Belshazzar – the last Babylonian king, whose name is mentioned in the biblical story of the fall of Babylon (Daniel V, 1 – 30). Despite the siege of the capital taken by Cyrus, the king and all the inhabitants, having at his wealth of products that could blithely indulge in the pleasures of life. On the occasion of a holiday – we read in the Bible – V. gave a magnificent feast, to which were invited to thousands of nobles and courtiers. Desktop bowls were precious vessels, selected by Babylonian invaders in various subject peoples, among other things, expensive vessels from the Jerusalem temple. In this case, the custom of the ancient pagans, celebrated Babylonian gods, which proved victorious earlier and therefore will be victorious, and now, despite all the efforts of Cyrus and his secret allies, the Jews, with their Jehovah. But in the midst of the feast on the wall of a hand of man, and slowly began to write some words. Seeing her, "the king's face changed its, his thoughts confused, weak links of his loins, and his knees in terror smote one against the other." Called the wise men were unable to read and explain the inscription. Then, on the advice of the queen, called the aged prophet Daniel, who more than once, even when Nebuchadnezzar, showed extraordinary wisdom, and he actually read the inscription, which in Aramaic briefly stated: "Mene, Mene, Tekel on the wall." It meant: "Mene – God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it; Tekel – You have been weighed and found wanting; PERES – Thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians." "The tighter that night – continues the biblical story – Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans slain" (Daniel V, 30). The very name of Belshazzar, as mentioned in the Bible alone, and its position in the series of Babylonian kings was the subject of numerous scientific disputes. Some scholars and critics, as for example. De Vetta, found it possible to assume the name of Vladimir fictitious. In the Bible, Nebuchadnezzar's son Belshazzar is called; between.Yet we know that Nebuchadnezzar had only one son, Evil-Merodach, after which ruled Babylonia yet three kings. In view of this, some identified with V. Nabonidus. But against this identification speaks undeniable fact that Nabonidus was taken prisoner by Cyrus before the siege of Babylon, and was not killed, but was kept in honorable captivity. The first thread to the undoing of this difficult historical question was given the known Assyriologists Henry Rawlinson. During excavations of the great temple in Ur, it was discovered in 1854, several cylinders with inscriptions of Nabonidus laid the foundation of the temple. At one of these cylinders has a large inscription, which refers to God Nabonidus moon with the following supplication: "extend my life for many years and (as life) Bel-sar-usura, my eldest son, what happened to me." Of this inscription it is clear that Nabonidus was the eldest son, named Bel-sar-usur, or at the Greek transcription, Balthazar. As the eldest son, he was apparently the heir to the throne, and the custom of the Babylonian kings could be called upon to manage, as a co-ruler, still lie to the life of his father. With Balthazar to the fall of Babylon was already an adult, able to take part in public affairs, this is another indication of cuneiform inscriptions, now housed in the British Museum, and contains a chronicle of events that preceded the downfall of Babylon, and directly behind him. In it, under the 11 th year of the reign of Nabonidus, so for five or six years before the fall of Babylon, mentioned the son of the king, as commander in chief the troops. When Nabonidus was captured, Balthazar could actually become the king of Babylon at least nominally them and considered Nabonidus.With regard, finally, that, that Balthazar is the son of Nebuchadnezzar, it is simply explains the well known feature of Jewish or even the Eastern way of thinking, in which the father is not only a real father, and grandfather, grandfather and even the distant ancestor (just as Christ called the son of David, every Jew is the son of Abraham, etc.). Nabonidus was married to the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar – traces. Belshazzar was the grandson of the king, and in a solemn voice he could call himself simply as his son. The history of the VA associated one more question. The biblical story suggests (although it accurately and not said about this), that Babylon was besieged and taken by force (or trick), so protective of his night Belshazzar was killed in a skirmish with the enemy. Herodotus, in turn, describes in detail the very siege of Babylon, and that a stratagem, which appears Cyrus was to capture an impregnable except the capital. Meanwhile, in the above-mentioned clinical record deal, apparently, it seems otherwise. According to her, victorious Cyrus defeated the Babylonian army in the open field, "without a battle down to Babylon in the sixth day of the month Tammuz (ie, July). However, this expression can be understood in the sense that Cyrus was a battle went up to Babylon. In the same chronicle, further explains, although quite clear that from Babylon was self-defense, manifested in resistance to some "rebel guchi", which before the winner was locked gates Beat Saggatu, ie huge building, which houses the royal palace. Despite the fact that they had an extreme shortage of weapons, they kept there for four months, so that "Cyrus entered Babylon in the third day of the month Arahsamna", ie In October or November. Only after this cuneiform document starts to send the details of the first steps of management of Cyrus in Babylon. Thus, the cuneiform texts, at least not contradict Herodotus. Wed (T. Rawlinson, "Egypt and Babylon" (1885, p.147 – 161), by his "Ancient Monarchies" (2 nd ed.) E. Babelon in "Annales dephilos. Chret." (January 1881); G. Pinches in the "Transactions of the Society of Biblic. Archeology" vol VII; Vigouroux, "La Bible et les decouvertes modernes" (1885, v. IV, p. 511 – 545). The text of cuneiform documents see "Transactions", v. VII, and in "Records of the Past" (Vol. V and XI).

November 8th, 2010 Subscribe to the RSS feed!