Ulai

The Ulai (identified with the Eulaeus of Greek writers) was a river or canal of Susiana — the province of ancient Elam centered on Susa — formed by the eastern branch of the Choasper (modern Kerkha) River, which divided approximately twenty miles above its mouth into two channels before joining the Persian Gulf. The Ulai is mentioned in Scripture in connection with Daniel's vision of the ram and the he-goat: Daniel found himself standing "by the river of Ulai" when the angel Gabriel appeared to him and interpreted the vision of the two empires (Dan. 8:2, 16).

The vision at the Ulai — depicting the rise and fall of Medo-Persian and Greek power and looking forward to the "time of the end" — is one of the most detailed prophetic visions in the Old Testament. The specific geographical location at Susa, the Persian administrative capital, gives the vision historical concreteness, situating Daniel at the very heart of the empire whose rise and fall he foresaw.