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Date * (B.C.) | | King / Ruler | | Events during Reign | | Bible Reference
and Notes |
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727 - 722 | | Shalmaneser V | | King conquers Samaria, Israel's (Northern Ten Tribes of Israel) capital, in 723 B.C. The Israelites are taken out of the land of Palestine and transported to Assyria. | | |
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722 - 705 | | Sargon II | | | | 2Kings 17:5. Massive deportation of people who refuse to be good vassals. |
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705 - 681 | | Sennacherib | | Most famous of Assyrian kings. Burned Babylon (2Chronicles 32) | | Defeated by an angel before entering Jerusalem. (Isaiah 37:33-38) |
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681 - 669 | | Esarhaddon | | Rebuilt Babylon. Conquered Egypt. Was one of the greatest of Assyrian kings. | | Isaiah 37:38. Manasseh, King of Judah, paid tribute to Esarhaddon. |
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669 - 633 | | Ashurbanipal
(Osnapper) | | Last great king of the empire. Collected a great library. Powerful and cruel. | | Nahum 3:8 mentions No-Amon, Thebes and the Nile. Ezra 4:10 refers to king as Asnappar. Manasseh, King of Judah, paid tribute to Ashurbanipal. |
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612 | | Fall of Nineveh | | Assyrian empire comes to an end. | | |
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The Neo-Babylonian Empire The Empire's capital was in Babylon. In Isaiah's time Assyria was the dominant power of the world. Babylon was a dependency of Assyria. Babylon rose to world power status and then fell in 539 B.C. Isaiah sang of the Fall of Babylon one-hundred years BEFORE its rise in 612 B.C. (Isaiah 13:1, 13:19, 14:22). Babylon's splendor as the Queen city of the pre-Christian world, the "glory of kingdoms" and "the city of gold" (Isaiah 13:19, 14:4) was clearly envisioned. Babylon's fall is also pictured in detail, naming the unknown Medes as destroyers of Babylon. (Isaiah 13:17-19). |
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Date * (B.C.) | | King / Ruler | | Events during Reign | | Bible Reference
and Notes |
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625 - 605 | | Nabopolassar | | Viceroy of Babylon, threw off the yoke of Assyria and established the independence of Babylon. | | Destroyed Nineveh with Cyaxeres the Mede in 612 B.C. (Nahum, Isaiah 13-14). |
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605 - 562 | | Nebuchadnezzar | | Greatest of all Babylonian Kings, he extends the power of Babylon over the then known world. Jerusalem falls at the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar in 597 B.C. He captures Judah's King Jehoiachin, who as prisoner, is taken to Babylon.
Nebuchadnezzar sets up Zedekiah as new King of Judah. The Jews, including the prophets Daniel and Ezekiel, are taken into captivity. King Zedekiah sits on the throne for eleven years before Nebuchadnezzar returns to destroy both the city of Jerusalem and its temple in 586 B.C. | | 2Kings 24-25 and book of Daniel. Daniel became one of chief advisers. His influence probably eased the lot of Jewish captives. |
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561 - 560 | | Evil-Merodach
(Amel-Marduk) | | | | 2Kings 25:27-30;
Jeremiah 52:31-34. |
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559 - 556 | | Nergal-shar-usur
(Nergalsharezer) | | | | Jeremiah 39:3, 13. |
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555 - 539 | | Nabonidus | | The last king of the Babylonian empire. Nabonidus fights then surrenders to Cyrus of Persia in October 539 B.C. | | |
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553 - 539 | | Belshazzar | | Son of Nabonidus and co-regent with his father. His responsibility was to defend the city of Babylon. | | Saw God's handwriting on the wall during a feast (Daniel 5). . |
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| | | | | Babylon, oppressor of God's Old Testament people, gave its name to the Apostate Church. | | Revelation 17 |
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The Persian Empire The Persian Empire, often called the Medo-Persian Empire, was the second great world empire represented in the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2) of Babylon. It was the LARGEST empire in ancient history in terms of total land controlled. Persia itself was the mountainous plateau east of the lower end of the Euphrates-Tigris River Valley and its empire extending eastward into India and reached westward to Greece. Its capitals were Persepolis and Susa, with its kings sometimes residing at Babylon. One of the first acts of the first Persian king, Cyrus, who was a "singularly noble and just monarch," was to authorize the return of the Jews to Jerusalem and to their own land (2Chronicles 36:22-23). |
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Date * (B.C.) | | King / Ruler | | Events during Reign | | Bible Reference
and Notes |
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559 - 530 | | Cyrus the Great | | Considered first true king of the Persian empire. Conquered the Median Empire in 549 B.C. and the Babylonian empire in 539 B.C. | | Cyrus issued decree to allow Jews to return to Jerusalem and conquered Babylon more than 150 years AFTER it was prophesied by Isaiah (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1; Ezra 1:1-4, 2; 2Chronicles 36:22-23). |
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536 - 534 | | Darius the Mede
(Probably Cyaxares II, Astiages, last king of the Medes) | | Although not a King of the empire, Darius received the kingdom of Babylon as viceroy from Cyrus when he was 62 years old (Daniel 5:31). | | Mentioned in Daniel 6:1, 9:1, 11:1. Cyrus is a nephew of Darius married to Darius daughter. Darius was probably a title. |
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529 - 522 | | Cambyses II | | Son of Cyrus the Great and second king of the empire. Conquered Egypt. | | Ezra 4:7, 11, 23. It is thought to have been this king who stopped work on the Temple. |
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521 - 486 | | Darius I the Great (Hystaspes) | | Third king of the Persian Empire. Put down Smerdis insurrection. Authorized completion of Temple. Made "Behistun" inscription. | | Temple at Jerusalem resumes and is completed. (Ezra 6:15) |
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485 - 465 | | Xerxes I
(Ahasuerus) | | Warred against Greece | | |
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464 - 424 | | Artaxerxes I
(Longimanus) | | Favorable to Jerusalem, authorized Nehemiah his cupbearer to rebuild Jerusalem. | | |
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423 - 405 | | Darius II Nothius
(The Persian) | | | | Nehemiah 12:22 |
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404 - 359 | | Artaxerxes II
(Mnemon) | | Longest reigning of all the Persian kings. | | |
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358 - 338 | | Artaxerxes III
(Ochus) | | | | |
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337 - 336 | | Artaxerxes IV Arses | | | | |
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336 - 330 | | Darius III (Codomannus).
Last King of Persia | | Defeated by Alexander the Great in 331 B.C. at the famous battle of Arbela near the site of Nineveh. | | Fall of Persia.
Rise of Greece.
Empire passed from Asia to Europe. |
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The Empire of Alexander the Great (Macedonian Empire) Alexander the Great (356 - 323 B.C.) never lost a battle and is one of the most successful military commanders in history. At the height of his power Alexander controlled 2.01 million square miles (5.2 million square kilometers) of territory and conquered most of the known world. His titles included King of Macedon, Hegemon of the Hellenic League, Shahanshah (King of Kings) of Persia, Pharaoh of Egypt and Lord of Asia. The prophet Daniel predicted the rise of the Macedonian empire, its military success and enormous power (Daniel 8, 11). |
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Date * (B.C.) | | King / Ruler | | Events during Reign | | Bible Reference
and Notes |
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| 336 | | Alexander
the Great | | Assumes the throne after his father is assassinated. | | The rise of the kingdom of Greece is foretold is Daniel 8:21-22. |
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| 335 | | | | Suppresses several Grecian revolts. | | |
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| 332 | | | | The city of Tyre is attacked and conquered by Alexander. He kills all the men of military age and sells the women and children into slavery. He also assumes control of Egypt. | | |
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| 331 | | | | Defeats King Darius III of Persia at the battle of Arbela. Persia falls. Alexander captures Babylon. | | |
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| 327 - 325 | | | | Conquers parts of India and Pakistan. | | |
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| 323 | | | | Alexander dies in Babylon at the age of 32. His empire is eventually divided among his four generals:
Ptolemy I: Took possession of Egypt and declared himself Pharaoh. Antipater: Assumed the government of Macedon (Macedonia) and control of the western part of the empire. Seleucus: Took over Babylon, Syria, Mesopotamia and adjacent areas. Antigonus: Declared himself king of Asia Minor. | | Daniel 11:3-4 prophecied that Alexander's kingdom would not go to his posterity but would be broken up into four pieces and given to others. |