How did ancient Oriental kings treat people who could not fulfill their requests?
Ancient Oriental kings were ruthless; when someone could not fulfill their request, they would put that person to death. Nebuchadnezzar demonstrated this by becoming furious when his magicians could not recover his dream, commanding all the wise men of Babylon to be destroyed and slain.
Les explains that the ancient Oriental kings were ruthless, and if somebody couldn't fulfill what they asked him to fulfill, they'd put him to death. In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar was all shook up by a tremendous dream and demanded that his magicians not only interpret it but also tell him what the dream was. When they could not recover the dream, the king was angry and very furious, and he commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. The decree went forth that the wise men should be slain, and Daniel and his fellows were sought as well.