King Belshazzar of Babylon

Belshazzar (Akkadian: Bel-sarra-usur) was the last ruler (strictly speaking, co-regent) of the Neo-Babylonian Kingdom.

In 562 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar died, and his son Evil-Merodach succeeded him, treating the exiled King Jehoiachin kindly (Jeremiah 52:31). In 560 BC, Evil-Merodach was murdered and usurped by his brother-in-law, Nergal-Sharezer (Jeremiah 39:3). In 556 BC, Nergal-Sharezer’s son, Labashi-Marduk, succeeded him but was assassinated in the same year, with Nabonidus taking over. Nabonidus, being at odds with the Marduk priestly class, left Babylon in 553 BC and retreated to the oasis of Tema in northern Arabia to focus on worshipping the moon god Sin, appointing his eldest son, Belshazzar, as co-regent.

In 539 BC, Persia conquered the city of Babylon, Belshazzar was killed, and Nabonidus was captured. The Book of Daniel’s depiction of Belshazzar as the last king of Babylon had long been subjected to criticism and skepticism from liberal biblical scholars, who argued that it did not align with historical facts, as historical records stated Nabonidus was the last king of Babylon and never mentioned Belshazzar by name. It wasn’t until 1854 when a British excavation unearthed ancient Babylonian texts where Nabonidus prayed for his eldest son, Belshazzar. Subsequent archaeological evidence increasingly confirmed that Nabonidus had resided in Tema for many years, and his son Belshazzar served as regent.

So, on the night Babylon fell to the Persians, at King Belshazzar’s feast for a thousand nobles, human fingers suddenly appeared and wrote on the plaster wall opposite the lampstand in the royal palace. When the king saw the hand that was writing, he was greatly alarmed. [Daniel 5:7] He cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and tells me its interpretation shall be clothed in purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” Daniel, who was already eighty years old at this time, had no interest in Belshazzar’s rewards. However, he promised to interpret the writing because he knew these rewards would soon vanish. Daniel also did not thank Belshazzar for the promise of being “third in the kingdom.” Instead, he unreservedly condemned the king’s pride and blasphemy, for he knew that this was precisely the testimony God wanted him to deliver before the king of Babylon. Daniel declared that God had numbered Babylon’s “days… and brought them to an end,” and that Babylon would be divided among the Medes and Persians.

Upon hearing such bad news, Belshazzar still feigned composure and honored his promised rewards, for he did not know that “this very night” his reign would “come to an end.” The war had not yet begun, and the city of Babylon had thick, high walls, the Euphrates River as a natural barrier, and enough food stored for many years. Neither side knew who could outlast the other (Herodotus, The Histories, Book 1, Chapter 190). Yet, “that very night, Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed.” All glory was fleeting, and the king’s end came with the end of the Babylonian Empire. Although being “third in the kingdom” was merely a facade of a reward from Belshazzar, it was greatly used by God to bring Daniel into the center of power of the Persian Empire after the change of dynasties, paving the way for the return of God’s people