Darius the Mede is mentioned in the Book of Daniel as king of Babylon between Belshazzar and Cyrus the Great, but he is not known to history, and no additional king can be placed between the known figures of Belshazzar and Cyrus. Most scholars view him as a literary fiction, but some have tried to harmonise the Book of Daniel with history by identifying him with various known figures, notably Cyrus, Cyaxares, or Gobryas, the general who was first to enter Babylon when it fell to the Persians in 539 BCE. Biblical mentions Darius is first mentioned in the story of Belshazzar's feast (Daniel 5). Belshazzar, king of Babylon, holds a great feast, during which a hand appears and writes on the wall: "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN" (). Daniel interprets the words: Belshazzar has been weighed and found wanting, and his kingdom is to be divided between the Medes and Persians. The story concludes: "That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean (Babylonian) king was killed, and Darius the Mede received the kingdom." In the story of Daniel in the lions' den (Daniel 6), Daniel has continued to serve at the royal court under Darius, and has been raised to high office. His jealous rivals plot his downfall, tricking Darius into issuing a decree that no prayers should be addressed to any god or man but to Darius himself, on pain of death. Daniel continues to pray to the God of Israel, and Darius, although deeply distressed, must condemn him to be thrown into the lions' den because the edicts of the Medes and Persians cannot be altered. At daybreak the king hurries to the place and Daniel tells him that his God sent an angel to save him. Darius commands that those who had conspired against Daniel should be thrown to the lions in his place, along with their wives and children. The final appearance of Darius is in Daniel 9, which presents a vision of Daniel relating to the end-time travails and triumph of the Israelites over their enemies. The mention of Darius is used as a chronological marker, placing the vision in "the first year of Darius son of Ahasuerus". Historical and literary background Medes and the fall of Babylon The Medes were an Iranian people who had become a major political power in the Near East by 612 BCE, when they joined the Babylonians in overthrowing Assyria.