Malchus (Ancient Greek: Μάλχος, Málkhos) was a 5th-century Byzantine historian of an Arab origin[1] from the city of Philadelphia (nowadays Amman).
According to the Suda, Malchus was a Byzantine (i.e. from Constantinople); but Photius states that he was a native of Philadelphia; the ancient Rabbah in the country of Ammonitis, east of the River Jordan.
According to Suda, he wrote a history extending from the reign of Constantine I to that of Anastasius I; but the work in seven books, of which Photius has given an account (Bibl.
Photius praises the style of Malchus as a model of historical composition; pure, free from redundancy and consisting of well-selected words and phrases.
The surviving portions of his works, in Greek and with Latin translations, can be found in the Fragmenta historicorum Graecorum of Karl Wilhelm Ludwig Müller, vol.