1"In the first year of Darius the Mede, I arose to be an encouragement and a protection for him.

2"And now I will tell you the truth Behold, three more kings are going to arise in Persia Then a fourth will gain far more riches than all of them; as soon as he becomes strong through his riches, he will arouse the whole empire against the realm of Greece

The Greek Victory of Salamis is one of the most stupendous moments of history, a battle which was to decide the fate of all the future ages. Greece overthrew Persia. Europe snatched from Asia that rulership of the world which Europe has held ever since. Asia had been the first home of all wealth and splendor and empire; but Asia surrendered itself to the power of one man, the Persian tyrant Xerxes. His people were his servants, almost his slaves. Had he conquered the Greeks also, mankind might have continued slaves forever.

But the Greeks, though few in number, were free men and strong of soul, and they defied the tyrant. Xerxes sent his whole mighty navy to crush them. So sure was he of victory that he had a throne erected on the seashore in order that he might watch, like a theatrical performance, the downfall of the Greeks. He also brought with him the lords and ladies of his court to enjoy the spectacle. But the ships of the Greeks, with their sharp prows, crushed the Persian vessels. The Greeks said their gods fought for them, and that these visionary gods hovered in the air directing the strife, while priests offered sacrifice to them, and the Greek commander, Themistocles, stood above his men with folded arms, in triumph. Xerxes, in despair and fury, beheld the unforeseen destruction of his navy. He fled back to Persia, and shutting himself in his palace spent the rest of his life in idle pleasure. Never again did he appear in battle.

.3"And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.4"But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four points of the compass, though not to his own descendants, nor according to his authority which he wielded, for his sovereignty will be uprooted and given to others besides them.

Alexander had many generals. The ones who became his successors and carved up/disputed over his empire after his death were: Antigonus, Antipater, Cassander, Craterus, Lysimachus, Perdiccas, Ptolemy, Seleucis

5"Then the king of the South will grow strong, along with one of his princes who will gain ascendancy over him and obtain dominion; his domain will be a great dominion indeed.

Ptolemy I

6"After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will come to the king of the North to carry out a peaceful arrangement. But she will not retain her position of power, nor will he remain with his power, but she will be given up, along with those who brought her in and the one who sired her as well as he who supported her in those times.

7"But one of the descendants of her line will arise in his place, and he will come against their army and enter the fortress of the king of the North, and he will deal with them and display great strength. 8"Also their gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold he will take into captivity to Egypt, and he on his part will refrain from attacking the king of the North for some years.

9"Then the latter will enter the realm of the king of the South, but will return to his own land.

10"His sons will mobilize and assemble a multitude of great forces; and one of them will keep on coming and overflow and pass through, that he may again wage war up to his very fortress 11"The king of the South will be enraged and go forth and fight with the king of the North. Then the latter will raise a great multitude, but that multitude will be given into the hand of the former.12"When the multitude is carried away, his heart will be lifted up, and he will cause tens of thousands to fall; yet he will not prevail.

 13"For the king of the North will again raise a greater multitude than the former, and after an interval of some years he will press on with a great army and much equipment.
14"Now in those times many will rise up against the king of the South; the violent ones among your people will also lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they will fall down.15"Then the king of the North will come, cast up a siege ramp and capture a well-fortified city; and the forces of the South will not stand their ground, not even their choicest troops, for there will be no strength to make a stand.16"But he who comes against him will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to withstand him; he will also stay for a time in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.17"He will set his face to come with the power of his whole kingdom, bringing with him a proposal of peace which he will put into effect; he will also give him the daughter of women to ruin it. But she will not take a stand for him or be on his side.18"Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many But a commander will put a stop to his scorn against him; moreover, he will repay him for his scorn.19"So he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be found no more.

The Battle of Panion (200 BC)
A client of Rome, Ptolemy V Epiphanes, assumed the throne of Ptolemaic Egypt in 205 BC at the tender age of 5, only to see his dominion wracked by civil war and reduced by the invading armies of Antiochus III of Persian and Philip V of Macedonia, who had plotted a secret alliance to divide the Ptolemaic kingdom between them. In 201 BC, an attempt by Antiochus to seize Palestine and Gaza was rebuffed by the Ptolemaic army. In 200 BC, Antiochus again struck out from Syria with an army of invasion. The Ptolemiac army under Scopas (Skopes) marched north to block their route at the head of the Jordan valley. But Antiochus had already reached the high ground at Mt. Hermon and made his camp there to await the Ptolemiac approach.

Forcing the battle, Scopas advanced from the south with the Wadi Bani'as on his right flank, with his pike phalanxes in the center and his cavalry on the left. The Seleucids advanced aggressively to meet them, crossing the Wadi with their pikes in the lead and elephants in support. As the armies closed, Antiochos the Younger led the Seleucid cavalry down from the slopes of Mt. Hermon to fall on Scopas's left flank, driving away the Ptolemiac horse.

In the infantry battle, Scopas' pike phalanxes were driving the Seleucid pike back, only to be brought up short by the Seleucid elephants. Meanwhile, Antiochus the Younger directed his cavalry back into the fray, falling on Scopas' center phalanx from the rear and destroying it. With his left and center gone, Scopas lead his 10,000 survivors south to Sidon, where they were subsequently besieged until famine forced their surrender. Ptolemy V conceded control of Coel-Syria and Palestine, marrying Cleopatra, the daughter of Antiochus, in order to seal the peace.

20"Then in his place one will arise who will send an oppressor through the Jewel of his kingdom; yet within a few days he will be shattered, though not in anger nor in battle

The Romans (63 BC - AD 637)

History of Palestine

The Roman general, Pompey the Great, invaded Palestine in 63 BC, initiating seven long centuries of Roman rule. When civil war broke out between Julius Caesar and Pompey, Pompey took refuge in Alexandria - only to be treacherously murdered by Ptolomy XIV, the brother/ husband of Queen Cleopatra. Caesar then followed into Egypt and clashed with Ptolomy. His war against the Egyptians did not fare well until Antipater, an Arab Sheikh from southern Palestine, came to Caesar's assistance with several thousand Arab horsemen. Antipater was chief of the Idumaen tribe and his son was Herod, later to be known as 'Herod the Great'.

Cleopatra also sided with Caesar against her husband, who was finally defeated and drowned. Cleopatra also sided with Caesar against her husband, who was finally defeated and drowned. Cleopatra remarried a younger brother, but soon rid herself of him (by poison) and followed Caesar to Rome.

In gratitude for his assistance, Caesar appointed Antipater as governor of the districts of Judaea, Samaria and Galilee. Antipater in turn installed his sons, Heord and Feisal, as governors of Galilee and Judaea, respectively. This put an end to the rule of the Jewish Hasmonaean kings over Judaea, but it cost Antipater his life. The Jewish high priest of Jerusalem invited Antipater to dinner, during which poison was slipped into his wine.

When on the Ides of March, 44 BC, Caesar was murdered in Rome, one Cassius Longinus, who was responsible for Caesar's assassination, moved on to take over the eastern parts of the empire. Subsequently, the victory of Mark Antony and Octavian over Cassius left Antony in control of the Eastern Empire. Antony summoned Cleopatra to Tyre to answer a totally unfounded charge of aiding Cassius. But, like Caesar before him, he fell captive to her charms. Whilst Antony dallied in Alexandria with his regal lover, the Persians occupied Palestine. Herod narrowly made his escape to Alexandria, where Cleopatra provided him with a ship to continue his journey to Rome. Herod was warmly welcomed in Rome by both Mark Antony and Octavian, and Antony urged the Roman Senate to elect Herod as king of Judea. Herod's mother was a Nabataean, and he had inherited his father's clear-thinking intelligence and Diplomacy. With the aid of several Roman legions he drove the Persians out of Palestine; except for the Kingdom of Nabataea and Phoenicia.

Herod, however, had to deal with Cleopatra, who had grandiose designs. She wanted to establish an Eastern Empire for her sons from Caasar and Antony to inherit. She persuaded Antony to give her the Palestinian coastal cities, including the balsam groves of Jericho whose produce was world-famous and extremely valuable. But in deference to his friend and ally Herod, Antony refused to give her the rest of Palestine.

During a visit she made to Palestine with Anthony, Cleopatra tried winning Herod over by seduction. Her seductive arts apparently failed, but she did succeed in starting a war between Herod and the powerful king of Nabataea. She even conspired with his wife, Mariamne, and his mother-in-law, to overthrow him. When Octavian defeated Antony at the naval battle of Actium, Cleopatra's threats ended.

Octavian entered Alexandria on 1 August 30 BC and found Antony had already committed suicide; though from all accounts, not very efficiently. Barely forty, Cleopatra offered her charms to Octavian.

Octavian however, put her under arrest, planning to parade her before the street mobs of Rome in his victory procession. The proud queen forestalled him by committing suicide with the aid of one or two poisonous snakes, secretly conveyed to her and pressed against her bosom. Octavian (now titled Augustus Caesar) kept Herod in place because of his unfaltering loyalty to Antony. With Cleopatra out of the way, Herod embarked on an ambitious program to improve Palestine, winning him the title of 'Herod the Great'. He erected magnificent buildings, founded cities, built roads and fortresses, established games in honor of the emperor; and for the Jews he restored the temple at Jerusalem. He also built one of the finest seaports on the Mediterranean, which he named 'Caesarea' in honor of Augustus Caesar. The Romans chose Caesarea as the capital of Palestine and, in appreciation of his loyalty to Rome, Augustus presented Herod with two large regions in southern Syria, stretching his domain up to Damascus.

Herod died in 4 BC, two years after the birth of Jesus. Augustus Caesar divided Palestine between Herod's three sons; Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Philip. Archelaus was given Judaea, Samaria, and Idumaea, but was later deposed and his territory put under a Roman procurator (governor) stationed in Caesarea. Herod Antipas was given the districts of Galilee and Peraea, ruling from 4 BC to AD 39.

Philip was given the districts east of Galilee, ruling from 4 BC to 34 AD.