Commentary on Daniel, Chapter 9 · Doctrines 1 · Question 52
Quest. 52. Xerxes raigne was intermingled with his fathers in the beginning, and with his sonnes in the ende.
1. Some doe giuegive vntounto Xerxes no seuerall raigne at all, but giuegive vntounto his father Darius onelyonly 20. yeares: because they hold that in his fathers life time he warred with Greece for 7. yeares together, and then flying away cowardly, was afterward slaine by Artabanus, Darius yet beeing aliue, so Iun. following Beroaldus, annotat. in Ezra. 4. v. 5. edition. 1. But it is cleare that those warres against Grecia, were after Darius death 6. yeares, as H. Br. in his proleg. in Daniel. and M. Liuely prooueth that Darius was dead before, by the poet Aeschyl… liuing in those times: who in his tragedie called Persa, raifeth Darius long before dead out of his graue to tell newes.
2. Some giuegive vntounto Darius 36. yeares, and to Xerxes 22. Iunius in his summe of yeares set before Ezra in the Last edition: But seeing that Darius liued in all but 43. yeares, as H. Br. sheweth out of Ctesias; and he was at mans estate, when he was elected king, beeing before one of the seuen gouernours, he could not any thing neere raigne so long.
3. Some will admit no intercliange or mingling together of the father and sonnes raigne; and stand vponupon it, that it cannot be shewed in all the Persian Monarchie, that the father and the sonne raigned together, M. Li…ly, Persian Monarchie, pag. 195.
Answ. The contrarie may be prooued both out of sacred and prophane histories. 1. In the raigne of the kings of Iudah it is found to be an vsuall thing, for the sonnes to beginne their raigne while their fathers yet liued: as Ieh…r…m was viceroy in Iehosaphats time 4. yeares: for Iehosaphat raigned 25. yeares, 1. king. 22. 42. now in the 18. yeare of Iehosaphat, beganne Iehor… king of Isr…l to raigne 12. yeares, 2. king. 3. 1. And in the 5. yeare of this Iaram, which was the 2…. yeare of Iehosahat, began Iehoram of Iudah to raigne 8. yeares, 2. king. 8. 16. when as there remained ye… 4. yeares of his fathers raigne. So Ahaz was viceroy vnderunder Iotham his father, 2. or 3. yeares: for Iotham beganne to raigne in the 2. of Pekah king of Is…ae… and raigned 16. yeares, 2. king. 15. 32. And in the 17. of Pekah beganne Ahaz to raigne, 2. king. 16. 1. the like instance may be giuen of other kings of Iudah and Israel: And the like custome might be among the kings of Persia, as Iunius thinketh that Artaxerxes Mnemon raigned in his father Darius time, annot. in Ezr. 6. 14.
2. For forre… stories, Temporariu… and Mercator doe alleadge out of Plutarke in the life of Themistocles, that he beeing b…ished Greece, fledde vntounto Artaxerxes sonne of Xerxes, his father yet liuings, as Th…cidides testifieth, and Charon Lampsacenus: Ae…lius Probus i… in the same minde, and Philostratus lib. 1. de vit. Apollon. c. 19. And that Xerxes was then liuing as is further shewed, because they set the beginning of Artaxerxes raigne in the first yeare of the 79. Olympiad: But Themistocles died in the 1. yeare of the 77. Olympiad, as Diodorus Sicu…us, lib. 11. and Euseb. in Chron.
But 1. M. Liuely answereth, that Xerxes hauing three sonnes, Darius, Hystaspis, and Artaxerxes, would hauehave nominated in al likelihood, the eldest of these heire apparant before the other: and Iustine saith, that when Xerxes died, Artaxerxes, was admodum puer, a verie child. 2. diuerse graue authors, as Cleitarehus Heraclides, Diodorus Siculus, doe write that Themistocle fledde vntounto Xerxes, not vntounto Artaxerxes, to this purpose M. Linely, pag. 195. M. Lydyat is also of the same minde, that Artaxerxes, raigned alone at this time, de emendat. pag. 73. 3. Pererius further answereth, that if Artaxerxes had beene ioyned with his father in his kingdome, Artabanus who first killed Xerxes, and afterward set vponupon Darius his eldest sonne, would rather hauehave shot at Artaxerxes, who was appointed to the kingdome, whom it is not like his father would hauehave preferred before his eldest sonne.
Contra. 1. If Artaxerxes were the youngest, either the other two might be first dead, or not of so good parts as the yongest was, who might therefore be nominated to the kingdome; as Xerxes was made heire apparant to his father Darius, his elder brother Artabazanes beeing omitted, as M. Lydyat acknowledgeth, pag. 67.
2. Though these authors so write, yet Ae…lius Probus preferreth the restimonie of Thucidides, as liuing neerest to those times, and so best to be credited, that Themistocles fledde to Artaxerxes.
3. Artabanus might hauehave opportunitie to kill Xerxes fleeing from the Grecians, as Bessus killed Darius Codomannus fleeing away from Alexander: and Darius beeing one of the kings sonnes, he might kill likewise the occasion so seruing, whereas Artaxerxes beeing possessed of the kingdome, was better defended against him, and afterward was reuenged vponupon him for his fathers death.
4. But none of these answeres doe take away the former obiection, that Artaxerxes raigned 8. yeares at the least before his fathers death, a…i… gathered by the Olympiade reckoning.
4. It remaineth then, that Xerxes is the latter part of his raigne, ioyned his sonne Artaxerxes with him, as he raigned together with his father Darius: and therefore he is named next after Cyrus, Ezra. 4. 7. As there Cyrus raigne is named onelyonly for his and Cambyses: so Assuerus raigne (who is thought to be Darius Hystaspis) standeth there for the ioynt raigne of Darius and Xerxes. By reason then of this intermingling of yeares, the foresaid yeares cannot be particularly assigned to the former kings.