Darius the Mede

A depiction of Daniel in the lions' den with Darius the Mede above.

Darius the Mede is a biblical person in the Book of Daniel, Chapters 6-9, who rules over Babylon after King Belshazzar is deposed. The author of the book of Daniel indicated that Darius was about 62 years old when he was 'made king over Babylon.^[5:31] He is best known for having been forced into throwing Daniel in the lions' den.

No such person as Darius the Mede is known in history.^[1] However, there have been attempts to identify Darius the Mede with such persons as: Cyrus the Great, Darius the Great or Gubaru.

Historicity of Darius the Mede

While mentioned in the book of Daniel, the works of Flavius Josephus, and Jewish Midrash material, Darius the Mede is not known from any primary historical sources. Neither the Babylonian nor the Persian histories record such a person. Herodotus, who wrote his history about 440 BCE, records that Babylon fell to the Persian army, under the control of King Cyrus, who had conquered the Median Empire as early as 550 BCE.

The conqueror of Babylon was Gobryas, governor of Gutium, a general of Cyrus, king of Persia. The successor of Cyrus, as king of Persia, was known as Darius the Great. Scholar, John J. Collins, who shares the Maccabean thesis view, states that the author of Daniel inherited a schema of four kingdoms in which Media preceded Persia. Therefore, he suggests that it was highly probable that Daniel created the figure of Darius the Mede to fit this schema.^[1]

Identifying Darius the Mede

George R. Law, Ph.D., provides this list of candidates, who may identify with Darius the Mede:^[2]

1. Astyages
2. Cambyses II
3. Cyaxares II
4. Cyrus the Great
5. Darius the Great
6. Gubaru

As Astyages

In the apocrapha, Bel and the Dragon, verse 1 mentions Astyages the Mede, who was the last king before Cyrus the Persian; but nearly the same verse is added in the Greek LXX after the end of Daniel chapter 6, having the name "Darius" in place of "Astyages". (LXX Dan. 14:1 and Dan 6:29)

As Cyaxares II

According to the Book of Daniel, Darius the Mede began ruling when he was 62 years old,^[5:31] appointed 120 satraps to govern over provinces or districts,^[6:1] was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans,^[9:1] and pre-dated Cyrus.^[11:1] What is little known of Cyaxares II, from extra-Biblical sources, matches the above mentioned descriptions offered in the Book of Daniel.^{[citation needed]}

As Cyrus the Great

This theory was first proposed by Donald Wiseman in 1957.^[3] Unlike Gubaru or Astyages, Cyrus the Great of Persia was the king who took over the Babylonian Empire. Cyrus was also married to a Mede, and had a Median mother.^[4] Indeed, his maternal grandfather Astyages, to whom he owed fealty, was the so-called "Last King of the Median Empire." An analysis of variant early texts, particularly the Septuagint, reveals that the names "Darius" (דריוש DRYWS in Hebrew) and "Cyrus" (כורש KWRS) are reversed in 11:1, and may have been miscopied elsewhere.^{[citation needed]} The appellation "Mede" (Heb. מדי MDY) may have been used as an ethnic term to apply to Persians as well, who were of the same race.^[5] In addition, Dan. 6:28, "So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian", could also be translated, "So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius, that is, the reign of Cyrus the Persian."^[6] Furthermore, kings commonly took dual titles and Nabonidus, Cyrus' cousin, referred to Cyrus as "the king of the Medes."^[4]

As Darius the Great

Darius I the Great reigned from 522 to 486 BCE. He is mentioned in the Book of Ezra 4:24. Scholars have argued that this is not the same Darius of Daniel chapter 6, at the very least, due to dating discrepancies.^[7] Those who support this view are: Tremper Longman and J. Daniel Hays.^[8]

However, there are historians who view the presence of Darius in the Book of Daniel, as simply a mistake of a much later author, or chronologist. The Persian King Darius I was perhaps inadvertently placed at an earlier date, than he actually reigned.^[9] Three key pieces of information seem to support this: Firstly, Darius I, like Cyrus, also conquered Babylon and personally commanded the Persian army that took the city in 522 BCE to put down a rebellion. Secondly, Daniel's reference to Darius organising the empire by appointing satraps and administrators fits Darius I perfectly: he is known to history as the Persian king par excellence who professionalised the empire's bureaucracy and organised it into satrapies and tax districts. Thirdly, Darius I was an important figure in Jewish history, remembered as a king associated with Cyrus who permitted the returned exiles to rebuild the temple. (cf Ezra chapters 1-6)

As Gubaru

Gubaru was the governor of Gutium, who actually led Cyrus's army that captured Babylon in the month of Tashritu in the 17th year.^[10] Two weeks later Cyrus made his triumphal entry into Babylon and a week after that Gubaru died. It is possible that Cyrus may have rewarded Gubaru with a regional governorship for capturing the capital of the Babylonian Empire and ending the war. Furthermore, under the first translation of Dan. 6:28, Darius ruled during the reign of Cyrus, and Dan. 5:31 states that Darius the Mede "received the kingdom" of the Chaldeans. Complicating this view is the question of whether or not Gubaru and Ugbaru are two different people, or simply variant spellings of the same name.

Jewish views

Talmudic and midrashic sources describe Darius the Mede as the uncle and father-in-law of Cyrus the Great, to whom Cyrus owed fealty. After Darius's death, Cyrus took the throne. According to Josippon, the Ahasuerus in the book of Esther was the son of Darius the Mede. The Midrash Tanchuma describes the fall of Babylon as described in Daniel and adds to the narrative Darius taking Vashti, the daughter of Belshazzar, as a wife for his son Ahasuerus.

See also

• Book of Daniel

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Collins, John J. (1998). The apocalyptic imagination : an introduction to Jewish apocalyptic literature (2. ed. ed.). Grand Rapids, Mich. [u.a.]: Eerdmans. p. 86. ISBN 0802843719. 
2. ^ Law, George R. (2010). Identification of Darius the Mede. North Carolina: Ready Scribe Press. p. x. ISBN 9780982763100. 
3. ^ Wiseman, D. J. (November 25, 1957). Darius the Mede. Christianity Today. pp. 7–10. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Miller 1994, p. 149
5. ^ e.g., as stated in Hippolytus' Diamerismos, §204, among other places.
6. ^ Colless 1992, p. 115
7. ^ Shepherd, Michael B. (2009). Daniel in the context of the Hebrew Bible. Volume 123 of Studies in biblical literature. Peter Lang. ISBN 9781433105395. 
8. ^ editor, J. Daniel Hays ; Tremper Longman III, general (2010). Message of the prophets : a survey of the prophetic and apocalyptic books of the Old Testament. [Grand Rapids, Mich.]: Zondervan. p. 241. ISBN 9780310271529. 
9. ^ Collins 1994, p. 30
10. ^ Lendering, Jona. "Cyrus takes Babylon: the Nabonidus chronicle". self published. http://www.livius.org/ct-cz/cyrus_I/babylon02.html. Retrieved 2010-06-12. 

Sources

• Collins, John Joseph (1994). Daniel: A Commentary on the Book of Daniel (Hermeneia: a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible). Augsburg Fortress Publishers. p. 499. ISBN 0800660404. 
• Wiseman, D. J. (1965). Notes on Some Problems in the Book of Daniel. London: Tyndale Press. p. 80. ISBN 085111038X. 
• Miller, Stephen B. (1994). Daniel. New American Commentary. 18. Nashville: Broadman and Holman. p. 348. ISBN 0805401180. 
• Colless, Brian (1992). "Cyrus the Persian as Darius the Mede in the Book of Daniel" (PDF). Journal for the Study of the Old Testament (subscription site) 56: 115. http://jot.sagepub.com/cgi/pdf_extract/17/56/113?ck=nck. Retrieved 2010-06-12.