Thallus (historian)

[2] According to the early Christian scholar Julius Africanus, Thallus apparently refers, in the third book of his histories, to the darkness at the time of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and explained it away as a solar eclipse; there is a range of interpretations on the matter.

And whence the other countries and cities derived their names, we think it unnecessary to recount, especially to you who are acquainted with history.Eusebius of Caesarea in a list of sources mentions his work:[7] From the three books of Thallus, in which he collects (events) briefly from the fall of Ilion [Troy] to the 167th Olympiad.

[8][9] Others suggest "207th Olympiad" (AD 49-52).<[2] Josephus may have referred to Thallus in Antiquities of the Jews 18.6.4:[10][2] Now there was another Samaritan, a freed-man of Caesar, of whom he borrowed a million of drachmae, and thence repaid Antonia the debt he owed her; and by sending the overplus in paying his court to Caius, became a person of great authority with him.The identification depends on two assumptions.

[11] A minority have disagreed with the mainstream view above and have suggested that the text is not corrupted and may have read "Now there was another, namely a Samaritan by race (birth), a freedman of Caesar."

And calculation makes out that the period of 70 weeks, as noted in Daniel, is completed at this time.So it is Africanus that goes on to point out that an eclipse cannot occur at Passover when the moon is full because it is diametrically opposite the Sun.