Bible Study Charts, page 2

 

World Ruling Empires and Bible Prophecy

The Assyrian Empire

It was by the Assyrian Empire that the kingdom of Israel was destroyed. Recent annals of Assyrian Kings have been found in which they themselves had their own exploits recorded. In these annals names of ten Hebrew Kings occur: Omri, Ahab, Jehu, Menahem, Pekah, Hoshea, Uzziah, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh. Many statements are found which confirm Biblical statements. Nineveh was its capital.

Assyrian policy was to deport conquered peoples to other lands, to destroy their sense of nationalism, and make them more easily subject. Assyrians were great warriors. Most nations then were robber nations. Assyrians seem to have been about the worst of them all. They built their state on the loot of other peoples. They practiced cruelty. They skinned their prisoners alive, or cut off their hands, feet, noses, ears, or put out their eyes, or pulled out their tongues, and made mounds of human skulls, all to inspire terror.

Assyria was founded, previous to 2000 B.C., by colonists from Babylon, and for many centuries was subject to, or in conflict with, Babylon. About 1300 B.C. Shalmaneser I threw off the yoke of Babylon and ruled the whole Euphrates Valley. Then Assyria declined, Tiglath-pileser I, (1120-1100 B.C.) made Assyria again a great kingdom. Then decline again, followed by 300 years as World Empire.

Rulers of the Assyrian Empire

Date (B.C.)	King	Events	Biblical Event
884 - 858	Assur-nasir-apal II	Warlike and cruel. Welded Assyria into the best fighting machine of the ancient world.
858 - 824	Shalmaneser III	First Assyrian king to come in conflict with Israel. Ahab fought him. Jehu paid tribute to him.
824 - 810	Shamsi-Adad V
810 - 782	Adad-nirari III
783 - 773	Shalmaneser IV
773 - 754	Assur-dayan III
754 - 745	Ashur-nirari V (Assur-lush)	Decline
745 - 727	Tiglath-pileser III	"Pul" was his personal name. He carried North Israel into captivity, 734 B.C.	Isaiah 7; 2 Kings 15:19-20
727 - 722	Shalmaneser V	He besieged Samaria, died in the siege.
721 - 705	Sargon II	Completed destruction of Samaria and Israel's captivity. Sargon I was a Babylonian King of 2000 years earlier.	2 Kings 17:5. Massive deportation of people who refuse to be good vassals.
704 - 681	Sennacherib	Most famous of Assyrian kings. Burned Babylon (2 Chronicles 32)	Defeated by an angel before Jerusalem in 701 B.C. (Isaiah 37:33-38)
681 - 669	Esar-haddon	Rebuilt Babylon. Conquered Egypt. Was one of the greatest of Assyrian kings.	Isaiah 37:38
669 - 626	Assur-banipal (Osnapper)	Destroyed Thebes in 663 B.C. Collected a great library. Powerful, cruel, literary.	Nahum 3:8 mentions No-Amon, Thebes and the Nile.
626 - 607	Assur-etil-ilani (Shin-shar-iskun 621-612 B.C.) (Ashur-uballit 612-608 B.C.)	Beset by Scythians, Medes, and Babylonia, the brutal Empire fell.
612	Fall of Nineveh	Fall of Haran (610), fall of Carchemish (605).

The Neo-Babylonian Empire

This was the Empire that broke the power of Assyria, and, in its westward sweep, destroyed Judah, and conquered Egypt. This empire lasted 73 years (612 - 539 B.C.). The 70 year prophecy runs from the fall of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. until 517 B.C. at the worship rededication in the Restoration Temple. Cyrus, king of Persia, conquered Babylon in 539 B.C., in 538 B.C. he authorized the return of the Jews to their own land. First return was in 536 B.C.

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 100 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). Babylon was to supersede Assyria (Isaiah 14:25), Media shall supersede Babylon (Isaiah 13:17); and Babylon shall pass away forever (Isaiah 12:19-22, 14:22-23, Dan 5:31).

The Persian Army took Babylon without a battle during the days of Nabonidas and his first son Belshazar.

Rulers of the Neo-Babylonian Empire

Date (B.C.)	King	Events	Biblical Event
625 - 605	Nabopolassar	Viceroy of Babylon, threw off the yoke of Assyria and established the independence of Babylon in 625 B.C.	Destroyed Nineveh with Cyaxeres the Mede in 612 B.C. (Nahum, Isaiah 13-14).
605 - 562	Nebuchadnezzar	Greatest of all Babylonian Kings, reigned about 45 years, he extended the power of Babylon over the then known world. Carried Jews into captivity, including Daniel and Ezekiel.	2 Kings 24-25, Daniel. Daniel became one of chief advisers. His influence probably eased the lot of Jewish captives.
562 - 560	Evil-Merodach (Amer-Marduk)		2 Kings 25:27-30; Jeremiah 52:31-34.
560 - 556	Neriglissar		Jeremiah 39:3, 13.
556	Labashi-Marduk
556 - 539	Nabonidus	Babylon fell and supremacy passed on to the Persians. Probably in retirement outside of Babylon.
541 - 539	Belshazzar	Son of Nabonidus and co-regent with his father. He was in control of army and the government, and surrendered to Cyrus.	Handwriting on the wall, during a feast. Daniel had been in Babylon for 70 years (Dan 5). Daniel was "third" in command in Babylon (Dan 5:16, 29).
		Babylon, oppressor of God's Old Testament people, gave its name to the Apostate Church.	Revelation 17

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 of Babylon. In 549 B.C. a Persian named Cyrus conquered the area known as Babylonia in 539 B.C. as prophesied by Isaiah over 150 years before. (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1).

As the policy of Assyrian and Babylonian kings had been to deport conquered peoples, that is take them away out of their own lands, and scatter them in other lands; so, the policy of the Persian kings were more humane than Assyrian and Babylonian Kings.

One of the first acts of the first Persian king, Cyrus, who was a "singularly noble and just monarch," in his first year, was to authorize the Return of the Jews to their own land. Persia was the mountainous plateau east of the lower end of the Euphrates-Tigris Valley. The Persian Empire was vaster in extent than its predecessors had been. It extending eastward in India and reaching westward to Greece. Its capitals were Persepolis and Susa; its kings sometimes residing at Babylon. As a world empire, it lasted 200 years, 536 - 331 B.C..

Rulers of the Persian Empire

Date (B.C.)	King	Events	Biblical Event
539 - 537	Darius the Mede (Probably Cyxere II, Astiages, last king of the Medes)	Darius was 62 years old (Dan 5:31) when he succeeded Belshazzar to the Babylonian Kingdom.	Mentioned in Daniel 6:1, 9:1, 11:1. Cyrus is a nephew of Darius married to Darius daughter. Darius was probably a title. Daniel was 87 years old.
538 - 529 559 - 530	Cyrus (the Persian)	Cyrus was 40 years old (Dan 5:31). United Media and Persia in 549. Conquered Babylon 539 B.C.	Issued decree in 538 B.C. to allow Jews to return (Ezra 1:1-4, 2 Chron 36:22-23). Ezra records departure of 49,897 captive Jews back to Jerusalem in 536 B.C. under Zerubbabel.
529 - 522 530 - 522	Cambyses	Conquered Egypt, died by suicide.	Ezra 4:7, 11, 23. It is thought to have been Artaxerxes who stopped work on Temple.
522	Pseudo-Smerdis	Magian usurper precipitated civil war	Ezra 4:7, 11
522 - 486 521 - 486	Darius I the Great (Hystaspes)	Put down Smerdis insurrection. Authorized completion of Temple. Made "Behistun" inscription.	Temple at Jerusalem resumes in 520 B.C. and it is completed in 515 B.C. (Ezra 6:15)
486 - 465	Xerxes I (Ahasuerus)	Warred against Greece	Ahasuerus was Esther's husband
465 - 424 464 - 423	Artaxerxes I (Longimanus)	Favorable to Jerusalem, authorized Nehemiah his cupbearer to rebuild Jerusalem.	Ezra returned in 458 B.C. with 1,754 Jews. Nehemiah was governor in 445 B.C. (Ezra 7:1,8; Nehemiah 2:1)
424	Xerxes II		Nehemiah 12:22
423 - 404	Darius II Nothius (The Persian)		Nehemiah 12:22
404 - 358	Artaxerxes II (Mnemon)
358 - 338	Artaxerxes III (Ochus)
338 - 335	Arses
336 - 331	Darius III (Codomannus). Last King of Persia	Defeated by Alexander the Great, 331, at the famous battle of Arbela near the site of Neneveh.	I Maccabees 1:1. This was the fall of Persia, and the Rise of Greece. Empire passed from Asia to Europe.

Compiled by: Bernie Monsalvo