16. A Panorama of World History
Part 1 - Nebuchadnezzer's Dream
Daniel, a young Hebrew removed from his home in Jerusalem and taken to Babylon, stood before the monarch of this great empire (vide Daniel chapter 2). Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, was troubled by a dream that had left a deep impression upon him; and he was desirous of knowing the meaning of that which he had seen in the dream. He had summoned the wise men of his realm to describe what he had seen, and to reveal its significance, but they were not able to do so. Their argument was: "'There is not a man on earth who can tell the king's matter; therefore no king, lord or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. It is a difficult thing that the king requires, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.'" (Daniel 2:10,11) Angered by this retort, the king had issued a decree that all of the wise men of Babylon were to be executed. Daniel and his three close friends - being numbered with the wise counselors - were unfairly included among those scheduled to lose their lives. Having requested an interview with the king, and gained some time during which he and his friends had engaged in earnest prayer, Daniel now stood before Nebuchadnezzar ready to make known the dream, and its interpretation.
In humility, "Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, 'The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days.'" (Daniel 2:27,28)
The Great Image of the King's Dream
"'The image's head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and brake them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floor; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.'" (Daniel 2:32-35)
In this description of the image seen by Nebuchadnezzar in his dream, was given to the king a panoramic view of world history right from his day down to the end of time. Daniel goes on to explain, "'This is the dream, now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory... you are this head of gold. But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters all things; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others.'"
"'Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.'"
"'Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold - the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.'" (Daniel 2:36 - 45)
Babylon 606 - 538 BC
The golden city of Babylon was one of the most formidable fortresses ever built. Surrounded by massive walls, and a moat kept full by the Euphrates river which divided the city in two, it stood seemingly impregnable. Its name almost certainly comes from the Akkadian babilu, meaning 'gate of God.' It was situated in the central region of Mesopotamia, where its sprawling ruins can be seen today about 50 miles south of Baghdad the capital of Iraq. It is first mentioned in the Bible in association with Nimrod's kingdom (vide Genesis 10:10), which places its beginnings somewhere before 3000 BC. However, Babylon never realized any real pre-eminence until the period of the Neo-Babylonian regime founded by Nabopolassar (626-605 BC) in 626 BC. Both he and his son, Nebuchadnezzar II (605 - 562 BC), were able and successful military commanders, their victories in battle resulting in many captives of various occupations being brought back to Babylon. Thus skilled tradesmen and laborers were set to work constructing this mammoth city, which by 605 BC - at the battle of Carchemish, when the Babylonian forces defeated the Egyptian army - had become the undisputed capital of the then known world.
Once the empire was secure, Nabopolassar having died in 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar set about establishing Babylon as the most notable of all the cities on the earth. This he undoubtedly was able to achieve - at least to a great degree. But, as is so often the case, pride caused the king to assume the glory to himself, saying: "'Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?'" (Daniel 4:30) How sad it is that kings and individuals alike are so prone to forget that it is God who "'removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.' 'A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.'" (Daniel 2:21; John 3:27) It is God, and God alone, who exercises the right to establish kingdoms and assign their prosperity.
It is significant that the head depicting this great empire should be of gold, as Babylon was quite richly adorned with the precious metal. The Ishtar Gate, and the great processional street, were both decorated with bulls and dragons sculptured in bold relief upon glazed enamel bricks and overlaid with gold leaf. According to 7Herodotus, upon the top of the huge tower in the sacred precinct of Jupiter Belus (Bel), was a spacious temple in which stood a large couch "with a golden table by its side." Further, according to the ancient historian, in the temple dedicated to Jupiter Marduk is a sitting figure "all of gold. Before the figure stands a large golden table, and the throne whereon it sits, and the base on which the throne is placed, are likewise of gold." Then, "outside the temple are two altars, one of solid gold... " Also, within this temple was "a figure of a man, twelve cubits high, entirely of solid gold." But it is not wealth, might of arms, or human wisdom that determines the span of time allotted to a kingdom. All time is in the hands of Him who rules the universe by His decrees, and so the power of Babylon was to pass on to another.
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7Herodotus: The History of the Persian Wars, c. 430 BC, I.181, I.183, and I.191 Ancient History Sourcebook, Edited by J.S.Arkenberg, Dept. of History, Cal. State Fullerton.
Medo-Persia 539 - 331 BC
Nabonidus (556 - 539 BC) was the last real monarch of the Babylonian empire. He spent much of his reign away from Babylon, having 8"himself established his dwelling in Tema (in northern Arabia)... that city he made glorious... they made it like the palace of Babylon..." During this time, he left his reckless, dissolute, inebriate son, Belshazzar, to manage the affairs at home. Meanwhile, Cyrus ll of Anshan was becoming a powerful force to the north, conquering the Medes in 549 BC, and defeating Croesus, king of the Lydians, just three years later. Thus was born the Medo-Persian empire - subject to just one more conquest, the city of Babylon.
This Cyrus was destined to fulfill the purpose of God foretold through the prophet Isaiah with the words: "'Thus says the Lord to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held - To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings... That you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name Am the God of Israel... I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me.'" (Isaiah 45:1,3,4) Truly did Job declare the truth when he said: "'I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.'" (Job 42:2) Even more certain than the earth is in its orbit around the sun, is the fulfillment of God's plans for this world. And how reassuring it is to know that as relentless are His purposes in the affairs of nations, just so, are His decrees concerning the individual certain in their time and place. For says He: "'He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.'" (Psalm 91:15,16) Let all who have breath and understanding say, Amen! And Praise Him for this absolute assurance.
Cyrus amassed his army, crossed the Tigris river southwest of Arbela, and marched on Babylon; ignoring its apparent impregnability. At this time, Belshazzar entertained a thousand of his lords and their ladies in the banquet hall of his palace (vide Daniel chapter 5). This was no doubt a foolhardy show of defiance against the God of Israel, for "while he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them... and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone." Men and women may arrogantly thumb their nose at the God of heaven, and for a time apparently escape His judgment, but eventually, His patient endurance reaches a point beyond which mercy can no longer tolerate a blasphemous and irreverent attitude displayed in acts of outright insubordination towards His authority and holiness. Thus Belshazzar filled up his 'cup of iniquity' and sealed the fate of the Babylonian empire.
Why the Bible speaks of Belshazzar as Nebuchadnezzar's son may be questioned, when secular history declares the younger to be the son of Nabonidas, with whom he shared the throne. But there is no conflict here at all. In antiquity, it was quite customary for a descendant, even two or more generations removed, to be called a son. A classic example of this is the fact that the Lord Jesus was called the "Son of David," though He was far removed from the generation of Judah's king. An interesting side note here: The one who was able to explain the meaning of the strange handwriting on the wall, was promised that "he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom." The third, because the throne was already shared between two as mentioned above.
In the very hour of their abandoned revelry and profanation of the sacred vessels, "the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote." Terrified out of his wits by this supernatural phenomena, the king summoned the wise men of Babylon, "the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers" into his presence, urging them to read and interpret the message mysteriously stylized, and highlighted in the lamplight on the wall. Alas, as it had been in the night of his father's dream, the wisdom of this world stood speechless; unable to make any sense or meaning out of the inscription. "Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were astonished (perplexed)." Hearing of the consternation caused by the strange writing on the wall, the queen "came to the banquet hall. And the queen spoke saying... There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God... Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation."
"Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His.
And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.
He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him."
Daniel 2:20-22
Writing to the church in Corinth, Paul stated an eternal truth, saying: "Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ...the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1Corinthians 1:20; 2:14) And so at the aged queen's suggestion, "Daniel was brought in before the king." Now standing between the Living God and the dead in sin, the prophet rehearses the history and heritage of Babylon's throne. From Nebuchadnezzar's pride and humiliation to Belshazzar's shameful, arrogant, blasphemous night of idolatrous, debauchery, Daniel brings the frightened king to account. Without mincing his words, the man of God delivers the reason for the impending judgment: "'But you his son, Belshazzar have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this... and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.'" It is apparent, that turning his back on God was a consistent rule of the king's life, and this was that time of reckoning when repentance was no longer possible. Oh how sad it is that some see the writing on the wall too late.
Daniel continues: "'And this is the inscription that was written: ' MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN .''" Far from being some unidentifiable heavenly language, this is an Aramaic expression being literally translated: numbered, numbered, weighed and divided. Being familiar with Aramaic, the wise men of Babylon should have been able to read these words, so it was their significance and meaning that must have eluded them; for their meaning in the given situation is one of those priceless gems that only divine inspiration could reveal. These three words are the verbal form of the nouns: minah, shekel, and peres, and all three can be construed to denote some form of monetary exchange in vogue in antiquity. The word pharsin is the plural form of peres, and the letter u prefixed to pharsin simply meant, and.
Originally, goods were bought and sold using the barter system. That is, goods agreed to be of equal value were exchanged between individuals. But then some time after 700 BC, probably in Lydia in Asia Minor, a crude form of 'money' was invented. This took the form of pieces of a precious metal like silver, the value of which was determined by their weight - this in turn being determined on a simple balance scale measured against that of a stone of known weight. A number of these pieces would then add up to a certain market value; thus, a shekel was a certain weight of silver. So then, the shekel was a unit of weight and not a coin; and many stone weights inscribed with a symbol in appearance like a tied bag of silver pieces, have been found in archælogical digs in the Mesopotamian region. This common weight was undoubtedly the shekel, and weighed in at approximately 11.5 grams in today's metric system of measuring weight.
At the time, a minah was equal to 50 shekels, and a shekel could be divided into a half shekel known as a bekah . When official coins began to be minted, the terms shekel and minah were retained in the nomenclature of the monetary system; becoming the names by which two particular denominations were known. In 141 BC Simon Maccabæus minted silver shekels and half shekels bearing his own stamp (vide 1Maccabæus 15:6). However, the coins thus named were not related to the system they superceded as far as weight was concerned. Instead, each bore a designated value. And so Daniel, confronted with the divine riddle, decodes it, "' MENE God has numbered your kingdom and finished it; TEKEL You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; PERES Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.'" It's interesting that Daniel, in giving this explanation, morphs the last word to peres, the singular form of the word, giving it a direct connection with the Persians who were even now peering over the walls of the city.
Dispensing with all the usual methods of contemporary warfare, 7Herodotus records that the attacking army diverted the waters of the Euphrates river into a lake temporarily excavated for this very purpose. This accomplished, the conquerors were able to enter the city wading in little more than knee deep water through its unprotected portals. Once within the walls of the city, the Persians entered the inhabited section of the city through the gates along the river which had carelessly been left open and unguarded by the unsuspecting Babylonians. Unlike many other rulers of his day, Cyrus was not a malicious and cruel conqueror, so that there was no wanton destruction of the city, neither were its inhabitants tortured or otherwise harassed. Quite to the contrary, Cyrus' benevolence shown to the conquered people was recorded for us thus: 9"I did not allow any to terrorize the land of Sumer and Akkad . I kept in view the needs of Babylon and all its sanctuaries to promote their well being. The citizens of Babylon... I lifted their unbecoming yoke. Their dilapidated dwellings I restored. I put an end to their misfortunes." However, on that very night, Belshazzar was killed. So ended the Babylonian era, and the Medo-Persian empire was established. Cyrus himself entered the city on October 29, 539 BC.
There is no indication whatever that Cyrus ever acknowledged the God of Israel as the only true God. In fact, he attributed his victory over Babylon to the blessing of his god, Marduk , saying: 9"Marduk ... to his city Babylon he caused him to go, he made him take the road to Babylon, going as a friend and companion at his side... without battle and conflict he permitted him to enter Babylon. He spared his city Babylon a calamity..." However, his policy of toleration towards other religions and their re-establishment in the lands from which they had been exiled, did fulfill the Lord's purpose in ending the 70 year captivity imposed upon Judah as foretold by Jeremiah (vide Jeremiah 29:10; 30:3). Paradoxically, regarding captive Judah, Cyrus "made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, 'Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah.'" (Ezra 1:1,2; 6:1-4) Thus the way was opened that the Jews might return to Jerusalem, rebuild the temple, and once more attain to some level of autonomy.
In this prophecy, the purposes of God are seen to be fully met. First of all, Judah's Babylonian captivity was ordained by God in response to Judah's national apostasy (vide Jeremiah 34:1,2; 25:1-11); the liberation and return of the exiles to Judah was at the dictates of the divine will (vide Isaiah 45:1-7); and now the ascendancy of a new empire was to set the stage for another of His purposes to be realized (vide Zephaniah 3:9).
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8This quotation is from the Tema stele , which was recovered from the ruins of Tema. It is dated somewhere around the 5th or 6th century BC. (A stele is a stone pillar or narrow slab on which was inscribed details concerning some noteworthy event.)
9 A translation of part of the cuneiform inscription recording the exploits and policies of Cyrus found on the Cyrus cylinder. This is a clay cylinder, 23 cm long, originally produced in 538 BC, but only discovered in Nineveh, Iraq, in 1879 by Hormuzd Rassam . It now resides in the British Museum.
The Fall of Babylon
The World over which the first three great empires - depicted by the image seen by Nebuchadnezzar in his strange dream - fought.
For centuries Babylon was the prize to be gained; that great and most notable city from which kings and rulers sought to govern the lands they conquered. Then the center of the world, it now lies in ruins - proof that no matter how lofty and impregnable the fortresses of man may appear, they are all but a puff of wind before the relentless, indomitable purposes of the one and only True, Almighty God. It has happened just as it was foretold through His servant, "And the land will tremble and sorrow; For every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Babylon... The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, And her high gates shall be burned with fire... Babylon shall become a heap, A dwelling place for Jackals, An astonishment and a hissing, Without an inhabitant... Therefore the wild desert beasts shall dwell there with the jackals, And the ostriches shall dwell in it. It shall be inhabited no more forever, Nor shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation." (Jeremiah 51:29,58,37;50:39)
And just as ancient Babylon fell to ruin by the decree of God, just so will the Babylon of today meet an ignominious end before the judgment of the Lord of heaven and earth. So says His messenger: "'Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a habitation of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury... Therefore her plagues will come in one day - death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.'" (Revelation 18:2,3,8) What God Himself has spoken will surely come to pass!
Oh, that the inhabitants of earth today might learn the lesson taught by the ruins of ancient Babylon. Oh, that some, maybe many, will heed the merciful plea of our God, "'Come out of her, My people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.'" (Revelation 18:4) In the midst of the prevailing confusion, when even the church is steadily retreating back into Egypt, this cry is sounding forth. But who will listen? Who will dare to worship the Creator in Spirit and in Truth?
Greece 331 - 168 BC
While Cyrus claimed lordship over the whole world, he was unable to bring the peoples of Macedonia and the Grecian Peninsula to the south under complete subjugation. Darius tried to bring the Greeks under control, but in 490 BC, he and his army suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of a comparatively small Greek force at Marathon. After the death of Darius in 486 BC, his son Xerxes (486-464 BC) took the throne of the Persian empire and proceeded to put down a revolt in Egypt, and in 482 BC to regain control of the city of Babylon. Having thus re-secured his empire, Xerxes set his sights on faraway Greece. And so, hoping to succeed where his predecessors had failed, Xerxes led the Persian army westward to the Hellespont .
At Abydos, in 480 BC, the Persians crossed over into Macedonia. At first the military campaign went well for the attacking force, which was able to pass through Boeotia and Attica - actually occupying Athens. However, in that same year their fortunes were reversed when the Persian navy with circa 600 ships was defeated at Salamis - an island west of Athens in the Mediterranean Sea - by a much smaller Athenian navy of just 360 triremes under the command of Themistocles. And then, to make matters worse, the following year at Plataea, about 30 miles north west of Athens, a consolidated Greek army now numbering 110,000 fighting men including contingents from 24 cities - including 8,000 Athenians and 5,000 Corinthians - under the command of the Spartan general Pausanias, put the Persians to flight, killing a good number of them. So conclusive was this Grecian victory, that the Persians never tried to invade their mainland again.
During the period of the Persian empire, and indeed even in later years, one characteristic of the Grecian states was their inability to form any lasting alliances. Thus the whole region of the Aegean was divided into numerous city states whose individual allegiance was given to either Athens in Attica, or Sparta to the west in Laconia. Of these two dominant cities, Athens was the more often the most powerful, until it reached the zenith of its influence and might between 440 and 330 BC. So much so was it pre-eminent at that time, that historians often refer to the territory under its control during this period as the Athenian Empire.
But returning to the earlier period of the Persian wars, we find Athens emerging from the victory over the Persians with a great deal of prestige. It was the Athenian navy that had destroyed the Persian fleet, and its land force had played a significant role in the victory at Plataea. From this position of power, in 477 BC, Athens was instrumental in forming a league of states with both defense and offense against Persia as the alliance's common purpose. This alliance was known as the Delian League.
But this state of things was not to last. The Peloponnesian War (431 - 404 BC), which Sparta won, brought the long walls of Athens down, and depleted the region and its peoples of resources and manpower. And this Spartan victory did not bring any greater cohesiveness among the city states than had existed before. In fact, resentment towards the victors united states who had been enemies, until in 379 BC, Athens called for the resurrection of the Delian League. This put the city back in a leadership role, but only temporarily. In 371 BC the Thebans met and defeated an advancing Spartan force at Leuctra; and shortly thereafter invaded and defeated them in their own territory. Sparta was no longer of any consequence. Thebes was now the dominant state, but not powerful enough to control the other Greek states, who together in 364 BC, stood against the Thebians at Mantinea. But the Greeks had worn themselves out through so many years of constant strife, and the outcome of the battle was inconclusive.
The Greek states were now in no position to defend themselves from any determined force from outside their borders. Just such a force was rising to the north. However, before we consider the invasion by the Macedonians, an event that was to dramatically change the history of the world, we must first consider that significant purpose that God had in mind through all of this play and counter play of Greek history.
The Greek Language
To find the roots of the Greek language, we must travel back in time to around 1500 BC. For it was at this time that the Minoan civilization (named after Minos the king of Crete) was at the height of its power. This was a 'palatial society' where the palace was the center to which locally produced agricultural products were taken and then traded as far abroad as the Aegean peninsula and the islands of the Aegean Sea. On Thera, one of those islands (destroyed by a volcanic eruption in 1626 BC), Akrotiri, a typical trading center was preserved under the volcanic ash deposited upon it. Looking further abroad, we find the Minoans also trading with Egypt. Records of the goods thus traded were made upon clay tablets in a script known as Linear A. This was a syllabic script where the syllables of a word are represented by signs. Some commodities were depicted by pictorial signs known as ideograms.
In 1900 AD, at Knossos on the island of Crete, many such tablets were discovered by the British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans. Right alongside of these tablets others were found having upon them a similar, though not identical, script known as Linear B. These tablets had all been very well preserved by the fire which had destroyed the palace in which they were found. Then in 1939 the American archaeologist Carl Blegen found a large cache of Linear B tablets at the Mycenaean site of Pylos on the Greek mainland. The most popular theory explaining the discovery of the same language in these two different locations, is that, at the demise of the Minoan civilization, the Mycenaeans had expanded their territorial boundaries and settled on Crete. But Linear B was still not yet deciphered. This was to be accomplished by Michael Ventris, who in 1936 at age fourteen, had attended a lecture by Evans on the Minoan world. As a result of this lecture, Ventris was captivated by the challenge that deciphering offered. The end result of this interest was, in June of 1952 he was able to declare in a BBC radio program that Linear B was in fact, a very early form of Greek.
At the end of the Mycenaean period (around 1230 BC), all that remained of its culture was the common language. Though not altogether koine at this time - being divided into several dialects, like: Arcadian, Doric, Aeolic, and Ionic - it was to a degree prevented from diversifying too radically by traveling singers preserving the oral traditions of yesteryears. But then In the middle of the eighth century BC, something happened that was to have a major impact upon the written form of Greek. At this time, the Phoenicians were knocking on the door of the Greek economy in search of metal ores, a fact which stimulated a revival of Greek trading interests. Now the Phoenicians had an alphabet of just over twenty consonants - but no vowels. Thus, the delta in any word could be pronounced: da, de, di, do, or du.
It is not known exactly where, but somewhere around 750 BC, Greek traders began assimilating this alphabet into their own language. However, not having characters to denote the vowel sounds proved a drawback, as the prefixes and suffixes of Greek grammar demand them. So the Greeks simply invented them, adding them to the acquired alphabet. Hence the alpha, epsilon, iota, omicron, and upsilon found in the Greek alphabet even today. In fact, this alphabet subsequently became the basis of all Western alphabets; this word itself being formed from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet: alpha, and beta. As soon as Greek took on this new written form, the ease with which records of transactions, trade agreements, and poems could be permanently set down, became apparent. This development also tended to fix the language in its existing form, particularly as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey became to the Greeks their 'sacred text.' Quite naturally, historians and poets alike committed their works to later generations, including our own, through this new and convenient medium.
"For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language,
That all may call on the name of the Lord,
To serve Him with one accord."
Zephania 3:9
The Birth of the Grecian Empire
As Greece began to grow in both population and influence - due to its successful and rapidly expanding trade policy - the stage was being set for the fulfillment of God's purpose to give the world a common language. A language through which His eternal purposes could be made known and spread abroad to people everywhere.
In the north, Philip II of Macedon was consolidating his position, his resources, and his emerging empire. In 357 BC he defeated the Illyrians and thus took control of upper Macedonia. The following year he married Olympias, daughter of Neoptolemus the Molossian king, that resulted in the birth of Alexander - an event that was to change the course of history forever. Having brought his neighbors to the immediate north under his control, and having recruited a number of fighting men from their ranks, he turned his attention to the city states to the south. More than a good leader, more than an able general, Philip was a brilliant strategist, and a veritable genius in the art of warfare and its associated weaponry. He invented the sarissa, (a pike) - a long wooden shaft tipped with a pointed steel head. This enabled his infantry to engage the enemy while beyond the reach of the shorter hoplite spears. His army also included contingents of archers and javelin throwers; and he is said to have invented the torsion catapult.
The decisive battle took place in 338 BC on the plain of Chaeronaea in Boeotia . Here the combined forces of the Thebans and Athenians faced the Macedonians. Feigning a retreat, the Macedonians fell back maintaining their battle order. The southern forces, believing this maneuver to be an indication of a Macedonian defeat, lunged forward breaking their ranks in the process. As planned, the Macedonian infantry turned about, and supported by a blistering charge of their cavalry led by Philip's now teenage son Alexander, devastated the open ranks of the surprised attackers. In short order the Theban army was destroyed, and the Athenians either killed or taken prisoner.
Philip, who was now in charge of a united Greece, organized the hitherto bickering and divided states into the League of Corinth. Sparta alone was left out, being ignored as no longer of any substantial threat. Thus Greece entered an era of unprecedented prosperity and renewal; and Philip had Persia on his mind. However, the conquest of Persia was not in his future as he was assassinated at Pela in 336 BC. This left the empire and its army in the hands of the young Alexander, who was only 20 years of age at the time. Any doubt that might have prevailed at the time regarding his ability to fill the void left by his father's death was soon dispelled, when in swift order he crushed revolts by the Illyrians and the Thracians; and responding to rumors of similar ideas being entertained by the Athenians and Thebans, he finally destroyed Thebes, killing 6000 of its inhabitants and consigning 30,000 survivors to slavery.
Now, having asserted his leadership role and gained the respect of his army, Alexander was ready to take on the formidable task of fulfilling his father's ambition to conquer the Persian empire. The conquest proper began in 334 BC with a battle at the Granicus River, where Alexander led his 1800 strong elite 'Companions' - a select detachment of noblemen who always fought alongside of him - through the river, engaging the enemy while his army followed. The Persian force was then destroyed, along with a band of Greek mercenaries who surrendered but for whom no mercy was forthcoming. Only 2000 of these unfortunate 'traitors' survived, these being returned to Macedon as slaves. In this one decisive battle, Alexander assumed control of the cities of Asia Minor. Thus, the doorway to the Orient was now open.
The Empire Expands
What followed during the next 8 years can only be described as electrifying, and nowhere better portrayed than in Daniel's prophecy found in chapter 8 of his book. In vision the prophet saw "standing beside the river... a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no beast could withstand him; nor was there any that could deliver from his hand, but he did according to his will and became great. And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. Then he came to the ram that had two horns... and ran at him with furious power. And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him, attacked the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand." (Daniel 8:3 -7)
Now there is no need of speculation regarding the meaning of this prophecy, as the identity of both the ram and the goat are explained in the very same chapter. Daniel of course, did not understand this symbolism at the time it was given. This was just a portion of a larger vision, part of which we dealt with in chapter 14, "The Judgment Hour." And so the angel Gabriel appears once more before Daniel to explain this matter thus: "'The ram which you saw, having the two horns - they are the kings of Media and Persia. And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king. As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.'" (Daniel 8:20 -22) Alexander's rapid conquest of the Medo-Persian empire fulfilled this prophecy to the letter.
In September 333 BC, the combined forces of Media and Persia (the two horns of the ram), along with about 30,000 Greek mercenaries, met Alexander (the notable horn between the eyes of the goat) and his Macedonian army, this time near the Gulf of Issus at the eastern end of the Cilician plain. As usual, Alexander led his Companions in a charge against the Persian infantry, but then turned and charged Darius and his surrounding bodyguard, which disintegrated before the onslaught. Darius fled, and his army collapsed in disarray. In this victory the Macedonians boasted to have killed 100,000 men to their loss of only 500. This hardly seems possible, being more likely an emotional and elated over statement of the facts. They did however capture the royal treasury, Darius' wife, and his mother.
From here, Alexander took his army down the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, subjugating all of the cities in the region on the way. This expedition was intended to neutralize any possible rear guard action that might be mounted by the Persian navy. However, this defensive action was to have far reaching implications for world history. Finally, he reached Egypt in 332 BC whereupon he was proclaimed a pharaoh, son of the sun god Ra. Well satisfied with this honor, he turned again and headed east; but not before an event of extreme consequences took place. This was the founding of the city of Alexandria upon the site of an insignificant village, Rhakotis, situated on the coast at the western corner of the Nile delta. It was here that the Old Testament Scriptures were later translated from Hebrew into Koine Greek. By firmly establishing the Greek language as the lingua franca of the new empire, and by establishing this center of culture and learning from which the holy Scriptures in the common language of the people was to go forth, Alexander fulfilled God's purpose, which was to prepare the way for the first advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. Like Cyrus before him, Alexander was quite unwittingly, a tool in the hand of the true God to fashion the future for His own divine plan. (For more information on this, see also the "Biblical Greek" page on this web site)
Alexander was now the self proclaimed 'Lord of Asia,' and Darius offered him the empire west of the Euphrates River. But the young warrior, having not yet reached the end of the world, refused. Meanwhile, Alexander's short excursion into Egypt gave Darius time to put together a sizeable army drawn from Mesopotamia and the lands to the east of his now diminished empire. Again the two armies squared off. This time at the foothills of the Zagros mountains in Assyria. Darius had assembled a huge force of cavalry, which he positioned on the plain of Gaugamela. The Macedonians arrived on the scene in October of 331 BC. And Alexander, his army now outnumbered 5 to 1, for the first time ever appeared apprehensive.
In typical fashion, Alexander marshaled his forces, the Thessalian cavalry to the left, the infantry in the center, and the Companions under his leadeship on the right. Advancing at an angle, he planned to take the Companions around the flank of the Persian army. This drew the Persian cavalry to their left in an attempt to thwart Alexander's purpose. This opened up a gap in the Persian ranks through which the Companions charged. With the Macedonian infantry backing up this daring thrust, the center front of the large Persian army disintegrated. The sight of such bold, Macedonian ferocity, and seeing his army being cut asunder, so unnerved Darius that he fled the scene along with a significant number of his men. This so demoralized those that remained, that a Macedonian victory was assured.
The city of Babylon received Alexander as a liberator, and he and his army spent a short time there relaxing. Soon however, it was time to move on to the regions beyond. In 326 BC, the Macedonians reached India where they defeated the Indian prince, Porus, at the battle of Hydaspes. But the weather of the region turned against them. It was monsoon season, and for nearly two and a half months it rained continuously. Moral among his men sank to a low ebb resulting in their virtual refusal to go on. Very reluctantly, Alexander acceded to their demand, and he and his army turned about and headed back to Babylon, where in the middle of 323 BC he died after a drinking spree - some say he had contracted a fever, others that he was poisoned. He was only 32 years of age.
"To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven...
A time to break down, And a time to build up...
A time of war, And a time to make peace."
Ecclesiastes 3:1,3,8
The Empire Divided
After Alexander's death, confusion reigned in the vast empire he left behind because there was no rightful and obvious heir. Out of the turmoil that ensued, four distinct kingdoms (the four horns that took the place of the goat's horn that was broken) emerged. Lysimachus, who had been one of Alexander's bodyguards, ruled Asia Minor; Seleucus held Mesopotamia and as far east as the Mauryan empire in India; Cassander ruled over the western extremity of the original empire from Macedonia; and Ptolemy ruled Egypt from the city of Alexandria. Now, adventurous Greeks migrated to areas near and far; in fact, to wherever the Macedonian army had left its footprints upon the sands of history.
Significantly, on the island of Pharos at Alexandria, somewhere around 250 BC, the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into koine Greek, the common language of the empire. Thus was made available to the people of the world, that word, the prophecies of which, were to be the foundation upon which the early Christian church built its argument for proclaiming Jesus Christ to be the Messiah. Notwithstanding the fact that the present order of things was to change drastically again with the ascendancy of another world empire, Greek, which had been adopted by a large segment of the earth's population, was to remain the popular tongue for many years to come. It was upon this platform that the Lord built His church.
By the middle of the second century BC, the Greek achievement had about run its course. The city states had explored the many possibilities of their own brand of democracy; in the arts, drama had soared to the heights of literary excellence; philosophy had reached into hitherto unknown realms of thought; militarily, the Greeks had proved themselves almost invincible; and their language was official in much of the then known world. But even such greatness must inevitably slide and give way before the freshness and vigor of a new and vibrant civilization. Just so, the brass shields and bronze statues of the Grecian empire were to give way to the iron monarchy of Rome, but within the context of the new order of things, much of the Greek culture was to remain firmly entrenched in both the public and the political structure of the new empire for thousands of years to come. In fact, the Greek influence still lives with us even today.
Rome 168 BC - 476 AD
There have always been people on the move; people with an earnest desire to find the 'greener grass' which always lies in the reaches beyond. Now in the early centuries of expanding Europe, the Italian peninsula was one of those reaches beyond. Not only was the land fertile, but the Alpine range of mountains in the extreme north appeared to form a natural bulwark against some hostile, intruding army, and an effective barrier to the effects of any upheavals that could erupt in the lands beyond its northern border. However, families and small groups came over the Alps through mountain passes, or across the sea into the haven provided by natural harbors. They settled on hilltop vantages afforded by the Appenine range of mountains which traverse the landscape from the north west corner of the peninsula, across and down the eastern coastal region in a long ark, to end a little north of Campania in the south west.
One ethnic group that emerged out of the distant past to become an indigenous peoples in ancient Roman history was the Sabines. These people congregated in the eastern hills of the Appenines, but later became absorded into the general population to become Romans. Another group was the Latins who occupied the area around Rome including Latium - the region immediately to the south of Rome. The origins of the first iron users are found at Villanova, near to modern Bologna in Italy. And archaeology has established that the Villanovans were well-established across central Italy by the eighth century BC.
Then somewhere around 700 BC, groups of immigrants came from the East to land on the sandy beaches of Etruria. They called themselves the "Rasenna," but were subsequently known by the Romans as the "Trusci," or "Etrusci." Settling initially upon the hills close to the shoreline, these intrepid seafarers erected wooden fortifications, and established themselves on these sites which were to become Etruscan city states. As the number of these settlers grew, other cities sprang up elsewhere in the area. Etruria was that portion of the Italian peninsula which lay between the Arno river in the north, and the Tiber river in the south. Its border followed the two rivers to the Apennine Mountains in the east.
Tradition has it that twelve major city states grew out of these migrations to the area; but there is physical evidence of many more. Perhaps there were twelve such major states, surrounded by many minor townships. Now of the major cities, three are believed to have had a significant impact on history due to their interest in and influence upon an insignificant 'village' just across the Tiber - that village was called Rome. The three cities, all within a forty mile radius of Rome, were: Tarquinii, Caere, and Veii. Situated in the extreme south of Utruria and near the coast, these three cities were separated from their northern neighbors, who were tucked away beyond virgin forests further inland. Being clustered in the south, and near to the coast, the three sister cities were more readily available to outside influences - particularly Greek.
By this time, the Greeks had found Campania. The fertile soil, enriched by Vesuvius' volcanic ash deposits (the whole area is a volcanic hotbed), coupled with a warm but mild climate, made this land particularly attractive to would be settlers. These early Greek settlers chose Cumae on the west coast, about 120 miles south east of Rome known today as the Bay of Naples, as the center of their settlement. From here they were able to export grain, and expose their culture and language over a wide area. Consequently, this region covering southern Italy, Sicily, and the surrounding islands, became known as the Magna Graecia.
But the Etruscans also saw the potential for wealth and prosperity in Campania; and so they too began moving into the area. By 600 BC they had established a center of influence at Capua about seventeen miles north of Cumae. From here the invaders began taking control of the Campanian plain, though they were never able to rest control of Cumae itself from the Greeks. Now this movement put Rome between the southern border of Utruria and the newly acquired territory to the south. Besides, close by at the mouth of the Tiber river, were the salt pans upon which the Etruscans were dependent. It is only natural then, that this village should also come under Etruscan domination. The first Etruscan ruler was one Tarquinius Priscus - whom tradition would have us believe ruled between 616 and 579 BC. From this time, because of its proximity to Uritria and its strategic importance, Rome began to grow in size and in political influence.
The Roman Republic
Rome's rise to greatness was not without difficulty. Its history was punctuated with both internal and external conflicts. First of all, the Tarquinian dynasty was brought down in disgrace by Sextus Tarquinius who raped a prominent, and virtuous woman of Rome. This so incensed the Senate, a body made up of prominent men of the city whose function was to advise the king regarding matters of government, that the kingship was abolished; and the Senate itself became the governing body. Thus, in 509 BC, the Roman Republic was born. Initially, membership in the Senate was restricted to Patricians (from the Latin pater meaning father) who were the heads of wealthy, aristocratic families. The Plebeians ( plebs ), or commoners, were not allowed to hold an office, or even to marry into the upper class families. However, by 445 BC, the social barrier against marriage between the two classes was finally broken down. And by 287 BC, the Plebeians had so grown, both in numbers and in wealth, that they were able to hold almost any position in the civil government.
During this period of internal political transformation, the republic continued to extend its borders. In 493 BC Rome entered into an alliance with a consortium of Latium cities known as the Latin League. Within the next hundred years, Rome had become the principal city of Latium, and as such, led its allies into battle against its neighbors. Being an ally offered Roman citizenship with certain privileges attached, as well as protection from outside forces. Drawing upon the military resources of its conquests, the city was able to overpower the Etruscans, and despite an initial setback, when in 390 BC the Gauls invaded Italy and actually managed to sack Rome, the city recovered to finally crush a combined force of Samnites, Umbrians, Etruscans, and Gauls, in a decisive battle at Sentium in 295 BC. Then with the defeat and capture of the Greek city, Tarentum in southern Italy in 272 BC, Roman domination of the Italian peninsula was assured.
After its success on the home front, Rome faced new challenges abroad. To begin with, the Carthaginians from Carthage in North Africa, laid claim to the grain producing island of Sicily. This led to the First Punic War; a lengthy affair lasting from 264 to 241 BC. The Romans, though not traditionally a naval people, built a fleet and finally won Sicily from Carthage in 241 BC at a battle off the western tip of the island near to the Aegates islands. With this victory, Rome established itself as a world power, and in 238 BC proceeded to take Sardinia and Corsica. The following year, the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca secured a large portion of Spain. In response, the Romans would have invaded both Spain and North Africa, but another Carthaginian general, Hannibal, led an army from Spain across the Pyrenees, over the Alps, and down into Italy. Thus the latter part of 218 BC, saw the onset of the Second Punic War; a war which was to last until 201 BC.
At first the Romans suffered crushing defeats, the Carthaginians forging their way down into southern Italy. Seizing the opportunity, many of the peoples subjugated by Rome, now joined forces with the invaders. As hopeless as the situation may have appeared, the Romans refused to acknowledge defeat; and under the brilliant and daring general, Quintas Fabius Maximus, embarked upon a strategy of constant harassment which effectually drained away the Carthaginian force. Meanwhile, a force was dispatched from Rome to cut off Hannibal's army from Spain and any reinforcements that might be forthcoming from that quarter. Then the fortunes of the war turned dramatically in Rome's favor when in 210 BC, Publius Cornelius Scipio assumed command of the Roman forces in Spain. Defeating the Carthaginians, he ended their rule in Spain, and Hannibal was recalled from Italy. The final showdown occurred at Zama in 202 BC, where Scipio's army met Hannibal's. In this battle, the Romans scored a victory which brought Carthage under Roman rule.
When Philip V of Macedonia formed an alliance with Antiochus lll, the Seleucid king of Syria, the Roman Senate committed its now seasoned army to contain this power in the east. In 197 BC, at Cynoscephalae in Thessaly, the Romans scored a resounding victory. However, Antiochus lll did attempt an invasion of Greece in 192 BC, only to be defeated at Thermpylae and then have his army destroyed at Magnesia in Anatolia in 190 BC. It was becoming apparent to the Romans that free states would always be a problem; so a new policy was adopted.
The new policy adopted by Rome in response to the constant threat posed by free states was one of direct annexation. When shortly after 150 BC Rome sent envoys to Corinth, a thriving industrial seaport and the principal city of the Achaean League, they were severely manhandled and beaten up. Incensed by this outrageous behavior towards their officials, the Romans retaliated. Mummius, the Roman consul, descended upon the city with four legions of soldiers and totally destroyed it, in fact, they razed it to the ground. Survivors of the inhabitants were sold into slavery. The Achaean League was abolished; Greece and its cities become one with Macedonia. And thus the Greek states, which had for so long enjoyed their independence, were now subjugated and under the domination of the Roman Republic, to which they now paid tribute. Later, in 127 BC, the province of Achaea was formed. This drastic, heavy handed blow wielded by the Romans was intended to demonstrate the consequences of, and so to discourage, disrespect of Roman authority and its representatives.
But now Rome had to settle a dispute between the Carthaginians and Numidia - the latter being an ally whose defeat could spell a resurgence of Carthaginian power. In the ensuing war - the third Punic War - Rome scored a quick victory and Carthage surrendered. But when told to leave their city, which was to be destroyed, and resettle on the land as farmers, they rescinded their surrender and for three years held out against the Romans. Finally, in 146 BC the city did fall and was totally destroyed. So then, by this date (146 BC), virtually all that had been under the Grecian banner was now under the Pax Romana - Roman rule. From Carthage, Scipio Aemilianus Africanus took the Roman army westward to Spain, where in a long and costly campaign, he defeated the Iberians. However, it was left to his adoptive grandson, P. Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus, to destroy Numantia in 133 BC. And so by this date, the Mediterranean had veritably become to the Romans Mare Nostrum - Our Sea.
A Period of Transition
Right here, a contemplation of the history of Rome takes a turn inward. The many years of wars fought on foreign soil brought a large influx of slaves which gave rise to the emergence of large estates ( latifundia ). This proved to be a boon for the landed aristocracy, who had now acquired these large farms by taking over public lands ( ager publicus ) - tracts of land left vacant by their owners who were in the army fighting overseas. This economic development generated the rise of a new class of citizen known as equites ( equestrians ). These were the publicans, or tax gatherers - a class mentioned often in the New Testament Scriptures - although in those instances, in the context of Judean society. While these upper classes became wealthier, the peasantry became poorer. Unemployment among the grassroots population was high. Small farms could not compete against the large commercial operations which now squeezed them out of the economy. And in the industrial sector, the contribution to the economy made by local workers had to a large degree been made redundant by the importation of foreign artisans and inexpensive goods from the colonies.
In 133 BC, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus was elected tribune, a post which was to reassert itself in Roman politics at this time. Tiberius was elected on the promise of a re-distribution of the land to the poor. As can be expected, this was not a popular turn of events as far as the wealthy estate owners were concerned. Many of this upper class were members of the Senate. So when Tiberius proposed his premature re-election, it was blocked, being declared illegal by the Senate. This infuriated his followers, violence broke out, and in the confusion Tiberius was killed. Gaius, the younger brother of Tiberius, was elected tribune in 123 BC, and he continued a policy of reform involving the tax system and the judiciary. Energetic and passionate, but at the same time diplomatic, Gaius used his exceptional oratory skills to great advantage, winning support for his political agenda from many quarters. Thus he was able to secure his immediate re-election unopposed. However, his ideas upset the conservative elements in the society, and in 121 BC he was killed by reactionaries.
The two Gracchus brothers, despite their short lived careers, had made an indelible mark upon Roman politics. The conservatives (optimates), declared this political maneuvering on the part of those (populares) who would use the Assembly of the Roman People (Populus Romanus) rather than the Senate to govern the affairs of the state, to be a threat to the old establishment. But their opposition notwithstanding, the days of the Roman Republic were coming to an end. Initially, the Republic had been formed to prevent the possibility of anything resembling a monarchy to ever rule Rome again. The thought of a tyrant ever taking control of Roman politics was repugnant to the Romans. But now, unbeknown to the Oligarchy, the republic was headed down the road to a dictatorship; it was soon to become an empire.
In 118 BC a serious situation developed in North Africa. The kingdom of Numidia, a land bordering Rome's African province, had been divided between two princes. The one, Jugurtha , who had fought under Scipio Aemilianus , was not satisfied with his allotment; it being the western, more primitive half of the kingdom. His dissatisfaction was dramatically expressed by the massacre of the Italian residents in Numidia. After several years of unsuccessful campaigning against the "Lion of the Desert," as Jugurtha had come to be known, Gaius Marius, who was of the middle class citizen community in Arpinum, was given supreme command of the operation. Ignoring the qualifications required for induction into the army, Marius amassed a sizeable force and managed to score some impressive successes against the enemy; but was not able to totally defeat him. The break came when Sulla, Marius' lieutenant, managed to secure Jugurtha's capture through a local ally in 104 BC.
Marius' next great achievements were against two troublesome German tribes threatening Italy from the north. In 102 BC he met and crushed the Teutones at Aquae Sextiac, when three thousand of his men, set apart and hidden from view, suddenly attacked the opposing force from the rear. He followed up this success the following year with a resounding victory against the Cimbri in a battle that took place in northern Italy. These military conquests resulted in Marius gaining in prestige, popularity, and power - he was elected consul six times. This elevated status was soon to be made evident when the general put together a makeshift force, which he led against the ruthless Saturninus and his cohorts, who were captured and killed while in prison. While it is true that Gaius Marius never became a dictator as did later generals, his rise to prominence as a military man did open the way for events that were to lead to the establishment of the empire.
As was mentioned above, Sulla, who was at the time serving under Marius, was instrumental in securing the capture of Jugurtha of Numidia. This man was now to become predominant in the political affairs of the Roman state. It happened this way. King Mithridates Vl Euphator, a Hellenist of Persian descent who ruled Pontus in northern Asia Minor, attempted to annex neighboring Bithynia, but without success. Inspired by the Romans, the Bithynians thwarted the invader's schemes by making very effective counter incursions into Pontus. This so infuriated Mithridates, that in 88 BC, in an all out effort, he invaded the province of Asia, and there had the local authorities massacre some eighty thousand Italian business men who were the direct trade link between Rome and the province. Not satisfied with this triumph, Mithridates then crossed the Aegean, occupying parts of Greece including Athens itself. Such aggression, together with the revenue loss associated with the disruption of trade with the region, alarmed the Romans. The situation had to be addressed; enter Lucius Cornelius Sulla. To him was given the supreme command of the force that was to be sent to deal with the problem in the east.
However, the tribune at the time, Sulpicius Rufus, had Sulla replaced in this venture by Marius. But Sulla would not back down and simply assumed command of the army - made up of men well known and loyal to him - and proceeded to march on Rome itself. This was an unprecedented moment in Rome's history. Here was the army under the command of, and acting out of loyalty to, a Roman general, defying the legitimate government by force. Rufus was put to death, but Marius managed to flee and went into hiding in north Africa.
After this altercation in Rome, Sulla led his men to Greece where he twice defeated Mithridates' army - at the time under one of his generals - and took back Athens (86, 85 BC). But now, Rome was in turmoil. so he negotiated a truce with Mithridates at Dardanus in 85 BC, and extracted compensation from the wealthy cities of Asia amounting to 20,000 talents. Meanwhile, back in Rome, Lucius Cornelius Cinna, with the help of Marius who returned from north Africa to join him, took control of Rome amid much bloodshed. However, all that Cinna gained for himself, was control of a now ineffective government over a failing economy. So it was to a disintegrating Roman society that Sulla now turned his attention. But he was an outlaw in Rome; and his enemies were waiting to challenge his advance upon the city. Bolstered by a force of Samnites, the defenders stood outside the Colline Gate of the city. But for them the outcome of the confrontation was a disaster. The Samnite force was totally destroyed, and with the aid of 10,000 of his closest soldiers, known as the Cornelii , Sulla very effectively set about purging the opposition executing thousands in the process.
As the outright victor, Sulla now assumed absolute control of the affairs of the state, and embarked upon a course of reconstruction. He was answerable to no one, and his tenure in office was without any time limitation. To enhance his popularity, he settled 100,000 of his legionaries, who now had no war to fight, upon land confiscated from his enemies. Also, he increased the Senate from 300 to 600 members - many of those added quite naturally being staunch allies. Another clever move, was to reduce the power of the tribunes. In recent history, this office had often undermined senatorial authority, so the new law took from them the power to make any law without the prior approval of the Senate. Furthermore, once a tribune, one was barred from holding any major office in the government of the state. This law was designed to preclude forceful, able, and ambitious men from holding this 'lesser' office. It is ironical that Sulla, though in this unprecedented position of power and authority, never actually assumed the role of a despot, but rather re-established the system of government which his ruthless rise to power had overthrown. This is even more apparent, when in 80 BC he stepped down to accept the appointment of consul for that year. The following year he retired from public life altogether, moving to Campania where he died a short while later.
The next significant personalities that were to arise in Rome's political arena were Pompey and Julius Caesar. These two were both military men of renown, although Caesar's exploits up to this point were not as spectacular as those of Pompey. But both were highly motivated to achieving greatness. They formed an alliance (unofficially) with one Marcus Licinius Crassus - at that time the wealthiest man in Rome. This consortium was known as the First Triumvirate. Despite their unpopularity with the Senate, these three were able to rule fairly effectively. Caesar concentrated his effort in the north, winning the Gallic Wars, while Pompey remained at home wooing the Senate to his side. Now Crassus died in 53 BC, and the following year the Senate made Pompey the sole consul in Rome. Soon thereafter, the Senate ordered Caesar to disband his army, something which the general in him was not about to do. Instead he headed south into Italy and in a series of victories, drove Pompey out of Italy. Caesar eventually caught up with his archrival in Greece, defeating his army at Pharsalus in 48 BC. Pompey then fled with what was left of his army to Egypt, where he was murdered. Caesar, following after Pompey, arrived in Egypt and so met up with Cleopatra who became his mistress. This affair resulted in Cleopatra being installed as queen of Egypt.
Julius Caesar, now establishing absolute control of the territories under the Roman banner, crushed opposition in Anatolia in 47 BC, in Thapsus , North Africa in 46 BC, and in Munda, Spain in 45 BC. Not only was he now the undisputed ruler of Rome and of all Italy, but Caesar now virtually ruled the world. So powerful was his dominance, that in 44 BC he was made outright dictator for life. But this greatness was to be short lived as in March of the same year, he was murdered by Marcus Brutus and Gaius Longinus.
Marius had taken a first step. Sulla moved the procession along towards Caesar and the establishment of an empire; an eventuality that was to have far reaching implications involving a movement that was to shape and reshape world history not too far in the future. It is to this significant period on the timeline of antiquity that we now turn.
17. A PANORAMA OF WORLD HISTORY
PART 2 - Christianity Invades History (Coming Soon)