Ahasuerus

Ahasuerus is given as the name of a king, the husband of Esther, in the Book of Esther. He is said to have ruled "from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces" - that is, over the Achaemenid Empire.[4] There is no reference to known historical events in the story; the narrative of Esther was invented to provide an aetiology for Purim, and the name Ahasuerus is usually understood to refer to a fictionalized Xerxes I, who ruled the Achaemenid Empire between 486 and 465 BCE.[5][6] Persian kings did not marry outside a restricted number of Persian noble families and it is impossible that there was a Jewish queen Esther; in any case the historical Xerxes's queen was Amestris.[7] In the Septuagint, the Book of Esther refers to this king as 'Artaxerxes' (Ancient Greek: Αρταξέρξης).[8]

The wrath of Ahasuerus (anonymous), Rijksmuseum

Numerous scholars have proposed theories as to who Ahasuerus represents. Most scholars generally identify him with Xerxes I, as did 19th-century Bible commentaries.[9] Three factors, among others, contribute to this identification:

1. It is agreed the Hebrew 'Ahasuerus' descended from the Persian names for Xerxes I. Additionally, the form of the king's name written in Esther 10:1, ’aḥašērōš (Hebrew: אֲחַשֵׁרֹשׁ‎) bears much more resemblance to the original old Persian Xšayārša than the standard Hebrew form which does not omit the word's vavs.
2. Historian Herodotus describes Xerxes I as being susceptible to women and in the habit of making extravagant offers to them, just as he did to Esther ("up to half my kingdom"). Herodotus mentions that the Persian empire stretched from India to Ethiopia and also refers to the magnificent royal palace in Shushan (Susa), corroboration of what is stated in the Book of Esther. In addition Herodotus mentions an assembly of Persian nobles called by Xerxes to advise him on the proposed war against Greece. Although Herodotus does not give the location of this assembly, the date - "after Egypt was subdued" - corresponds to Xerxes' third year when Esther records as assembly of Persian nobility at a feast. (Histories VII.8)
3. Herodotus (Histories IX.108) also mentions that following his defeat at Salamis Xerxes I became involved in harem intrigues involving his wife Amestris and his daughter-in-law, with whom he became enamoured. This was presumably at the same time as Ahasuerus was choosing beautiful women for his harem in the tenth month of his seventh year as king (Esther 2:16).
4. Annals from the reign of Xerxes I mention an otherwise unattested official by the name of "Marduka", which some have proposed refers to Mordecai, as both are mentioned serving in the king's court.

The Septuagint, the Vulgate, the Midrash of Esther Rabbah, I, 3 and the Josippon identify the king as Artaxerxes I, and the historian Josephus relates that this was the name by which he was known to the Greeks.[10] The Ethiopic text calls him Arťeksis, usually the Ethiopic equivalent of Artaxerxes.

Ahasuerus and Haman at Esther's Feast, by Rembrandt

Ahasuerus is also given as the name of a King of Persia in the Book of Ezra.[11] Modern commentators associate him with Xerxes I who reigned from 486 BC until 465 BC. Other identifications have been made for Cambyses II[12] or with Bardiya (Greek Smerdis) who reigned (perhaps as an imposter) for seven months between Cambyses II and Darius I.[13]

Esther before Ahasuerus, Artemisia Gentileschi, c. 1630

Ahasuerus is given as the name of the father of Darius the Mede in the Book of Daniel.[14] Josephus names Astyages as the father of Darius the Mede, and the description of the latter as uncle and father-in-law of Cyrus by mediaeval Jewish commentators matches that of Cyaxares II, who is said to be the son of Astyages by Xenophon. Thus this Ahasuerus is commonly identified with Astyages. He is alternatively identified, together with the Ahasuerus of the Book of Tobit, as Cyaxares I, said to be the father of Astyages. Views differ on how to reconcile the sources in this case. One view is that the description of Ahasuerus as the "father" of Darius the Mede should be understood in the broader sense of "forebear" or "ancestor." Another view notes that on the Behistun Inscription, "Cyaxares" is a family name, and thus considers the description as literal, viewing Astyages as an intermediate ruler wrongly placed in the family line in the Greek sources.

Most scholars view Darius the Mede as a literary fiction, or possibly a conflation of Darius the Great with prophecies about the Medes.[15][16]

In some versions of the deuterocanonical Book of Tobit, Ahasuerus is given as the name of an associate of Nebuchadnezzar, who together with him, destroyed Nineveh just before Tobit's death.[17] A traditional Catholic view is that he is identical to the Ahasuerus of Daniel 9:1[18] In the Codex Sinaiticus Greek (LXX) edition, the two names in this verse appear instead as one name, Ahikar (also the name of another character in the story of Tobit). Other Septuagint texts have the name Achiachar. Western scholars have proposed that Achiachar is a variant form of the name "Cyaxares I of Media", who historically did destroy Nineveh, in 612 BC.