Belshazzar

Belshazzar (meaning Bel protect the king) was the last king of Babylon, described in Daniel 5 as the son of Nebuchadnezzar (in the sense of royal successor or descendant). Historical records identify him as the son of Nabonidus, the last Neo-Babylonian king, serving as co-regent while his father campaigned. On the night of a great feast at which Belshazzar used the sacred vessels looted from the Jerusalem temple, a hand appeared and wrote on the wall: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin. Daniel interpreted the words as a divine verdict of judgment—numbered, weighed, and divided—fulfilled that very night when Belshazzar was killed and Darius the Mede received his kingdom (Daniel 5:30–31).