View source for Ahasuerus

{{short description|Name of various rulers in the Hebrew Bible}}
{{redirect|Ahasverus|the beetle|Ahasverus (beetle)}}
{{Lead too short|date=September 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
[[File:Esther before Ahasuerus (1547-48); Tintoretto, Jacopo.jpg|thumb|''[[Esther Before Ahasuerus (Tintoretto)|Esther Before Ahasuerus]]'' (1547–48), [[Tintoretto]], [[Royal Collection]].]]

'''Ahasuerus''' ({{IPAc-en|ə|ˌ|h|æ|z|j|u|ˈ|ɪər|ə|s}} {{respell|ə|HAZ|ew|EER|əs}}; {{hebrew Name|אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ|ʾĂḥašverōš|ʾĂḥašwērōš}}, <small>commonly</small> ''Achashverosh'';{{efn|Cf. {{langx|peo|𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠𐎴|[[Xerxes I|Xšaya-ṛšā]]}}; {{langx|fa|اخشورش|Axšoreš}}; {{langx|fa|label=[[New Persian]]|خشایار|Xašāyār}}; {{langx|grc|Ξέρξης|[[Xerxes (disambiguation)|Xérxēs]]}}.}} {{langx|grc|label=[[Koine Greek]]|Ἀσουήρος|Asouḗros}}, in the [[Septuagint]]; {{langx|la|Assuerus}} in the [[Vulgate]]) is a name applied in the [[Hebrew Bible]] to three rulers of [[Ancient Persia]] and to a [[Babylon]]ian official (or Median king) first appearing in the [[Tanakh]] in the [[Book of Esther]] and later in the [[Book of Tobit]]. It is a transliteration of either [[Xerxes I]] or [[Artaxerxes I]]; both are names of multiple [[Achaemenid dynasty]] Persian kings.

==Etymology==
The Hebrew form is believed to have derived from the [[Old Persian]] name of [[Xerxes I]], ''Xšayāršā'' (< ''xšaya'' 'king' + ''aršan'' 'male' > 'king of all male; Hero among Kings'). That became Babylonian ''Aḫšiyâršu'' ({{lang|akk|𒄴𒅆𒐊𒅈𒋗}}, ''aḫ-ši-ia-ar-šu'') and then ''Akšîwâršu'' ({{lang|akk|𒀝𒅆𒄿𒈠𒅈𒍪}}, ''ak-ši-i-wa<sub>6</sub>-ar-šu'') and was borrowed as {{langx|he|אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ|Ăḥašwēroš}} and thence into [[Latin]] as ''Ahasuerus'', the form traditionally used in English Bibles.<ref>[[KJV]], [[New American Standard Bible|NASB]], [[Amplified Bible]], [[English Standard Version|ESV]], [[21st Century King James Version]], [[American Standard Version|ASV]], [[Young's Literal Translation]], [[Darby Translation]], [[Holman Christian Standard Bible]], etc.</ref><ref>Nichol, F. D., ''Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary'', Volume 3, Review and Herald Publishing Association (Washington, D.C., 1954 edition), p.459, "Historical Setting"</ref> The Persian name was independently rendered in [[Ancient Greek]] as {{lang|grc|Ξέρξης}} ''Xérxēs''. Many newer English translations and paraphrases of the Bible<ref>[[NIV]], The Message, [[New Living Translation|NLT]], [[Contemporary English Version|CEV]], [[New Century Version|NCV]], [[NIRV]], [[TNIV]], etc.</ref> have used the name Xerxes.

[[File:Gelder, Aert de - The Banquet of Ahasuerus - Google Art Project.jpg|thumbnail|''The Banquet of Ahasuerus'', [[Aert de Gelder]] ]]

==Book of Esther==
"Ahasuerus" is given as the name of a king, the husband of [[Esther]], in the ''[[Book of Esther]]''. He is said to have "ruled over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces from [[India]] to [[Nubia]]" – that is, over the [[Achaemenid Empire]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Esther 1 |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Esther.1 |access-date=25 February 2023 |website=www.sefaria.org}}</ref> Some consider the narrative of ''Esther'' was to provide an [[aetiology]] for [[Purim]], and that the name Ahasuerus is usually understood to refer to [[Xerxes I]], who ruled the [[Achaemenid Empire]] between 486 and 465 BC.<ref>{{Citation|title=Ahasuerus|date=2009|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199543984.001.0001/acref-9780199543984-e-56|work=A Dictionary of the Bible|editor-last=Browning|editor-first=W. R. F.|edition=2nd|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en|doi=10.1093/acref/9780199543984.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-954398-4|quote=The story is fictitious and written to provide an account of the origin of the feast of Purim; the book contains no references to the known historical events of the reign of Xerxes.|access-date=17 April 2020|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Tucker|first=Gene M.|title=Esther, The Book of|date=2004|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195046458.001.0001/acref-9780195046458-e-0232|work=The Oxford Companion to the Bible|editor-last=Metzger|editor-first=Bruce M.|orig-year=1993|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en|doi=10.1093/acref/9780195046458.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-504645-8|quote=Although the details of its setting are entirely plausible and the story may even have some basis in actual events, in terms of literary genre the book is not history.|access-date=17 April 2020|editor2-last=Coogan|editor2-first=Michael D.|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Outside of the book of Esther, history records that Xerxes was married to Amestris, not [[Vashti]] or Esther. Moreover, it is understood that Persian kings did not marry outside a restricted number of Persian noble families.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Littman|first=Robert J.|year=1975|title=The Religious Policy of Xerxes and the 'Book of Esther'|journal=The Jewish Quarterly Review|volume=65|issue=3|pages=146|doi=10.2307/1454354|jstor=1454354|quote=Xerxes could not have wed a Jewess because this was contrary to the practices of Persian monarchs who married only into one of the seven leading Persian families. History records that Xerxes was married to Amestris, not [[Vashti]] or Esther. There is no historical record of a personage known as Esther, or a queen called Vashti or a [[vizier]] [[Haman]], or a high placed courtier [[Mordecai]]. Mordecai was said to have been among the exiles deported from Jerusalem by [[Nebuchadnezzar]], but that deportation occurred 112 years before Xerxes became king.}}</ref> In the [[Septuagint]], the ''Book of Esther'' refers to the king as 'Artaxerxes', who was the younger son of Xerxes ({{Langx|grc|Ἀρταξέρξης|links=no}}).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://studybible.info/compare/Esther%201:|title=Esther 1 |quote=And it came to pass in the days of Artaxerxes. This Artaxerxes held a hundred twenty-seven regions from India.|website=studybible.info|access-date=18 April 2020}}</ref>

===Identification of "Ahasuerus" as Xerxes I===
[[File:De woede van Ahasverus Rijksmuseum SK-A-3489.jpeg|thumb|''The wrath of Ahasuerus'' (anonymous), [[Rijksmuseum]]]]
Numerous scholars have proposed theories as to who Ahasuerus represents. Most scholars today identify him with [[Xerxes I]], as did 19th-century Bible commentaries.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Book of Esther between Judaism and Christianity |last=Kalimi |first=Isaac |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-009-26612-3 |page=99 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HvnAEAAAQBAJ}}</ref> Three factors, among others, contribute to this identification:

# It is believed the Hebrew 'Ahasuerus' descended from the Persian names for Xerxes I.
# 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 an assembly of Persian nobility at a feast. (''Histories'' VII.8) Herodotus also mentions that following his [[Battle of Salamis|defeat at Salamis]] Xerxes I became involved in [[harem]] intrigues involving his wife Amestris and his daughter-in-law, with whom he became enamoured. (Histories IX.108) Herodotus relates this occurred in the tenth month of his seventh year as king – the same time Ahasuerus was choosing beautiful women for his harem (Esther 2:16).
# 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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yamauchi |first1=Edwin |title=Mordecai, the Persepolis Tablets, and the Susa Excavations |journal=Vetus Testamentum |date=April 1992 |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=272–275 |doi=10.2307/1519506 |jstor=1519506 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1519506 |access-date=1 March 2024|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Identification of "Ahasuerus" as Artaxerxes I===
While today the king of Esther is usually identified as Xerxes I, the ancient traditions identify him with his son, [[Artaxerxes I]]. The Septuagint, the Vulgate, the [[Midrash]] of ''Esther Rabbah'', I, 3, and the ''[[Josippon]]'' identify him as Artaxerxes. Many historians and exegetes from ancient times and the Middle Ages also identified Ahasuerus with Artaxerxes I, including, most notably, [[Josephus]],<ref>Flavius Josephus, ''[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/ant-11.html Antiquities of the Jews]'', Book 11, chapter 6, section 1</ref> who relates that "Artaxerxes" was the name by which he was known to the Greeks.<ref>[http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=967&letter=A "Ahasuerus"]. ''Jewish Encyclopedia''.</ref> The [[Geʽez|Ethiopic]] text calls him ''Arťeksis'', usually the Ethiopic equivalent of ''Artaxerxes''.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

===Identification of "Ahasuerus" as Artaxerxes II===
Some have speculated that the king was [[Artaxerxes II]]. In his ''Chronography'', the 13th century Syriac historian [[Bar Hebraeus]] also identifies Ahasuerus as Artaxerxes II citing the sixth century AD historian [[John of Ephesus]].<ref>E. A. W. Budge, ''The Chronography of Bar Hebraeus'', Gorgias Press, reprinted 2003</ref><ref>Jan Jacob van Ginkel, ''John of Ephesus. A Monophysite Historian in Sixth-century Byzantium'', Groningen, 1995</ref> [[Plutarch]] in his ''Lives'' (AD 75) records alternative names ''Oarses'' and ''Arsicas'' for Artaxerxes II Mnemon given by [[Deinon]] (c. 360–340 BC<ref>Wolfgang Felix, "Dinon", in ''Encyclopaedia Iranica'', 1996–2008</ref>) and [[Ctesias]] (Artexerxes II's physician<ref>Jona Lendering, ''Ctesias of Cnidus''; Livius, ''Articles on Ancient History'', 1996–2008</ref>{{clarify|reason=Is this two separate sources (Lendering and Livy)? If so, use separate ref tags for each|date=December 2024}}) respectively.<ref>John Dryden, Arthur Hugh Clough, ''Plutarch's Lives'', Little, Brown and Company, 1885</ref> These derive from the Persian name ''Khshayarsha'' as do "Ahasuerus" ("(Arta)Xerxes") and the [[hypocorism]] "Arshu" for Artaxerxes II found on a contemporary inscription (''LBAT'' 162<ref>M. A. Dandamaev, W. J. Vogelsang, ''A Political History of the Achaemenid Empire'', BRILL, 1989</ref>). These sources thus arguably identify Ahasuerus as Artaxerxes II in light of the names used in the Hebrew and Greek sources and accords with the contextual information from Pseudo-Hecataeus and [[Berossus]]<ref name="Hosch">Jacob Hoschander, ''The Book of Esther in the Light of History'', Oxford University Press, 1923</ref> as well as agreeing with Al-Tabari and Masudi's placement of events.

==Book of Ezra==
[[File:Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn - Ahasuerus, Haman and Esther - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''Ahasuerus and [[Haman (Bible)|Haman]] at [[Ahasuerus and Haman at the Feast of Esther|Esther's Feast]]'', by [[Rembrandt]]]]
Ahasuerus is also given as the name of a [[King of Persia]] in the [[Book of Ezra]].<ref>{{bibleverse|Ezra|4:5–7}}</ref> Modern commentators associate him with [[Xerxes I]] who reigned from 486 to 465 BC. Other identifications have been made for [[Cambyses II]]<ref>''Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible'', as quoted by https://bible.cc/ezra/4-7.htm</ref>{{failed verification|reason=Outdated URL, redirects to a page that includes various commentaries but not Gill|date=December 2024}} or with [[Bardiya]] (Greek ''Smerdis'') who reigned (perhaps as an imposter) for seven months between Cambyses II and [[Darius I]].<ref>''Clarke's Commentary on the Bible'', as quoted by https://Bible.cc/ezra/4-7.htm</ref>{{failed verification|reason=Outdated URL, redirects to a page that includes various commentaries but not Clarke|date=December 2024}}

==Book of Daniel==
[[File:Gentileschi, Artemisia - Esther before Ahasuerus - c. 1628–1635.jpg|thumb|''[[Esther Before Ahasuerus (Tintoretto)|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]]''.<ref>{{bibleverse|Daniel|9:1}}</ref> Josephus names [[Astyages]] as the father of Darius the Mede, and the description of the latter as uncle and father-in-law of [[Cyrus the Great|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.{{sfn|Hill|2009|p=114}}<ref name="House2018">{{cite book|first=Paul R.|last=House|title=Daniel: An Introduction and Commentary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_9J2DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA117|year= 2018|publisher=InterVarsity Press|isbn=978-0-8308-9100-9|page=117}}</ref>

==Book of Tobit==
In some versions of the [[deuterocanon]]ical ''Book of Tobit'', Ahasuerus is given as the name of an associate of [[Nebuchadrezzar II|Nebuchadnezzar]], who, together with him, destroyed [[Nineveh]] just before Tobit's death.<ref>{{bibleverse|Tobit|14:15}}</ref> A traditional [[Catholic]] view is that he is identical to the Ahasuerus of Daniel 9:1<ref>Maas, Anthony (1907). [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02005c.htm "Assuerus"]. In ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved April 15, 2009 – via ''New Advent''.</ref> 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|Cyaxares I]] of [[Medes|Media]]", who historically did destroy Nineveh, in 612 BC.

==In legends==
In some versions of the legend of the [[Wandering Jew]], his true name is held to be Ahasuerus – even though the biblical king is not described as a Jew and nothing in the Biblical account of him is similar to that myth.<ref>{{cite web |first=Andrei |last=Oişteanu |url=http://www.unibuc.ro/eBooks/filologie/hebra/2-5.htm |title=The legend of the wandering Jew in Europe and Romania |access-date=12 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080203154217/http://www.unibuc.ro/eBooks/filologie/hebra/2-5.htm |archive-date=3 February 2008 |url-status=dead |work=Studia Hebraica}}</ref> This is the name by which [[Immanuel Kant]] refers to the Wandering Jew in ''[[The Only Possible Argument in Support of a Demonstration of the Existence of God]]''.<ref>Kant, I. {{lang|de|Der einzig mögliche Beweisgrund zu einer Demonstration des Daseins Gottes}}. 1763. AA 2:76</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{CE1913|wstitle=Assuerus}}
* {{cite book
|last                           = Hill
|first                          = Andrew E.
|chapter                        = Daniel-Malachi
|editor1-last                   = Longman
|editor1-first                  = Tremper
|editor2-last                   = Garland
|editor2-first                  = David E.
|title                          = The Expositor's Bible Commentary
|volume                         = 8
|year                           = 2009
|publisher                      = [[Zondervan]]
| chapter-url                           = https://books.google.com/books?id=_VWQlEQGW-oC&q=%22a+literary+fiction%22%22genre+of+court-contest+tale%22&pg=PA114
|isbn                          = 9780310590545
}}
{{EB1911 poster|Ahasuerus}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{cite encyclopedia | article = Ahasureus | last = McCullough | first = W. S. | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ahasureus | encyclopedia  = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, Fasc. 6 | pages =  634–635 | year = 1984 }}
{{Book of Esther}}
{{Purim Footer}}
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[[Category:History of Purim|Ahasuerus]]
[[Category:Babylonian captivity]]
[[Category:Monarchs in the Hebrew Bible]]
[[Category:Book of Daniel people]]
[[Category:Book of Esther people]]
[[Category:Darius the Mede]]