Hippolytus of Rome : Alexander of Macedon rose against him, who was the son of Philip, and he seized his kingdom. And after he subjected the Persians, his kingdom was divided to the four winds of heaven. For while dying, Alexander divided his kingdom to four chiefs. — Commentary on Daniel 4.41.6 Hippolytus of Rome : "And another mighty king shall arise and he shall enter into the strongholds of the king of Egypt." [Daniel 11:3] For one named Antiochus became king of Syria. This one reigned in the one hundredth and thirtieth and seventh year of the kingdom of Greeks. And at this point, then in those times he engaged in war with Ptolemy king of Egypt, and having prevailed over him he ruled. This one, returning from Egypt, went up to Jerusalem in the one hundredth and forty-third year and taking all the treasures which were in the house of the Lord he went to Antioch. After these things happened in this way, two years later the king sent his own tax collector to compel the Jews in the cities of Judea to transgress the laws of their fathers and to be subjected to the decrees and laws of the king. And at this point when he arrived in the city of Modein, he summoned a certain righteous and pious man by the name of Matthias, who was from priestly stock, to whom he, answering, said, "Come now, Matthias, sacrifice and do what is prescribed by the king, just as he made all nations, because you are a great chief and a ruler in the city and are established in children and you will be a friend of the king." [1 Maccabees 2:17-18] But he, answering, said, "Though all nations and every man marches behind the king to do according to his command, I myself and my house and the house of my father will never do according to the prescription of the king; may we never depart from the law and covenant of our fathers; we will not listen to the words of the king to turn from our way right or left!" [1 Maccabees 2:19-22] While he was still speaking these words, behold, a Jewish man, coming before his face, came to sacrifice upon the altar of Modein. But Matthias, seeing him, was zealous for the law and his innards trembled, and he stood up in the fury of judgment and having fixed his mind to the task, he killed the Jewish man and also overpowered the guard of the king, and destroyed the altar and shouted, saying in the city, "Whoever is for the Lord who maintains the holy covenant let him follow after me!" [1 Maccabees 2:23-27] And they left all their things in the city and fled into the mountains and an assembly of strong men clung to him with might and they became for him a support. — Commentary on Daniel 4.42.1-10 Ishodad of Merv : "And [Alexander] shall arise," he says, "and will kill [Darius] and will take action as he pleases," and nobody will rise against him. This Darius, son of Arshak, was the tenth king after Cyrus, and in his sixth year Alexander marches against him and kills him. Alexander, when he came to Jerusalem, enters the temple, worships God and honors the temple with many gifts. — COMMENTARY ON Daniel 11:3 Jerome : Verses 3, 4. "But there shall rise up a strong king and shall rule with great power, and he shall do whatever he pleases. And when he shall have arisen, his kingdom shall be broken." He clearly refers to Alexander the Great, king of the Macedonians, and son of Philip. For after he had overcome the Illyrians and Thracians, and had conquered Greece and destroyed Thebes, he crossed over into Asia. And when he had routed Darius's generals and taken the city of Sardis, he afterwards captured India and founded the city of Alexandria. And then, when he had attained the age of thirty-two and the twelfth year of his reign, he died of poison. "And it shall be divided towards the four winds of heaven, but not unto his own posterity nor according to his power with which he had borne rule." After Alexander his kingdom was divided towards the four winds, namely to the east, the west, the south, and the north. In Egypt, that is in the south, Ptolemy the son of Lagos was the first to become king. In Macedonia, that is in the west, the Philip who was also called Aridaeus, a brother of Alexander, became king. The king of Syria and Babylon and the remoter regions, that is, the east, was Seleucus Nicanor. Antigonus was king of Asia Minor and Pontus and of the other provinces in that whole area, that is, in the north. So much for the various regions of the world as a whole; but from the standpoint of Judea itself, the north would be Syria and the south would be Egypt. And as for the statement, "But not unto his own posterity," the implication is that Alexander would have no children, but rather, his kingdom would be rent asunder and fall to others who were not of his family, except of course for Philip, who kept Macedonia. Nor would it be according to the power of him who had borne rule, for the kingdom became feebler by division into four parts, for they constantly fought among themselves and raged with internecine fury. "For his kingdom shall be rent in pieces (variant: destroyed), and that too among strangers besides these." Besides the four kingdoms of Macedonia, Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt, the kingdom of the Macedonians was torn asunder among other rulers of less prominence and among petty kings. The reference here is to Perdiccas and Craterus and Lysimachus, for Cappadocia, Armenia, Bithynia, Heracleia, Bosphorus and various other provinces withdrew themselves from the Macedonian power and set up various kings for themselves. — St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER ELEVEN