The Kings of the South and the North
Daniel 11:2 "And now will I shew 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."
And now... Gabriel says he will now show Daniel the truth.
There shall stand... The 17th and last prophecy in Daniel (Daniel 11:2-12:13; 11:2-34 have been fulfilled;11:35-12:13 are yet to be fulfilled).
Yet three kings... These Persian kings are speaking of those who reigned after Babylon was taken by Cyrus.
1. Cyrus reigned 2 years after Astyages or Darius the Mede had taken to Babylon in 538 B.C. and reigned 9 years ( Dan.10:1).
2. Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, reigned 7 years over Persia, 527-520 B.C.
3. Darius I reigned 35 years, 520-485 B.C. He was the first king of Persia to invade Greece, but was defeated at the battle of Marathon 490 B.C.
the fourth shall... 4. Xerxes I, called Ahasuerus in Esther reigned 21 years, 485-464 B.C. He was the Persian king that stirred up all against the realm of Grecia, fulfilling Dan. 11:2. He also was defeated by the Greeks in 480-479 B.C.
Darius had conquered Thrace as far west as the Strymon river and added it to the Persian Empire. This brought the Greeks and Persians face to face in a death struggle, and a crises in history. Persia had completely adopted oriental culture. She represented the fullest possible growth of the ancient civilization of Egypt and Babylon. She was rooted deeply in the traditions of the past and was unable to produce a better civilization.
The Greeks, on the other hand, were a fresh and youthful people. They were giving the world new ideas of literature, art, and individual rights in self-government. If the Persians had conquered, the progress of the world would have been set back many centuries. When the two powers started to fight it was a war which could only end in the destruction of one type of civilization or the other, the Western or Eastern. The struggle was not continuous, but broke out again and again over a period of 150 years.
During this time the Greeks were developing in unity and culture. By 337 B.C. they were united in one nation under Philip of Macedon. In 336 B.C. Alexander the Great came to the throne. His northern Greek subjects rebelled. He soon crushed the rebels and was recognized as head of all Greek forces for a war against Persia which Philip had been making preparation for. In 13 years Alexander the Great had conquered the whole Persian Empire and the Greeks had become the masters of the known world.
Kings of Persia After Xerxes:
1. Artaxerxes I (surnamed "The longarmed") reigned 40 years, 464-424 B.C.
2. Xerxes II reigned only 1 year, 423 B.C.
3. Darius II reigned 19 years, 423-404 B.C.
4. Artaxerxes II reigned 46 years, 404-358 B.C.
5. Artaxerxes III reigned 20 years, 358-338 B.C.
6. Darius III reigned 8 years 338-330 B.C.
This is the king that was defeated by Alexander the Great whose empire succeeded the Medo-Persian Empire as the 5th world empire oppressing Israel in the times of the Gentiles, and the 3rd world empire of Dan. 2:37-45; 7:3-8; 8:3-8, 8:20-21.
The Details of Israel’s History Under the Second and Third Empires
History under Persia:
The angel informed Daniel that the present leadership in the Persian Empire would be succeeded by four rulers. The first was Cambyses, Cyrus’ son, who came to the throne in 530 b.c. He was followed by Pseudo-Smerdis, who reigned a short period in 522 b.c. He was succeeded by Darius I Hystaspes who ruled from 521 to 486 b.c. He in turn was succeeded by Xerxes, known in the Book of Esther as Ahasuerus, who ruled from 485 to 465 b.c. Xerxes was the most powerful, influential, and wealthy of the four. During his reign he fought wars against Greece.
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