Now four sons of (Abdastartusâs) nurse plotted against him and slew him, the eldest of whom reigned twelve years; after them came Astartus the son of Deleastartus: he lived fifty-four years, and reigned twelve years; after him came his brother Aserymus; he lived fifty-four years, and reigned nine years: he was slain by his brother Pheles, who took the kingdom and reigned but eight months, though he lived fifty years: he was slain by Ithobalus, the priest of Astarte.The dates given for Astarymus (Aserymus) are according to the work of F. M. CrossF. M. Cross, âAn Interpretation of the Nora Stone,â ''Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research'' 208 (Dec. 1972) 17, n. 11. and other scholarsJ. M. PeĂąuela, âLa InscripciĂłn Asiria IM 55644 y la CronologĂa de los Reyes de Tiroâ, ''Sefarad'' 13 (1953, Part 1) 217-37; 14 (1954, Part 2) 1-39.William H. Barnes, ''Studies in the Chronology of the Divided Monarchy of Israel'' (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1991) 29-55. who take 825 BC as the date of Didoâs flight from her brother Pygmalion, after which she founded the city of
Note that we presume a haplography in Josephan text between âAshtart, the eldest brother of the four usurpers, and Dalay-âashtart his successor. In the present corrupt text Dalay-âashtart eleastartushas been made the name of âAshtartâs father: ''Astartos ho Delaiastarton''. We do not expect the second brotherâs patronymic .e., the ''ho Delaiastarton'' None are given for other usurpers or founders of new dynasties in the entire king-list.Cross therefore presumed that âthe son of Deleastartusâ in this passage involved a corruption in which the name of the second of the four brothers was assimilated. William Barnes explains about Crossâs analysis:
His major contribution was the brilliant suggestion that the patronymic ''ho Delaiastartou'' of ''Codex Laurentianus'' . . . actually represents a corrupted form of the name of the second brother of the four usurpers . . . Indeed, it seems far more reasonable in my opinion to suggest such textual corruption (with the retention, albeit reinterpreted, of all the original names), than to have to explain why the name and chronological data of the eldest (and presumably most notorious) usurper are not lost, while the second usurperâs name, chronological data, ''and patronymic'' are extant.Cross (and Barnes after him) therefore give the following sequence for the four sons of the nurse of Abdastartus: * Astartus (âAshtart) 920-901 BC * Deleastartus (Dalay-âAshtart) 900-889 BC *Astarymus (âAshtar-rom, Aserymus) 888-880 BC *
See also
*References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Astarymus Kings of Tyre 9th-century BC rulers 934 BC births 9th-century BC deaths 9th-century BC Phoenician people