Empires of the Bible
Daniel 2; 7–8
Assyria, about 670 BC
“O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger” (Isaiah 10:5). From Nineveh, Assyria ruled from the Persian Gulf to Egypt. It carried Israel away (2 Kings 17:6) but never took Jerusalem (19:32–34).
Babylon, about 580 BC
The head of gold: “Thou art this head of gold” (Daniel 2:38), and the lion with eagle's wings (7:4). Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem and carried Judah captive (2 Kings 25).
Media and Persia, about 480 BC
The breast and arms of silver (Daniel 2:32, 39), the bear (7:5), and the ram with two horns, “the kings of Media and Persia” (8:20), whose king reigned “from India even unto Ethiopia” (Esther 1:1). Cyrus sent the Jews home to build the house of the LORD (Ezra 1:2).
Grecia, about 323 BC
The belly and thighs of brass (Daniel 2:32, 39), the leopard with four heads (7:6), and the rough goat, “the king of Grecia”, whose great horn was broken, and “four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation” (8:21–22).
Rome, about AD 60
The legs of iron: “the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron” (Daniel 2:40), and the fourth beast, “dreadful and terrible” (7:7). “In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed” (2:44).
Each empire at its height, with the kingdoms that served it. Borders are approximate.
Places
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Samaria · 2 Kings 17:6 In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
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Jerusalem · 2 Kings 18:17 And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's field.
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Babylon · Daniel 1:1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.
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Carchemish · Jeremiah 46:2 Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaohnecho king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah.
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Riblah · 2 Kings 25:6 So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.
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Shushan · Esther 1:2 That in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the palace,
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Rome · Acts 28:16 And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him.
More Maps
Abraham's Journeys · Jacob and Joseph · The Exodus · The Conquest of Canaan · The Twelve Tribes · David Flees from Saul · The Kingdoms of Israel · The Captivities · The Ministry of Jesus · Jerusalem in the Days of Jesus · Philip and Peter · Paul's First Journey · Paul's Second Journey · Paul's Third Journey · Paul's Voyage to Rome · The Seven Churches
Maps drawn for the KJV Bible app. Locations from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Terrain from Natural Earth and NASA SRTM.
