Daniel 11: The Kings of the North and South (Part 1: Fulfilled Prophecy)

Daniel 11 gives us an amazingly detailed description of the progression of history.

It with Daniel himself—an exiled Jewish man living in Babylon shortly after the Medes had taken control of the city. Although Cyrus conquered Babylon, the administration of the region was given over to Darius the Mede, who acted as a viceroy over Babylon. From Daniel’s perspective, Darius was the ruling authority in power at that time.

Why does this matter? Some skeptics claim Daniel is wrong because secular history does not clearly identify a ruler known as “Darius the Mede.” They point to Cyrus as the ruler and assume Daniel either confused the timeline or invented a figure who has yet to be confirmed outside the Bible.

However, it is common for historical records to be incomplete when it comes to regional rulers or administrative authorities operating under a larger empire. The absence of additional evidence for this man is therefore not surprising. It does not mean Daniel was mistaken—it simply means secular history has to catch up.

More importantly, Daniel was not primarily concerned with the personal identity of rulers, but with the office that held authority over the region affecting Jerusalem. For this reason, throughout Daniel 11 the “king of the north” and the “king of the south” are spoken of as if they were the same people. The prophecy is not tracking individuals, but successive holders of the same position.

As a result, the text does not always identify the ruler by name. Instead, it describes what happens through that office, even as different individuals come and go. This distinction becomes especially important later—particularly when we reach verse 21—but for now it is enough to recognize the pattern.

With that framework in place, we can now examine the verses that have already been fulfilled, in striking historical order.

Daniel 11 Verse by Verse

At the time Daniel received this vision, Darius the Mede ruled Babylon as a viceroy under Cyrus. After Cyrus, Persia would see four more kings, ending with a fourth ruler with great wealth.

Historically, this happened exactly as described with the following kings:

1. Cyrus II
2. Cambyses II
3. Smerdis
4. Darius I
5. and finally Xerxes, the wealthy fourth king who waged war against Greece

Xerxes is also known by his Persian name Ahasuerus, as seen in the book of Esther. His war against Greece fulfills Daniel’s prophecy exactly as stated.

This “mighty king” is Alexander the Great, who swiftly conquered the Persian Empire and ruled with great authority. Alexander died unexpectedly, and his kingdom did not pass to his sons, who were murdered. Instead, it was divided among four generals during the Wars of the Diadochi.

From these four eventually two dominant powers emerged:

1. The king of the south — Egypt under Ptolemy
2. The king of the north — Syria under Seleucus

From this point forward, Daniel’s prophecy follows these two offices, not individual men. So don’t get confused by the names of these people as we move forward. They don’t matter in the focus of the prophecy. Only the actions they took while in office do.

The king of the south refers to Egypt under Ptolemy I, while the king of the north refers to Syria under Seleucus I.

Seleucus initially served under Ptolemy during the early Wars of the Diadochi. He eventually took Syria as his own, and his kingdom grew larger and more powerful than Egypt’s. This fulfilled the prophecy that one of the southern king’s princes would become stronger and have a great dominion.

After years of conflict, an attempt was made to unite the two kingdoms through marriage. Ptolemy II of Egypt gave his daughter Berenice in marriage to Antiochus II, king of the north.

This alliance failed horribly. After Ptolemy II died, Antiochus II left Berenice and returned to his former wife Laodice, who then planned the murder of Antiochus, Berenice, and their child. The alliance collapsed completely, exactly as Daniel foretold.

As a reminder: the prophecy continues seamlessly even though different individuals now occupy the offices of king of the north and king of the south. Remember, it’s the offices, not the individuals Daniel is concerned with.

Berenice’s brother, Ptolemy III, rose to power in Egypt and launched a retaliatory campaign against the northern kingdom. He invaded Syria, captured fortified cities, and carried back his plunder to Egypt, including captives, idols and treasures.

The king of the north, Seleucus II, fled eastward and temporarily lost control of his territory. However, after Ptolemy III returned to Egypt, Seleucus regained his kingdom.

Daniel shows us both the southern victory and the eventual restoration of the northern king in divine detail.

After Seleucus II, his sons attempted to restore northern superiority. Seleucus III began military campaigns but was assassinated after a short reign.

His brother, Antiochus III, then assumed the office of king of the north and began a much more successful military expansion.

Antiochus III fought with Ptolemy IV of Egypt in a major battle. Although Antiochus assembled a large army, he was defeated, and Egypt temporarily regained the upper hand.

But, Ptolemy IV did not capitalize on this victory. Instead, he became arrogant and reckless. Records describe his violent treatment of the Jewish people and his attempt to enter the Holy of Holies in Jerusalem—which led to brutal attacks against the Jews.

Daniel once again is confirmed.

After consolidating power elsewhere, Antiochus III returned years later with a much larger army. During this period, Egypt weakened internally, and opposition arose within its territories.

Antiochus defeated Egyptian forces, captured fortified cities, and established control over the Glorious Land-Palestine. No power was able to withstand him.

Again, exactly as Daniel described.

To gain control over Egypt without war, Antiochus III gave his daughter Cleopatra in marriage to Ptolemy V. His plan was to influence Egypt through her.

Instead, Cleopatra sided with her husband rather than her father. Once again, Daniel records the exact event long before it took place.

Antiochus III turned his attention westward, toward the “isles”—referring to the coastal regions and islands of the Mediterranean. He launched campaigns throughout Asia Minor and pushed toward Greece, capturing multiple territories along the way.

However, this brought him into direct conflict with Rome. Antiochus’ aggressive actions and demands provoked Roman intervention, and a Roman commander—acting not for personal gain but on behalf of Rome—brought his advances to a halt. Rome put an end to Antiochus’ ambitions, forced him to abandon his western conquests, and imposed humiliating terms upon him.

The reproach he brought upon rival nations was turned back upon himself through defeat, enforced withdrawal, and heavy financial penalties.

Antiochus III returned east toward his own land. Crushed by Roman demands and in desperate need of money, he attempted to seize treasure from a wealthy temple. During this attempt, he was killed, bringing his reign to a sudden and humiliating end.

Antiochus III was succeeded by Seleucus IV, whose reign was marked not by conquest but by taxation, imposed by Roman demands.

He ruled only briefly and was assassinated—not in battle or rage, but quietly removed from power.

Enter Rome and the Antichrist

It’s important that we pause here. At this point, when Seleucus IV was removed from power, the kingdom of the north began to be absorbed into the Roman Empire. By 64 BC, Syria would become a full Roman province.

If you remember from our previous studies, the identities of the northern and southern kingdoms still exist, but they exist as lands under the rule of Rome. Syria has always been Syria, and Egypt has always been Egypt. They simply lost their status as world empires.

At this point in prophecy (history to us), the fourth world empire from the previous prophecies of Daniel has now taken the stage. The king of the north is no longer an independent ruler; he is under Rome.

What this means is that the king of the north and the king of the south are no longer the focus of world history. Yes, there were still battles and events that affected Israel after this point, but the book of Daniel deals specifically with world powers—not with lesser nations, which these kingdoms had now become.

So Daniel is about to do something that has confused many people for centuries. He is going to skip ahead in verse 21 until these kingdoms become relevant again. Until there is another independent king of the north, that office has effectively been put on pause in relation to this prophecy.

From this point forward, prophecy is no longer speaking about this historical period. It skips ahead to the final kings—and in particular to the one known as the Antichrist. I will explain exactly why I say this in the next study.

This will sound very controversial to some people. But if you follow me into our next study, I will show why this is precisely where Daniel skips ahead, and why many other interpretations of Daniel get this wrong. This is not an arbitrary theological move. It is drawn directly from specific parts of the text itself.

Continue To Unit 7:12 – Daniel 11: The Kings of the North and South (Part 2: The Prophetic Pause and the Foreshadowing of the Antichrist) OR

Return To Christianity 101 Unit 7 – The Latter Days – A Detailed Look