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Dan_8:2
The historical circumstances that followed the death of Belshazzar, and the prophet’s connection with them, and the high favor he enjoyed under the Medo-Persian dynasty, have already engaged our attention in the Readings in Isaiah. The only remarkable incident recorded of him under the new dynasty, was his being cast into the den of lions, and his deliverance therefrom, which drew from the king, Darius, the remarkable decree, “that in every dominion of my kingdom all men shall tremble and fear before the God of Daniel.”
Some notice of this form of punishment, by casting to lions, has been lately taken (page 232). It may be interesting to add, that although lions were found in Palestine in Old Testament times, the region in which this occurred—that of the Lower Euphrates and Tigris—is now the most westerly part of Asia in which lions still remain. We, indeed, never saw one ourselves, but we have conversed with those who did; and we have seen the tracks of their feet—have been at the months of their dens, formed in the mounds of ancient ruins of the age of Nebuchadnezzar, and strewed all around with the bones and portions of the hides of sheep, camels, and other animals; and we have been present when their roars were heard. The following anecdote is interesting, from its having been related at Shush, the ancient Shusan of Daniel, which is supposed to have been the scene of his miraculous deliverance, and where his tomb is still shown.
The Baron de Bode, in his Travels in Luristan and Arabistan, writes: “An old man of our party recounted to us, in glowing terms, how he once fell into company with several lions in the very neighborhood of Shush. It would be difficult to give an idea of the vehemence of gesture and expression with which he accompanied his narrative; but his story ran thus—
“‘When a mere lad of eight or nine years old, I was sent,’ he said, ‘one day by my parents to scare birds from a plantation belonging to us, which lay close to the river. As I was sitting in a frail hut of rushes, I suddenly espied a lioness making her way towards my place of concealment. My liver melted into water at the sight (jighe áb shúd), and I became like one transfixed. The animal stopped short, then couched, and, rolling on the sand, appeared quite unconscious of the presence of an intruder. Although I trembled like a leaf, this afforded me some respite; but presently I became aware of the approach of another lion through the rushes, by the tremendous roaring which preceded him. They met, and apparently on very friendly terms; and for some time they gamboled like dogs together. But I felt my situation was not the better for it, as their stay might be prolonged. I was more dead than alive, expecting at every instant that they would discover the in my hiding-place; and one stroke of the pace was more than sufficient to bring down the hut. I was afraid to breathe, lest the sound should reach their ears; yet I could not prevent my teeth from chattering quite audibly. But whether it was that they were too much occupied with their own concerns, or that they are deficient in scent, I do not know—suffice it to say, that after a short time, which to me appeared an age, they separated, each taking a different direction, and were soon lost in the high grass.
“‘It is many years since that event took place, added the old man in conclusion, ‘and still I never can think of it without a shudder.’ And, if I understood him right, the mental anxiety be underwent at the time, had the effect of changing the color of his hair into gray ever since. To me this narrative had a peculiar interest, as I was standing on the very spot which the traditions of the East point out as the scene where, twenty-five centuries ago, Daniel had his miraculous escape; and could not but contrast the calm confidence of the prophet with the agitated state of the Arab youth, who had not yet learned to place complete and implicit reliance on his Heavenly Father.”
The tradition which assigns Shusan as the locality of Daniel’s death, and places his tomb there, is highly probable. The prophet expressly mentions that he was at that place when ho had one of his visions; and we know that Cyrus established the custom for the court to spend the spring months in that city. Note: Winter at Babylon, spring at Susa, summer at Ecbatana. There are, however, two places on the lower Tigris that claim to be regarded as the ancient Susa; one is now called Shuster, and the other Shush. It is the latter that contains Daniel’s tomb, and is now generally allowed to represent the ancient city. The ruins here are very extensive indeed—reaching twelve miles from one extremity to the other, and consisting, as in all the ruined sites of this country, simply of hillocks of earth and rubbish, covered with pieces of broken brick and colored tiles. Some of the mounds are very large, assuming a kind of pyramidal shape, and doubtless mark the site of important public buildings, such as palaces and temples. At the foot of one of the largest of these mounds stands the tomb of Daniel. It is of modern architecture, and has little to carry the mind back to remote ages, except the probability that this replaces the more ancient tomb that covered the mortal remains of this honored servant of God. There are, indeed, some fragments of the marble columns, with the leaves of the lotus carved on them, and which are probably of the same date as the ancient city. The white conical roof of the building, similar to the section of a honey-comb, is a remarkable object, as seen rising among the trees. In the interior of a four-cornered chamber or cell stands the sarcophagus, which is, as usual in such tombs, a high box, of a dark sort of wood, surrounded by a railing. Hanging up against this grating are several boards, with Arabic quotations from the Koran, which the devout Moslems press to their lips as they pass around the sarcophagus.
Beneath the apartment that contains the tomb of the prophet, is another vault, the entrance to which is from the outside of the court, and which is said to represent the den of lions into which Daniel was cast by order of king Darius.
The tomb is in the charge of some dervishes, who subsist upon the alms of the pilgrims who resort to the sepulcher. These dervishes are the only fixed inhabitants of the city which once contained some of the proudest palaces ever reared by human hands. It is now, in fact, a wilderness infested by lions, hyenas, and other beasts of prey.