The Kings of Daniel 11 NAU Daniel 11:2 "And now I will tell you the truth. Behold, three more kings are going to arise in Persia. Then a fourth will gain far more riches than all of them; as soon as he becomes strong through his riches, he will arouse the whole empire against the realm of Greece. Historical Context • At that time, there has only been one king of Persia • There are a total of thirteen Persian kings • The fourth Persian king from Cyrus (Xerxes I) began a full scale war with Greece Actual Persian Kings 1. Cyrus the Great (559 – 530 BC) 2. Cambyses II (530 – 522 BC) 3. Bardiya (522 BC) Possibly a usurper to the throne 4. Darius I (522 – 486 BC) 5. Xerxes I (485 – 465 BC) [Most likely Ahasuerus of the Book of Esther] 6. Artaxerxes I (465 – 424 BC) 7. Xerxes II (424 BC) Son of Artaxerxes I 8. Darius II (424 – 404 BC) Son of Artaxerses I 9. Artaxerxes II (404 – 358 BC) Son of Darius II 10. Artaxerxes III (358 – 338 BC) Son of Artaxerxes II 11. Artaxerxes IV (338 – 336 BC) Son of Artaxerxes III 12. Darius III (336 – 330 BC) Great grandson of Darius II 13. Artaxerxes V (330 – 329 BC) ??? – killed by Alexander the Great Of all the Persian kings, Xerxes I (the 4th from Cyrus) was the richest of all the Persian kings. He began a total assault on the empire of Greece. The time frame from Dan. 11:2–3 is about 200 years! The time from when the 4th Persian king Xerxes I waged war on Greece to Alexander the Great is about 130 years. NAU Daniel 11:3 "And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authority and do as he pleases. There is no doubt that this is Alexander the Great of the empire of Greece. • Alexander the Great (336–323 BC) • He conquered most of the Asia / Middle East world (involving Israel) • He died in 323 BC and did not leave his kingdom to his son • He went through Jerusalem and the priests came out in their robes and read to him from the book of Daniel, to prove that Israel’s God had prophesied about him! Because of this, Alexander the Great spared Israel from paying taxes and left them pretty much alone if they recognized his rule. Read this quotation from the Jewish historian, Josephus, about the encounter (found in Josephus “Jewish Antiquities.” [11.337] And when the Book of Daniel was showed him wherein Daniel declared that one of the Greeks should destroy the empire of the Persians, he supposed that himself was the person intended. And as he was then glad, he dismissed the multitude for the present. In conclusion, Dan. 11:3 takes us to 323 BC. NAU Daniel 11:4 "But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four points of the compass, though not to his own descendants, nor according to his authority which he wielded, for his sovereignty will be uprooted and given to others besides them. When Alexander the Great died in 323 BC, his kingdom went to four of his generals. This transition did not happen immediately, but took place over about 20 years. The four generals and their regions are as follows: • Cassander (Macedonia [which is Greece]) • Lysimachus (Pergama [which is Turkey and Asia Minor]) • Ptolemy I Soter (Egypt and parts of North Africa) • Seleucus I Nicator (Syria and Babylon) From Dan. 11:5 – 31, the kings that are listed (King of the North, King of the South) are only referring to the Ptolemy and Seleucus dynasties. This is because right where the two kingdoms are joined is the nation Israel. The prophecy to Daniel in Dan.11 is about “what will happen to your people in the latter days…” (Dan. 10:14). Dan. 11:2 covers the approximate time of 538 – 485 BC which is about 53+ years. Dan. 11:3 then picks up about 323 BC, which is about another 160+ years. It took about 20 years for the four generals to secure their four territories. At first there were five generals, but the fifth gave way to the others. Between the Ptolemy and Seleucid dynasties, for the first 100 years (from approximately 300–200 BC) the Ptolemy dynasty was stronger. Dan. 11:5-12 describes what happens with the Ptolemy dynasty. After that, vv. 13-36 describe the Seleucid victories. Ptolemy and Seleucid Dynasty Explained Ptolemy Dynasty Seleucid Dynasty Ptolemy I Soter (323–285 BC) Seleucus I Nicotor (312–281 BC) Antiochus I Soter (not referenced in Dan.) Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–245 BC) Antiochus II Theos (262–246 BC) Ptolemy III Euergetes (245–221 BC) Seleucus II Callinicus (246–226) Seleucus III Caraunus (226–223) Ptolemy IV Philopator (221–203 BC) Antiochus III the Great (223–187 BC) Ptolemy V Ephiphanes (203–181 BC) Seleucus IV Philopator (187–175 BC) Ptolemy IV Philometor (181–146 BC) Antiochus IV Ephiphanes (170–163 BC) Ptolemy Dynasty (Dan. 11:2-12) NAU Daniel 11:5 "Then the king of the South will grow strong, along with one of his princes who will gain ascendancy over him and obtain dominion; his domain will be a great dominion indeed. The king of the South [Egypt area] is Ptolemy I Soter, one of Alexander the Great’s main generals and took the kingdom in 323 BC. Ptolemy I Soter had the Hebrew scriptures translated into Greek for the Greek speaking Jews in Alexandria. We have these copies, and they are called the Septuagint, or the LXX. Ptolemy I Soter reigned for about 38 years and died in 285 BC. NAU Daniel 11:6-7 6 "After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will come to the king of the North to carry out a peaceful arrangement. But she will not retain her position of power, nor will he remain with his power, but she will be given up, along with those who brought her in and the one who sired her as well as he who supported her in those times. 7 "But one of the descendants of her line will arise in his place, and he will come against their army and enter the fortress of the king of the North, and he will deal with them and display great strength. The time is now about 260 BC. The king of the South is Ptolemy II Philadelphus. The king of the North is Antiochus II Theos. After many military conflicts, Ptolemy II made a peace treaty with the king of the North—Anitochus II Theos in 250 BC. The terms of the agreement were that Ptolemy’s daughter Berenice, would marry Antiochus II Theos to seal the alliance, and their first son would be the next king of the Seleucids. The problem was that Antiochus II was already married to a powerful and ambitious woman named Laodice. Laodice succeeded in murdering her husband Antiochus II, Berenice, and their child, thus Berenice did not “retain her position of power” (v. 6). Laodice then ruled as “queen regent” with her son Seleucus II Callinicus. After this, Berenice’s brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes (son of Ptolemy II Philadelphus) took the Ptolemy throne and retaliated against his sister’s murder. He attacked the Seleucid king of the North (v. 7) with a great army. The war lasted from 246–241 BC during which Ptolemy III looted the Seleucid capital of Antioch. He eventually put Laodice to death. NAU Daniel 11:8-9 8 "Also their gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold he will take into captivity to Egypt, and he on his part will refrain from attacking the king of the North for some years. 9 "Then the latter will enter the realm of the king of the South, but will return to his own land. Dan. 11:8-9 continues with the strength of Ptolemy III Euergetes. In his defeat of the young Seleucus II Callinicus—the Seleucid king—he took Syria’s golden “gods” and all their treasure back to Egypt, where he was hailed as a hero and a great victor. Ptolemy III then made a peace treaty with Seleucus II and left him in power in 240 BC. Dan. 11:9 refers to a brief attempt by Seleucus II to test his strength against Ptolemy II once more, but made a quick retreat back to Syria. NAU Daniel 11:10 "His sons will mobilize and assemble a multitude of great forces; and one of them will keep on coming and overflow and pass through, that he may again wage war up to his very fortress. Seleucus II Callinicus died in 226 BC, but his sons, Seleucus III Ceraunus (226–223 BC) and Antiochus III (the Great; 223–187 BC), continued the wars with the Ptolemies. Seleucus III Ceraunus was murdered after a brief three-year reign, and his brother, Antiochus III (“one of them will keep on coming”), came to power. Antiochus III was called the “Great” because of his military successes, and in 219–218 BC he campaigned in Phoenicia and Palestine, part of the Ptolemaic Empire (“up to his [the king of the South's] very fortress”). NAU Daniel 11:11-12 11 "The king of the South will be enraged and go forth and fight with the king of the North. Then the latter will raise a great multitude, but that multitude will be given into the hand of the former.