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his army consisted of 5,283,220 men, besides the forces of the Carthaginians, consisting of 300,000 men, and 200 ships. (Diod. 1. xi.)* Artaxerxes Longimanus having succeeded to the Persian throne, by his extensive conquests extended the empire from India to Ethiopia, married Esther, and made Mordecai his chief minister, (Est. i.—x.). The Persian monarchy subsisted for upwards of a century after this period, till the unfortunate Darius Codomanus was overthrown by Alexander the Great, who conquered the whole Persian empire, and erected that of the Greeks, B. C. 331, with whose history that of the Persians became blended, agreeably to the predictions of the prophet Daniel, which we shall immediately consider.+

(16.) The empire of the MACEDONIANS and GREEKS.-The Greeks, comprehending the Athenians, Spartans, Eolians, Ionians, Dorians, &c. were the descendants of Javan, the fourth son of Japheth. In the first periods of their history they were governed by monarchs; and there were as many kings as there were cities. The monarchical power gradually decreased; and the love of liberty established the republican government: and no part of Greece, except Macedonia, remained in the hands of an absolute sovereign. They gained many splendid victories over the Persians, and gradually penetrated into their territories; and about B. C. 332, under Alexander the Great, they erected an empire of their own upon the ruins of the Persian, less opulent and showy, but much more powerful and walike. The empire of the Macedonians, or 'brazen coated Greeks,' (Dan. 2. 32, 39.) was aptly denoted by the belly and thighs of brass, thus founded by Alexander the Great, who terminated the Persian Monarchy by the overthrow of Darius Codomanus at Arbela. The same empire is designated by the same prophet as a beast "like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it:" the four heads denoting that it should be divided into four parts by Alexander's generals. The same great events are detailed more fully in the vision of the ram and he goat, (Dan. 8. 5—8.) in which, says the prophet," as I was considering," behold," an he goat," the empire of the Macedonians or Greeks, as interpreted by the angel Gabriel, (ver. 21.) whose standard was a goat, and who were called Ægeada, or 'the goat's people,'* "came from the west," Europe, lying westward of Asia,* "on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground and the goat had a notable horn," Alexander the Great, "between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two horns," the Persian empire, " which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power." He attacked Darius at the river Granices with the utmost funy; and after a few engagements subdued the Persian empire. "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,

but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him; and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. Therefore the he goat waxed very great; and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven." That is, as the angel interpreted it, (ver. 22.) "Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power." After Alexander's death, in the prime of life, and in the height of his conquests, his brother and two sons were all murdered; and the kingdom was divided, among four of his generals 1. Seleucus, who had Syria and Babylon, 2. Lysimachus, who had Asia Minor, 3. Ptolemy, who had Egypt, and, 4. Cassander, who had Greece, &c. Equally extraordinary was the fulfilment of the prophecies respecting these successors of Alexander in the Greek empire, as delivered by the same prophet; (ch. xi.) "And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those." That is, Alexander the great, whose kingdom after his death, as we have seen, was divided into four parts. “And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes," i. e. Ptolemy Lagus, king of Egypt, Cyrene, &c. "And (the latter) he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion," i. e. Seleucus Nicator, who had Syria, &c. to which he added Macedonia and Thrace. "And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement." After many wars between Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, and Antiochus Theos, king of Syria, they agreed to make peace, on condition that the latter should put away his wife Laodice and her sons, and marry Berenice Ptolemy's daughter. "But she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times." Antiochus recalled Laodice, who, fearing another change, caused him to be poisoned, and Berenice, and her son, to be murdered, and set her son Callinicus on the throne. And the father of Berenice, Ptolemy, died a few years before. "But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail: and shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold." That is, Ptolemy Euergetes, who, to avenge his sister's death, marched with a great army against Callinicus, took all Asia from mount Taurus to India, and returned to Egypt with an immense booty." And

Comprehensive Bible, Note in loco.

he shall continue more years than the king of the north." Callinicus died an exile, and Euergetes survived him four or five years. "So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land. But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress," i. e. Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus the Great, sons of Callinicus. But the former being poisoned, the latter was proclaimed king, retook Seleucia and Syria, and then, after a truce, returned and overcame the Egyptian forces. "And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand." Ptolemy Philopater, enraged at Antiochus, marched against him to Raphia, entirely defeated him, and obliged him to retreat to Antioch. "And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it. For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches. And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall. So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand. But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed." After fourteen years, Ptolemy Philopater having been succeeded by Ptolemy Epiphanes, then a minor, Antiochus raised a greater army than before, and, having defeated his best troops under Scopas, recovered possession of Colo-Syria and Palestine, with all their fortified cities. "He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do; and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him." Being assisted by the Jews, he purposed to subdue Egypt; but, entering into treaty with Ptolemy, he gave him his daughter Cleopatra in marriage, thinking to engage her to betray the interests of her husband; but in which he was deceived. "After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him. Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found." He subdued most of the maritime places and isles of the Mediterranean; but, being driven from Europe by the Roman consuls, he took refuge in Antioch; and, in order to raise the

mais, and was there slain. “Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle." Seleucus Philopater, who levied on his subjects the tribute imposed on his father, and was poisoned by his treasurer Heliodorus. “And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries." Antiochus Epiphanes, called also Epimanes, or madman, for his despicable conduct. "And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant. And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people. He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time. And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him. Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain. And both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed." Antiochus defeated the army of Ptolemy Philometer; and in the next campaign made himself master of all Egypt, except Alexandria. While they had frequent conferences at the same table, they spoke lies to each other; and the former returned to Syria, laden with riches. "Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land." The Jews having rejoiced at a report of his death, he took Jerusalem, and slew 40,000 of the inhabitants, and polluted the temple. "At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter. For the ships of Chittim shall come against him therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant." He was compelled to retire from Egypt by Roman embassadors,* which introduced the fourth great monarchy, or that of

(17.) The ROMANS, denoted by the "legs of iron, and the feet part of iron and part of clay," (Dan. ii. 33.) and the fourth beast with ten horns, (Dan. vii. 7.) The Romans, who derive their name from their capital, Rome, were descended from Japheth, by his son Javan or Gomer. From

Comprehensive Bible, Notes in locis. For a more full detail of these remarkable events, see the General Outline of the History of the period between the close of the Old Testament and the times of the New.

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an obscure and base origin, and from small beginnings, and slow progress, they destroyed the Grecian empire, and at length conquered almost every nation: and Rome became the mistress of the world;' her empire extending about 2600 miles from north to south, and 3000 miles from east to west. "Thus the fourth kingdom was strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, it broke in pieces and bruised." They successively adopted seven forms of government. For upwards of 200 years from the foundation of Rome, B. C. 753, they had kings. From the expulsion of the Tarquins, B. C. 509, to B. C. 44, they were governed by consuls, tribunes, decemvirs, and dictators, in their turns. After this, to A. D. 476, they were ruled by emperors, pagan and Christian; and from that period to A. D. 556, they were governed by Gothic kings. After they had been ruled by a race of princes, remarkable for the variety of their characters, the Roman possessions were divided into two distinct empires by the enterprising Constantine, 328. After having been frequently ravaged by the Goths, Huns, Alans, and Vandals, the western empire began to be divided into ten kingdoms, A. D. 480.* Thus gradually was fulfilled the prophecy of Daniel, (ch. ii. 41—43.) "And whereas. thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay." The Roman empire became weakened by a mixture of barbarous nations, by the incursions of whom it was torn asunder about the fourth century after Christ, and at length divided into ten kingdoms, answering to the ten toes of the image,† and the ten horns of the beast. The ten kingdoms into which the western Roman empire was divided were, primarily, according to Machiavel and Bp. Lloyd, 1. The Huns in Hungary, A. D. 356. 2. The Ostrogoths in Mosia, 377. 3. The Visigoths in Pannonia, 378. 4. The Sueves and Alans in Gascoigne and Spain, 407. 5. The Vandals in Africa, 407. 6. The Franks in France, 407. 7. The Burgundians in Burgundy, 407. 8. The Heruli and Turingi in Italy, 476. 9. The Saxons and Angles in Britain, 476. 10. The Lombards first, upon the Danube, 526, and afterwards in Italy. Though the ten kingdoms differed from these in later periods, and were sometimes more or less, yet they were still known by that name. Justin II. totally abolished the distinguished honours of Rome, A. D. 566, reduced it to a level with the neighbouring states, and made the exarch of Ravenna the deputy governor. The Romish bishop having obtained an imperial mandate declaring him universal bishop, A. D. 606, began to grasp at

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