Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. A ram which had two horns - the two ought not to be in italics, as if it were not in the original: for it is expressed by the Hebrew dual. "Horn" in the East is the symbol of power and royalty.
One was higher than the other ... the higher came up last. Persia, which was of little note until Cyrus' time, became then ascendant over Media, the more ancient kingdom. Darius was 62 years old (Daniel 5:31) when he began to reign; during his short reign of 2 years, being a weak king (Daniel 6:7; Daniel 6:14; Daniel 6:17), the government was almost entirely in Cyrus' hands. Hence, Herodotus does not mention Darius; but Xenophon does, under the name of Cyaxares II. The "ram" here corresponds to the "bear" (Daniel 7:5), symbolizing clumsy firmness: The King of Persia wore a jewelled ram's head of gold instead of a diadem, such as are seen on the pillars at Persepolis. Also the Hebrew for ram х 'ayil (H352), meaning strong, brave], springs from the same root as "Elam," or Persia (Mede in Newton). The "one horn higher than the other" answers to the bear "raising itself on one side" (cf. note, Daniel 7:5).