Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
Belshazzar. Rawlinson, from the Assyrian inscriptions, has explained the seeming discrepancy between Daniel and the pagan historians of Babylon, Berosus and Abydenus, who say the last king (Nabonnedus) surrendered in Borsippa, after Babylon was taken, and had an honourable abode in Caramania assigned to him. Belshazzar was joint-king with his father (called Minus in the inscriptions), but subordinate to him: hence, the Babylonian account suppresses the fact, which cast discredit on Babylon-namely, that Belshazzar shut himself up in that city, and fell at its capture; while it records the surrender of the principal king in Borsippa (see my Introduction to Daniel). The pagan Xenophon's description of Belshazzar accords with Daniel's: he calls him 'impious,' and illustrates his cruelty by mentioning that he killed one of his nobles, merely because in hunting the noble struck down the game before him; and unmanned a courtier, Gadates, at a banquet, because one of the king's concubines praised him as handsome. Daniel shows none of the sympathy for him which he had for Nebuchadnezzar. Xenophon confirms Daniel as to Belshazzar's end. Winer explains the "shazzar" in the name as meaning fire.
Made a great feast. Heaven-sent infatuation, when his city was at the time being besieged by Cyrus. The fortifications and abundant provisions in the city made the king to despise the besiegers. It was a solemn festival day among the Babylonians (Xenophon).
And drank wine before the thousand. The king, on this extraordinary occasion, departed from his usual way of feasting apart from his nobles (cf. Esther 1:3).