Belshazzar
Sign in to saveBelshazzar (Babylonian cuneiform: 96x96pxBēl-šar-uṣur, meaning "Bel, protect the king"; Bēlšaʾṣṣar) was the son and crown prince of Nabonidus (), the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Through his mother, he might have been a grandson of Nebuchadnezzar II (), though this is not certain and the claims to kinship with Nebuchadnezzar may have originated from royal propaganda.
Key facts
- Monarch.name
- Belshazzar
- Monarch.native_lang1_name1
- Bēl-šar-uṣur
- Monarch.dynasty
- Chaldean dynasty(matrilineal) (?)
- Monarch.native_lang1
- Akkadian
- Monarch.death_place
- Babylon (?)
- Monarch.death_date
- 12 October 539 BC (?)
- Monarch.title
- Crown prince of Babylon
- Monarch.father
- Nabonidus
- Monarch.mother
- Nitocris (?)(A daughter of Nebuchadnezzar II) (?)
- Monarch.caption
- The Nabonidus Chronicle, an ancient Babylonian text which chronicles the reign of Belshazzar's father and also documents the period during which Belshazzar was regent in Babylon
- Monarch.image
- Nabonidus chronicle.jpg
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
11 sectionsContents
- Biography
- Background
- Conspiracy and accession of Nabonidus
- Regent in Babylon
- Fate
- Legacy
- Portrayal in the Book of Daniel
- Portrayal in later Jewish tradition
- See also
- References
- Bibliography
Belshazzar (Babylonian cuneiform: 96x96pxBēl-šar-uṣur, meaning "Bel, protect the king"; Bēlšaʾṣṣar) was the son and crown prince of Nabonidus (), the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Through his mother, he might have been a grandson of Nebuchadnezzar II (), though this is not certain and the claims to kinship with Nebuchadnezzar may have originated from royal propaganda.
Belshazzar played a pivotal role in the ''coup d'état'' that overthrew the king Labashi-Marduk () and brought Nabonidus to power in 556 BC. Since Belshazzar was the main beneficiary of the coup, through confiscating and inheriting Labashi-Marduk's estates and wealth, it is likely that he was the chief orchestrator. Through proclaiming his father as the new king, Belshazzar also made himself the first-in-line to the throne. As Nabonidus was relatively old at the time, Belshazzar could expect to become king within a few years.