553/552 BC
Complete person record
Belshazzar · Babylon
life, dates, and events
This record brings together the lifespan, dates, Scripture, and every dated event assigned to Belshazzar · Babylon.
Life record
Birth, lifespan, and death
Creation years 3371–3384
Reference under review · 540/539 BC
Reference library
Look up Belshazzar in the study works
These links search five public-domain reference works for this person. An author’s definition or conclusion is a study aid—not Scripture—and should be examined against the KJV text.
Public-domain referenceEaston’s Bible Dictionary
Dictionary and historical background
Find Belshazzar →Public-domain referenceSmith’s Bible DictionaryPeople, places, customs, and history
Find Belshazzar →Public-domain referenceHitchcock’s Bible NamesThe name and its traditional meaning
Find Belshazzar →Public-domain referenceNave’s Topical BibleRelated KJV passages arranged by subject
Find Belshazzar →Public-domain referenceTorrey’s Topical TextbookRelated biblical subjects and references
Find Belshazzar →Dated record
Events involving Belshazzar · Babylon
Creation year 3384540/539 BC
Belshazzar’s feast; Babylon falls
Daniel records Babylon’s judgment and Belshazzar’s death. The Nabonidus Chronicle independently dates the Persian capture of Babylon to October 539 BC, which this timeline anchors at Creation year 3384 and Nisan year 937.
Daniel 5:25–31 · KJV
“And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.”
Babylonian Chronicle · Nabonidus Chronicle
The damaged contemporary chronicle records the final year of Nabonidus, the Persian victory at Opis, the entry into Babylon, and Cyrus’s later arrival. It does not recount Daniel’s feast narrative.
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