The fifth monarchy is a millennarian idea, based on Biblical sources. The Book of Daniel^[1] refers to four monarchies or 'world empires', namely (under a conventional interpretation^[2]): the Assyrian Empire; the Persian Empire; the Greek (Hellenic) imperium set up by Alexander the Great; and the Roman Empire. The fifth monarchy, according to interpretations of the Book of Revelation, would be the culminating imperium of the final days. The Bible (From Greek βιβλια—biblia, meaning books, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported papyrus) is the sacred scripture of Christianity. ... The Book of Daniel, written in Hebrew and Aramaic, is a book in both the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and the Christian Old Testament. ... This article concerns the ancient Mesopotamian kingdom. ... The Persian Empire was a series of historical empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the old Persian homeland, and beyond in Western Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus. ... Alexander the Great (Greek: ,[1] Megas Alexandros; July 356 BC–June 11, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336–323 BC), was one of the most successful military commanders in history. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Visions of John of Patmos, as depicted in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. ...

A standard medieval interpretation ties the fourth monarchy and its end to the end of the Roman Empite; which is considered not to have comet to pass. This is the case for example in Adso.^[3]

Jean Bodin was concerned to argue against the theory of 'four monarchies' in universal history. He devoted a chapter to refuting it, in his 1566 Methodus ad facilem historiarum cognitionem^[4] The theory was particularly emphasised by Protestant theologians, such as Jerome Zanchius^[5], Joseph Mede^[6], John Lightfoot^[7] Jean Bodin (1530-1596) was a French jurist, member of the Parliament of Paris and professor of Law in Toulouse. ... Universal history is basic to the Western tradition of historiography, especially the Judeo-Christian wellspring of that tradition. ... John Lightfoot (March 29, 1602 - December 6, 1675) was an English churchman and rabbinical scholar. ...

This belief influenced the Fifth Monarchists of early modern England, in particular. The Foure Monarchies was the title of a long poem by Anne Bradstreet from 1650^[8]. The Fifth Monarchists or Fifth Monarchy Men were active from 1649 to 1661 during the Interregnum, following the English Civil Wars of the 1600s. ... Anne Bradstreet (ca. ...

Reference

• H. H. Rowley (1935), Darius the Mede and the Four World Empires in the Book of Daniel. A Historical Study of Contemporary Theories
• Joseph Ward Swain, The Theory of the Four Monarchies: Opposition History under the Roman Empire, Classical Philology, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Jan., 1940), pp. 1-21
• Gerhard F. Hasel, The Four World Empires of Daniel 2 Against its Near Eastern Environment, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 1979 4: 17-30

Notes

1. ^ [1]: Biblical text, expounded.
2. ^ Attributed [2] to Hieronymus of Milano.
3. ^ [3]
4. ^ [4]
5. ^ [5]
6. ^ [6]
7. ^ [7]
8. ^ [8]

External link

• [9]