Belshazzar

bel-shaz'zar, a Babylonian prince mentioned in the Book of Daniel, Chapter v. He died 538 B. C. According to the scriptural account, Belshazzar was the son of Nebuchadnezzar and the last of the Chaldean dynasty at Babylon. Ancient historians name Nabonidus as the last king, and do not mention Belshazzar as a descendant of Nebuchadnezzar. The cuneiform inscriptions discovered at Babylon have made clear this discrepancy. Nabonidus, the last Chaldean king, fled from Babylon after the defeat of his forces and while the city was in a state of siege. He left his son Belshazzar, whom he had previously associated with himself on the throne, in charge of Babylon. The story told by Daniel is that Belshazzar made a great feast to a thousand of his lords. While they were merry with wine, the fingers of a man's hand appeared between the great lamp and the wall, and traced words of unknown meaning on the plaster. The king was so terrified by the apparition that he lost countenance and his knees smote together. He called for his astrologers, but none was able to explain the mystery until young Daniel, a Jewish captive, boldly interpreted the writing as a warning that the Babylonian kingdom was at an end. That same night Belshazzar was slain and the Medes took possession of his kingdom. The "handwriting on the wall" has been a favorite subject with both painters and poets. Byron has written two poems on Belshazzar and his vision. Belshazzar, by Proctor, pseudonym Barry Cornwall, is the best known poem on the subject.