Albert Barnes Commentary Daniel 8:8

"And the he-goat magnified himself exceedingly: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and instead of it there came up four notable [horns] toward the four winds of heaven." — Daniel 8:8 (ASV)

Therefore the he-goat became very great - The Macedonian power, especially under the reign of Alexander.

And when he was strong, the great horn was broken - This happened in the time, or at the period, of its greatest strength. Then an event occurred which broke the horn in which its power was concentrated.

It is easy to see the application of this to the Macedonian power. At no time was the empire so strong as at the death of Alexander. Its power did not pine away; it was not enfeebled, as monarchies are often, by age, and luxury, and corruption; it was most flourishing and prosperous just at the period when it was broken by the death of Alexander. Never afterward did it recover its vigor; never was it consolidated again. From that time, this mighty empire, broken into separate kingdoms, lost its influence in the world.

And in its place came up four notable ones - In the place of this one horn where all the power was concentrated, there sprang up four others that were distinguished and remarkable. On the word notable, see the notes at Daniel 8:5.

This representation would lead us to suppose that the power which had thus been concentrated in one monarchy would be divided and distributed into four. Instead of that one power, there would be four kingdoms. These kingdoms would fill up about the same space in the world, occupy about the same territory, and have about the same characteristics, so that they might be regarded as the succession to the one dynasty.

The same representation we have of this one power in Daniel 7:6: The beast had also four heads. See also Daniel 11:4: His kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven. This accords with the accounts in history of the effect of Alexander’s death, for though the kingdom was not divided by him into four parts, yet, from the confusion and conflicts that arose, the power was ultimately concentrated into four dynasties.

At his death, his brother Aridaeus was declared king in his place, and Perdiccas regent. But the unity of the Macedonian power was gone, and disorder and confusion, and a struggle for empire, immediately succeeded.

The author of the books of Maccabees says: So Alexander reigned twelve years, and then died. And his servants bare rule every one in his place. And after his death, they all put crowns upon themselves; so did their sons after them many years; and evils were multiplied in the earth.

Alexander died in 323 BC. Antipater succeeded Perdiccas in 321 BC. Ptolemy Lagus took possession of Egypt the same year. Cassander assumed the government of Macedon in 317 BC, and Seleucus Nicator took possession of Syria in 311 BC.

In 305 BC, the successors of Alexander took the title of kings. In 301 BC, the battle of Ipsus occurred, in which Antigonus, who reigned in Asia Minor, was killed. This battle was followed in that year by a formal division of Alexander’s empire between the four victorious princes: Ptolemy, Seleucus, Cassander, and Lysimachus.

This great battle of Ipsus, a city of Phrygia, was fought between Antigonus and his son Demetrius on the one side, and the combined forces of these princes on the other.

Antigonus had aimed at universal sovereignty; he had taken and plundered the island of Cyprus, destroyed the fleet of Ptolemy Lagus, and assumed the crown. Against him and his usurpations, Ptolemy, Cassander, and Lysimachus combined their forces, and the result was his complete overthrow at the battle of Ipsus.—Lengerke, in loc.

In this battle, Antigonus lost all his conquests and his life. In the division of the empire, Seleucus Nicator obtained Syria, Babylonia, Media, Susiana, Armenia, a part of Cappadocia, and Cilicia; his kingdom, in name at least, extended from the Hellespont to the Indies.

The kingdom of Lysimachus extended over a part of Thrace, Asia Minor, part of Cappadocia, and the countries within the limits of Mount Taurus. Cassander possessed Macedonia, Thessaly, and a part of Greece.

Ptolemy obtained Egypt, Cyprus, and Cyrene, and ultimately Coele-Syria, Phoenicia, Judea, and a part of Asia Minor and Thrace—Lengerke, in loc.

Toward the four winds of heaven - Toward the four quarters of the world. Thus, the dominions of Seleucus were in the east, those of Cassander in the west, those of Ptolemy in the south, and those of Lysimachus in the north.