Trebeta was the legendary founder of

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

according to the ''

Gesta Treverorum The ''Gesta Treverorum'' (''Deeds of the Trevians'') is a collection of histories, legends, wars, records of the Archbishops of Trier (Trèves), writings of the Popes, and other records that were collected by the monks of the St. Matthias' Abbey ...

''. According to a

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

recorded in the 12th century, Deeds of the Treveri, the city was founded by an mythological-unrecorded prince of

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

named ''Trebeta'', placing the city's founding legend independent of and centuries before ancient Rome's. Trebeta's parents were said to have been

Ninus Ninus (), according to Greek historians writing in the Hellenistic period and later, was the founder of Nineveh (also called Νίνου πόλις "city of Ninus" in Greek), ancient capital of Assyria. The figure or figures with which he correspon ...

, a legendary "King of Assyria" invented by the

ancient Greeks Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically re ...

(first mentioned by

Ctesias Ctesias ( ; ; ), also known as Ctesias of Cnidus, was a Greek physician and historian from the town of Cnidus in Caria, then part of the Achaemenid Empire. Historical events Ctesias, who lived in the fifth century BC, was physician to the Acha ...

), and an unknown mother who was Ninus's wife before

Semiramis Semiramis (; ''Šammīrām'', ''Šamiram'', , ''Samīrāmīs'') was the legendary Lydian- Babylonian wife of Onnes and of Ninus, who succeeded the latter on the throne of Assyria, according to Movses Khorenatsi. Legends narrated by Diodorus ...

. Semiramis took control of the kingdom upon his father's death and Trebeta was forced into exile, wandering through Europe before settling at Trier. His body was said to have been cremated on Petrisberg. However, there is no historical evidence that the Assyrians or an Assyrian prince named Trebeta crossed into Europe from the Middle East in Assyrian records of the time.''World History'', Volume 1, William J. Duiker, Cengage Learning, 2009. The German historian

Johannes Aventinus Johann Georg Turmair (or Thurmayr) (4 July 1477 – 9 January 1534), known by the pen name Johannes Aventinus (Latin for "John of Abensberg") or Aventin, was a Bavarian Renaissance humanist historian and philologist. He authored the 152 ...

disputed that Trebeta (whom he called Trever or Treiber) was the son of Ninus, claiming that he was in fact a son of Ninus' contemporary

Mannus Mannus, according to the Roman writer Tacitus, was a figure in the creation Germanic mythology, myths of the Germanic tribes. Tacitus is the only source of these myths. This is a university textbook and exists in several variants printed for d ...

, who was supposedly the second king of Germany. Aventinus also credited Trever with building settlements at

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in the western part of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the r ...

and

Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

References

* Ilse Haari-Oberg (1994) ''Die Wirkungsgeschichte der Trierer Gründungssage vom 10. bis 15. Jahrhundert'' (''The Received History of the Saga of the Founding of Treves from the 11th to the 16th Century'') * Wolfgang Binsfeld (1984) ''Die Gründungslegende.'' (''The Founding Legend'') in: ''Trier - Augustusstadt der Treverer.'', Mainz, {{ISBN, 3-8053-0792-6 ;Specific Legendary monarchs Mythological kings