His triumphs had been many.

He had come to believe that his power proceeded directly from the god Bel, and that he was the chosen and anointed of that deity.
This was the period of his prime; of Babylon's greatest glory; his kingdom seemed so firmly established he had no thought it could be shaken.

But misleading are the dreams of kings; his kingdom was suddenly menaced from without, by Cyrus of Persia, another great monarch.

There were also dangers from within, but courtiers and flatterers kept this knowledge from him.

Priests of rival gods had set themselves up within the empire; spies from without and conspirators within were secretly undermining the power of the intrenched despot.
Such was Belshazzar in his pride; such his kingdom and empire.