Bel-šarru-uṣur

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Bel-šarru-uṣur or Belšazar (also Belsazar ; late Babylonian Bel-šarru-uṣur ; Greek Baltạsar ; Latin Baltạssar ) was the Babylonian crown prince who lived from 552 to 543 BC. In place of his father Nabonid led the business of government. His name means: " Bēl protect the king".

Historical sources

Numerous economic documents from Babylonia attest to Belšazar's reign. In the Nabonidus Chronicle , among other things, the descent of Belshazzar from Nabonid is attested: "The son of the king ... was in the land of Akkad (Babylonia), while Nabonid was in Tayma (in Arabia)."

Biblical Tradition (Book of Daniel)

In the Book of Daniel of the Old Testament , Belšazar is referred to as a king and a "son" of Nebuchadnezzar II .

But “son” means “male descendant” in the biblical languages, including grandchildren and so on. The biblical designation “Nebuchadnezzar, father of Belšazar” is also explained by the Semitic linguistic habit of referring to forefathers as fathers. So the term “son of David” is also used for a distant descendant of David.

Belšazar appears a ghostly "writing" on a wall of his palace. Belšasar asks his scholars to interpret this writing. After they have failed, he has the prophet Daniel fetched, who interprets this scripture for him: “Mene: Counted, that is, God has counted the days of your kingship and ended them. Tekel: Weighed, that is, you were weighed on the scales and found to be too light. Peres (U-parsin): Your kingdom will be divided and handed over to the Persians and Medes ”. (see writing on the wall ). That same night Belšazar is murdered and his empire is divided between the Persians and Medes ( Dan 5.28  EU ).

Historical reference

It is possible that the biblical tradition is based on historical events and that Belšazar was actually murdered by a Marduk priest. However, he was never king of Babylonia, but rather its deputy until the return of Nabonidus. Thus, “king” describes his position as regent, which can also be recognized by the fact that Daniel is offered the position of third in the empire, while Belšazar was apparently the second in the empire. Belšazar was not, as has often been concluded according to the Book of Daniel, the last king of the Babylonian Empire . The last time he is named as deputy in the 13th year of Nabonidus' reign, whom he has represented since the fourth year of his reign since his accession to the throne. After the return of the Babylonian king from Tayma , an oasis in what is now Saudi Arabia, Belšazar is no longer mentioned in the written sources.

Daniel's function, described by the editors as a wisdom interpreter of omens , can be compared with the office of Entu priestess or fortune teller ( Akkadian : ašipu), which in the Babylonian Empire contained the omen interpretations or incantations. After his return, Nabonidus ruled for another three years. In the Nabonidus chronicles, however , a premature death of his son is not recorded. In this context it is also significant that the descendants of the Babylonian king were not prophesied of a subsequent kingship.

Artistic arrangements

Rembrandt van Rijn:
The Banquet of Belshazzar

The material of the Belshazzar is the basis for numerous artistic arrangements.

literature

  • FM Thomas Böhl: Daniel. In: Dietz-Otto Edzard u. a .: Real Lexicon of Assyriology and Near Eastern Archeology . Volume 2. de Gruyter, Berlin 1978, ISBN 3-11-004450-1 , p. 118.
  • MA Dandamayev: Nabonidus. In: Dietz-Otto Edzard u. a .: Real Lexicon of Assyriology and Near Eastern Archeology. Volume 9. de Gruyter, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-11-017296-8 , pp. 6-12.
  • Alan R. Millard: Bible and Archeology . TVG Brunnen, Gießen / Basel 1977, ISBN 3-7655-9023-1 .
  • Wolfgang Röllig: The wisdom of the kings in Assyria and Babylonia. In: David Clines, Elke Blumenthal: Wisdom in Israel: Contributions to the symposium “The Old Testament and the Culture of Modernity” on the occasion of the 100th birthday of Gerhard von Rad (1901–1971), Heidelberg, 18. – 21. October 2001. Lit, Münster 2003, ISBN 3-8258-5459-0 , pp. 37-52. ( online )
  • Josef Wiesehöfer : Ancient Persia 550 BC BC to 650 n. Chr . 1st edition. Patmos , Düsseldorf 2005, ISBN 3-491-96151-3 , p. 426 .
  • Albert Kirk Grayson: Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles. Eisenbrauns, Toronto 1975, pp. 104–111 (Chronicle 7)
  • P.-A. Beaulieu: The Reign of Nabonidus, King of Babylon. New Haven 1989.
  • Kurt Galling : Text book on the history of Israel . Tübingen 1968, p. 81 .
  • Dominik Helms:  Belshazzar. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (eds.): The scientific Bibellexikon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff., Accessed on July 18, 2017.

Individual evidence

  1. Josef Linder: The king Belšaṣṣar according to the Book of Daniel and the Babylonian cuneiform reports. P. 192.
  2. AR Millard: Bible and Archeology , p. 38.
  3. Dan 5: 7, 16  EU
  4. MA Dandamayev: Nabonid. P. 10.
  5. The year of government refers to the Babylonian calendar. In equating the government chronicle, it is the official 12th and 3rd year of government.
  6. Wolfgang Röllig : The wisdom of the kings in Assyria and Babylonia. In: archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de , p. 38 ( PDF ).
  7. Klaas R. Veenhof: History of the Old Orient up to the time of Alexander the Great - Outlines of the Old Testament. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2001, p. 284.
  8. ^ Kurt Schreinert:  Beccau, Joachim. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1953, ISBN 3-428-00182-6 , p. 687 ( digitized version ).
  9. ^ Heinrich Heine: book of songs in the project Gutenberg-DE