Editing Belshazzar (section)

=== Background ===
[[File:Nabonidus.jpg|thumb|Stele depicting [[Nabonidus]], Belshazzar's father]]
Belshazzar was the son of [[Nabonidus]],{{sfn|Briant|2002|p=32}} an elderly courtier who would rise to become the last king of the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]]. There are various theories concerning Nabonidus's origins, and in turn what claim he had to the throne, since it is not made clear in any contemporary sources. It is possible that Nabonidus was married to one of Nebuchadnezzar II's daughters. Not only would such a connection explain Nabonidus's rise to the throne (due to his being a member of the royal family), but it would also explain later historical traditions in which Belshazzar is described as Nebuchadnezzar's descendant. In the [[Book of Daniel]] in the [[Hebrew Bible]], Belshazzar is referred to as Nebuchadnezzar's (grand)son.{{Sfn|Wiseman|1991|p=244}} It is alternatively possible that later traditions of Belshazzar being a descendant of Nebuchadnezzar are derived from royal propaganda, and that there was no connection to the previous ruling [[Chaldean dynasty]].{{sfn|Chavalas|2000|p=164}} 

The [[ancient Greek]] historian [[Herodotus]] names the "last great queen" of the Babylonian Empire as [[Nitocris of Babylon|Nitocris]], though that name (nor any other name) is not attested in contemporary Babylonian sources. Herodotus's description of Nitocris contains a wealth of legendary material that makes it difficult to determine whether he uses the name to refer to Nabonidus's wife or mother, but William H. Shea proposed in 1982 that Nitocris may tentatively be identified as the name of Nabonidus's wife and Belshazzar's mother.{{Sfn|Shea|1982|pp=137–138}} 

The most important sources for the time of Belshazzar are the [[Nabonidus Chronicle]], the [[Cyrus Cylinder]], and the [[Verse Account of Nabonidus]]—which, despite its name, was commissioned by the Persian conqueror [[Cyrus the Great]].{{sfn|Waters|2014|p=43}} As all of these ancient Babylonian documents were written after Babylon was conquered by the [[Achaemenid Empire]], they are biased in favor of Cyrus, and against Nabonidus and Belshazzar.{{Sfn|Beaulieu|1989|p=172}}