<Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> Daniel is raised to high office by his royal master Darius the Mede . Daniel's jealous rivals trick Darius into issuing a decree that for thirty days no prayers should be addressed to any god or man but Darius himself; any who break this are to be thrown to the lions . Daniel continues to pray to the God of Israel, and the king, although deeply distressed, must condemn Daniel to death, for the edicts of the Medes and Persians cannot be altered . Hoping for Daniel's deliverance, he has him cast into the pit . At daybreak the king hurries to the place and cries out anxiously, asking if God had saved his friend . Daniel replies that his God had sent an angel to close the jaws of the lions, "because I was found blameless before him ." The king commands that those who had conspired against Daniel should be thrown to the lions in his place, along with their wives and children, and writes to all the people of the whole world commanding that all should tremble and fear before the God of Daniel . </P> <P> It is generally accepted that the Book of Daniel originated as a collection of folktales among the Babylonian diaspora, the Jewish community living in Babylon and Mesopotamia in the Persian and Hellenistic periods (5th to 2nd centuries BC). Chapters 4--6, which includes the tale of Daniel in the lions' den, may belong to the earliest stage, as these differ quite markedly in the oldest texts . Although the entire book is traditionally ascribed to Daniel the seer, the tales of chapters 1 - 6, including the story of the lion's den, are the voice of an anonymous narrator (except for chapter 4 which is in the form of a letter from king Nebuchadnezzar). It is possible that the name of Daniel was chosen for the hero because of his reputation as a wise seer in Hebrew tradition . </P> <P> Chapters 2 - 7 are in Aramaic, and are in the clear form of a chiasm (a poetic structure in which the main point or message of a passage is placed in the centre and framed by further repetitions on either side): </P>

Where did daniel and the lions den take place