Biblical Profile: Hellenistic Kingdoms

Hellenistic Kingdoms

During the 300 years following the death of Alexander in 323 BC, Greek kings continued to rule in the lands he conquered, and Hellenistic religion, culture, and values expanded across civilization. Hellenism provided a context for both Jewish and Greek learning to flourish. But Hellenism also came into conflict with Jewish faith, causing a time of great tribulation for the Jews, especially in the 160s BC. Greek culture eventually combined with Roman rule to set the stage for the coming of the Messiah, as Daniel foresaw. The history of this era is accurately portrayed in several of Daniel’s prophecies (see 7:6; 8:8-14, 21-26; 11:4-45).

Successors (Diadochoi), 323–301 BC

After Alexander died suddenly in 323 BC, a struggle for power and dominance ensued among several of his top generals (Greek diadochoi, “successors”).

Ptolemy I was one of Alexander’s strongest and most capable Macedonian generals. He became satrap of Egypt in 323 BC, the year of Alexander’s death, and he successfully ruled Egypt until his death in 285 BC.

Antigonus was a leading general in Alexander’s army and served as the energetic regent of a large portion of Alexander’s empire. In 315 BC, Antigonus invaded Syria and Palestine, but his bid to reunite the empire failed and he was killed in battle in 301 BC.

Seleucus I, another of Alexander’s top generals, became satrap of Babylon in 321 BC. When he heard of Antigonus’s plans to reunite the empire, he fled for protection to Ptolemy in Egypt in 316 BC. After regaining control of Babylon (315 BC) and Syria (312 BC), he ruled until his death in 281 BC.

Lysimachus was satrap of Thrace and Bithynia (in Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey) following the death of Alexander.

Cassander was satrap of Macedonia until 294 BC. The son of Antigonus, Demetrius I, then gained control of Macedonia and Achaia, founding the Antigonid dynasty that ruled there until the Romans took control of Greece after the Battle of Pydna in 168 BC.

Alexander’s empire was thus divided into four kingdoms ruled by Macedonian Greeks: Egypt, Babylon and Syria, Macedonia and Achaia, and parts of Asia Minor.

Throughout the 200s BC, the Ptolemies and the Seleucids fought several wars for control of the strategic territory of Palestine. The history of this conflict is accurately portrayed in Daniel 11.

Ptolemies, 323–30 BC

Ptolemy I and his descendants (the “king of the south” in Dan 11) ruled Egypt for nearly three hundred years. After Ptolemy I took control of Judea in 319 BC, he resettled some Jewish people in Alexandria, which became a large and important Jewish community as well as a center for both Jewish and Hellenistic learning and scholarship (the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, was created in Alexandria during this era). Even though the Ptolemies were worshiped as gods and spread Greek culture in Egypt, they were generally tolerant of the Jews and their monotheistic culture. The dynasty of the Ptolemies ended at the death of Cleopatra VII when Rome took control of Egypt in 30 BC.

Seleucids, 321–64 BC

Seleucus I and his descendants (the “king of the north” in Dan 11) ruled Syria (and, for a time, Babylon) until the Roman general Pompey annexed Syria in 64 BC. The Seleucids, like the Ptolemies, propagated both Hellenistic culture and the worship of rulers in the areas they controlled; but they were less tolerant of the Jews’ non-participation than the Ptolemies were. After the Seleucid king Antiochus III gained control of Judea around 200 BC, he gave positions and power to Jews who assimilated. His son, Antiochus IV, harshly persecuted the Jews, executing those who kept the Sabbath or copies of the Torah or who would not worship at the altar of Zeus that he erected in the Temple in Jerusalem (note Daniel’s mention of the “sacrilegious object that causes desecration,” Dan 11:31). This persecution provoked the revolt of the Jewish priest Mattathias and his sons, who gained semi-autonomy for the Jewish state for nearly one hundred years under the leadership of their descendants (the Hasmoneans).

Passages for Further Study

Dan 11:4-39