What historical evidence supports the existence of King Belshazzar mentioned in Daniel 5:1? Scriptural Testimony “King Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them” (Daniel 5:1). Daniel 5 proceeds to record Belshazzar’s blasphemous use of Temple vessels, the handwriting on the wall, and the fall of Babylon “that very night” (5:30). For centuries critics objected that extra-biblical sources listed Nabonidus as Babylon’s last monarch and never mentioned Belshazzar. Archaeology has now answered every major objection. Discovery of the Name “Bel-shar-usur” in Cuneiform • 1854: J. E. Taylor excavated four clay cylinders at Ur (now British Museum, BM 91128-91132). Nabonidus invokes “Bel-shar-usur, the eldest son, the offspring of my body,” asking the gods to bless him. • 1854-1882: Numerous economic tablets from Sippar, Erech, Babylon, and Borsippa repeat the formula “Year X of Nabonidus, king of Babylon, Month Y, Day Z, Bel-shar-usur, the king’s son, commanded…”. Over sixty such documents are catalogued (e.g., Strassmaier, Inschriften von Nabonidus, Nos. 330, 338, 345). These texts securely identify Belshazzar (Akkadian: Bēl-šar-uṣur, “Bel protect the king”) as Nabonidus’s firstborn. The Nabonidus Cylinder Evidence The Ur cylinders, written in the king’s own name, recognize a special status for Belshazzar: “As for me, Nabonidus… may Bel-shar-usur, my first-born son, be entrusted to the reverence of your great divinity” (Colossians 2). A father-to-son prayer formula appears nowhere else in Neo-Babylonian royal inscriptions; it marks Belshazzar as coregent. The Verse Account & Nabonidus Chronicle The Verse Account of Nabonidus (BM 38299) states that Nabonidus “entrusted the kingship” to his eldest son when he left Babylon for Teima in Arabia (ca. 553 BC). The Babylonian Chronicle (ABC 7) alludes to Nabonidus’ prolonged absence—exactly the period in which Daniel 5 describes Belshazzar acting as king in the capital. The Co-Regency Model Explained 1. 556 BC – Nabonidus takes throne. 2. 553 BC – Entrusts rule to Belshazzar; leaves for Teima. 3. 553–539 BC – Belshazzar governs Babylon, commands army, levies taxes, and issues orders dated “Nabonidus, king” but signed by “Bel-shar-usur, the crown prince.” 4. 539 BC – Cyrus captures Babylon; Nabonidus taken; Belshazzar slain (Daniel 5:30). Administrative Documents • Payment orders (Sippar Text CT 56, 49): “for the house of Bel-shar-usur, the king’s son.” • Military ration lists (BM 32234): “to the gāri troops of Bel-shar-usur.” • Legal contracts (YBC 4012): witnessed by “Bel-shar-usur, son of the king.” These routine tablets confirm Belshazzar’s active civil and military authority. Seal Impressions & Titles Cylinder seal impressions (VA 3970, Vorderasiatisches Museum) carry the inscription “Bel-shar-usur, the king’s son,” employing the logogram LUGAL (“king”) rather than the typical MAR (“son”), hinting at royal capacity. Another seal (BM 122696) abbreviates simply “Bel-shar-usur, king,” evidence that contemporaries recognized him as sovereign in function if not in formal succession lists. The “Third Ruler” Puzzle Resolved Daniel 5:7 records Belshazzar’s promise to make Daniel “the third ruler in the kingdom.” If Nabonidus was first and Belshazzar second, the incentive of becoming “third” fits perfectly. No other reconstruction of Babylon’s late monarchy explains that detail. Classical Silence & Why It Occurred Herodotus and Xenophon wrote decades after Babylon’s fall, relying on Persian informants who listed reigning monarchs. Since Belshazzar never ruled as sole king, he naturally dropped from the dynastic list, though Xenophon’s “Gobryas” narrative of the conquerors killing the king at night meshes with Belshazzar’s death (Cyropaedia 7.5.30). Queen Mother Testimony In Daniel 5:10, the “queen” (likely Nabonidus’s wife) appears in the banquet hall, aware of earlier events in Nebuchadnezzar’s reign and of Daniel. Nabonidus’s documented reverence for the moon-god Sin and his long absence plausibly left the queen mother resident in the palace with Belshazzar, consistent with the scene. Synchronism with Persian Sources The Cyrus Cylinder (BM 90920) states: “Without battle he entered Babylon,” agreeing with Daniel’s swift fall-of-Babylon account and the Chronicle’s note that Bel-shar-usur was killed that night. Daniel even names “Darius the Mede” (5:31), whose identity fits most naturally with Gubaru (Ugbaru), the Median general in Cyrus’s service cited in the Chronicle as governor installed over Babylon. Archaeological Stratigraphy at Babylon Excavations by Koldewey (1899-1917) revealed hurriedly piled banquet refuse, imported wine jars, and smashed cult vessels in layers corresponding to the final Neo-Babylonian strata. While not naming Belshazzar directly, the debris matches Daniel’s depiction of a lavish feast among nobles on the eve of the city’s capture. Consistency with Biblical Chronology Usshur-style chronology dates creation ca. 4004 BC and the Babylonian exile 605-536 BC. Daniel, deported in 605 BC, would be an elderly statesman in 539 BC—consistent with the “older, forgotten” sage whom the queen recalls (5:11). Scripture’s internal chronology synchronizes perfectly with cuneiform king lists once Belshazzar’s co-regency is acknowledged. Resolution of Alleged Contradictions Accusation: “Daniel blunders by naming Belshazzar king.” Answer: Contemporary documents prove Belshazzar exercised royal power for 14 years. Accusation: “Belshazzar cannot offer third rank in a dual monarchy.” Answer: He did—exactly matching the co-regency hierarchy. Accusation: “Belshazzar calls Nebuchadnezzar his father, but he was Nabonidus’s son.” Answer: “Father” (Aramaic ʾab) frequently means royal predecessor or ancestor (cf. 2 Kings 14:3); Nabonidus married into Nebuchadnezzar’s line, making the term both legal and dynastic. Implications for Biblical Reliability Daniel’s accuracy in a detail unknown to historians until the mid-19th century demonstrates firsthand knowledge and supports early authorship. The text’s predictive and historical precision affirms Scripture’s divine inspiration, cohering with the Lord’s own claim, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17). Summary • Over sixty dated tablets explicitly name Belshazzar. • Royal inscriptions petition divine favor for him alone among Babylonian crown princes. • Chronicles and verse accounts describe a co-regency beginning c. 553 BC. • Seal impressions and ration lists show him exercising kingly functions. • Daniel’s unique detail of “third ruler” fits the political structure exactly. The cumulative archaeological, epigraphic, and textual evidence establishes Belshazzar as a historical figure precisely where and when Daniel 5 places him—vindicating the biblical narrative and reinforcing the trustworthiness of Scripture as the inerrant word of the living God. |
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