Teachinghearts	History of the Empires in Bible Prophecy "Explore the Word. Change the World"	Statistics: Time: 200 minutes Print: 38 pages

	Babylon	Medo-Persia	Greece			Rome			Rome Falls		Papacy	Europe		Russia	United States
Occupation of the Holy Land											Byzantine			Islam

Babylon

Prophetic Footprints Visions 604-553 B.C. Swift conquest Superior to the other kingdoms No divisions Conquered by Medo-Persia 70 year captivity of Jews in Babylon Will be subdued for 2520 years
Kings of Assyria and Babylon
King	Year	Dynasty
Hammurabi	1792-1750	Dynasty 1
Ashur-Rabi II	1012-997	Middle Assyrian
Ashur-Resh-Ishi II	996-965
Tiglath-Pilasar II	964-933
Ashur-Dan II	932-910
Adad Nirari II	909-889	Dynasty X (Assyria and Babylon)
Tukulti Ninurta II	888-884
Ashur Nasirpal II	883-859
Shalmaneser III	858-824
Shamshi Adad V	823-810
Shammuramat (Shamiram)	809-792
Adad Nirari III	791-782
Shalmaneser IV	781-772
Ashur Dan III	771-764
HadadNirari	763-754
AshurNirari V	753-746
Tiglath Pilesar III	745-727
Shalmaneser V	726-722
Marduk-apal-iddina II (Merodach-Baladan)	722-710
Sargon II the Great (Sarrukin)	722-705
Sennacherib (Sin-ahhe-eriba)	705-681
Esarhaddon (Assur-ahha-iddina)	680-669
Ashurbanipal	668-627
Ashur Etil Llani	626-621
Sin-Sharishkun	620-612
Ashur Uballit II	611-605
Chaldou	640-627	Dynasty XI (Neo-Babylonian or Chaldean)
Nabopolassar	626-605
Nebuchadnezzar II	605-562
Amel-Marduk (Evil-Merodach)	562-560
Nergal-Sharezer (Neriglissar)	560-556
Labashi-Marduk	556
Nabonidus and son Belshazzar (co-ruler)	555-539 535-539
Cambyses	538-522
539 - Cyrus the Great of Persia captured Babylon Mentioned in the Bible

Babylon, the current location of modern day Iraq, was located on the river Euphrates close to the site of the modern city of Baghdad in Iraq. It is located in a flat valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, known as "the land between the rivers". At its height, the empire ranged from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf and from Asia Minor to Egypt.

Nebuchadnezzar made three attacks against Jerusalem. The first attack against Jerusalem was in 605 B.C. during the reign of King Jehoiakim, he seized a selected group of captives which included Daniel and his three friends. He also confiscated some of the sacred vessels of God's temple. He trained these captives for government service. In ancient times, is was customary for a conquering nation to capture princes from the conquered lands. The prince would be trained and educated and when the throne of the conquered nation became available, the captured prince who was now friendly towards his conquerors would be installed as king. This practice ensured peace between the nations, first because the king would not want to see his captured heir harmed and second, because they made the next generation their friend.

The second attack was in 597 B.C. when King Jehoiakim rebelled and was killed. In this invasion, Nebuchadnezzar took even more captives than before from the upper class of Judah including the new king Jehoiachin. Ezekiel the prophet went into captivity during this invasion. He also seized a much larger portion of the Temple's treasures.

The Destruction of Solomon's Temple. In 586 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar came for the last time again because King Zedekiah was rebellious and leaning towards an alliance with Egypt. Determined that rebellion would never rise again, this time Nebuchadnezzar decided to destroy Judah. At the end of an extended siege, he leveled the city of Jerusalem and completely destroyed the temple. He led most of the survivors to Babylon to serve as slaves.

Nebuchadnezzar was the chief ruler of the empire, he succeeded his father Nabopolassar who died while Nebuchadnezzar was on a military campaign against Egypt in Palestine.

The Fall of Ancient Babylon. In 539 B.C. the kingdom of Babylon was invaded in one night when Cyrus dammed up the river Euphrates, this dried up the Euphrates river and the soldiers entered the city under the walls and conquered the empire. He placed Darius the Mede as the ruler.

Prophecy of Babylon's Future
This prophecy of Isaiah written about 100 years before Babylon became a super power is remarkable.
. . . The day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty . . . Look, I will stir up the Medes against them . . . And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans` pride, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited . . . neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there, neither shall shepherds make their flocks to lie down there. But wild beasts of the deserts shall lie there. (Isaiah 13: 6, 17,19-20)

100 years after Isaiah's prophecy, Jeremiah writes the following when Babylon was about to attack Jerusalem.
Look, I will raise up against Babylon a destroying wind . . . Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed . . . Prepare against (Babylon) the nations, with the kings of the Medes . . . Babylon shall become heaps (ruins), a dwelling place for jackals, an astonishment and an hissing, without inhabitant . . . The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burned with fire . . . O Lord, You have spoken against this place to cut it off, that none shall dwell therein, neither man nor beast, but it shall be desolate for ever . . . (Jeremiah 51)

Current State.

The Fall of Babylon

So Babylon's fate is to be uninhabited by neither man nor beast (except for wild beasts). The fall of Babylon came in several stages over many centuries. Attacked by the Medes and Persians Attacked by the Greeks Attacked by the Romans 140 B.C. - the irrigation system was destroyed in the Parthian conquest. It slowly declined after this and was abandoned by the third century. Attacked by warlike tribes (Arabs, Turks) 2003 - Antiquities and site ruined by war and soldiers occupying site

The site of the ancient city of Babylon (196 square miles) is still uninhabited. The ground is infertile through impregnation with salt. The ancient city of Babylon lay in ruins for centuries, it is inhabited by wild creatures and is avoided by nomadic Arabs tribes after dark for fear of evil spirits. Scholars doubted that it existed until archaeological excavations in the nineteenth century found the city.
Its decline was sealed with the collapse of its infrastructure. Babylon depended on a complex irrigation system of dams and canals between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Its famous hanging gardens depended on this intricate system. But, in 140 B.C. the irrigation system collapsed during the Parthian conquest. The results, according to the The Encyclopedia Americana was that

“The soil became saturated with mineral salts, and a crust of alkali formed over the surface, making agricultural use impossible.”

200 years later, Babylon was still a populous city, but by the third century A.D., the historian Dio Cassius described a visitor to Babylon as finding

... nothing but mounds and stones and ruins. (LXVIII, 30).

Its people survive today in another location as part of Iraq.

Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein was busy with a grandiose and extravagant project to rebuild ancient Babylon, with his name engraved repeatedly in the bricks of its walls. His plans came to a halt when he ran out of money and became involved in the Iraqi War in 1990 with the United States helping Kuwait. The place was further destroyed when Polish soldiers made a base there in the 2003 war with the United States.
He was doomed to failure, like Napoleon, Hitler, Charlemagne and others who attempted to defy the prophecies of God by reviving kingdoms which were to remain destroyed.

See Map of the empire of Babylon. Map of the city of Babylon. Map of Iraq and the Holy Land.

Prophetic Footprints Swift conquest Inferior to Babylon Two Divisions, the stronger would be the second Conquers three powers Conquered by a power from the East
Kings of Persia (Achaemenid Dynasty)
King		Year	Decree
1	Cyrus II the Great	559-530	Ezra 1: 1-4
2	Darius the Mede	539-536	None
Persian Rulers Only
1	Cambyses II	538-522	None
2	Bardiya (Smerdis)	522	None
3	Darius 1	522-486	Ezra 6: 7-12
4	Xerxes 1 (Ahasuerus)	486-465	Esther
5	Artaxerxes 1 (Longimanus)	465-425	Ezra 7: 11-12
6	Xerxes 2	424	None
7	Sogdianus	424	None
8	Darius 2	423-405	None
9	Artaxerxes 2	404-359	None
10	Artaxerxes 3	358-338	None
11	Arses	337-336	None
12	Darius 3	335-330	None
Alexander the Great		330-323	Greek Empire
Cyrus left Darius the Mede in charge as governor
Achaemenes, Teispes, Cyrus 1 and Cambyses ruled before the conquest of Babylon

Medo-Persia
The Medo-Persian empire was a combination of two empires, the older Median empire and the newer Persian. At its height it extended from India to Ethiopia. In 553 B.C. or 550 B.C., Cyrus, who had been king of Persia as a vassal of the Median empire, defeated Astyages of Media. So, the former subordinate Persians became the dominant power in the former Median empire.

Three Powers Defeated. In the rise to power, Medo-Persia conquered three great powers - Lydia, Egypt and Babylon.

1. Lydia. Moving west in 547 B.C., Croesus of Lydia was defeated. Croesus was a wealthy king who had allied himself with Egypt and Babylon against Medo-Persia - but they were all defeated.
2. Babylon. It was defeated in 539 B.C.
3. Egypt. To the south Egypt and Nubia were conquered by 538 B.C. The conquest continued north against the Scythians in 513 B.C. The empire ended when Darius III ( Codomannus) was defeated by Alexander the Great in several battles (the battle of Granicus (334 B.C.), the battle of Issus (333 B.C.) and the battle of Arbela in 331 B.C.)

The old nation of Persia now survives as Iran.

Decrees to Rebuild Jerusalem. When the Jews left Babylon, it took three decrees before the city was finally rebuilt. The first two had little effect, but the final decree provided financial aid in the rebuilding.

1. First Decree. 536 B.C. Issued by Cyrus and recorded in Ezra 1: 1-7
2. Second Decree. 518 B.C. Issued by Darius and recorded in Ezra 6: 1-12
3. Third Decree. 457 B.C. Issued by Artaxerxes and recorded in Ezra 7: 12-26

Prophecy of the Future of Medo-Persia
Persia was to remain until the end of time. But it would never receive its former glory. The nation now exists as Iran.
See Map

The Largest Army. Before the Greeks conquered Persia, Darius III assembled the largest army ever created to try and stop the progress of the Greeks (over 1,000,000 men from 40 different nations). He was still defeated by Alexander in the Battle of Arbela (also known as the battle of Gaugamela), who had no money and only 35,000 men. Alexander was only 25 years old. The independent, warring Greek states allied themselves to fight for their freedom.

Greece

Prophetic Footprints Swift conquest One strong ruler, who is 'broken' early Kingdom divided in four Kingdom became a dominant Northern and Southern kingdom
Rulers of Greece
King		Year	Conquerer	Territory	Dynasty
Philip II		359-334 BC	-	Macedonia	Argead
Alexander III the Great		334-323 BC		Greece
Perdiccas		323-321 BC	Diadochi (The Successors)	Greece	Perdiccas was Regent, then Antipater
Antipater		321-319 BC		Greece
-	Arridaeus (Philip III)	323-317 BC		Greece
-	Alexander IV	323-310 BC		Greece
1	Ptolemy	323-30 BC	Octavian	Egypt, Palestine	Diadochi Wars 323-301
2	Seleucus	312-63 BC	Pompey	Syria, Persia, Babylon
3	Lysimachus	323-281 BC	Seleucus	Thrace, Asia Minor
4	Antipater, Cassander	321-168 BC	Aemilius Paullus	Greece, Macedonia

The Greek states were in constant civil wars. They had been fighting the Persians and even fought among themselves. The Athenians and Spartans were constantly at war. In 431, under the leadership of Pericles, they started the Peloponnesian War when the Spartans invaded the Athenians. They had different military strengths. The Spartans were good at land wars and Athens had a strong navy. After many years of fighting, the peace of Nicias was signed.
In 415 BC, Alicibiades convinced the Athenians to attack Sicily. Their navy was defeated. Then the Spartans attacked them in their weakened state and the Persians joined in. In 405 the rest of their navy was destroyed and they surrendered to the Spartans in 404 B.C.
It took the threat of Persian domination and the strong leadership of Alexander to unite the warring states and form a great empire.

Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great 356-323 B.C. is respected as the most powerful and brilliant of all military leaders. He had defeated much of the known world in 13 years by the age of 33.
Succeeded to the throne in 336 B.C. as king of Macedon on the death of his father Philip II. He was tutored by Aristotle. Alexander first conquered the Greek states and then, as head of the Greek army, continued east in 334 B.C. to conquer the rest of the world in 8 short years. The battles of Alexander included:

• He started at home by putting down uprisings in Thrace and Illyria, and sacking Thebes - gaining power over all of Greece.
• He defeated the Persians at the battles of Granicus (334) and Issus (333 B.C.).
• Tyre and Gaza fell in a year
• He defeated Egypt (332 B.C.), and founded the city of Alexandria.
• In Mesopotamia, he overthrew the Persian Empire of Darius III at the battle of Arbela ( or Gaugamela) (331 B.C.).
• He defeated the rest of eastern Persia (330-327 B.C.)
• He invaded northern India (326 B.C.) but there his forces would go no further and the great conquest ended.

No Heirs. On 11 June 323 BC, he died of a fever at age 33 without a legitimate heir. He had a four year old illegitimate son with Barsine, a Persian princess but his wife Roxana was still nine months pregnant. His mother murdered his half brother so that her grandson could be king. Cassander, the general who wanted to rule Greece, executed her and then proceeded to murder all relatives and lovers who might have a claim to the throne.
Peridiccas, the regent named in his to take care of the empire until the heirs were old enough, was killed by his own men in a failed invasion of Egypt.

Alexander the Great meets the High Priest
The Talmud relates that when Alexander the Great and his conquering legions advanced upon Jerusalem, they were met by a delegation of elders, led by the High Priest Shimon Ha Tzaddik (Simon the Righteous). When Alexander saw Shimon approaching, he dismounted and prostrated himself before the Jewish Sage. To his astonished men, Alexander explained that each time he went into battle, he would see a vision in the likeness of this High Priest leading the Greek troops to victory. In gratitude, and out of profound respect for the spiritual power of the Jews, Alexander was a kind and generous ruler. He canceled the Jewish taxes during Sabbatical years, and even offered animals to be sacrificed on his behalf in the Temple. Unfortunately, history would prove that Alexander's heirs failed to sustain his benevolence.

A Kingdom Divided
After his death in 323 B.C., the empire was divided among his generals - the Diadochi (successors) included Antipater, Perdiccas, Eumenes, Craterus, Antigonus, Ptolemy, Seleucus, and Lysimachus.

These successors struggled for the empire until the battle of Ipsus in 301 B.C. when Antigonus was defeated by a coalition of four leaders. In 306, Antigonus declared himself king of the Greek empire so the coalition moved against him and the former Greek empire was divided among them:

1. Lysimachus. Turkey (North)
2. Ptolemy. Egypt (South) - Started the dynasty of Egyptian kings (305 B.C.) known as the Ptolemies.
3. Seleucus. Syria to India (East)
4. Cassander. Greece (West)

Finally, 20 years later, Lysimachus was defeated by Seleucus in the battle of at Corupedion (281 B.C.) and gained the largest section of the old Persian empire in the north and east. Therefore the kingdom was finally divided into two:

1. Northern kingdom. Seleucid empire
2. Southern kingdom. Egypt

Although they were divided, the former Greek empire of diverse people were united by the Greek language and Greek civilization.

The Kingdoms of the North and South

Prophetic Footprints The Greek empire was divided in four. Dominant Northern and Southern kingdom. An agreement by marriage between a woman from the south and the northern king. This would fail.
Rulers of the Greek Empire (Diadochi)
Egypt, Palestine			Syria, Babylon, Persia
King of the South		Year	King of the North	Year
Ptolemy 1 Soter		323-285	Laomedon	319-314
			Antipater, Antigonus	319 301
			Seleucus 1 Nicator	312
Ptolemy II Philadelphus		282-246	Antiochus 1 Soter	280
			Antiochus II Theos	261
Ptolemy III Euergetes		246-222	Seleucus II Callinicus	246
Ptolemy IV Philopator		222	Seleucus III Soter	226
Ptolemy V Epiphanes		205	Antiochus III, the Great	223
Cleopatra 1 Syra		180-178	Seleucus V Philopator	187
Ptolemy VI Philometor		180-146	Antiochus IV Epiphanes	175
Cleopatra II		170	Antiochus V Eupator	164
			Demetrius 1 Soter	162
			Alexander Balas	150
Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator		145-144	Antiochus VI	145
			Demetrius II Nicator	146-139 129-125
Ptolemy VIII Physcon		145-116	Trypho	142
Cleopatra III		116-101	Antiochus VII Sidetes	138
Ptolemy IX Soter II (Lathyrus)		116-107 88-80	Antiochus VIII Grypus	125
			Antiochus IX Cyzicenus	116
Ptolemy X Alexander		107-88	Antiochus X Eusebes	94
Ptolemy XI Alexander II		80	Demetrius III Eucerus	92-87
Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos Auletes		80-58, 55-51	Philip 1 Philadelphus	92-83
			Cleopatra Selene	88-69
Berenice IV		58-55	Tigranes II of Armenia	83-69
Cleopatra VII Thea (51-30BC)	Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator	51-47	Antiochus XIII Asiaticus	88-64
			Philip II Philoromaeus	66-53
	Ptolemy XIV Theos Philopator II	47-44
	Ptolemy XV Caesarion	44-30
	Cleopatra VII	51-30BC
Augustus Caesar		30-14AD	Pompey	63-48
Battle of Actium (31 BC). Augustus Caesar defeats Cleopatra and Mark Anthony			Pompey (63 BC). Conquered Judaea and Syria

The strongest kingdoms were Egypt in the South, ruled by Ptolemy I Soter and Syria, in the North, ruled by Seleucus I Nicator. In 316, Seleucus I Nicator was driven from Babylonia by Antigonus. He then placed himself under the leadership of Ptolemy and together they defeated Demetrius (son of Antigonus) in 312 B.C. The Seleucid empire grew to be bigger and stronger than the Egyptian. By 280 it extended from Greece to India. Here is some history related to prophecy.

• Laodice: A woman scorned. 35 years after the death of Seleucus I, a crisis developed. To make peace between the two kingdoms, Antiochus II Theos (261-246 B.C.) grandson of Seleucus I married Berenice daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus. He disposed of his former wife (and sister) Laodice and barred her children from succession to the throne.
• Laodice takes action. Antiochus II died suddenly. He was poisoned by Laodice. She also killed Berenice and her son by Antiochus. Many of Berenice's ladies in waiting also died. Then Seleucus II Callinicus (246-226 B.C.), son of Antiochus II and Laodice became the king.
• Egypt: A Brother's Revenge. Ptolemy III Euergetes, son of Ptolemy II and brother of Berenice, succeed his father in 246 B.C. He invaded Syria in revenge for this sister's murder. He was victorious against Seleucus II. He reached as far as Mesopotamia and maybe as far as Bactria. He also retrieved sacred images taken from Egypt by the Persians and restored them to the Egyptian temples. He brought back great wealth from Syria. He also took Southern Syria and Palestine.
  
  After Ptolemy III returned to Egypt, Seleucus went against the country to retrieve his riches and his prestige, but he returned to Syria defeated and empty handed in 240 B.C.
• A Failed Counter Attack. The two sons of Seleucus II, Seleucus III and then Antiochus III the great (219) rallied a campaign to take back Palestine and Southern Syria from Ptolemy IV Philopator (222-204 B.C.). Ptolemy IV met Antiochus III near the Palestine and Egyptian border. In the Battle of Raphia (217 B.C.) Antiochus was defeated. So he turned his energies into recovering the eastern territories as far as India.
• A Second Counter Attack. 16 years passed (217-201 BC) before Antiochus launched a more successful second attack in the south. The fenced cities of Gaza and Sidon fell in 201 BC.
• Antiochus IV Epiphenes. He ruled from 175-164 B.C. He caused a crisis among the Jews in his policy to Hellenize them by forcing them to abandon their religion and culture for the Greek language, culture and religion.
  » The Maccabean Revolt.

  The Hasmonean Dynasty
  Jerusalem Occupied (164 BC)
  Jonathan (161-143)
  Simon (142-135)
  John Hyrcanus 1 (135-105)
  Aristobulus 1 (104-103)
  Alexander Jannaeus (103-76)
  Salome Alexandra (76-67)
  Aristobulus 2 (67-63 BC)
  Pompey Captures Jerusalem (63 BC)
  Hyrcanus 2 (63-40)
  Antigonus (40-37)
  The House of Herod (67 BC-100 AD)

  The Greeks (the Seleucid dynasty) tried to impose Greek culture and universal religion on the conquered lands. The Hellenistic Jews requested the help of the Seleucid empire. They wanted to force their new Greek beliefs and practices on the pious Jews.
  
  » Abomination in the Temple. The temple in Jerusalem was dedicated to Zeus. Antiochus stripped the sanctuary of all its treasures, killed thousands, plundered Jerusalem, exiled many as slaves. The Jews were forced to erect pagan altars, to offer swine's flesh on the altars and to surrender every copy of their scriptures to be burned. Antiochus offered swines's flesh on the temple altar and suspended all Jewish sacrifices. Eventually the Macabbeans revolted and drove him out of Judea and returned to their religion.
  In 167 B.C. a priest named Matthias and his sons (John, Simon, Judas, Eleazer, and Jonathan) revolted against this attack on their religion. and became known as the Maccabeans which means hammer in the Jewish language.
  The priest Matthias killed the officers of the king and the Jews who compromised with the requests of the Seleucids to defile the temple and the altar. He fled to the hills shouting "Let everyone who is zealous for the Law and who stands by the covenant follow me!" (I Maccabees 2:27). They organized into a military group and raided towns, killing all who participated in this false worship. At his death in 166 B.C. his son Judas led the rebel forces. He finally liberated Jerusalem on December 25, 165 B.C. Judas died in 160 B.C.
  The Maccabeans later formed the Hasmonean dynasty and became kings and priests despite the fact that they were not of the proper line to hold these offices. The group who participated in the revolt became the Pharisees afterwards. As a result of the success of this revolt, the Jews were able to live under their own civil laws. This lasted until 66 A.D. when the Romans invaded Palestine and expelled the Jews from that area. They later made an alliance with the Romans in 161 B.C. and enjoyed independence until 63 B.C. when the Romans took over.
• An Agreement with Rome. In 161 B.C. the Jews made an agreement with Rome to break the control of the Greek empire.

Rulers of Egypt
King	Year	Dynasty
Early Dynastic	3050-2686	1-2
Old Kingdom	2650-2184	3-6
First Intermediate	2150-2060	7-10
Middle Kingdom	2055-1759	11-12
Amenemhet 1	1991-1962	12th (Hebrew Slaves)
Senusret 1 (Senwosret 1)	1956-1911
Amenemhet II	1911-1877
Senusret II	1877-1870
Senusret III	1836-1817
Amenemhet III	1817-1772
Amenemhet IV	1772-1763
Sobekneferu	1763-1759
Second Intermediate	1783-1539	13-17 (Hyksos)
New Kingdom	1539-1069	18-20
Ahmose	1539-1514	18th (Exodus)
Amenhotep I	1514-1493
Thutmose I	1493-1481
Thutmose II	1491-1479
Hatshepsut	1473-1458
Thutmose III	1504-1450
Amenhotep II	1427-1392
Thutmose IV	1419-1386
Amenhotep III	1382-1344
Amenhotep IV	1350-1334
Smenkhkare	1336-1334
Tutankhamun	1334-1325
Ay	1325-1321
Horemheb	1323-1295
Ramesses I	1295-1294	19th (1295-1187)
Seti I	1394-1279
Ramesses II	1279-1213
Merenptah	1213-1203
Third Intermediate	1070-715	21-24
Shoshenq I	945-924	22nd
Osorkon I	924-909
Takelot	909--?
Shoshenq II	?--883
Osorkon II	883-855
Takelot II	860-835
Shoshenq III	835-783
Pami	783-773
Shoshenq IV	773-735
Osorkon IV	735-712
Pedubaste I	828-803	23rd
Osorkon IV	777-749
Peftjauwybast	740-725
Shepsesre Tefnakht I	725-720	24th
Wahkare Bakenranef	720-715
Late Kingdom	715-343	25-30
Piye	747-716	25th Late Kingdom
Shebaka	712-698
Shebitku	698-690
Taharqa	690-664
Tantamani	664-657
Psammetichus I (Psam-tik)	664-610	26th
Nekau (Necho) II	610-595
Psammetichus II	595-589
Apries	589-570
Amasis	570-526
Psammetichus III	526-525
Cambyses II	538-522	27th (Persians)
Darius I	521-486
Xerxes I	486-466
Artaxerxes I	465-424
Darius II	424-404
Amyrtaios	404-399	28th
Nepherites I	399-393	29th
Psammuthis	393
Hakoris	393-380
Nepherites II	380
Nectanebo I	380-362	30th
Teos	365-360
Nectanebo II	360-343
The 30th Dynasty was the last of the Egyptian born Pharaohs. These kings affected Israel.
Second Persian	343-332	31
Macedonian	332-323	Greco Roman Period (332 BC-395 AD)
Ptolemaic Dynasty	323-30
Roman Emperors	30 BC - 324 AD
Byzantine Christian	306-634
Abbasid ... Fatimid ... Ayubbide Mamlukes	634-1516	Islamic Period (750-1517)
Ottoman Rulers	1517-1796
Napoleon Invaded

Prophecy of Egypt's Future
Thus says the Lord God: at the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the peoples whither they were scattered . . . and will cause them to return to the land of Pathros [in upper Egypt, the original seat of Egyptian power], into the land of their birth; and they shall be there a base kingdom (RSV, a lowly kingdom). It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations: and I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations . . . Thus says the Lord God: I will also destroy the idols and will cause the images to cease out of Noph (Memphis); and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt ... (Ezekiel 29:13-15; 30:13).

Egypt as a kingdom was not to be destroyed. It was to survive, but with greatly reduced power - "a lowly kingdom", never presuming to exert power over the surrounding nations any more. It would also cease to have a monarchy. This probably was fulfilled when the Egyptians were removed from the throne and replaced by the Greeks with the Ptolemaic dynasty. Their dynasty would fall in the battle of Actium in 31 B.C. It has remained a lowly kingdom for over 2500 years. It will never regain its former glory.

1. Attacked by the Babylonians
2. Attacked by the Medes and Persians
3. Attacked by the Greeks and its Egyptian kings were replaced with Greek kings (the Dynasty of Ptolemy). Now, there is no Egyptian monarchy from any dynasty.
4. Attacked by the Romans in the battle of Actium in 31 B.C. and has essentially lost its former glory ever since.
5. Napoleon invaded Egypt and took the treasures of Egypt to France.
6. British rule in the 19th century
7. Currently independent but is an impoverished nation.

Prophecy of the Future of Greece
Greece would exist until the end of time, but it would not be a significant empire anymore.

See Map of the Greek Empire.
See Map of four divisions of Greece after the death of Alexander

Rome - Pagan
In 197 B.C. when Carthage was no longer a rival, Rome defeated Macedonia and set up the Greek states under her own protection. Rome was dominant in the West and she was now pointing towards the nations of the east and the old Greek empire.

• North. In 190 B.C. Antiochus III was defeated and the Seleucid territory as far east as the Taurus Mountains was theirs.
• West. In 168 B.C. Macedonia was defeated and their kings removed in the battle of Pydna. He forbid the invasion of Egypt by Antiochhus IV, exhibiting its strong influence.
• East. By 63 B.C. the kings of the Seleucid empire in Syria were removed.
• South. By 30 B.C. the Egyptian kings were removed.

Conquering the three remaining divisions of the old Greek empire was a process. By 168 B.C. only one was conquered but the other two could not make a move. By 30 B.C. all three were formally conquered.

Rome was cruel. Sometimes whole cities were destroyed. Corinth was destroyed in 146 B.C. People who were not destroyed or subjugated were used as slaves or sold into slavery.

In 63 B.C., Pompey invaded Judea to settle a dispute between Hyrcanus and Aristobulus were were rival heirs to the throne of Judea. 12,000 Jews were killed in the process, the Holy of Holies was desecrated and the Jews had to pay taxes to the Romans.

The Caesars.

• Gaius Julius Caesar (100BC to 44 BC). Dictator of the Roman republic. Assassinated on the Ides of March on the orders of the senate by his closest friend Marcus Brutus. When Ptolemy XI Auletes died in 51 B.C. he placed his two children Cleopatra and Ptolemy XII under the guardianship of Rome. Three years later, Cleopatra became the mistress of Julius Caesar who had invaded Egypt. He was assassinated in 44 B.C. in Rome by Brutus.
• Cleopatra and Mark Anthony. The daughter of Ptolemy XI who was married to her younger brother Ptolemy XII. She revolted against him with the aid of Julius Caesar and obtained the kingdom. After Ptolemy XII died she married another brother Ptolemy XIII but remained the mistress of Caesar. She later had a son by Julius Caesar named Caesarion (who would become Ptolemy XIV).
  
  After Caesar was assassinated, she went back to Egypt and turned to Mark Anthony the rival of Caesar's heir Octavian (Augustus Caesar). Mark Anthony was married to Octavia (the sister of Augustus) when he abandoned her for Cleopatra. They were married in 36 B.C. Together they combined forces against Augustus but were defeated in the Battle of Actium (31 B.C.) when Cleopatra withdrew with her 60 ships. Anthony was forced to flee with her and he committed suicide the following year. Cleopatra also committed suicide when she could not charm Augustus. With the death of Cleopatra, the dynasty of the Ptolemys ended and Egypt became a province of Rome.
  » The Triumvirate (Marc Anthony, Lepidus, Octavian). They ruled (44-31 BC) Civil war between Marc Anthony and Octavian occurred in this time.

  Prophetic Footprints Brutal kingdom Messiah born during its reign Divided into ten Gives power to a religious power
  Roman Conquest of Greece
  Year	Territory	Conquerer
  212 BC	Syracuse	Claudius Marcellus
  168 BC	Macedonia	Aemilius Paulus
  168 BC	Epirus	Anicius Gallus
  133 BC	Pergamon	Attalus III wills the kingdom to Rome
  86 BC	Athens	Sulla
  63 BC	Syria	Pompey
  30 BC	Egypt	Octavian
  Rulers of Rome (Caesars) King Year Dynasty Julius Caesar, Pompey, Crassus 60-48 First Triumvir Julius Caesar 47-44 Dictator Octavian (Augustus), Marc Anthony, Lepidus 43-27 Second Triumvir Augustus (Octavian) 27 BC-14 Julio-Caludian Tiberius 14 AD Caligula (Gaius) 37 Claudius 41 Nero 54 Galba 69 Year of 4 Emperors Otho 69 Vitellius 69 Vespasian 69 Titus 79 Flavian Domitian 81-96 Nerva 96-98 ? Trajan 98-117 Hadrian 117-138
  Roman Persecutions (67-313 A.D.)
  # Year Emperor 1 67 Nero 2 81 Domitian 3 108 Trajan 4 162 Marcus Aurelius Antoninus 5 192 Severus 6 235 Maximus 7 249 Decius 8 257 Valerian 9 274 Aurelian 10 303-313 Diocletian

• Augustus Caesar - A Raiser of Taxes (Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus). The first emperor, He reigned from 23 September 63 B.C. to 19 August 14 A.D. Grandnephew of Julius Caesar and the brother-in-law of Marc Anthony, born Caius Octavius (Octavian), he was made heir without his knowledge. Augustus was a title of honor granted in 27 B.C. by the senate.
  » Pax Romana ("Peace of Rome"). After the naval victory at Actium in 31 B.C. he controlled all of the Roman territories. His rule began a long period of 200 years of Roman peace called the "Pax Romana" when roads, a postal service, and police force were established. He enacted many reforms in Rome and in the provinces, he built Roman Roads and beautified Rome. He raised taxes throughout all the provinces to pay for these civil works projects. He was succeeded by his stepson Tiberius when he died peacefully in 14 A.D.
  » Co-Emperors. He became ill with uncontrollable diaharrea and died in his bed. In the year before his death he made Tiberius co-emperor with him.
  » An Heir. He had only one daughter, Julia, by his first wife. She had three sons. Gaius and Lucius, the two oldest died and a third (Agrippa Postumus) was exiled because of his violence and was executed by Tiberius. In 4AD, he reluctantly adopted his 44 year old stepson Tiberius and made him the heir. Tiberius was the son of his third wife, Livia. Because His death might trigger civil war again, He made Tiberius his coemperor in 13 AD to signify his choice for a successor since he had no blood heirs and this action set a precedent.
• Tiberius Caesar (13/14 A.D. - 37 A.D.) He ruled from 13/14 AD to 16 March 37 A.D. including a one year co-reign with Augustus. He was smothered to death with a pillow while dying from a terminal illness. In A.D. 14 he succeeded Augustus peacefully as emperor and continued his policies. It is believed that his mother poisoned Augustus Caesar so that he would get the throne. It was also thought that he had an affair with his mother and later had her murdered.
  He led many successful campaigns in Germany and the East near Armenia and Parthia. He was not loved, possibly because he was a pedophile. He broke the legs of the young children who resisted him. At his death, it is said that his head was cut off and thrown into the Tiber river.
  
  During his reign and under the order of his procurator of Judea (Pontius Pilate) Jesus Christ was crucified.
• Caligula (Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus). Reigned 37 to 24 January 41 A.D. He was assassinated.
• Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus). Reigned from 41 to 13 October 54 A.D. He died by poisoned mushrooms given by his wife who was Nero's mother. She had convinced him to name her son from a previous marriage as the heir, instead of his own son.
• Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. Reigned 54 to 9 June 68 A.D. He set Rome on fire in 64 AD. and blamed it on the Christians and confiscated one third of the burned out city as his own property. He martyred many Christians including Peter and Paul. The senate declared him an enemy of the state and pursued him to kill him. But he cut his own throat and committed suicide. His last words were, "What an artist dies in me". A power struggle erupted among the generals because there was no heir.
• Vespasian. There were four emperors in 69 AD. (Galba, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian who reigned 69-79 A.D.) He was responsible for the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD. Completed in 80 AD, in eight years, he built the Flavian ampitheatre (Coliseum) after draining the private, man-made lake built by Nero and financed with the treasures taken from the burned out Jewish temple and with the labor of Jewish slaves.

Governors.

• Quintilius Varus (7 - 4 BC). He was governor of Syria from about 7 to about 4 B.C. and incompetent.
• Quirinius He was probably governor of Syria on two separate occasions. Once during the military action against the Homonadensians between 12 and 2 B.C., and about 6-7 A.D.
  The Romans conducted a census every 14 years and they took several years to complete.

One third of the Roman citizens were slaves.

The Kings and Priests of Israel During the Time of Jesus Christ
Born in Bethlehem, Judea about 4 B.C. while the Jews were under Roman occupation. He was born around the time Augustus Ceasar issued taxes and baptized in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar 29 A.D. These are the rulers of Palestine at the time of Christ.

Julius Caesar			27 BC	Augustus Caesar			13 AD	Augustus and Tiberius	14 AD	Tiberius Caesar			37 AD	Caligula	41 AD	Claudius
Antipater	37 BC	Herod the Great			1 BC	Herod Antipas					39 AD	Herod Agrippa 1			44 AD	Herod Agrippa 2
4 BC 30 Years 27 AD 3.5 Years 31 AD Birth 33 Years (Jesus Christ) Death											The Disciples Ministered
6 AD Annas --- 18 AD Caiaphas 36 AD												The High Priests

Herod.

Roman Emperors	The House of Herod
	Judea		Idumea	Galilee
Julius Caesar (47-44)	Herod Antipater II (67-43 BC)
	Phasael (47-40)
Augustus (Octavian) (27BC - 14AD)		Herod 1 the Great (39-4 BC)
		Herod Archelaus (4 BC-6AD)	Herod Philip (4 BC-37 AD)	Herod 2 Antipas (4 BC-39 AD)
		Coponius (6-9)
		Ambivulus (9-12)
		Annius Rufus (12-15)
Tiberius (14-37AD)		Valerius Gratus (15-26)
		Pontius Pilate (26-36)
Caligula (37-41)	Marcellus (Marulus) (37)
	Herennius Capito (37-41)
	Herod Agrippa 1 (37-44)
Claudius (41-54)	Cuspius Fadus (44-46)
	Tiberius Alexander (46-48)
	Ventidius Cumanus (48-52)
Nero (54-68)	Antonius Felix (52-60)			Herod Agrippa II (50?-100)
	Porcius Festus (60-62)
	Clodius Albinus (62-64)
	Gessius Florus (64-66)
Vespasian (69-79)	First Jewish Revolt (66-73)
Titus (79-81)	Mount Vesuvius Eruption
Hadrian (117-138)	Bar Kochba Jewish Revolt (132-135)
Roman Procurators: Procurators of Judaea (6-41). Procurators of Palestine (44-66)

The Herods were the Jewish ruling dynasty that descended from the Maccabees. After the Roman occupation of Palestine in 63BC, they ruled at the pleasure of Rome.

• Antipater. Ruled (55BC - 43BC). Ruler of Palestine under Julius Caesar. His empire went to his four sons at his death.
• Herod the Great. Ruled (37BC to 1BC). He died during the spring between 4BC and 1BC at the time of a lunar eclipse. There are three possible lunar eclipses during that period. March 23, 5BC. March 13, 4BC and January 10, 1BC. He was an Idumean (descendant of Esau) who inherited Galilee from his father. Appointed tetrarch of Judea by Marc Anthony and king of Judea by the senate. He remodeled the temple between 37 and 4 B.C. He was married ten times. He persecuted the child Christ. He had three sons Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Philip.
  • Archelaus. Ruled Judea, Samaria and Idumaea for 10 years until the Romans removed him.
  • Antipas. Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea from 4 BC to 39 AD. He was the one who tried Jesus and had John the Baptist beheaded.
    » Herodias. She was a cousin who married and divorced an uncle living in Rome, then married Philip, and then divorced Philip to marry Antipas.
  • Philip. Tetrarch of Iturea, Trachonitis, Gaulanitis, Batanea and Auranitis from 4 BC to 34 AD.
  The historian Josephus states that Herod the Great ruled just over 34 years after he captured Jerusalem in September and for 37 years after the Romans made him king. He died in the winter after a lunar eclipse, after Yom Kippur and before Passover. According to Josephus:

  Reign of Herod. At this time it was that the fight happened at Actium, between Octavius Caesar and Anthony in the seventh year of the reign of Herod; and then it was also that there was an earthquake in Judea, such a one as had not happened at any other time ... Page 320, Book XV, Chapter V, Section 2.

  The battle of Actium was September 2, 31 B.C. so Herod's first year must have been 37 BC.

  Kings of Judah and Israel
  Year	Judah	Year	Israel
  1098	Saul (32)
  1066	David (40)
  1026	Solomon (40)
  985	Rehoboam (17)	985	Jeroboam (22)
  967	Abijam (Abijah) (3)	967
  964	Asa (41)	962	Nadab (2)
  961		961	Baasha (24)
  939		939	Elah (2)
  938		938	Zimri (7 days)
  938		938	Omri (6) (Tibni/Omri)
  926		926	Ahab (22)
  922	Jehoshaphat (25)	905	Ahaziah (2)
  896	Jehoram (Joram) (8)	902	Jehoram (12)
  888	Ahaziah (1)	890	Jehu (28)
  887	Athaliah (6)	862	Jehoahaz (17)
  881	Joash (Jehoash) (40)	845	Jehoash (16)
  840	Amaziah (29)	829	Jeroboam (41)
  811	Uzziah (Azariah) (52)	-
  758	Jotham (16)	773 773 772 762	Zachariah (6 month) Shallum (1 month) Menahem (10) Pekahiah (2)
  742	Ahaz (16)	759	Pekah (20)
  727	Hezekiah (29)	739	Hoshea (9)
  697	Manasseh (55)	722	Shalmaneser V (Assyrian Captivity) Exiled Israel
  642	Amon (2)	-
  640	Josiah (31)	Egyptian (Pharaoh Neco) Ruled Judah
  609	Jehoahaz (Shallum) (3 months)
  608	Jehoiakin (Eliakim) (11)	Nebuchadnezzar (Babylonian Captivity) Exiled Judah
  597	Jehoiachin (3 months)
  597	Zedekiah (Mattaniah) (11)

  Death of Herod. ... When he had done those things, he died, the fifth day after he had caused Antipater to be slain; having reigned, since he procured Antigonus to be slain, thirty-four years; but since he had been declared king by the Romans, thirty-seven. Book XVII, Chapter VIII, Section 1.

• Herod Agrippa 1 . Called Herod. King of Iturea (37-44AD). King of Judea, Galilee and Perea (41-44). Grandson of Herod the Great, son of Aristobulus. Persecuted the church. Acts 12: 23 said he was eaten by worms after he claimed to be divine. Josephus says the following:

  "did neither rebuke them, nor reject their impious flattery. A severe pain arose in his belly, and began in a most violent manner. And when he was quite worn out by the pain in his belly for five days, he departed this life in the fifty-fourth year of his age, and seventh of his reign."

  On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. The people kept crying out "the voice of a god and not of a man!" And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died. (Acts 12: 21-23)
• Herod Agrippa 2. Ruled (50-100AD). Called Agrippa. Tetrarch of Philippi and Lysanias (Abilene). He is the Herod of Acts 25-26.

The High Priests
High priests were appointed for life by law as the scriptures suggest (Numbers 35: 25, 28). However, in this corrupt era the office of high priest was bought and sold and the priest could easily be deposed by the Roman leaders. Therefore, several men who had served as high priests could coexist as Luke reported (Luke 3: 2). Therefore, at the time of the crucifixion the gospel described two men as high priests, Annas and his son-in-law Caiaphas (John 18: 13). Annas was a Saducee who had five sons, a son-in-law and a grandson as high priest. Josephus comments in the (Jewish Antiquities XX, 9.1):

The High Priests
Priest		Year
Ananelus Appointed by Herod the Great		37-36
Aristobulus III		36
Joshua ben Fabus		30-23
Simon ben Boethus		22-5
Mattathias ben Theophilus		5-4
Joazar ben Boethus		4 BC
Eleazar ben Boethus Appointed by Herod Archelaus		4-1 B.C.
Joshua ben Sie		3 BC-6AD
★ Annas (Ananus ben Seth) Appointed by Quirinius, the imperial governor of Syria		6-15
Ishmael ben Fabus Appointed by Valerius Gratus		15-16
★ Eleazar ben Ananus		16-17
Simon ben Camithus		17-18
★ Joseph Caiaphas		18-36
★ Jonathan ben Ananus Appointed by Vitellius		36-37
★ Theophilus ben Ananus		37-41, 44
Simon Kantheras ben Boethus Appointed by Herod Agrippa 1		41-43
★ Matthias ben Ananus		43-44
Elionaius (Aljoneus) son of Kantheras		43-44
Josephus ben Camydus (Kami) Appointed by Herod of Chalcis		44-46
Ananias ben Nebedeus		46-52
Ishmael ben Fabus (Phiabi) Appointed by Herod Agrippa II		56-62
Joseph Cabi ben Simon		62-63
★ Ananus ben Ananus		63
Joshua ben Damneus		63
Joshua ben Gamaliel		63-64
☆ Mattathias ben Theophilus		65-66
Phinnias, son of Samuel Appointed by The People		67-70
Temple Destroyed	70 AD
Relatives of Annas. ("ben" means "son of") ★ Son ☆ Grandson ★ Son-in-Law
Josephus Flavius (Joseph ben Matthias), the Jewish historian, was born around 37-39 AD. He was the son of Matthias ben Theophilus, the grandson of Annas.

It is said that the elder Ananus was extremely fortunate. For he'd five sons, all of whom, after he himself had previously enjoyed the office for a very long period, became high priests of God - a thing that had never happened to any other of our high priests.

Roman Persecution
The Romans conducted ten formal persecutions against the Christians and Jews, starting with Nero. When half of Rome was burned in a fire in 64 AD, Nero accused the Christians of starting it and began the first Roman persecution.

The Destruction of the Temple
After the death of Nero, the seventeen year old son of Herod Agrippa was considered too young to ascend the throne, so Jerusalem fell under direct Roman rulers. This caused animosity and civil war and eventually a riot which killed 20,000 Jews.

Trouble broke out in Caesarea between the Jews and the Greeks (who tried to insult the Jews). This led to a siege of the Roman garrison Antonia and the assault on Masada.

The trouble intensified when two massacres occurred on the same day. The Jews in Jerusalem killed some Roman soldiers and the Greeks massacred 20,000 Jews in Caesarea. This caused all Jews to resort to retaliation and armed conflict. Many Roman soldiers were killed as they tried to maintain order. Judea was now in rebellion against Rome.

Meanwhile, in Jerusalem and other cities, the country was plagued by civil wars against violent zealots who murdered and openly robbed homes and tried to maintain hostilities. The Romans offered no help because they hated the Jews. A leader of the Zealots, Phanias (Phinnias), managed to remove the high priest and set himself up in that office, increasing the civil war and causing the death of 85,000 people.

Nero died around this time and was succeeded by Vespasian who waited a year hoping that the Jews in Jerusalem would weary themselves with their internal struggles while he subdued rebellion in smaller cities. He then sent Titus to subdue Jerusalem.

Cestius. In 66 AD, before the final siege, Cestius came against the city and withdrew for some unknown reason. Some sources say that he was defeated by the Jews on August 8. Many Christians took that as a sign to flee the city. Then the army returned with Titus in 70 AD to beseige the city for 143 days.

Titus. He would become the next emperor from 79-81. His reign was filled with tragedy and national disasters which caused people to speculate that his reign was cursed because he destroyed the temple in Jesusalem.

The Siege and Fall of Jerusalem. The story continues with a direct account by Josephus.

Now, as Titus was on his march he chose out 600 select horsemen, and went to take a view of the city, when suddenly an immense multitude burst forth from the gate over against the monuments of Queen Helena and intercepted him and a few others. He had on neither helmet nor breastplate, yet though many darts were hurled at him, all missed him, as if by some purpose of Providence and, charging through the midst of his foes, he escaped unhurt. Part of the army now advanced to Scopos, within a mile of the city, while another occupied a station at the foot of the Mount of Olives.

Seeing this gathering of the Roman forces, the factions within Jerusalem for the first time felt the necessity for concord, as Eleazar from the summit of the Temple, John from the porticoes of the outer court, and Simon from the heights of Sion watched the Roman camps forming thus so near the walls. Making terms with each other, they agreed to make an attack at the same moment. Their followers, rushing suddenly forth along the valley of Jehoshaphat, fell on the 10th legion, encamped at the foot of the Mount of Olives, and working there unarmed at the entrenchments. The soldiers fell back, many being killed. Witnessing their peril, Titus, with picked troops, fell on the flank of the Jews and drove them into the city with great loss.

The Roman commander now carefully pushed forward his approaches, and the army took up a position all along the northern and the western walls, the footmen being drawn up in seven lines, with the horsemen in three lines behind, and the archers between.

Map of Jerusalem

Jerusalem was fortified by three walls. These were not one within the other, for each defended one of the quarters into which the city was divided. The first, or outermost, encompassed Bezetha, the next protected the citadel of the Antonia and the northern front of the Temple, and the third, or old, and innermost wall was that of Sion. Many towers, 35 feet high and 35 feet broad, each surmounted with lofty chambers and with great tanks for rain water, guarded the whole circuit of the walls, 90 being in the first wall, 14 in the second, and 60 in the third. The whole circuit of the city was about 33 stadia (four miles). From their penthouses of wicker the Romans, with great toil day and night, discharged arrows and stones, which slew many of the citizens.

At three different places the battering rams began their thundering work, and at length a corner tower came down, yet the walls stood firm, for there was no breach. Suddenly the besieged sallied forth and set fire to the engines. Titus came up with his horsemen and slew twelve Jews with his own hands.

The Jews now retreated to the second wall, abandoning the defense of Bezetha, which the Romans entered. Titus instantly ordered the second wall to be attacked, and for five days the conflict raged more fiercely than ever. The Jews were entirely reckless of their own lives, sacrificing themselves readily if they could kill their foes. On the fifth day they retreated from the second wall, and Titus entered that part of the lower city which was within it with 1,000 picked men.

But, being desirous of winning the people, he ordered that no houses should be set on fire and no massacres should be committed. The seditious, however, slew everyone who spoke of peace, and furiously assailed the Romans. Some fought from the walls, others from the houses, and such confusion prevailed that the Romans retired; then the Jews, elated, manned the breach, making a wall of their own bodies.

Thus the fight continued for three days, till Titus a second time entered the wall. He threw down all the northern part and strongly garrisoned the towers of the south. The strong heights of Sion, the citadel of the Antonia, and the fortified temple still held out. Titus, eager to save so magnificent a place, resolved to refrain for a few days from the attack, in order that the minds of the besieged might be affected by their woes, and that the slow results of famine might operate. He reviewed his army in full armor, and they received their pay in view of the city, the battlements being thronged by spectators during this splendid defiling, who looked on in terror and dismay.

Famine and Mass Crucifixions. The famine increased, and the misery of the weaker was aggravated by seeing the stronger obtaining food. All natural affection was extinguished, husbands and wives, parents and children snatching the last morsel from each other. Many wretched men were caught by the Romans prowling in the ravines by night to pick up food and these were scourged, tortured and crucified. This was done to terrify the rest, and it went on till there was not wood enough for crosses.

Sanhedrin Massacred. Terrible crimes were committed in the city. Matthias, the aged high priest who was deposed in 66 AD, was accused of holding communication with the enemy. Three of his sons were killed in his presence, and he was executed in sight of the Romans, together with sixteen other members of the sanhedrin.

Cannibalism. The famine grew so woeful that a woman devoured the body of her own child. At length, after fierce fighting, the Antonia was scaled, and Titus ordered its demolition.

Destruction of the Temple, August 10. Titus now promised that the temple should be spared if the defenders would come forth and fight in any other place, but John and the Zealots refused to surrender it. For several days the outer cloisters and outer court were attacked with rams, but the immense and compact stones resisted the blows. As many soldiers were slain in seeking to storm the cloisters, Titus ordered the gates to be set on fire. Through that night and the next day the flames raged through the cloisters. Then, in order to save the temple itself, he ordered the fire to be quenched.
Fire. On the tenth of August, the same day of the year on which Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple built by Solomon, the cry was heard that the temple was on fire. The Jews, with cries of grief and rage, grasped their swords and rushed to take revenge on their enemies or perish in the ruins.

The slaughter was continued while the fire raged. Soon no part was left but a small portion of the outer cloisters, where 6,000 people had taken refuge, led by a false prophet who had there promised that God would deliver His people in His Temple. The soldiers set the building on fire and all perished. Titus next spent eighteen days in preparations for the attack on the upper city, which was then speedily captured. By this time the Romans did not want to show any mercy. It was night that put an end to the carnage. During the whole of this siege of Jerusalem, 1,100,000 were slain, and 97,000 taken as prisoners.

The Bar Kokaba Revolt (132-135)
A second Jewish revolt occurred during the years 132 to 135 A.D and was led by Bar Kokaba (Cocheba). He proclaimed himself to be the Messiah and it was quickly affirmed by Rabbi Akida. Christianity was still largely seen as a sect of Judaism at this time. These events would cause a rift between Christianity and its roots.

Jewish Christians had to choose between Christ or Bar Kokaba as the Messiah. If they chose Bar Kokaba they would have to support the revolt. They chose not to support the revolt and were seen as traitors. It caused permanent hostilities between the Jewish and Christian communities.
The Jews were barred from Palestine for this revolt.
Jewish calendar reform occurred during this period and the Jewish year was established.

Rebuilding the Temple
The Bar Kokaba revolt happened because emperor Hadrian supported a plan to rebuild the temple and dedicate it to the Pagan God Jupiter. The Jews revolted.
Emperor Constantine also tried to rebuild between 313-324 it but was unsuccessful. He built Christian churches instead. Finally, in 363 emperor Julian tried to rebuild it. For this project, the Jews had to remove the remaining foundation stones. Now, there were no stones left of the original temple. Only parts of a wall that surrounded the complex remained. This still exists as the wailing wall. After the demolition, and before, the rebuilding could begin a series of natural disasters and unusual events prevented the efforts. An earthquake, followed by many explosions and balls of fire from the ground stopped the project.
Finally, the Muslims built the Dome of the Rock mosque in 691 and the Al-Aksa mosque in 715 on the temple mount.

The Division and Decline of Pagan Rome

Tribe		Leader	History
1	Visigoths	Alaric	Spain
2	Franks	Clovis	France. Gained control of the empire for the Papacy
3	Allemani	Leuthari	Germany
4	Anglo-Saxon	Many	England
5	Lombards	Cassiodorus	Italy
6	Suevi	Hermeric	Portugal
7	Burgundians	Gundobad	Switzerland
8	Heruli	Odoacer	Germanic tribe from Sweden. Assimilated
9	Vandals	Gaiseric	German tribe moved to North Africa, controlled western Mediterranean then disappeared in 534 after they were overthrown by the Romans
10	Ostrogoths	Theodoric	German tribe, conquered by the Romans
Tribe		Origin	History
A	Bastarnae	German	Disappeared by the second century
	Marcomanni	German	Disappeared after the fourth century
	Slavs	Slav	From the North Carpathian region, settled in the peninsula
	Costoboci	Slav	Disappeared by 3 AD
	Carpi	Slav	Disappeared by 273
	Bulgars	Turks, Huns	Emerged in seventh century
	Huns	Asiatic	Disappeared by the fifth century
	Roxolani	Iranian	Disappeared by 68 AD
	Sarmatians	Iranian	Defeated by the Goths and Huns in the third and fourth centuries
B	Goths	German	Adopted Christianity in the fourth century. Split into the Visigoths and Ostrogoths and moved to Italy by 488
C	Basques	Unknown	From northern Spain
D	Quadi	German	Disappeared with the Vandals
E	Gepidae	German	Defeated by the Huns and Avars and disappeared by 567
	Cumans	Turkish	Appeared around the twelfth century and later assimilated into the population
	Tartars	Turkish	Appeared around the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in the region of Bulgaria and Romania.
	Pechenegs	Unknown	Region of the Volga and Ural rivers. Assimilated by the twelfth century
	Avars	Turkish	Settled in the Ukraine by the sixth century. Defeated by the Franks in 827
F	Alani	Iranian	Disappeared by the fifth century and settled in the northern Persian region. They had migrated to western Rome by 451
	Berber	Unknown	From North Africa. Not part of the empire.
	Celts (Gauls)	Indo-European	Conquered by 52 B.C. assimilated by the native populations
	Celts	Indo-Aryan	(Celts, Irish, Scots, Picts, Britons, Jutes) Part of the future British empire, but not part of the Roman empire

Rome broke up into ten dominant groups after constant invasion from the Barbarian hordes from the north and east. As a result, Rome had to divide the empire into two halves in an attempt to survive.

Barbarian Invasion of Western Rome
By the end of its dominance, Western Rome was constantly invaded by the Mongol and Germanic tribes (Barbarians). Eventually, the divisions were roughly according to ten nations: Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Suevi, Allemanni, Anglo-Saxons, Heruli, Lombards and Burgundians.

• Vandal Invasion from the Sea. The Vandals were a Germanic tribe of Jutland (now in Denmark) who migrated to the valley of the Oder river in the fifth century. Their most famous leader, Gaiseric, was the crippled son of a slave. They invaded Spain (411), North Africa (429) and Rome. After conquering North Africa, he went on to a career of piracy on the Mediterranean sea for 35 years.
  » The Burning of Rome (455 A.D.) He built a great fleet which eventually invaded and burned Rome to the ground in two weeks during the year 455 A.D. Gaiseric was met by Pope Leo on June 2, 455. In this meeting he was asked not to murder or destroy by fire, but to be satisfied with pillaging. (Catholic Encyclopedia)
• Visigoth Invasion (396-410). Rome was sacked by Alaric, the leader of the Visigoths, in 410. He made two notable invasions. The first was the invasion of the eastern empire - Thrace, Macedonia, Attica and Peloponesus. In the second, he attacked the western empire and Rome fell in 410.
  
  » The Burning of Rome (468 A.D.) Alaric was also known for conquering the African portion of the Roman empire in 428-468.
  After the death of Constantine, the empire was divided among his three sons:
  1. Constantinus - Constantinople and the eastern empire
  2. Constantine II - Britain, Gaul and Spain
  3. Constans - Illyricum, Africa and Italy
  It was the division controlled by Constans that was attacked by Alaric. In 468 a fleet of 1113 ships with 100,000 men was attacked and burned in one night. While the Romans slept, Alaric rammed the ships with burning logs. The fire spread quickly between the ships that were anchored close together.
• Invasion of the Huns (451-453). In the middle of the 5th century, the Huns terrorized the West. Their leader, Attila, is still remembered as a fearsome warrior and conqueror. He called himself "the scourge of God". The rivers of Gaul and northern Italy were bloodied by the destruction that he caused and by the wars made against him. He ultimately made peace with Pope Leo I, and Rome was spared. The Huns were ultimately defeated and their Empire was dissolved after Attila's sudden death.
• Heruli Invasion of Western Rome. Until the year 476, Rome had managed to resist subjugation. But in that year, when Odoacer, leader of the Heruli, subdued the former capital of the world.
• Ostrogoth Invasion of Western Rome. Later, the Ostrogoths, led by Theodoric, occupied the Italian peninsula and it became the most prominent among the new kingdoms. He would rule from 403-526. The Emperor Justinian would free the Italian peninsula and establish the Bishop of Rome as the ruler in the west.
• The Slavic Migration (493). A mass migration of the Slavs began as the Germanic (Vandals, Visigoths and Ostrogoths) deserted their land to attack the Romans and nomadic Asian tribes (Huns) pushed them out in 370 AD. The first Slavic mass migration was in the year 493 AD and continued until the seventh century. As the Hun empire fell in 453 AD, there was a rush of Slavic migration to the south towards the Black Sea and the mouth of the river Danube in the outer regions of the Byzantine Empire reaching to the Balkans.

Other Barbarians. There were other tribes who appeared before or after this period. Some were absorbed into the ten dominant tribes while others were destroyed. These are the reasons why these are not considered part of the final ten powers of the western Roman empire.

1. Before Rome. Some tribes disappeared before the division of Rome in 476 A.D. or were defeated by the Romans or others. (Celts (Gauls), Costoboci, Roxolani, Bastarnae, Carpi, Sarmatians, Marcomanni, Huns, Alani, Slavs)
2. Split. They became part of the empire but split up into multiple tribes. (Goths)
3. Weak Nations. They were located within the borders of the Roman empire but never became powerful enough to be a kingdom. (Basques)
4. Assimilated. They were absorbed by a more dominant tribe and so they lost their identity and any claim to be called a power. (Quadi)
5. After Rome. They appeared or organized themselves long after the papacy was in power, and were not within the borders of the empire. (Avars, Gepidae, Cumans, Tartars, Pechenegs)
6. Outside Rome. Their physical location was not within the borders of the Roman empire and they never conquered any of the empire. (Alani, Berber, Bulgars, Celts)

Rome Removed Political Structure. During this time, Rome decided to abandon Italy and to abolish imperial succession in Rome they also dismantled the rest of the roman political structure:

• Emperor. Removed in 493
• Consul. Removed by Justinian in 541
• Senate. Removed in 552

While eastern Rome eventually fell under the invading Turks and the religion of Islam, the papacy controlled western Rome.

The Rise of Papal Rome

Prophetic Footprints
Ten Divisions Will be ruled by a small power Attempts to unite by marriage will fail Other attempts to unite will fail Will remain divided Will help to setup the last religious power

Under the old Roman empire, the popes had no powers, but when the empire had disintegrated, the church became independent of the states and dominated religious and secular affairs.

In its rise to power in Rome, several important events happened.

• Constantine (Christian Emperor). The fortunes of the church changed with the conversion of emperor Constantine. Christianity was no longer a persecuted church but was the favored religion of the empire.
• New Capital (330 A.D.). Constantinople became the capital of the eastern section of the Roman Empire when Constantine moved the capital of the empire from the city of Rome to Constantinople (Istanbul) to take advantage of the trade routes. He essentially divided the empire into an eastern and western section. The emperor remained in the eastern portion with its new capital was eventually called the Byzantine empire.
  The western empire was left to the bishop of Rome. The Pope was given many gifts including the old capital in Rome and became the head of the western empire. He was given great authority and power and the seat of the old Roman empire. But he could not use his power because of the Barbarian tribes occupying or threatening Rome. This threat would be removed in 538 when the siege of Rome ended and the Ostrogoths fled.
• King Clovis: French Champions (496/497). The Franks were the first of the invaders to convert to Orthodox/Catholic ("no heretical") Christianity under their leader Clovis in 497.
  
  » Arianism Defeated by King Clovis (508)
  Two forms of Christianity had struggled for supremacy in Europe before 508 A.D. The people of Gaul (France) and Germany were united under a Catholic Monarch who recognized the religious authority of Rome in 508 A.D. In this fusion of Roman and German civilizations, Catholicism was put in and Arianiam pushed out. A monopoly of religion was imposed on Europe as a result.
  
  The Visigoth army was routed in 507 A.D. by Clovis.
  By 508, the Franks championed the cause of Catholicism and Clovis defeated the Ostrogoths and vowed to use his power to advance the papacy. In that year he received the title the eldest son of the church.
• Emperor Justinian: Established as Head of Churches by the State (533). Justinian recognized the pope as the head of all holy churches and head the priests of God and later as the corrector of heretics in the East and West.
  » Head by Law (529). Justinian's Imperial Code of Laws officially incorporated his beliefs about the supremacy of the Roman pontiff. Code of Justinian, book 1, title i, stating that the See of Rome is the supreme authority regarding spiritual issues.
• Rivals Eliminated. The state actively promoted the church by law, and by force and eliminated all its rivals.
  » Religious Rivals Suppressed. The government then supressed all rival beliefs. It closed or took over Pagan schools and banned all non-Christian teachings and symbols and actively stopped all other religions.
  » Religious Political Rivals Eliminated. Three barbarian kingdoms occupying or threatening Rome were a threat to the Pope because of their Aryan beliefs. But it was Justinian and his general Belisarius who finally made the empire safe. They defeated three barbarian tribes threatening Rome.
  • Heruli. The Heruli first occupied Rome by defeating the last emperor of the west Romulus Augustus in 476. Under the leadership of Odovacar (Odoacer) was killed when Theodoric (leader of the Ostrogoths invaded in 489. By 493 Odovacar surrendered and was killed.
  • Vandals. 534 Belisarius was sent by Justinian to defeat the Vandals who were under the leadership of Gaiseric (Genseric). They were hostile to Catholicism and posed a threat to the leadership of the pope.
  • Ostrogoths. 534 Belisarius turned his attention to the Ostrogoths in Rome. December 9, 536 Belisarius and 5,000 troops entered Rome and the Ostrogoths left. They were driven from Rome but returned with 50,000 troops on March 2, 537 to lay siege to the city for a year. In 538, Justinian sent another army and the Ostrogoths abandoned the siege in March of that year due to problems with malaria. When they cut off the water supply to the city, they created a breeding ground for mosquitos and inadvertently engineered their own defeat. Their power ended that year. Belisarius continued his campaign against them until 554.
• Power Achieved (538). By now, Rome was free from all Arian domination and the pope was now the undisputed head of the church. The French kingdom was the first orthodox Catholic kingdom, the others eventually followed.
• King Makers (755). The powerful French kings helped to install the papacy in the sixth century. In 755, Pepin III, the Short, defeated the Lombards and gave civil power to Pope Stephen III by giving him their property, the Exarchate of Ravenna, Pentopolis and twenty one cities and castles. Prior to this, the church had absolute religious power and it had civil power through its control of the king. Pepin III was appointed king of the Franks by pope Stephen in a meeting in which Stephen asked for help. Ironically, it was the French who brought down the church during the Napoleonic wars in 1798.

The Holy Roman Empire. With the empire divided into two and the Bishop of Rome the head of the western empire, the church quickly established itself as the power behind all powers. They approved, coronated, threatened and punished kings. They had the power to ask governments to use their armies to execute the desires of the church.

The Visigoths converted to Orthodoxy/Catholicism in 589, but were later destroyed by the Muslims. After some fluctuations in their power, and periods of division, the Franks eventually, but briefly, created a vast empire, which was considered to be the continuation of the Western Roman Empire, comprising most of the then civilized lands of Central and Western Europe (with the exception of a large part of the Iberian peninsula, now belonging to the Muslims).

In the year 800, the Frankish King Charlemagne was crowned Emperor by the Pope, thus becoming a successor to the Roman Emperors of the past, only now it was felt that such a title could only be granted by the Church. Historians traditionally regard this event as the birth of the Holy Roman Empire Under the auspices of the Catholic Franks, the Papal States were created in central Italy, comprising Rome and the areas around her. The Frankish Empire was divided into a French and a German half a few decades after its formation. The Papal States would survive until 1871. In November 1793, all Christian churches in Paris, the center of the Revolution, closed down, and the Christian religion was officially banned.

During its reign, the states were separate powers often times at war with each other. But the church was a unifying force in that it installed and dethroned kings and could call the states at anytime to use its military power to enforce church laws and policy.

The Church under the Papacy

Prophetic Footprints
Religious power Removes three of the ten divisions Lasts 1260 years Persecutes the church Captured Rises to power again Allies with the United States Controls world religion Defeated by God (future)

The reign of the papacy was marked by these events:

1. Power. Helped to power by the French king Clovis and later Justinian.
2. Defeat of three Nations. Three rulers and nations were exterminated (Vandals, Heruli, Ostrogoths) before the church could take over control of Rome.
3. Persecutes. The church persecuted and killed between 50-100 million martyrs as heretics in a series of organized campaigns.
   The Crusades against Muslims and Protestant heretics.
   The Inquisition against Protestant heretics.
4. Captured. Removed from power in 1798 during the Napoleonic wars, when General Berthier imprisoned Pope Pius II and created the Papal States.
5. 1260 Year Reign. The reign would last from 538 with the defeat of the Ostrogoths to 1798 with the imprisonment of Pope Pius.
6. Restoration. Sovereign power was restored after World War II when Italy and the Pope signed the Lateran Treaty and created the Vatican City.

The political and religious decline of the church came in several stages, the most influential was the Reformation.

1. The Invention of Printing. Before this time, only a few copies of the Bible existed, mostly in Latin and in monasteries. Printing made is available in more languages and more widely circulated. Education was followed by unrest.
2. The Protestant Reformation. It caused many to question the doctrines of the church and broke the religious dominance of the church. With new information from the Bible and in reaction to centuries of persecution many broke away from the church.
3. The French Revolution. It changed the political dominance of the church. With new ideas of government, the resulting Napoleonic wars spread the new political ideas. With their hatred of the church, they succeeded in taking away the land and government of the church in Rome.

The church used many tactics to combat the rising tide of independence. They began with force.

Spain and the Inquisition
The nation of Spain is discussed because of the Spanish Inquisition. In 1478 Pope Sixtus IV issued a papal bull for the creation of the Spanish Inquisition, at the request of the Spanish rulers Ferdinand and Isabella. They used this system to unify the nation of Spain which was divided into various groups after Spain was retaken by the Christians in the Crusades.

The king and queen chose Catholicism to unite the nation. They drove out Jews, Muslims and other nonbelievers. In 1483, Tomas de Torquemada became the inquisitor general for most of Spain. He was responsible for establishing the rules of inquisitorial procedure and creating branches of the Inquisition in various cities.

The Spanish Inquisition was officially abolished in 1834.

Jesuits
One of the tasks assigned to the Jesuits at the Council of Trent was to fight the reformation by inquisition, torture and theology.

The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) was founded by Saint Ignatius Loyola in 1534 and was officially approved by Pope Paul III in 1540. Loyola was a devotee of the virgin Mary whom he credited with giving him the spiritual exercises that is practised among the group. They are bound by a vow of obedience to the pope and are governed by a general in Rome who is elected for life. This general is sometimes referred to as the "Black Pope". In this case "black" means hidden or evil activities. He is thought to be the most powerful in the Roman Catholic Church.
Their work mainly centered on foreign missions, education and working with outsiders. As such they became spiritual advisors to kings and taught the sons of leading families. These activities (education and political influence) are two of their primary means of promoting Catholicism.

• Counter-Reformation. The Jesuits were instrumental in combating the reformation. They acted as the theologians at the council of Trent (1545 - 1564) which was convened to deal with the emerging problem of Protestantism. The council rejected the Protestant ideas of righteousness by faith and "sola scriptura" (the Bible only).
• Persecution. The Jesuits have been linked to major involvement in the fight to regain Catholic dominance over the world.
  • The Jesuits became judges in the inquisition in which the vast majority of the 100 - 200 million Protestant martyrs in the dark ages were murdered..
  • On August 24, 1572, Roman Catholics in France, by pre-arranged plan, murdered 70,000 Protestants within two months
  • Political assassinations
  • Stirring up the Thirty years war.
• Jesuit Futurism Theology. Martin Luther and other reformers became convinced that the pope was the antichrist. And he used this message in addition to the doctrine of faith alone to fuel the reformation.
  
  In 1590, the Jesuit scholar Francisco Ribera developed the futurist interpretation of prophecy. He stated that antichrist was a future evil person who would rebuild Jerusalem. He also introduced the "Gap Theory" which stated that when Rome fell, prophecy stopped and no prophecies were being fulfilled in the dark ages. The theories were popularized by Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, another Jesuit.
  
  The theories remained within Catholicism for about 300 years until the Jesuit writings were discovered in England by Dr. Samuel Roffey Maitland, a librarian to the Archbishop of Canterbury. From his writings it would spread by several others.
  1. James H. Todd, a professor of Hebrew at the University of Dublin.
  2. John Henry Newman - a member of the Church of England and a leader of the famous Oxford Movement whose goal was to "absorb the various English denominations and parties” back into the Church of Rome.". He eventually became a Roman Catholic cardinal.
  3. Scottish Presbyterian minister, Edward Irving
  4. John Nelson Darby, The Father of Modern Dispensationalism. He visited the United States and spread futurism here.
  5. Cyrus Ingerson Scofield - incorporated the theory into his reference Bible.
• Expulsion. Because of their political activities, the society was expelled from Asia, America and Europe in 1767 and was suppressed in 1773 by Clement XIV. They continued to survive in Prussia and Russia. They were restored by Pius VII in 1814. In that year the church was still suffering from the loss of power received in the French Revolution. So it probably called on the order of the Jesuits to use their successful tactics in building up the church again.

The Thirty Years War (1618 - 1648)
The Protestant Reformation (1517) and the printing of the Bible in the common language brought religious chaos to Europe. It eventually helped to start the Thirty Years war which was basically a war of religion involving several nations. It eventually became a political war as other Catholic countries (France) became fearful of the growing Spanish power.
The Spanish Hapsburgs joined the Austrians to form the Catholic League. They would be at war with several nations for the next thirty years.

• Bohemian Revolt (1618-1620). By 1618, Bohemia (a province of Austria) became Protestant (Calvinists) and they rejected the Catholic king imposed on them by the Austrian Hapsburg rulers. The Bohemians chose the German Frederick of the Palatine instead of Ferdinand of Styria as their king. The Hapsburgs attempted to eradicate Protestantism and war broke out. After the Spanish joined the war, Bohemia was defeated in the Battle of White Mountain and convinced other Protestant states (in the Treaty of Ulm) to abandon them by giving a promise of safety.
• Germany (1619-1623). The Catholic League combated not only religious threats but other political ideologies in this region and Germany suffered the most in this war.
• Denmark (1624-1629). Christian IV of the Lutheran state of Denmark felt threatened by the victory of the Catholic league and entered the war. He formed an alliance with England and France in the Treaty of Hague. But Denmark was devastated by the war and withdrew in the Peace of Lubeck (1629) and had to give up all claims to the northern German territories (Baltic regions).
  Ferdinand II imposed the Edict of Restitution in 1629 - reestablishing Catholic authority on all church lands. This stirred up more resentment.
• Sweden (1630-1635). With the conquest of the Hapsburgs in the Baltic regions, Sweden entered the war. The Swedish campaign was mostly successful as they slowly won back the German lands. But the death of their leader caused a reversal and France joined the war at this time in the Treaty of Barwalde. Although France was a Catholic state, they were concerned about the growth of their enemy - Spain.
• France and Sweden (1635-1648). With French involvement, the Spanish forces were ultimately defeated.
• The Peace of Westphalia (1648). It did not resolve any religious issues but caused the decentralization of power and the rise of Prussia.