but it recovered under the Sasanians. After that it lasted, at one time weak and at
another strong, until Muhammad was born, in the time of Anushiravan, the great King of
Persia. After that the might of Islam arose, broke for ever the Persian power, subdued
Persia, Mesopotamia, Macedonia, Palestine, and "filled the whole land" (verses
44, 45).
C. It is unfortunate for your argument that history is against it. The Book of
Daniel itself explains the meaning of the prophecy. The first of the four kingdoms was the
Chaldaean or Babylonian under Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. ii. 37, 38), as you say rightly. Then
came the Medo-Persian kingdom under Cyrus and his successors (viii. 3, 4, 20), which
was not two but one kingdom, as the last quoted verse (with many others) proves. This
was overthrown by the Macedonian (viii. 5, 7, 21) under Alexander, after whose death his
kingdom was divided into four (viii. 8, 22), and thus gradually faded into insignificance,
as we know from history. To this third kingdom succeeded the fourth, the Roman Empire,
which is described in ii. 40. It was in the time of the Roman Empire1, while
Rome still ruled nearly the whole known world, that Christ was born and set