Darius the Mede is a biblical person in the Book of Daniel, Chapters 6-11, who rules over "the kingdom of the Chaldeans" after the last king of the Babylonian Empire (Belshazzar) is deposed by the Medo-Persian armies. The author of Daniel indicated that Darius was about 62 years old when he "was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans".[5:31] He is best known for having been forced into throwing Daniel in the lions' den.