History
Darius the Great was the son of
Hystaspes and a Persian Emperor of the Achaemenid
dynasty. Darius in his inscriptions appears
as a fervent believer in the monotheistic
religion of Zoroaster. He was also a
statesman and organizer. Darius thoroughly
revised the Persian system of administration
and also the legal code.
The Behistun Inscription
The text of the
inscription is a statement by Darius I of Persia,
written three times
in three different scripts and languages: two
languages side by side, Old Persian and Elamite,
and Babylonian above them. Many historians
claim Darius ruled the Persian Empire from
521 to 486 BC but several inscriptions state
he was in Babylon during the time of Daniel.
Darius arranged an inscription
of a long tale of his accession to be inscribed
into a cliff near the modern town of Bisistun,
in the foothills
of the Zagros Mountains of Iran.
The Inscription and "The
Darius" in The Book of Daniel
Column 1:3
Says Darius the king: Therefore we are
called the Achaemenides.
Dan
5:31 And Darius the Median took the kingdom
Column 1:18
Says Darius the king: Afterwards I went to Babylon
Dan
7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream
Darius and Daniel were both
in Babylon
Herodotus Documents Darius
in Babylon
"But that
which is related by the Chaldeans (Babyloninans)
I relate. Against this statue Darius the
son of Hystaspes formed a design" -
Herodotus Histories Book 1
"This (Babylonian)
tomb was undisturbed until the kingdom came
to
Darius." - Herodotus Histories
Book 1
Belshazzar and Nabonidus
The Behistun inscription mentions
someone claiming to be King of Babylon.
He states "thus he deceived
the people"and
"thus he lied to the people".
The book of Daniel states that Belshazzar
was the son of Nebuchadnezzar and
not Nabonidus. Daniel also states that
Belshazzar
was slain suddenly for taking the
treasures out of the Temple of the Jews.
Dan 5:30 In that
night was Belshazzar the king of
the Chaldeans slain.
Column 1:16 Behustin Inscription
One man a Babylonian Nidintu-Bel
by name, the son of Aniri', he
rose up in Babylon; thus
he deceived the people;
I am Nebuchadrezzar the son of
Nabonidus; afterwards the whole
of the
Babylonian state went over to that
Nidintu-Bel;
Babylon became rebellious; the
kingdom in Babylon he seized.
Column 3:14 Behustin Inscription
Says Darius the king: When I was
in Persia and in Media, a second
time the Babylonians became estranged
from
me; one man, Arakha by
name, an Armenian son of Haldita,
he rose up in Babylon; there (is)
a region,
Dubala by
name - from here he thus
lied to the people; I am
Nebuchadrezzar, the son of Nabonidus;
afterwards the Babylonian people
became
estranged from me and went over
to that Arakha; he
seized Babylon; he became
king in Babylon.
The entire Behustan Inscription - Translated
Nabonidus Cylinder
The cylinder clearly mentions the
name "Belshazzur" which
is the same name used in the
Book of Daniel. Nabonidus
came to power after his death
so he could not be the son of
Belshazzar but might be his brother.
King Darius mentions that this
individual was a deceiver and
a liar and seized
Babylon by force.
Darius and The Shushan Palace from the Book
of Esther
Book of Ezra
Ezra 6:14 According to the commandment of Cyrus,
and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
Ezra names all three of the Kings of the
Persian empire.
See Ezra and
The Silver Bowl of Artaxerxes Inscription
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