43. Hands waxed feeble. See Dan. 5:6, where Belshazzar’s conduct at the time of the fall of Babylon is described. Nabonidus, with whom Belshazzar shared the rule, seems likewise to have presented no strong resistance to the invaders. The Babylonian historian Berosus states that Nabonidus advanced against the Persians but was defeated in battle, whereupon he fled, and later surrendered without attempting to defend himself (see Josephus i. 20). The so-called Nabonidus Chronicle, the cuneiform document which constitutes a primary source on the fall of Babylon to the Persians, reflects the same picture of disorganization and only half-hearted defense on the part of Nabonidus. It states: “In the month of Tashritu, when Cyrus attacked the army of Akkad in Opis on the Tigris, the inhabitants of Akkad revolted, but he (Nabonidus) massacred the confused inhabitants. The 14th day, Sippar was seized without battle. Nabonidus fled. The 16th day, Gobryas (Ugbaru), the governor of Gutium and the army of Cyrus entered Babylon without battle. Afterwards Nabonidus was arrested in Babylon when he returned (there)” (Ancient Near Eastern Texts, J. B. Pritchard, , 306).