RELIGIOUS FIGURE

Belshazzar

600 BC - 600 BC

Photo of Belshazzar

Icon of person 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 1,207,655 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.

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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

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  • Photo of Ānanda

    Ānanda

    RELIGIOUS FIGURE

    600 BC - 500 BC

    HPI: 74.61

    Rank: 6

  • Photo of Servius Tullius

    Servius Tullius

    POLITICIAN

    600 BC - 535 BC

    HPI: 74.11

    Rank: 7

  • Photo of Peisistratos

    Peisistratos

    POLITICIAN

    600 BC - 527 BC

    HPI: 73.96

    Rank: 8

  • Photo of Hippasus

    Hippasus

    PHILOSOPHER

    600 BC - 500 BC

    HPI: 71.01

    Rank: 9

  • Photo of Yaśodharā

    Yaśodharā

    POLITICIAN

    600 BC - Present

    HPI: 70.44

    Rank: 10

  • Photo of Cambyses I

    Cambyses I

    POLITICIAN

    600 BC - 559 BC

    HPI: 70.41

    Rank: 11

  • Photo of Belshazzar

    Belshazzar

    RELIGIOUS FIGURE

    600 BC - 600 BC

    HPI: 70.10

    Rank: 12

  • Photo of Alexander I of Macedon

    Alexander I of Macedon

    POLITICIAN

    600 BC - 454 BC

    HPI: 69.11

    Rank: 13

  • Photo of Polycrates

    Polycrates

    POLITICIAN

    600 BC - 515 BC

    HPI: 68.11

    Rank: 14

  • Photo of Maya

    Maya

    RELIGIOUS FIGURE

    600 BC - 600 BC

    HPI: 68.09

    Rank: 15

  • Photo of Pheidippides

    Pheidippides

    SOCIAL ACTIVIST

    600 BC - 490 BC

    HPI: 68.00

    Rank: 16

  • Photo of Bias of Priene

    Bias of Priene

    PHILOSOPHER

    600 BC - 530 BC

    HPI: 67.96

    Rank: 17

  • Photo of Mardonius

    Mardonius

    MILITARY PERSONNEL

    600 BC - 479 BC

    HPI: 66.90

    Rank: 18

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Others Deceased in 600 BC

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  • Photo of Laozi

    Laozi

    PHILOSOPHER

    604 BC - 600 BC

    HPI: 79.98

    Rank: 1

  • Photo of Tomyris

    Tomyris

    POLITICIAN

    600 BC - 600 BC

    HPI: 77.68

    Rank: 2

  • Photo of Draco

    Draco

    PUBLIC WORKER

    650 BC - 600 BC

    HPI: 74.89

    Rank: 3

  • Photo of Habakkuk

    Habakkuk

    RELIGIOUS FIGURE

    626 BC - 600 BC

    HPI: 71.23

    Rank: 4

  • Photo of Belshazzar

    Belshazzar

    RELIGIOUS FIGURE

    600 BC - 600 BC

    HPI: 70.10

    Rank: 5

  • Photo of Astyages

    Astyages

    POLITICIAN

    700 BC - 600 BC

    HPI: 68.87

    Rank: 6

  • Photo of Maya

    Maya

    RELIGIOUS FIGURE

    600 BC - 600 BC

    HPI: 68.09

    Rank: 7

  • Photo of Theano

    Theano

    PHILOSOPHER

    600 BC - 600 BC

    HPI: 66.42

    Rank: 8

  • Photo of Anacharsis

    Anacharsis

    PHILOSOPHER

    700 BC - 600 BC

    HPI: 65.83

    Rank: 9

  • Photo of Epimenides

    Epimenides

    PHILOSOPHER

    690 BC - 600 BC

    HPI: 65.51

    Rank: 10

  • Photo of Phalaris

    Phalaris

    POLITICIAN

    700 BC - 600 BC

    HPI: 64.66

    Rank: 11

  • Photo of Ibycus

    Ibycus

    WRITER

    600 BC - 600 BC

    HPI: 63.42

    Rank: 12

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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

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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).

Iraqi born Religious Figures

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