6:1 Darius. See note 5:31. Darius the Mede is not referred to in surviving historical sources outside the Scripture, and there is no interval between Belshazzar and Nabonidus (5:1 note) and the accession of Cyrus of Persia. Commentators have suggested that “Darius the Mede” could be: a throne name for Cyrus, the founder of the Persian Empire (v. 28 note); a title; or a designation for Gobryas, a general who had defected from Nebuchadnezzar to Cyrus and later captured Babylon. Cyrus made Gobryas governor over the territories the Persians took from the Babylonians.