RELIGIOUS FIGURE
Belshazzar
600 BC - 600 BC
Belshazzar
Belshazzar (Babylonian cuneiform: Bēl-šar-uṣur, meaning "Bel, protect the king"; Hebrew: בֵּלְשַׁאצַּר Bēlšaʾṣṣar) was the son and crown prince of Nabonidus (r. 556 – 539 BC), the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Through his mother, he might have been a grandson of Nebuchadnezzar II (r. 605 – 562 BC), though this is not certain and the claims to kinship with Nebuchadnezzar may have originated from royal propaganda. Belshazzar played a pivotal role in the coup d'état that overthrew the king Labashi-Marduk (r. 556 BC– ) and brought Nabonidus to power in 556 BC. Since Belshazzar was the main beneficiary of the coup, through confiscating and inheriting Labashi-Marduk's estates and wealth, it is likely that he was the chief orchestrator. Read more on Wikipedia
Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Belshazzar has received more than 1,233,938 page views. His biography is available in 41 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 39 in 2019). Belshazzar is the 356th most popular religious figure (down from 260th in 2019), the 30th most popular biography from Iraq (down from 22nd in 2019) and the 8th most popular Iraqi Religious Figure.
Belshazzar is most famous for the story of the writing on the wall, which is told in the Bible's book of Daniel. In this story, a Babylonian king named Belshazzar throws a feast and drinks from the cups of gold and silver that his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem. He then sees a hand writing on the wall, and is so terrified that he falls down dead.
Memorability Metrics
1.2M
Page Views (PV)
70.10
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
41
Languages Editions (L)
8.72
Effective Languages (L*)
2.78
Coefficient of Variation (CV)
Among RELIGIOUS FIGURES
Among religious figures, Belshazzar ranks 356 out of 3,187. Before him are Guru Nanak, Pope John XI, Pope Benedict IX, Pope Silverius, Pope Innocent IV, and Caiaphas. After him are Umm Salama, Sarah Baartman, Photios I of Constantinople, Philip Neri, Pope Leo VII, and Sathya Sai Baba.
Most Popular Religious Figures in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsGuru Nanak
1469 - 1539
HPI: 70.27
Rank: 350
Pope John XI
910 - 936
HPI: 70.24
Rank: 351
Pope Benedict IX
1012 - 1055
HPI: 70.22
Rank: 352
Pope Silverius
490 - 538
HPI: 70.21
Rank: 353
Pope Innocent IV
1195 - 1254
HPI: 70.13
Rank: 354
Caiaphas
18 - 100
HPI: 70.13
Rank: 355
Belshazzar
600 BC - 600 BC
HPI: 70.10
Rank: 356
Umm Salama
602 - 683
HPI: 70.10
Rank: 357
Sarah Baartman
1788 - 1815
HPI: 70.09
Rank: 358
Photios I of Constantinople
900 - 896
HPI: 70.09
Rank: 359
Philip Neri
1515 - 1595
HPI: 70.05
Rank: 360
Pope Leo VII
900 - 939
HPI: 70.05
Rank: 361
Sathya Sai Baba
1926 - 2011
HPI: 70.05
Rank: 362
Contemporaries
Among people born in 600 BC, Belshazzar ranks 12. Before him are Ānanda, Servius Tullius, Peisistratos, Hippasus, Yaśodharā, and Cambyses I. After him are Alexander I of Macedon, Polycrates, Maya, Pheidippides, Bias of Priene, and Mardonius. Among people deceased in 600 BC, Belshazzar ranks 5. Before him are Laozi, Tomyris, Draco, and Habakkuk. After him are Astyages, Maya, Theano, Anacharsis, Epimenides, Phalaris, and Ibycus.
Others Born in 600 BC
Go to all RankingsĀnanda
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
600 BC - 500 BC
HPI: 74.61
Rank: 6
Servius Tullius
POLITICIAN
600 BC - 535 BC
HPI: 74.11
Rank: 7
Peisistratos
POLITICIAN
600 BC - 527 BC
HPI: 73.96
Rank: 8
Hippasus
PHILOSOPHER
600 BC - 500 BC
HPI: 71.01
Rank: 9
Yaśodharā
POLITICIAN
600 BC - Present
HPI: 70.44
Rank: 10
Cambyses I
POLITICIAN
600 BC - 559 BC
HPI: 70.41
Rank: 11
Belshazzar
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
600 BC - 600 BC
HPI: 70.10
Rank: 12
Alexander I of Macedon
POLITICIAN
600 BC - 454 BC
HPI: 69.11
Rank: 13
Polycrates
POLITICIAN
600 BC - 515 BC
HPI: 68.11
Rank: 14
Maya
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
600 BC - 600 BC
HPI: 68.09
Rank: 15
Pheidippides
SOCIAL ACTIVIST
600 BC - 490 BC
HPI: 68.00
Rank: 16
Bias of Priene
PHILOSOPHER
600 BC - 530 BC
HPI: 67.96
Rank: 17
Mardonius
MILITARY PERSONNEL
600 BC - 479 BC
HPI: 66.90
Rank: 18
Others Deceased in 600 BC
Go to all RankingsLaozi
PHILOSOPHER
604 BC - 600 BC
HPI: 79.98
Rank: 1
Tomyris
POLITICIAN
600 BC - 600 BC
HPI: 77.68
Rank: 2
Draco
PUBLIC WORKER
650 BC - 600 BC
HPI: 74.89
Rank: 3
Habakkuk
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
626 BC - 600 BC
HPI: 71.23
Rank: 4
Belshazzar
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
600 BC - 600 BC
HPI: 70.10
Rank: 5
Astyages
POLITICIAN
700 BC - 600 BC
HPI: 68.87
Rank: 6
Maya
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
600 BC - 600 BC
HPI: 68.09
Rank: 7
Theano
PHILOSOPHER
600 BC - 600 BC
HPI: 66.42
Rank: 8
Anacharsis
PHILOSOPHER
700 BC - 600 BC
HPI: 65.83
Rank: 9
Epimenides
PHILOSOPHER
690 BC - 600 BC
HPI: 65.51
Rank: 10
Phalaris
POLITICIAN
700 BC - 600 BC
HPI: 64.66
Rank: 11
Ibycus
WRITER
600 BC - 600 BC
HPI: 63.42
Rank: 12
In Iraq
Among people born in Iraq, Belshazzar ranks 30 out of 384. Before him are Khosrow II (570), Fuzûlî (1494), Al-Ma'mun (786), Muhammad al-Mahdi (869), Jalal Talabani (1933), and Ismail al-Jazari (1136). After him are Al-Ash'ari (873), Gudea (-2200), Möngke Khan (1209), Al-Mu'tasim (796), Ahmad ibn Fadlan (900), and Enheduanna (-2300).
Others born in Iraq
Go to all RankingsKhosrow II
POLITICIAN
570 - 628
HPI: 71.62
Rank: 24
Fuzûlî
WRITER
1494 - 1556
HPI: 71.47
Rank: 25
Al-Ma'mun
POLITICIAN
786 - 833
HPI: 70.94
Rank: 26
Muhammad al-Mahdi
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
869 - 941
HPI: 70.80
Rank: 27
Jalal Talabani
POLITICIAN
1933 - 2017
HPI: 70.66
Rank: 28
Ismail al-Jazari
INVENTOR
1136 - 1206
HPI: 70.44
Rank: 29
Belshazzar
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
600 BC - 600 BC
HPI: 70.10
Rank: 30
Al-Ash'ari
PHILOSOPHER
873 - 936
HPI: 69.66
Rank: 31
Gudea
POLITICIAN
2200 BC - 2200 BC
HPI: 69.23
Rank: 32
Möngke Khan
POLITICIAN
1209 - 1259
HPI: 69.04
Rank: 33
Al-Mu'tasim
POLITICIAN
796 - 842
HPI: 68.96
Rank: 34
Ahmad ibn Fadlan
WRITER
900 - 960
HPI: 68.93
Rank: 35
Enheduanna
WRITER
2300 BC - 2300 BC
HPI: 68.76
Rank: 36
Among RELIGIOUS FIGURES In Iraq
Among religious figures born in Iraq, Belshazzar ranks 8. Before him are Sarah (-1803), Abu Hanifa (698), Mani (216), Rabia of Basra (710), Ezra (-500), and Muhammad al-Mahdi (869). After him are Eber (-2038), Junayd of Baghdad (830), Ibn Hisham (701), Hillel the Elder (-110), Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah (1935), and Nahor, son of Serug (-1912).
Sarah
1803 BC - 1676 BC
HPI: 80.67
Rank: 2
Abu Hanifa
698 - 767
HPI: 80.48
Rank: 3
Mani
216 - 274
HPI: 75.07
Rank: 4
Rabia of Basra
710 - 801
HPI: 74.72
Rank: 5
Ezra
500 BC - 401 BC
HPI: 72.27
Rank: 6
Muhammad al-Mahdi
869 - 941
HPI: 70.80
Rank: 7
Belshazzar
600 BC - 600 BC
HPI: 70.10
Rank: 8
Eber
2038 BC - 1574 BC
HPI: 68.72
Rank: 9
Junayd of Baghdad
830 - 910
HPI: 66.33
Rank: 10
Ibn Hisham
701 - 833
HPI: 66.04
Rank: 11
Hillel the Elder
110 BC - 10
HPI: 63.83
Rank: 12
Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah
1935 - 2010
HPI: 63.24
Rank: 13
Nahor, son of Serug
1912 BC - 1764 BC
HPI: 63.12
Rank: 14