Belshazzar Co-regent with Nabonidus
For many years scholars insisted that Belshazzar who in Daniel 5:1 is called "king" of Babylon was yet another proof that the biblical text was historically inacurate, for no such person was listed in the Babylonian king lists. The last king of Babylon was known to be Nabonidus (556-539 B.C.).
However, in the 1800's, Taylor discovered four cylinders each with the same text, one at each of the four corners of the zigguart dedicated to the moon god, Sin, at Ur. The Babylonian inscriptions give an account of the rebuilding of the zigguart at Ur by Nabonidus. Significantly, at the end of the account, Nabonidus records a prayer to the moon god Sin in which he prays for "Belshazzar, the son, first (born), the offspring of my heart (body)." Now for the first time, it was known that Nabonidus' royal crown prince named Belshazzar did in fact exist.
From other texts we know that Nabonidus left Belshazzar in charge in Babylon while he was in Tema in NW Arabia for a period of ten years. This then makes sense of the statement in Daniel 5:29 which says that Daniel was given third position in the kingdom, after Nabonidus and Belshazzar.
The fact that the biblical text mentions Nebuchadnezzar as the 'father" of Belshazzar (Daniel 5:2, 11), probably means "forebear" as when Shalmanezzar III refers on the famous Black Obelisk to Jehu as the son of Omri. The greatest historical figure was often thought of as the "father" of succeeding important individuals even though they were not direct descendents or even blood relatives.
Illustration description: Cylinder of Nabonidus written in Standard Babylonian cuneiform which mentions his son Belshazzar.
Illustration credit: www.biblepicturegallery.com
