Persian Kings

The context of the discussion below is Greco-Persian wars. Additional odds and ends note of interest have been sprinkled in here and there. The Last king of the Median Empire, Cyaxares II, shared rulership with king Cyaxares II of Persia until the death of Cyaxares in 537 BC, two years after the Medo-Persians successfully defeated Babylon in 539 BC brining an end to the once mighty Babylonian Empire.

  1. The Medo-Persians, led by King Cyrus II1Cyaxares II and Cyrus II formed a unified alliance against their enemies (including Babylon) until Cyaxares dies in peace in 537 BC. Cyaxares is Darius the Mede who is identified in Dan. 6:1 and  Dan. 9:1 according to Dr. Steven Anderson (born 559-died 530), invaded Babylonia from the east in June of 539 B.C. and captured its capital, Babylon, in July of the same year. This is near the end of Judah’s Babylonian exile. Daniel served the kings of Babylon and Persia until the first year of King Cyrus (Dan 1:21). Daniel lived in exile during the entire exilic period and into the reign of Cyrus II, “the Great.” Cyrus’ first year as king of Babylon was 538 B.C. This was the year in which Cyrus issued his decree permitting the Jews to return to their land. The first return took place the next year, in 537 B.C.2Dr. Thomas Constable. Daniel 1:21. https://www.planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/html/ot/daniel/daniel.htm See Ezra 1:1-3. It is interesting to note that over 150 years in advance, God foretold the birth of Cyrus and what this king would do through the prophet Isaiah See Isaiah 45:1-4.
  2. Cambyses II (530-522 BC)
  3. Smerdis (522 BC)3Dr. Thomas Constable adds him. See Daniel 5:31. Persian Kings during the Exilic and Postexilic Periods at https://www.planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/html/ot/daniel/daniel.htm
  4. Darius the Great, (born 550 BC—died 486)4Dr. Thomas Constable says, “Darius the Mede was definitely not the same person as Darius the Great (Darius I) who was much younger and ruled Persia later, from 521-486 B.C., nor was he Darius II who ruled even later.” See https://www.planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/html/ot/daniel/daniel.htm, king of Persia from 522 to 486 BC, one of the greatest rulers of the Achaemenid dynasty, who was noted for his administrative genius and for his great building projects.5 Darius allowed Ezra, to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. The temple reconstruction was completed in 516 BC. The completion of the city walls, however, awaited the governorship of Nehemiah (who arrived in Jerusalem in 445 BC) during the rule of Artaxerxes I. See the Ezra-Nehemiah Timeline. Ahasuerus (Xerxes I) who reigned 485-465 BC is not involved in the events narrated in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, though he is referred to in Ezr. 4:6. Conflicts between the Persians and Greeks were sparked by the Greek colonies in Ionia, an area on the western shore of Asia Minor, who rebelled against Persian rule. Athenian involvement in the Ionian Revolt (499 – 493) and the murder of Persian envoys by Athens and Sparta pushed the Persian king, Darius I, to invade Greece. Darius attempted several times to conquer Greece; his fleet was destroyed by a storm in 492, and the Athenians defeated his army at Marathon in 490. There were two mainland invasions of Greece. Marathon in 490 BC was the first Persian invasion of Greece under King Darius. His son, Xerxes, will lead the second attack.
  5. Xerxes I (485-465 BC)—The eldest son of Darius the Great. He is known as Ahasuerus in the books of Ezra and Ester (although his son, Artaxerxes I, is also a possibility as is Artaxerxes II). Xerxes is his Greek name and Ahasuerus is his Hebrew name. Xerxes ruled the Persian Empire from 486-465 BC. His reign is most marked by the Persian campaigns against Greece and the battles of Thermopylae, Salamis, and Plataea, He, led the second invasion of Greece (the first was under his father, Darius), after which the Persians took Athens. At Salamis, the combined Greek navy decisively beat the Persians in 480. And at Plataea, the Greeks effectively ended the second Persian invasion in 479. It was after his return from this invasion that Ester was chosen as his queen. So this is the period of time covered by the book of Ester. In the LXX. version of the Book of Esther the name Artaxerxes occurs for Ahasuerus.6Easton Bible Dictionary. Xerxes died in Persepolis, modern day Iran. In 465 BC he, together with his eldest son, were murdered by members of his court. Another son, Artaxerxes I, succeeded in retaining power7https://www.britannica.com/biography/Xerxes-I/Withdrawal-to-Persia.

The Persian Wars ended with the Peace of Callias in 449 BC. The terms gave the Greek poleis (Greek city-state) in Ionia8Ionia was an ancient region on the western coast of Anatolia, to the south of present-day Izmir. their autonomy and the Athenians agreed not to campaign against the Persian king.

    1. Artaxerxes I (465–425 BC)
    2. Xerxes I (r. 485-465 BC)
    3. Darius II (424-404 BC)
    4. Artaxerxes II. He reigned from 404-359 B.C. He was the son of Darius II.
    5. Darius III (336-330 BC). The Greco-Persian wars continue and end during his reign.
      — May 334 BC – Alexander invades the Persian empire.
      — 5 Nov 333 BC – Battle of Issus. Alexander is victorious against Darius III of Persia.
      — 1 Oct 331 BC – Battle of Gaugamela. Alexander calls himself “King of Asia.”
      — 330 BC – Death of Darius III and end of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia.
      — May 330 BC – Persepolis, the capital of the Persian Empire, is burned and looted by Alexander the Great.
    6. Macedonian Conquest of the Persian Empire is completed in 330 Darius III (336-330 BC).
      — On June 2 323 BC, Alexander fell ill, and 11 days later, he died at the age of 32 while staying at a royal palace in Babylon9https://historyonthisday.com/events/ancient-greece/alexander-the-great-death/ after having conquered almost all of the known world at the time.

Darius the Mede is a major character in Daniel 6, and the vision of Daniel 9 is said to have occurred during his reign.

 

 

References[+]

This website uses the awesome plugin.