“Then a mighty king will rise to power who will rule with great authority and accomplish everything he sets out to do. But at the height of his power, his kingdom will be broken apart and divided into four parts. It will not be ruled by the king’s descendants, nor will the kingdom hold the authority it once had. For his empire will be uprooted and given to others.” Daniel 11:3-4
The angel predicts to Daniel that his kingdom shall be broken and divided to the four winds of heaven. This was fulfilled literally in that his kingdom was shattered after his death and not only divided to the four winds, but divided among his four generals. Alexander’s empire was not given to his posterity. Hercules, the son of Alexander at the time of his death, whose mother was Barsina, was murdered by Polysperchon. Young Alexander, born posthumously of Roxana, was murdered in 310 BC. The empire of Alexander the Great, after it fell into the hands of his four generals, did not preserve the glory and power it had in Alexander’s day. The strong central rule which had characterized it passed with the death of Alexander. This event, recorded in Daniel’s prophecy written about 539 B.C., was fulfilled when Alexander died in 323 B.C.
The generals that fought over Alexander’s kingdom eventually divided it four ways; Macedonia, Asia Minor, Egypt, and Syria. One of these generals rule Egypt, which is south of Israel, and another ruled Syria, which is north. Out of Syria came the first king of the North and for Egypt the king of the South. These two and their successors made life miserable for the Jews, who were caught in a vise between the two.
The four generals are as follows: Cassander took the western part of the Empire, which includes Greece and Macedon. Lysimachus took the northern part of the Empire, which was modern day Turkey and part of Bulgaria, plus the extreme southern part of Romania. Seleucus took the eastern part of the Empire, which included modern day Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and a part of Pakistan. Ptolemy took the southern part of the Empire, which was part of Egypt and Israel.