MEDO-PERSIA PROPHESIED BY A RAM CHAPTER VIII. MEDO-PERSIA 58. Was Medo-Persia a great country? BIBLE EVIDENCE. Dan. 8:1, 4, 20-In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel,.... I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. SECULAR EVIDENCE. The glory of the New Babylonian Empire passed away with Nebuchadnezzar. To the east of the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates there had been growing up an Aryan kingdom, the Medo-Persian, which at the time now reached by us had become a great imperial power. At the head of this new empire was Cyrus, a strong, energetic, and ambitious sovereign. . . . Myers, General History, p. 48. The career of Cyrus is one of the marvels of antiquity.... With consummate statesmanship the young king united all elements, inspired them with a common spirit, and out of a kingdom in which tribes and peoples had been joined in loose confederation about a common overlord, he built the solid foundations of the Medo-Persian Empire. GEORGE STEPHEN GOODSPEED, Ph.D., Professor of Ancient History, Chicago With the exception of the Chinese empire,.... all the great kingdoms which we know to have existed in Ancient Asia were, in Darius's time, blended with the Persian. The northern Indians, the Assyrians, the Syrians, the Babylonians, the Chaldees, the Phoenicians, the nations of Palestine, the Armenians, the Bactrians, the Lydians, the Phrygians, the Parthians, and the Medes-all obeyed the sceptre of the Great King; the Medes standing next to the native Persians in honor, and the empire being frequently spoken of as that of the Medes, or that of the Medes and Persians. Egypt and Cyrene were Persian provinces; the Greek colonists in Asia Minor and the islands of the Aegean were Darius's subjects; and their gallant but unsuccessful attempts to throw off the Persian yoke had only served to rivet it more strongly, and to increase the general belief that the Greeks could not stand before the FOUR BEASTS, FOUR EMPIRES 71 Persians in a field of battle. Darius's Scythian war, though unsuccessful in its immediate object, had brought about the subjugation of Thrace and the submission of Macedonia. From the Indus to the Peneus, all was his. CREASY'S The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World, p. 14. Daniel was transported to the river Ulai, by the side of which stood a ram having two horns, one higher than the other, and the higher came up last. In his previous vision the second kingdom had been represented by a bear which raised itself on one side and had three ribs in its mouth. Both symbols apply to the double nature of the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, but the uneven horns of the ram give a more specific description; for while the Median kingdom was the older of the two, the Persian excelled it in strength, and its position in history must be attributed to the line of Persian kings which began with Cyrus the Great. The definiteness with which this symbol is interpreted is an illustration of the fact that the Scriptures are their own best commentaries. Said the angel, "The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia." As the ram pushed westward, northward, and southward, and no beast could stand before it, so the Medo-Persian empire extended its dominion in these directions. At the fall of Babylon one hundred and twenty provinces recognized the authority of Cyrus and Darius. These were held in subjection, and others added, so that in the time of the Ahasuerus of Esther, the kingdom controlled one hundred and twentyseven provinces, extending from India on the east to the Mediterranean on the west, and from the Caspian Sea to Ethiopia. It was then called a glorious kingdom, and the monarch was spoken of as "his excellent majesty." S. N. HASKELL, The Story of Daniel the Prophet, pp. 120, 121. This huge empire contained about seventy-five million people. Its only civilized neighbors were India and Greece..... The eastern and western frontiers were farther apart than Washington and San Francisco. The territory included some two million square miles. WILLIS MASON WEST, The Ancient World, p. 85. 59. Did Daniel by a bear prophesy the Kingdom of Medo-Persia? BIBLE EVIDENCE. Daniel 7:5-And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. SECULAR EVIDENCE. It is allowed on all hands, that the four beasts in Daniel's vision in the first year of Belshazzar correspond exactly to the four empires represented in the image exhibited to Nebuchadnezzar.... The kingdom then, which was to succeed Nebuchadnezzar's, was not only to be inferior to it, but was to be compounded of two parts, the one stronger than the other. The symbol already suggests the Medo-Persian Empire. 222 72 MEDO-PERSIA PROPHESIED BY A BEAR The second beast, the bear, corresponds with the solid, heavy chest of Nebuchadnezzar's statue. The two-fold division and the relative strength of the two sides, the one stronger than the other, recur in this symbol also, in that the bear is raised up on one side, ready to use the arm in which its chief strength lies. It lifts itself up heavily, in contrast with the winged rapidity of the Chaldaean or Babylonian conquests. The three ribs in its mouth correspond accurately to the three kingdoms which the Medo-Persian empire swallowed up, the Lydian, Babylonian, Egyptian. It is bidden, Arise, devour much flesh, in conformity with the greedy, "all-eating," character of the animal. Waste of human life was a characteristic of the Persian Empire in its heavy aggressiveness. Heaviness was, after Cyrus, the characteristic of its wars. It never moved, except in ponderous masses, avalanches, precipitated upon its enemy, sufficient to overwhelm him, if they could have been discharged at once, or had there been any one commanding mind to direct them. Like Attila or Timour, they wielded vast masses of human strength on their enemies; their armies varied from 300,000 on slighter expeditions to a million. REV. E. B. PUSEY, D.D., Regius Professor of Hebrew and Canon of Christ Church. Delivered in the Divinity School of the University of Oxford. Daniel the Prophet-Second Edition, Fifth Thousand, pp. 65-67, 72, 73. As in the great image of chapter 2, so in this series of symbols a marked deterioration will be noticed as we descend from one kingdom to another. The silver of the breast and arms was inferior to the gold of the head. The bear was inferior to the lion. Medo-Persia fell short of Babylon in wealth and magnificence, and the brilliancy of its career..... The three ribs perhaps signify the three provinces of Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt, which were especially ground down and oppressed by this power..... The character of the power is well represented by a bear. The Medes and Persians were cruel and rapacious, robbers and spoilers of the people.... this kingdom dated from the overthrow of Babylon by Cyrus, B. C. 538, and continued to the battle of Arbela, B. C. 331, a period of 207 years. URIAH SMITH, Daniel and the Revelation, pp. 127, 128. 60. Did Daniel prophesy the reigns of Cambyses, Smerdis, and Darius Hystaspes, kings of Medo-Persia after Cyrus? BIBLE EVIDENCE. Dan. 11:2 (534 B. C.)—And now will I show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; . . . . SECULAR EVIDENCE. Reign of Cambyses (529-522 B. C.)--Cyrus was followed by his son Cambyses. Myers, General History, p. 60. Nos. 306-308 are dated in the reign of Smerdis (or Barzia), who usurped the throne for a few months, B. C. 521. Darius the Great records on the Behistun rock the names of five pretenders, of which XERXES IN PROPHECY? 73 Smerdis is one. Casts of these inscriptions are shown in Wall-Case 20, Nos. 208-12 (see p. 65). Nos. 309-331 are dated in the reign of Darius the Great (Darius Hystaspes) from B. C. 521 to B. C. 485. ADA R. HABERSHON, The Bible and the British Museum, p. 83. Reign of Darius I (521-484 B. C.)-The Persian nobles soon rescued the scepter from the grasp of the usurper, and their leader, Darius, took the throne. Myers, General History, p. 61. 61. Did Daniel prophesy Xerxes, "far richer than them all," as successor to Darius Hystaspes? BIBLE EVIDENCE. Dan. 11:2—And now will I show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia. SECULAR EVIDENCE. History. The three kings following Cyrus were (1) Cambyses, (2) Smerdis, (3) Darius; the fourth, Xerxes, was "far richer than they all." He had the treasures of his father, Darius, who was called the "merchant" or "hoarder" by his own people, and Xerxes gathered stores of wealth in addition. When Xerxes was on his way to invade Grecia, a Lydian named Pythius entertained the whole Persian army with feasts, and offered to aid in bearing the expense of the campaign. Xerxes asked who this man of such wealth was. He was answered: "This is the man, O king! who gave thy father Darius the golden plane tree, and likewise the golden vine; and he is still the wealthiest man we know of in all the world, excepting thee. HERODOTUS, book 7, par. 27. "Richer than they all," Xerxes, "through his riches," was able, as the prophecy had foretold, to "stir up all against the realm of Grecia." Forty-nine nations marched under his banners to the attack. The Greek poet, Aeschylus, who himself fought against the Persians, wrote of Xerxes' mighty host, "And myriad-peopled Asia's king, a battle-eager lord, From utmost east to utmost west sped on his countless horde, For stern overseers were they Of the godlike king begotten of the ancient race of Gold." -"Persae," Way's translation. Xerxes boasted that he was leading "the whole race of mankind to the destruction of Greece." But his invasion ended in the total rout of his forces by land and by sea. It was an advertisement to the world that Persia's might was broken. The prophecy treats it so, and deals no further with Persian history. W. A. SPICER, Our Day in the Light of Prophecy, pp. 323, 324. 74 PERSIA CONQUERED BY GREECE 62. Had Daniel prophesied 222 years before the event that Persia, led by Darius, would be conquered by Greece, led by Alexander the Great, at the battle of Arbela? BIBLE EVIDENCE. Dan. 8:3, 5-7, 20, 21-Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: .... And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, . and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. SECULAR EVIDENCE. Vision of the ram and the he-goat, chap. VIII. .... These symbols are explained for us in the chapter itself. They relate to the second and third empires. The two-horned ram is MedoPersia, vs. 20; the rough goat is Grecia, vs. 21; and the great horn between his eyes is the Macedonian conqueror, Alexander the Great. Most accurate and graphic is the description of the swift movements of the goat, and the "choler" with which he assaulted the ram. It is in exact accord with the historical facts in the case; for Persia had invaded Greece and aroused the national feeling of resentment in the highest degree; hence the "choler" with which the goat rushed upon the ram. In three battles Alexander made himself master of the world. At his death, his empire was parcelled out among his four generals, and so "four kingdoms stood up" in the room of the one founded by Alexander. W. G. MOOREHEAD, D.D., Outline Studies in the Books of the Old Testament, pp. 286, 287. The battle of Arbela (331 B.C.).—From Egypt Alexander retracted his steps to Syria and marched eastward. At Arbela, not far from the ancient Nineveh, his farther advance was disputed by Darius with an immense army, numbering, if we may rely upon our authorities, over a million men. The vast Persian host was overthrown with enormous slaughter. Darius fled from the field, as he had done at Issus, and later was treacherously killed by an attendant. The battle of Arbela was one of the decisive combats of history. It marked the end of the long struggle between the East and the West, between Persia and Greece, and prepard the way for the spread of Hellenic civilization over all Western Asia. Myers, General History, pp. 153, 154. The famous battle of Arbela, between Alexander and Darius, saw Darius, the last of the Persian kings, defeated, and Grecia became |