Belshazzar was the last ruler of the Neo-Babylonian kingdom, and in fact he shared the regency with his father.
Rich and debauched, on October 5, 539 B.C., he hosted a banquet at the court attended by more than a thousand people, and in the drunken room, someone desecrated the sacristy. At this time, someone saw that on the wall in a corner of the hall, there was a man's hand with a pen of fire, writing "Mene Mene Tekkel Upharsan", which means "no more, there is balance, division, Persian". Frightened, King Belshasa summoned the Jewish prophet Daniel and asked him to explain the meaning. Daniel said to him that this meant that your time was running out, that your deeds had been judged to be bad, and that the Persians would divide your kingdom. See the story in Book of Daniel, chapter 5.
Rembrandt's Feast for Belshazzar, 1635-1638, oil on canvas, 66 × 82 inches, National Gallery, London
At this time, Cyrus II was leading the Persian army to kill. The Babylonians did not take the Persians seriously. The city of Babylon is surrounded by three forty-foot-high walls inside and out, which are indestructible. However, the city of Babylon drew water from the Euphrates River, which flowed into the city through culverts under the walls. So Cyrus ordered the canal to be dug to intercept the flow and let the soldiers climb into the city through the drained culverts. However, there is also a saying that the priests of the time opened the gates and let the Persian army into the city.
Cyrus the Great
The city of Babylon was thus occupied, and that night King Belshasar was killed.
Cyrus did not slaughter the city, he asked the Babylonians to repair the temple and allow the captives in the city to return to their homeland. When the Jews returned to Israel, Cyrus the Great was revered as a benevolent king.