Nabonidus
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Nabonidus was the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from 556 BC to the fall of Babylon to the Achaemenian Empire under Cyrus the Great in 539 BC. Nabonidus was the last native ruler of an
Nabonidus, detail of a stele in the British Museum, probably from Babylon, Iraq
Relief of Ashurbanipal, who ruled as king of Assyria 669–631 BC. Nabonidus emulated elements of Ashurbanipal and his dynasty, the Sargonids. Some historians believe that Nabonidus was a descendant of Ashurbanipal, or Ashurbanipal's father Esarhaddon.
Locations of some major Mesopotamian cities
Nabonidus as depicted in a stele from Harran
Belshazzar
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Belshazzar was the son and crown prince of Nabonidus, the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Through his mother, he might have been a grandson of Nebuchadnezzar II, though this is not certain and
Nabonidus
…to his own apparent surprise, proclaimed king after the deposition and murder of Labashi-Marduk (r. 556 BC) in a plot likely led by Nabonidus's son Belshazzar. Throughout his reign, inscriptions and later sources suggest that Nabonidus worked to increase the status of the moon god Sîn and decrease the status…
The Nabonidus Chronicle, an ancient Babylonian text which chronicles the reign of Belshazzar's father and also documents the period during which Belshazzar was regent in Babylon
Stele depicting Nabonidus, Belshazzar's father
This clay cylinder records the restoration of Sin's ziggurat at Ur by Nabonidus, and also asks him to protect Nabonidus and his son, Belshazzar. From Ur, Iraq
This administrative document is dated to the "24th day of Kislimu in the 11th year of Nabonidus, king of Babylon". It mentions a slave of Bel-sharra-usur (Belshazzar), son of the king. Although Belshazzar is acting as a regent, the formal date shows that Nabonidus is still the reigning king. From Borsippa, Iraq