2: Persia, Alexander and the Successors 11:2b– 11:4
11:2b “Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia”
In fact seven kings will rule in Persia, but the angel is asking Daniel to focus on the next three kings so as to pay special attention to the fourth.
In 530 [all dates are BC], in battle with the Massagetae, a tribal people north of the Caspian Sea, Cyrus the Great, the ruler under whom Daniel has lived and served, is killed. He leaves behind an Empire that stretches from the Mediterranean Sea to what we call North Pakistan today, from the Gulf of Oman to the Aral Sea.
His son Cambyses becomes Emperor #1 in the fulfilling of this first prophecy. His is a strange, some say mad, reign, reminding us of Nero and Caligula and mad monarchs of all times. He was sick from birth, with the “sacred sickness” as it is called, epilepsy. Sacred only in that self-styled gods and dictators like Julius Caesar have often experienced its ravages. Known by those who have seen it up close and personal as demonic.
Among his first actions is the struggle for Egypt. He attempts a political solution by offering his wonderful self to be the groom of Egypt’s princess. Crafty King Amasis sends an- other girl altogether unrelated, to spare his daughter this horror. Cambyses is furious and wages war with Egypt. There follows a campaign against the Carthaginians and the Ethiopians.
It is not only foreign powers that must flee the madness of the new Emperor. His own family is fair game also. He kills one of his sisters. For another, a worse fate is awaiting: marriage to the madman. First he must get the “approval” of the elders of Persia. They wisely in- form him that marriage to a sister is a bit of a bending of the rules, but on the other hand, they say, Persian Emperors are permitted to do what they want. The marriage proceeds.
At war on the Egyptian front the King notices that his brother Smerdis has physical prowess with which he himself has not been endowed. In jealousy, he sends Smerdis home to Persia. But alas, a dream informs him that “Smerdis” will one day sit on the throne. This will never do. He sends trusted friend Prexaspes to kill him. The deed is done.
Or is it?
Cambyses has left the palace under the care of Patizeithes, called a “Magian” by He- rodotus. The Magians were a Median tribe of magicians and interpreters of dreams. This priest sees the evil in Persia and decides to do something about it. He puts forward his own brother, called by Herodotus “Smerdis” , by chance the name of Cambyses’ fallen brother! Others call him Guamata, but the fact that matters is that Cambyses has been deposed, the throne has once more reverted to the Medians, though Media is unaware of what is happening. He is passed off as the real “Smerdis” by the Magians, and in a world not besieged by “modern media”, cameras, reporters and the like, who is to deny that Cambyses’ real brother is not king? How many know he is really dead?
The announcement of a new Emperor is made. Cambyses finally hears it and believes he has been betrayed by his friend, and that his brother rules the land, according to his vision. Prexaspes denies it, proves he is telling the truth, and Cambyses jumps on his fastest horse in a hurry, to get back to Persia and make things right. Too much of a hurry, again according to Herodotus: by accident he runs a sword up his thigh, and dies soon after.
During the year 522 , the false “Smerdis” actually gets away with his false reign for seven months, and in doing so becomes Emperor #2 in the prophecy. It is interesting to note that quick summaries of the Kings of Persia leave this false ruler out, giving the impression that there were only TWO kings between Cyrus and Xerxes.
One of Pseudo-Smerdis’s discoverers is Darius, son, not of Cambyses, but of one Hystapses , an important man in the Kingdom. Darius Hystapses is the third Emperor.
Darius too is an expansionist and a dreamer of glory for Persia, and for Darius. He dreams of a bridge from Asia to Europe, and a decisive victory over the troublesome Greeks. He shall have neither, but his son shall.
It is during the days of Darius that the Temple in Jerusalem is completed, (516) under the supervision of Zerubbabel and the prophets Haggai and Zechariah.
Though Darius is supportive of these Jewish matters, his heart is in Europe. His antagonizing of the Greeks there draws a revolt from the Ionians who nearly score an early victory, but they are crushed by Persian forces. It is now 500 BC
In 490, emboldened with his strength there, Darius sends a major army into Greece again, but this time is soundly defeated by only 7000 Greek soldiers. It is the famed Battle of Marathon.
This is too much. His pride and that of his Empire have been dealt a blow. He cannot allow this hurt to go unanswered. Preparations are made to re- invade in the years 489-487. Now, Persian law demands that a king going to battle must name a successor before leaving. Darius has seven sons, from two wives. Who will it be? Why, the first born of course. But which firstborn? Xerxes reasons thus, aided by counselors: My older brother, of your first wife, was born while you were still just a citizen of the land. But I, Xerxes, firstborn of your second wife, was born after you became King. It is only logical that I reign next.
Not to mention that his mother is Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus! Something about this argument convinces Darius, and the rest is history, and also prophecy. Xerxes is named. But before Darius will get the credit for raising a major army and winning a major defeat, and actually, fulfilling wrongly the prophecy that must be for the fourth king, Xerxes, he dies.
11:2c “and the fourth shall be far richer than them all; by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece .”
In the year 486, Xerxes, “he who rules over heroes” becomes Emperor # 4. His riches and his military strength go hand in hand. The text bears out that it is strength through riches that allows for Xerxes to do the one thing for which he is known best: the march on Athens . Yes, he built the most glorious monuments of Persepolis, the Persian capital. Yes, his palace was twice as large as that of his father, Darius. But the money truly began to roll in when he made his decision to follow up on Daddy’s dream.
At first he was more interested in taming Egypt, or even staying home. Had he pursued his own dreams, he could not have been Daniel’s man. But Xerxes was “visited.” First, by an ambitious cousin who wanted to be viceroy of Greece after it was conquered For all believed it was only a matter of time before this would happen. Xerxes begins to catch the vision. He dreams of a united world, one big nation called “Persia.” Greece will merely be the last challenge to a divided earth.
He mounts the podiums of his day and begins to, yes, stir up all against the realm of Greece. He finds only one man to oppose him. Darius’s brother Artabanus, no less. And publicly, no less. He reminds the new Emperor that Xerxes’ father had cost the realm a lot of men coming against the Scythians. We don’t need this, Xerxes. Stay home. After all, the Greeks are even stronger than the Scythians. We’ll be crushed.
Xerxes fires back that the Uncle Artabanus is a coward. He lets him know that he will not therefore be allowed to march with them when they DO go to Greece. We must avenge ourselves. Marathon! Our pride! My father! His dreams! My dreams!
Later, in private, he doubts his plans and his enthusiasm. But this thing must happen. The powers that be in the spirit world are rearranging themselves and Xerxes must go. Herodotus claims that Xerxes sees a recurring vision, spirits that tell him he and Persia will die if he does not invade Greece. Bible students will recall a similar situation with Ahab… And even though he has apologized and even reversed himself to his uncle, he now seeks him out again .
Artabanus is told of the vision, and volunteers to quench this spirit by sleeping in Xerxes’ bed with Xerxes’ bedclothes while the Emperor is away. He feels the spirit is territorial and will visit him too, if he’s in the room. Sure enough, Uncle is visited too, and terrified. And convinced. More visions come. In them, Xerxes is master of all the earth, and all bow to him as his slaves. Once more he hits the campaign trail, stirring up all who will listen.
The regional leaders who hear of all of this begin with great zeal to recruit for Xerxes. The King himself raises multiple taxes. Gifts are given. His riches increase. His strength in- creases.
Herodotus lists over 20 Asian nations that want a piece of the action. Hundreds of thousands of men are enlisted in the marching army. This is greater by far than anything Darius had hoped for. It was in fact the largest army that had ever been assembled in the ancient world. The nations gave, in addition to men and money, food, weapons, and ships. Herodotus adds up soldiers and service people for this monstrous horde and comes up with over FIVE MILLION Persians. That has been toned down by modern historians. I leave it with you to decide. And while you are deciding, throw in 1000 warships that followed the march on the coast of the Aegean Sea, carrying the army’s provisions.
Before we march, a note about trying to place Xerxes in the Bible story. It seems that he does belong with the Bible’s Esther. Consider the description given in Esther 1 of a very rich place and a very excited meeting. Could this have been one of the convocations preceding the march of Xerxes? Some say yes. Some want to say that Ahasuerus is really Artaxerxes, but that falls apart in Ezra 4:5ff where Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes are both mentioned. After the march, when it seems likely he is more involved with women than war, we will revisit this question.
It is 480 , time to begin the greatest walk of Persia’s history. Xerxes’ put-down of Babylonian and Egyptian aspirations in the early part of his reign have served only as a training ground for this monstrous matter.
Nothing authoritative here, but my measurements put the distance from Susa to Athens at well over 2000 miles. How long does it take to walk 2000 miles? Can you go 30 miles a day?
20? You go figure. It’s mind-stretching. The march begins in the spring of the year. As the men come to town after town, they leave its water sources dried up. To get the whole army past one spot on their journey, it takes a full week.
And then comes the boundary between Asia and Europe, and a bothersome channel of water separating the two, called the Dardanelles, at the mouth of the Black Sea. It’s a mile across. No bridge. Not yet. But the engineer is standing by. He will soon lose his life for this ef- fort, but his ardor is not questioned. The idea is to tie together hundreds of ships, called out of the fleet for this purpose, and simply to walk across the ships to Europe.
Unfortunately the engineer is not schooled in meteorology and cannot foretell the coming of a major storm that destroys the bridge. Besides cursing , lashing, and branding the river, Xerxes has the engineer slain. A second bridge is built of stouter stuff, with no storms intervening, and the crossing is made into Thrace.
No one resists the Persian throng. On the other side, they all seem to know that Persia’s quarrel is with Athens, Greece. So be it. Let them pass. Feed them well. Yes, the top 10,000 soldiers, called “Immortals” but definitely not, are treated sumptuously at the command of Xerxes at every rest stop.
When the target of the march is reached, some Greek towns surrender, but other armies have decided to stand up to the bully. One of these towns is Thermopylae, led by Spartan General Leonidas. His troops, only a few thousand strong, actually are withstanding waves of Persian soldiers, when a traitor shows Xerxes another way into town. Disaster. Yet Xerxes has to be a bit shaken already when his original thought had been that the Greeks would take one look at his army and ask for terms of surrender. Too many Persians are already dead.
But no worry. Victory. It’s about over. Yes, Xerxes, it surely is.
The people of Athens abandon their city. Xerxes burns much of it. Thinking the day is his, he climbs a hillside to watch his navy pounce on what is left of Grecian might. Instead he sees the few but agile ships of Greece, who know the waters around the island of Salamis quite well, crush his mighty armada. The naval battle is a major preview of what is to come: total ruin.
Xerxes hurries back to his Asia Minor headquarters, leaving the battle to Mardonius. But that battle and all future battles are lost. It is a new day.
Is it at this time, as Herodotus suggests, that Xerxes, back home, becomes intrigued with harem matters? Is this when Esther, who has been preparing for a full year for the fabled beauty contest mentioned in her book, becomes queen of Persia? Historians tell us he dis- posed of his brother’s entire family at the request of one queen. It would not therefore be out of character for him to be the one who signs a decree to destroy all the Jews one day, and the de- stroyers of the Jews the next. The Bible Ahasuerus and the man Xerxes do seem to be one and the same.
In 466, Mardonius is defeated at Plataea, west of Athens, to end the Persian dreams. Several other defeats through the years culminate finally at Eurymedon, on the south coast of Asia Minor. These defeats, coupled with Xerxes’ downhill “march” domestically, lead to his murder by Persian nobles, perhaps including even his half-brother Sodianus.
And this is why the Bible verse that was never written does not tell of future kings of Persia (as stated, there were 7 including, in 465, Artaxerxes I, during whose reign lived Ezra, Nehemiah, and Malachi.) Instead, the angelic messenger moves to Alexander the Great. Three, yea four kings, will arise in Persia. The others will head the other way. They have no significance to our story. We have seen a march east. Now the new world power, governed by heavenly powers struggling invisibly , will march west.
11:3 “Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, and do ac- cording to his will.”
No greater description than the angel’s could be given of the third Macedonian ruler called Alexander, son of Philip II and Olympias, born in Pella, Macedonia, 356 BC. The Greek way, Hellenic civilization, had “conquered” Macedonia and the surrounding regions by the time Alexander arrived . It was for him to take this Greek message to the ends of the earth, though he lived and died a Macedonian. Before him had come Homer, during the days of David and Solomon; the Hellenic states, towards the end of Israel’s kingdoms; and of course the Persian Wars, which stretched from 500 BC until reaching their finale with Alexander . Pericles and Socrates have already come and gone.
Of the great names we remember in Greek history, Aristotle still lives and in fact in
343 becomes Alexander’s tutor for four of his formative teen years. This was Dad’s doing, as was also the decision to break with these formalities and start Alexander’s military career. At
16, the son commands the father’s army in his absence.
Philip’s job since taking the throne in 359 is to keep Macedonia from its former turmoil, and embarrassing defeats by neighboring states. Once Macedonia is controlled, Philip turns his eyes to southern neighbors, suddenly very sensitive to his growing power.
Slowly Philip hacks away at Greek independence. A major event is Chaeronea, 338, where the outnumbered Philip overwhelms the soldiers of both Athens and Thebes, leaving only Sparta as a major Grecian threat to the growing Macedonian control.
Plans are now able to be made for further conquest, and especially the living out of a dream dormant within all emerging western powers, the overthrow of the 200-year reign of Persia. Yes, perhaps even a reversal of the Xerxes march, with of course a much better ending for Greece than Xerxes’ dead-end.
The die is cast. In 336, Philip declares war on Persia, with the expressed purpose of retaliating for Persia’s invasion so long ago. 10,000 troops are sent to Asia Minor as a preview of what shall be. They quickly liberate the Persian-held Greek cities. Whether she likes it or not, Greece is on her way to world conquest.
The last Persian Emperor, Darius III, takes the throne this year. But in a scenario reminiscent of the first Darius and his son Xerxes, Philip’s light is put out as he is about to embark on history. Some say it was an agent of Darius himself that set up the assassination. At any rate, the murderer trips and falls and is himself killed on the spot. It’s one of those things that we shall never comprehend, though everyone, including Alexander and his mother, is blamed for Philip’s demise.
Months pass. Alexander is 20. He has the training of Aristotle, the skill of his conqueror father, and in a strange throwback to the last mighty march, he has the vision of Xerxes. But his march westward differs in several ways from that of Xerxes’ eastward push. First, Alexander stays the course, dying “on the field” before his return to the starting place. He had been on the trail 11 years! Second, he conquers territory almost all of the way. Even Greece has to be put in the win column before he sets out. Most of the East has to be taught harsh lessons about who is now in charge. Third, though the general pathway from East to West is the same as West to East, the incredible diversionary trails he takes to subdue all the peoples along the way make Xerxes’ walk to Greece seem a bit mild by comparison.
Antipater is left behind as regent of Macedonia. Olympias, not your typical loving mother type, tries to overpower him, and save her little boy Alexander’s place in the people’s heart. More of this later.
The march begins. And from beginning to end it is clear that God has foreseen him. He is a true study in self-determination. If he sees it, he wants it If he wants it, it’s his. Riches, land, glory. He does according to his will.
In 332, after settling local scores he sets out north and east, across the Hellespont . Down to Phoenicia where a 7-month siege of mighty Tyre finally tires that city to its end. In Egypt, on down the road, the people are so glad to be rid of Persian rule that they declare Alexander to be the son of their god Ammon. They even dedicate a temple to, and name a city after, the conqueror.
Palestine is on this part of the tour of the Middle East. Josephus relates the story of the Jewish High Priest who along with many other Jews, is happy to greet the King. Alexander, so the story goes, has even seen this man in a dream, and receives him politely. The relationship grows when the excited priests bring out a copy of the book of Daniel (hence giving a farewell again to the notion that this book was written during the days of Epiphanes some 175 years later!) and show Alexander the portions that declare that a Greek shall destroy the Empire of the Persians! Josephus suggests that such passages as Daniel 7:6, 8:3-8,20,21,22 , not to mention 11:3, the verse under consideration, are used.
Alexander allows the Jews to keep their own laws. He receives them so well, that the Samaritans, says Josephus, are on record as praising the Jews in an unprecedented way, to receive similar favor from Alexander!
The city and Persian province of Babylon fall next, in 331. Then comes Arbela. It is at this decisive battle that historians draw a line under Persia and say, Finished. Persia is now Alexander’s. Macedonia’s. Greece’s. The invaders burn great portions of Persepolis, perhaps in exchange for the damage done to culture-packed Athens by the Persian counterparts.
Now it is north into Media, where the capital, Ectabana, is occupied, 330. Darius, for some time now on the run, fleeing Alexander’s army, is weakened to the point of actually being captured and stabbed by his own cousin and the accompanying nobility of Persia. It is really over now.
Back down into Parthia, Aria (present-day Iran). Here and in other places he has seen some defections. Practicing more Persian cruelty than military savvy, he has them killed immediately.
To the Kabul valley, modern Afghanistan. Kandahar, 329.
In 328, in the Scythian regions near the Caspian he runs into some very stiff resistance, but finally overcomes. Is there nothing that will stop him? Oh indeed, there is something, but first Alexander is busy re-writing the map, setting the stage, putting things in exactly the order that God Almighty has pre-ordained.
Recall that Cousin Bessus has taken the Persian Crown. Small reward at this moment of history. After Alexander passes into Bactria, Bessus is found. He murders him with the bar- baric cruelty he is drinking in from those he is conquering. Even his own best friend is murdered after a hot argument and some other drinking.
In fact Alexander disintegrates even further as the years away from the West continue. While in the beginning it is said that he was a kind administrator, understanding, even loved by his subjects, something is happening inside. Now, like Persian lords, he is demanding to be approached by prostration. Soon he will demand to be worshiped as a god. Whatever comes into his mind is to be followed without question. He is doing according to his will. And those who oppose him: it is his will that they die. And they do.
In what is now Turkestan, in the year 326, the princess Roxana of Bactria is captured and married. It is his way of allying himself with this tribe, and setting the example of general reconciliation throughout the new empire. He will later order his troops to marry local women so that a race of Greeks will be born to people the earth and so that Macedonia and Persia will become one. Some see in this the reason that the third part of the “statue” in chapter two actually goes down into the thighs, symbolizing the two parts of all future empire on earth, East and West.
The Greek language is to be taught to all the conquered. It will become the official language of the Empire. Alexander thus paves the way for the preaching of the Gospel in all lands, even as the famed Roman roads will be the pathways that that preached Word will take.
To Roxana is born his only child, later to be dubbed “Alexander IV”. We will discuss his fate in a moment.
Meanwhile, the army is about finished with all of this. As the Commander- in-Chief views the Ganges River Valley and dreams of even more conquests, he realizes after a 3-day standoff with his men that he simply cannot push them any longer. It is time to return.
But the battles are far from over. It is time to consolidate, to organize, to ruffle a few more feathers and soothe them with the edge of his sword. What a strange thing is happening. This commander who sleeps on books of Homer, but who is himself Macedonian joins to this Greek culture, tribal folks who the lowliest of his Western world would call barbarian and savage at that. The strangest part is that Alexander himself converts to their ways, even begins to dress like orientals, and as noted above, dresses his manners in the same way.
It has taken only 11 years to do this. Hence he is the leopard of Daniel 7. Not only leopard, but flying leopard. Nothing earth born could be faster. No empire has come this quickly ever. But God knew all about it.
How much of truth is there in the story of Alexander weeping at age 33 over the fact that there are “no more worlds to conquer”? Not sure, but he was planning conquests up until his death. A sea voyage to Arabia was on the table when he made another visit to Babylon. There was talk of making his world capital in this city which still had not fallen to rubble as the prophets say must happen.. Of course God had something to say about that. His curse was presently on that city, though some say it has not been fully done yet. Shall Babylon rise again?
11:4a “And when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven”
Alexander shall surely not rise again. His “horn” is broken in the year 323, as Daniel 8 brings out, and as the next verse which we must treat. In Babylon the great King is fellowship- ping with his court around the great god “Bacchus”, when suddenly he is taken ill. Ten days later he is dead. A fever? Poison? Alcohol? Suicide? As with his father, we are not to know. He is later taken to Egypt, placed in a golden coffin in Alexandria, and history moves on without him.
And my does it move on! The next 22 years witness the total reorganization of the Empire of Alexander through an unheard of power struggle waged by family and friends and associates. You will be the judge as to whether the best men won, but when the dust has settled, it is, of course , just as God had predicted, a four- fold cut, with a king atop each mountain.
It is not so clear-cut from the beginning of the strife. Those officers present at Alexander’s death come together in Babylon. Opposing groups form quite soon. First there are the foot soldiers. The foot-weary soldiers. They feel that their hard work deserves major dividends, and they are in no mood to wait after an eleven-year campaign. Meleager and Attalus, speaking for Craterus, believe that the best approach is to elect a Macedonian, divide up the loot, and go home. Tomorrow if possible. Today if possible. In haste they elect Alexander’s half brother Arrhidaeus, too feeble and frail to be any real threat to them. They dub him Philip III, and proceed to ignore him.
Perdiccas has another idea. He is one of Alexander’s closest friends, and himself a general, in the cavalry. During Alexander’s last months he assumes the role of chief lieutenant . He says that the late king gave him the royal ring, with the Seal of State. If anyone seems to be des- tined to reign next , it is he. He summons a council of the generals, including the infantry just mentioned. His plan is to allow Alexander’s coming child, through the expectant Roxane, to be born. If it is a boy, the problem of succession is solved. The infantry is aghast at this idea, saying that Macedonians will never be led by the son of a Persian.
Ptolemy and company decide that this is not the time for a decision. Just wait awhile. In any case, guardians will be the actual rulers of the empire. A compromise satisfies
the already-clashing generals. Let Philip III be. And let the child be born. Call him Alexander IV. Now give us our territories and let us be gone. There follows soon after the parceling out of the Empire in a Yalta-like session that determines the fate of totally uninvolved peoples. They don’t know that the true parceling is being done in Heaven. At least a dozen territories are as- signed to as many men. Now the job is to hold on to your piece of turf without the other 11 ganging up on you and tearing it away.
As the struggle begins, two broad groups form . There are those who seem to be fighting for the unity of the old Empire. Men like Antipater, Perdiccas, Eumenes, Antigonus. They are hoping to have the whole of Europe and Persia, as Alexander had envisioned it. Then there are men like Ptolemy and Lysimachus who desire to take control of a major chunk of the land, call it their own, and elevate themselves to king now, rather than bother with trying to take every- thing.
Temporarily, Perdiccas is in the position of power to determine who will have what. He marries the daughter of Antipater, the faithful general dating back to Philip’s crusades. Later Perdiccas is even urged to marry Cleopatra, sister of Alexander, to consolidate even more power. The one doing the urging is Alexander’s protective mother, Olympias. So Perdiccas is the king of the kings. He has the empire. And without realizing what he is setting up, he begins parceling out land to power-hungry generals. Antipater is given Europe. Ptolemy is given Egypt. Lysimachus, Thrace. Greater Phrygia, in central Asia Minor, is to belong to Antigonus. Craterus is assigned as guardian to young Philip. And more. As stated, there are at least a dozen divisions at the beginning.
Then everyone goes his separate ways. Perdiccas, as mentioned, has the empire. But no land. He is the office manager, with dreams only of power.
Thus begins the period of the Diadochi, the “successors.” 22 years of wrangling and bloodshed. 22 years that change the world. Like the 11 years just before.
To tune in at different points along the way will lead one to conclude that it is impossible to discover how Daniel can record only four divisions. And which four? But let the 22 years play out and it becomes obvious. We will move as quickly as possible.
In 320 , Perdiccas is opposed and defeated by Ptolemy, Antigonus, and Craterus. After his loss he is murdered by his own officers in his tent. Eumenes , a successful foreign general is victor over Antigonus and Craterus, the latter of whom is killed. A time out is called. The team captains come out on the playing field for a meeting. Antipater is appointed guardian of the “little kings”, and head of the empire, at least in name. Eumenes is caught and condemned. Antigonus is given Antipater’s army in Asia and begins racking up many victories. He is considering the taking of the whole Empire.
Antipater, now in is 80’s ,dies. The already unstable kingdom falls violently apart as the successor wars are waged on many fronts. Antigonus rises as the next possible world ruler, as Cassander, son of Antipater, is distracted by local trouble in Athens. Antigonus begins to kill all his rivals, but Seleucus escapes. He escapes to Egypt, where he is part time ally with Ptolemy, thus fulfilling verse 5 of our text! (see below)
The remaining Diadochi give demands to Antigonus as his power becomes far too threatening: Babylonia is to be returned to Seleucus, Syria to Ptolemy, Cappadocia and Lydia back to Cassander, and Hellespontine Phrygia to Lysimachus.
Antigonus refuses. And there are 5 years of war over his refusal! These become defin- ing wars, for the disputed territories are to be established kingdoms for many years hence, even until our own time.
In 311 there is a temporary lull, a truce, a settlement. But Antigonus is disappointed that all he gets out of the settlement is “administration” of the Empire. There is more war soon as Antigonus must deal with Seleucus, and Ptolemy wants all of Syria and Phoenicia.
11:4b “but not among his posterity”
Meanwhile, back west, Cassander is struggling with the fact that he is only to have Macedonia as long as little Alexander is little. When he becomes old, Cassander is out of a job. No problem. In the year 310, he has the child and the mother put to death. The Bible is true. No family member of Alexander is to rule.
By 302 the continued struggle has caused a gradual shift in boundaries. Eventually Antigonus and his son Demetrius are elected to posts of honor over the Hellenic States. Demetrius, from this vantage point of power, intends to finish off Cassander. Cassander , outnumbered, sues for peace. No deal.
So when Cassander gets allies Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus together at Ipsus (in Phrygia) , Antigonus is finished off instead. Though his son continues on, causing bits of turmoil for a few more years, historians seem to be at rest with the idea that this year, 301, is the last year of the Diadochi’s successor wars. From now on, there will be intrigues and challenges, and marriages, but from the understanding that there are settled kingdoms out of which to operate. The Empire has been divided towards the four winds of heaven. The four horns have arisen (Daniel 8) . The four heads and the four wings of the leopard are now clearly visible, kings and all (Daniel 7). And out of one of these areas, in their final form at the end of history, shall come “a king” who shall destroy mightily, Daniel 8:23, the same man about to be described at the end of Daniel’s present vision. But we were speaking of Alexander’s legacy. Not his family,
11:4c “nor according to his dominion which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides these”
The rest of this story will detail the gradual erosion of the original territory of Alexa n- der, and then of the original territory of each of the four. Eventually more than “four” are involved in the parceling of the Kingdom, but the starting place is this quartet of greed.
For those whom I have confused with all of this detail of 4 horns, 4 heads, 4 winds of heaven, here they are:
In the West are two kings, Lysimachus and Cassander. Their reign covers Greece, Macedonia, and Thrace. (Thrace is today a portion of northeastern Greece, southern Bulgaria, and the European side of Turkey). From this sentence on, it will not be necessary to discuss them since Daniel does not. The focus of the rest of Daniel is the East:
And in the East are also two kings. In the South is Ptolemy. Egypt and other parts of northern Africa are definitely his. He also lays claim to Palestine and Phoenicia and even Syria at times, but there is no question that his kingdom is to the south of all the others. (Note that “Greater Syria” included Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and of course modern Syria at one time. The varying definitions of this land’s boundaries are at the heart of the “Syrian Wars” to follow.)
And in the North is Seleucus, laying claim to much of the Asian portion of Alexander’s realm. Here is Babylonia, Assyria, portions of old Persia, Asia Minor, and Syria. The farther south he tries to go, the farther goes the conflict. Even Palestine is a part of the Seleucid Kingdom before it is over.
We will now focus our gaze on only this part of the world, uncovering the secrets of Israel’s future, and our own.
