th king of the Athenians, whom we have followed. And that the Greek historians have written discordantly about these times and kings, let one notable Cephalion, not just any, be present, speaking thus. I begin to write from what others have recorded, and first, Hellanicus the Lesbian and Ctesias the Cnidian, then Herodotus the Halicarnassian. In ancient times the Assyrians ruled Asia, and of them was Ninus son of Belus. Then he brings on the birth of Semiramis and of Zoroaster the Magus, and the 52 years of Ninus's reign. After whom, he says, Semiramis walled Babylon in the manner that has been told by many, by Ctesias, Zenon, Herodotus and those after them. And her campaign against the Indians and her defeat, and that she killed her own sons, and was killed by one of the children of Ninus who succeeded to the rule. 196 And after other things; and the rest ruled for a number of 1000 years, a son receiving the rule from his father, and not one of them died having reigned less than 20 years. For their unwarlike and unadventurous and effeminate life was safe for them. For they remained indoors, and no business was done by them, nor did anyone see them except the concubines and the effeminate among the men. And if anyone wishes to know these kings, it is Ctesias who tells their names, 20, I think, and 3. But for me, what pleasure or what grace would the writing have, by naming without deeds, with barbarous sounds, cowardly and soft barbarian tyrants? To which he adds about their years: And it being some 640 years from Ninus, Belimus reigned over the Assyrians. And Perseus, son of Danae, comes to his country, leading 100 ships. And Perseus was fleeing Dionysus, the son of Semele. And afterwards; and in a later generation, when Panyas was ruling, the fleet of the Argonauts sailed to Phasis and Medea the Colchian, and they say Heracles, having wandered from the ship because of his love for Hylas, roamed around Cappadocia. And again; 1000 years might be numbered as passing from Semiramis to king Mitraeus. Medea the Colchian departed from Aegeus, whose son was Medus, from whom the Medes and the country was called Media. Then he says; Tautanes succeeds to the rule of Mitraeus, he too living according to the customs and laws of the Assyrians. And nothing else new happened under him. And Agamemnon and Menelaus the Mycenaeans campaigned with the Argives and the other Achaeans against Ilium, the city of the command of Priam the Phrygian. Up to this point we thought it sufficient to set forth the disagreement from the writings of Cephalion with Diodorus for those wishing to examine accurately. For he set forth 35 kings from Ninus, and the capture of Troy after 1000 years

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Ταυτάνου γὰρ βασιλεύον 195 τος τῆς Ἀσίας, ὃς ἦν κςʹ ἀπὸ Νίνου τοῦ Σεμιράμιδος, φασὶ τοὺς μετὰ Ἀγαμέμνονος Ἕλληνας ἐπὶ Τροίαν στρατεῦσαι τὴν ἡγεμονίαν ἐχόντων τῆς Ἀσίας Ἀσσυρίων ἔτη πλείω τῶν χιλίων. Ταῦτα ὁ ∆ιόδωρος ἡμῖν παραδίδωσι μηδ' οὕτω θαρρήσας ἀποφήνασθαι τὸν τῶν βασιλέων ἀριθμὸν ἢ χρόνου τὴν ἀκριβῆ ποσότητα προσηγορίας τε αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπὶ τίνος ἡ κατὰ Τροίας τῶν Ἀχαιῶν ἔφοδος γέγονεν, ἀλλὰ πάντα φειδόμενος διὰ τὸ τῶν παλαιοτέρων αὐτοῦ ἱστορικῶν ἀσύμφωνον, μόνον δ' ὅτι πλείω τῶν ατʹ ἐτῶν ὁ χρόνος τῶν ἀπὸ Νίνου λεʹ βασιλέων ἐστὶν ἀπεφήνατο, καὶ ὅτι τὴν Τροίας ἅλωσιν ἐπὶ τοῦ κςʹ ἀπὸ Νίνου βασι λεύσαντος Ἀσσυρίων Ταυτάνου φασὶ γενέσθαι μετὰ α ἔτη πλείω, ἄλλοις ἐπιγράφων τὰ λεγόμενα, ὡς μὴ πάντη συντιθέμενος. ὁ γὰρ Ταυτάνου χρόνος τῷ μβʹ ἔτει συντρέχει τῆς Ἀσσυρίων ἀρχῆς, κζʹ λογιζομένου Ταυτάνου ἀπὸ Βήλου. εἰ γὰρ τὰ Βήλου νεʹ ἔτη ἀφέλωμεν ἐκ τῶν μβʹ, πολλοῖς ἔτεσι κατὰ τὸν ἀκριβῆ λόγον ἐλαττωθήσεται ἐκ τῶν α πλείω χρόνων ἢ μετὰ α πλείω κατὰ ∆ιόδωρον καὶ τὴν ἀληθῆ ἀνάλωσιν Τροίας. καλῶς ἄρα ἡμῖν ἐστοιχείωται καὶ τοῖς ἐκθεμένοις ἐγγύς που τοῦ αρʹ ἔτους τῆς Ἀσσυρίων ἀρχῆς κατὰ τὸ δτκθʹ ἔτος τοῦ κόσμου ἡ Τροίας ἅλωσις, ἐπὶ τοῦ λβʹ βασιλέως Ἀσσυρίων Βαβίου, ἐπὶ ∆ημοφῶντος τοῦ Θησέως ιβʹ βασιλέως Ἀθηναίων, οἷς κατηκολουθήσαμεν. Ὅτι δὲ ἀσυμφώνως οἱ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἱστορικοὶ γεγράφασι περὶ τῶν χρό νων καὶ τῶν βασιλέων τούτων παρέστω Κεφαλίων ἐπίσημος εἷς, οὐχ ὁ τυχών, οὕτω φάσκων. Ἄρχομαι γράφειν ἀφ' ὧν ἄλλοι τε ἐμνημόνευσαν καὶ τὰ πρῶτα Ἑλλά νικός τε ὁ Λέσβιος καὶ Κτησίας ὁ Κνίδιος, ἔπειτα Ἡρόδοτος ὁ Ἁλικαρνασεύς. τὸ παλαιὸν τῆς Ἀσίας ἐβασίλευσαν Ἀσσύριοι, τῶν δὲ ὁ Βήλου Νίνος. εἶτ' ἐπάγει γένεσιν Σεμιράμεως καὶ Ζωροάστρου μάγου ἔτη τε νβʹ τῆς Νίνου βασιλείας. μεθ' ὃν Βαβυλῶνα, φησίν, ἡ Σεμίραμις ἐτείχισε τρό πον ὡς πολλοῖσι λέλεκται, Κτησίᾳ, Ζήνωνι, Ἡροδότῳ καὶ τοῖς μετ' αὐ τούς. στρατείην τε αὐτῆς κατὰ τῶν Ἰνδῶν καὶ ἧτταν καὶ ὅτι τοὺς ἰδίους ἀνεῖλεν υἱοὺς καὶ ὑπὸ Νίνου τῶν παίδων ἑνὸς ἀνῃρέθη τοῦ διαδεξαμένου τὴν ἀρχήν. 196 Καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα· καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν εἰς α ἐτῶν ἀριθμὸν ἦρχον, παῖς παρὰ πατρὸς ἐκδεχόμενος τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ ἔχων ἧττον αὐτῶν οὐδὲ εἷς ἐτελεύτη σεν ἐτῶν κʹ. τὸ γὰρ ἀπόλεμόν τε καὶ ἀφιλοκίνδυνον καὶ γυναικῶδες αὐτοῖς ἦν ἀσφαλές. ἔνδον γὰρ ἔμενον οὐδέ τι αὐτοῖς ἦν ἔργον ὃ ἐπρήσσετο, οὐδὲ ἑώρα τις αὐτοὺς πλὴν αἵ τε παλλακίδες καὶ τῶν ἀνδρῶν οἱ γυναικώδεις. τοὺς δὲ βασιλεῖς τούσδε εἴ τις εἰδῆσαι βούλεται, Κτησίης ἐστὶν ὁ λέγων ὀνόματα αὐτῶν κʹ, οἶμαι, καὶ γʹ. ἐμοὶ δὲ ἡ γραφὴ τί τερπνὸν ἢ τί χάριεν ἤμελλεν ἕξειν, ὀνομακλήδην ἄνευ πράξεων βαρβάρως φωνέοντι τυράννους δειλοὺς καὶ μαλακοὺς βαρβάρους; πρὸς οἷς ἐπάγει τὰ περὶ τῶν ἐτῶν αὐτῶν· ἐτέων δὲ ὄντων ἀπὸ Νίνου τεσσαράκοντά που καὶ χʹ Βέλιμος ἐβα σίλευσεν Ἀσσυρίων. καὶ ἀφικνεῖται Περσεὺς ὁ ∆ανάης εἰς τὴν χώρην αὐ τοῦ, ναῦς ἄγων ρʹ. ἔφευγε δὲ Περσεὺς ∆ιόνυσον τὸν Σεμέλης υἱέα. καὶ μετέπειτα· ὑστέρῃ δὲ γενεῇ κατὰ Πανύαν ἄρχοντα ὁ τῶν Ἀργοναυτῶν στό λος ἔπλευσεν ἐπί τε Φᾶσιν καὶ Μηδείην τὴν Κολχίδα, καὶ Ἡρακλέα πλα νηθέντα ἀπὸ τῆς νεὼς διὰ τὸν ἔρωτα τοῦ Ὕλα λέγουσι περὶ τοὺς Καππα δόκας ἀληθῆναι. καὶ αὖθις· α δὲ ἐτῶν ἀπὸ Σεμιράμεως εἰς Μητραῖον βασιλέα ἂν ἀριθμοῖτο περιτελλομένων. Μήδεια Κολχὶς ἀνεχώρησεν Αἰγέως, ἧς υἱὸς Μῆδος, ἐξ οὗ Μῆδοι καὶ ἡ χώρα ἐκλήθη Μήδεια. εἶτά φησι· Μητραίου δὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν διαδέχεται Ταύτανος ζῶν καὶ αὐτὸς κατὰ ἔθη τὰ Ἀσσυρίων καὶ νόμους. καὶ ἄλλο μὲν οὐδὲν ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τούτου καινὸν ἔργον. Ἀγαμέμνων δὲ καὶ Μενέλαος οἱ Μυκηναῖοι ἐστρατεύσαντο σὺν Ἀργείοισι καὶ τοῖσι ἄλλοισιν Ἀχαιοῖς εἰς Ἴλιον πόλιν τῆς Πριάμουτοῦ Φρυγὸς στρατηγίης. Ἕως τούτων ἀρκεῖν ἡγησάμεθα τὴν ἐκ τῶν Κεφαλίωνος γραφῶν πρὸς τὸν ∆ιόδωρον διαφωνίαν παραθέσθαι τοῖς ἀκριβῶς ἐπιστῆσαι βουλομένοις. ὁ μὲν γὰρ λεʹ βασιλεῖς ἀπὸ Νίνου καὶ αὐτοὺς ἐξέθετο καὶ τὴν ἅλωσιν Τροίας μετὰ α ἔτη