Author: Rich Geer
Editor: Brian Holda

The Problem

Archaeologists and astronomers have claimed the Persian Empire lasted 205 years.

But like a 3-stranded cord that can’t easily break, 3 Scriptures seem to contradict this, when read together:

SCRIPTURE 1: Isaiah 44:24-45:1 – Where Cyrus is named as the one who would restore and rebuild Jerusalem:

24. Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb: I am the Lord, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself;

25. Who frustrates the signs of the babblers, and drives diviners mad; Who turns wise men backward, and makes their knowledge foolisheness;

26. Who confirms the word of His servant and performs the counsel of His messengers; Who says to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be inhabited, to the cities of Judah, “You shall be built,’ And I will raise up her waste places;

27. Who says to the deep, ‘Be dry! And I will dry up your rivers’;

28. Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, And he shall perform all my pleasure, saying to Jerusalem You shall be built,” And to the Temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.

45:1. Thus says the Lord to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held—

SCRIPTURE 2: Dan 9:24-27 – Where 483 years (69 “weeks” of years) are given between Cyrus’s decree and the coming of Jesus:

  1. 70 weeks are determined for you people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make and end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy (One).
  2. Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there 7 weeks and 62 weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.
  1. And after the 62 Weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the Prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.
  2. He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. [see Hebrews 10:5-18] And on the wing of abominations shall be One who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.”
Daniel 9:24-27

SCRIPTURE 3: Dan. 11: 2-4 – Where only 4 kings are mentioned after Cyrus:

  1. And now I will tell you the truth: Behold [after Cyrus] three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth will be far richer Than them all; by his strength, through his riches, he shall be stir all up against the realm of Greece.
  2. Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
  3. And when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided towards the four winds of heaven, but Not among his posterity nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides these.
Daniel 11:2-4

Difficulties

According to these passages:

  • The time between Cyrus’ decree and Christ’s baptism (when He was anointed Messiah) should be 483 years according to Daniel 9. This would mean the Persian empire lasted approximately 125 years, whereas standard chronology sees this as a 205 year period.
  • There should be 5 Persian kings total according to Daniel 11, whereas standard chronology believes there were more than 10 kings in the Persian Empire.

Ptolemy and Archaeology

With these scriptures we have a real problem that would seem to contradict the conventional number of kings of the Persian Empire.  The list has been gathered from various sources, but mainly quoted from Claudius Ptolemy’s “canon” who lived from 85 to 165 AD. He was an astronomer, mathematician, geographer, historian etc. A brilliant guy. But this does not mean he’s correct.

There also, at first blush, seems to be an abundance of corroborative archaeological evidence that backs up the standard chronology of 205 years for the length of the Persian Empire. However…

The Daniel 9 Timeline Must Begin with Cyrus’s Decree 

If Daniel 9 timeline begins with Cyrus’s decree (see above), then Daniel 9 tells us there should only be 483 years between Cyrus’s decree and Messiah (i.e. Jesus) beginning his ministry. But the secular dating of the Persian empire at 205 years would demand that an extra 80 years be between Cyrus’s decree and Christ’s ministry. In other words, it would need to be a gap of 560 years between these 2 events, while Daniel 9 says it would only be 483 years.

To resolve this difficulty of time between Cyrus and Christ, those with a high regard for scripture usually defer to a later Persian king’s decree as the starting point of Daniel 9’s prophecy, such as Artaxerxes Longimanus, or Darius Hystaspes for the building and restoration of the city and the sanctuary.

The problem is that Scripture only points to the Cyrus decree. Not only is this prophetically predicted in Isaiah 44-45 (as seen above), but this decree is spelled out in TWO separate books of the bible: 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 and Ezra 1:1-4.

Whereas later Persian decrees do not match what Scripture says about this starting point decree of Daniel 9, and are not even quoted in Scripture (in contrast to the Cyrus decree).

For instance, Darius Hystaspes gave a decree, but it only confirmed the earlier Cyrus decree. And the decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus only gives Nehemiah permission to return to Jerusalem to shore up the walls of the city, not rebuild the city itself (which was part of the Daniel 9 prophecy). Further, this decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus only took 52 days to complete (see Nehemiah 6:15).

To be clear, I have no problem with using external sources such as archaeology and even astronomical data to help corroborate Scripture. And on the surface such data seem firmly established on the 205 period and 10+ Persian kings, but there is the matter of the three scriptures quoted above.

I cannot reconcile the obvious fact that Cyrus has to be the one whom God has chosen to issue the decree, and also the fact that if so, Daniel is wrong by around 80 years based on Ptolemy’s Canon.

See the article by Kenneth C. Griffith and Darrell K. White, Challenging Accepted Chronology of Archaemenid Empire, Answers Research Journal, for further discussion on this problem.

It seems clear to me that the decree has to begin with Cyrus, but using the standard timeframe we still remain 80 years too long. Further, if we use the standard timeframe, it makes Ezra and Nehemiah too old to be doing what the Scripture claims they were doing (see below), and they get separated from each other by about 80 years as well (this is according to Ussher’s, Jones’s and other biblical chronologies about Ezra and Nehemiah). 

Only 5 Persian Kings 

Another contradiction appears between the secular Persian history and Scripture when we realize Daniel 11 mentions only 5 Persian kings (see Daniel 11, above) while the secular list spells out 10+ kings.

Namely, the Ptolemy king list is:

  1. Cyrus the Great (9 years) – This is the king that scripture declares will build the city and the sanctuary
  2. Cambyses (8 Years) – Under him the building of the temple and city stopped
  3. Psedo Smerdis/ Gaumata (8 months) – An imposter usurped the throne claiming to be the murdered brother of Cambyses reigned only 8 months
  4. Darius Hystaspes (36 years) – Created the Behistin Monument listing the Persian kings Called Darius the great. Also called Artaxerxes as did several Persian kings. Literly means chief ruler and similar to Ahaseurus may be the husband of Esther. If this is right we would have a connection between the 3 post exilic books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.
  5. Xerxes (21 years) – Again a title would seem to mean ruler. Perhaps as he may have been co-regent with his father for a while. He seems to be the one who lost the entire Persian Empire to Greece. Are these the 5 kings mentioned in Daniel?
  6. Artaxerxes I (Longimanus) (41 years)
  7. Darius II Nothus (19 years)
  8. Artaxerxes II Memnon (46 years)
  9. Artaxerxes III Ochus (21 years)
  10. Artaxerxes IV Arses (2 years)
  11. Darius III (4 Years)

Solution 1: Same Kings, Different Names/Titles

With all this in mind, we propose a somewhat simple solution that could mitigate the contradiction, if not alleviate it altogether.

Namely: What if some of the kings on the Ptolemy king list are merely different titles or nicknames for the same king?

To this point:

  • David Austin’s article in 2008 makes a strong case in Journal of Creation, that Darius (Hystaspes) in Ezra 6:14-15 is the same king as Artaxerxes in 7:1
    Is Darius, the king of Ezra 6:14–15, the same king as the Artaxerxes of Ezra 7:1?
  • With standard chronology, Nehemiah and Ezra are separated by some 80–82 years. Each would be remarkably old. Ezra would be 134 in the 20th year of Artaxerxes, and still active and going strong.  He is exhorting the Israelites in chapters 7 and 8 in Nehemiah. This is a very problematic scenario for the standard chronologies as lifespans were not nearly this long at this time in Biblical history.
  • But what if all the listed years and names of the “later” Persian kings (for instance, in Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther) are really speaking of the same ruler? That is, what if they are referencing the 5th Persian King, but using different names and titles to describe him? Compare Ezra 4:24, 6:14-15, 7:7-8; Nehemiah 1:1, 2:1, 13:6; Esther 1:1-3 (Called Ahasuerus, the Persian equivalent of Artaxerxes). This would mean secular chronology is “double-dipping” so to speak, and extending the Persian empire as well as adding kings that aren’t there, because of a failure to see different references pointing to one and the same figure.
  • To this point, David Austin’s scenario mentions that different sources use Darius, Artaxerxes, and Ahaseurus interchangeably:

    “In these books, the Ahasuerus of Esther and the Darius Hystaspes of Ezra 6:14-15 are both identified as the same king, Artaxerxes (cf. Esdras 3:1-2; 6:5, Esther 1:1-3, Ezra 6:15, and agreed to by Ussher, Jones, Anstey and Mauro). In the Rest of Esther (Apocrypha), and in the LXX throughout, Ahaseurus is everywhere called Artaxerxes.”

    Esdras and Rest of Esther are of course not counted as authoritative, like scripture, but can provide useful historical information.
  • Thus, this 1 Ruler would go by “Darius,” “Ahasuerus,” and “Artaxerxes” simultaneously. Specifically, this Darius would be called:
    • 2nd year: “Darius” (Ezra 4:24, 6:15)
    • 3rd year: “Ahasuerus” (Esther 1:1-3)
    • 6th year: “Darius” and “Artaxerxes” (Ezra 6:15)
    • 7th year: “Artaxerxes” and “Ahasuerus” (Ezra 7:7-8; Esther 2:16)
    • 12th year: “Ahasuerus” (Esther 3:7)
    • 20th year: “Artaxerxes” (Nehemiah 1:1, 2:1); Neh 2:6 says, “the queen also sitting by him.” Could this be Esther?
    • 32nd year: “Artaxerxes” (Nehemiah 13:6)
  • Such a phenomonen of having the same person identified by different names is well known. Consider in the Bible that Moses’ father-in-law is called, “Jethro,” (Exod 3:1; 18:1), “Reuel,” (Exod. 2:18), “Hobab” (Num. 10:29). Or Peter is known as, “Simon,” (Matt. 4:18), “Peter” (Matt. 16:18), and “Cephas” (1 Cor. 1:12). Or King Solomon is referred to as, “Jedidiah” (2 Sam. 12:24-25)
  • How much more conceivable is this if some of these alternate “names” were actually titles? We know Xerxes, Artaxerxes, and Ahasuerus (Hebrew form of Xerxes, see Ahasuerus – Wikipedia, accessed June 9, 2024) are all titles of Persian kings. So to say Darius would also be simultaneously referred to by titles is not only reasonable, but probable.
  • Darius is known to have reigned 36 years so all the above years listed in the three postexilic historic books could–and actually seem to–fit in with this ruler.

Solution 2: Were these “Kings” Merely “Governors” After the Fall of Persia?

Another potential explanation (though albeit purely speculative at this point), is that some of the later kings were leaders (perhaps “governors”) of Persia, but after Persia lost its pre-eminent power as a kingdom above other earthly kingdoms.

The Bible shows this sort of view of kingdoms in a number of ways. For instance, Malachi 1:8 refers to a “governor” of Judah, instead of a king. This is because they were subordinate to Persia at the time, and thus had a governor not a king.

Or consider, King Belshazzar in Daniel 5:1. Later archaeology has shown him to be the son of the king of that time, while still reigning in his place. This makes sense of him offering the highest honor he could offer to Daniel, of being “third highest ruler in the kingdom,” (Dan. 5:7). In this example, if Belshazzar was treated as a king and the years of his reign were added on top of the years of his father’s reign (not seeing them as they are, namely overlapping each other), the Babylonian empire would be reckoned as lasting longer than it did in reality.

Or another thought along these lines comes from Ezekiel 29:13-16:

“‘Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were scattered…There they will be a lowly kingdom. It will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the other nations. I will make it so weak that it will never again rule over the nations…’”

Here they still had rulers and an empire, but it wasn’t to be reckoned the way it was when it was a super-power.

If this be the case, the secular histories are correct in naming these rulers as rulers of Persia, but incorrect in thinking that Persia still held the kingly influence it did under these rulers (which could make it’s rule as a “kingdom” 80 years shorter, thus fitting it into the Bible timeline).

Conclusions

We don’t claim to have all the answers on this, but if history says anything about the matter, we’d be wise to side with the Bible where modern fields of science claim to contradict the Bible (especially with as many uncertainties and “holes” in it as archaeology has).

At one point, archaeology “claimed” writing didn’t exist in the time of Moses, Daniel’s Belshazzar was a fabrication, camels couldn’t have been used by Abraham, etc. But time after time, the Bible is shown to be true and such claims unfounded (an excellent evidence of this is the article published only 7 days ago that showed camels were around in the time of Abraham: Early camel incidents in the Hebrew Bible).

Thus, to the problem at hand, we can say that:

  1. The Persian period is up for grabs as far as using it for a sound chronology as it seems to contradict Biblical prophecy.
  2. Archaeology and astronomical calculations, though very persuasive, still need to address above problems.

Leaning primarily on secular data and just throwing in alternate kings to fulfill the problems raised in Daniel is not adequate nor useful. A better explanation needs to be given other than, “It is not clear who the command is to be given by.”  It seems very clear to most bible readers, especially if you assume the answer is found within Scripture itself (which we do for everything important to life and godliness – 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet 1:3).

  • Speculations are only that—Speculations, and may prove useful in reconciling the data at some point, but until we do get more complete information, the straightforward interpretation of the scripture trumps all, and it seems to say that it is
  • Cyrus’ decree was the command to rebuild the city and the sanctuary (see above).
  • There would be only 5 kings total from Cyrus until the collapse of the Persian Empire and the rise of Greece. (see above, and Daniel 11:2-4)
  • There would be only 483 years from the decree to restore and rebuild the city and the sanctuary until Messiah the Prince (see above and DANIEL 9)

Secular archaeology and astronomical calculations seems to place Cyrus too early to be correct. Therefore archaeology and astronomy as persuasive as they appear, need to be the areas that get revised.