Iamblichus the Novelist (Ἰάμβλιχος ὁ μυθογράφος) was a 2nd-century CE Syrian author, known solely for writing a Greek novel [1]. The 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia, the Suda, provides biographical details, identifying him as a Syrian fluent in both Syriac and Greek, and a "Babylonian," likely referring to the region of Babylon within Roman Syria [1][2]. While the Suda also claims he was a freedman who gained prominence through education and military service, modern scholars view these details with skepticism [1][2]. He is distinct from the later Neoplatonist philosopher Iamblichus of Chalcis [1][2].

His only known work is the Babyloniaca (Βαβυλωνιακά), also called The Story of Sinonis and Rhodanes. Originally spanning 39 books, the novel is now lost except for a detailed plot summary in Photius's 9th-century Bibliotheca and a few papyrus fragments [1][2][3].

The Babyloniaca is significant as one of the few ancient Greek novels for which a substantial synopsis survives [1][3]. Its intricate plot, featuring lovers Sinonis and Rhodanes, the tyrannical King Garmus, adventures across Mesopotamia, and magical elements, provides an important, though fragmentary, example of the cross-cultural nature of Roman-era literature and its potential incorporation of Near Eastern storytelling traditions [1][2].

Sources 1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/iamblichus/#Nov 2. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics: https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-3270 3. Perseus Digital Library: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0625%3Asection%3D94