The biblical Book of Esther is set in the third year of Ahasuerus, a king of Persia.

The name Ahasuerus is equivalent to Xerxes, both deriving from the Persian Khshayārsha, thus Ahasuerus is usually identified as Xerxes I ( 486-465 BCE ), though Ahasuerus is identified as Artaxerxes in the later Greek version of Esther ( as well as by Josephus, the Jewish commentary Esther Rabbah, the Ethiopic translation and the Christian theologian Bar-Hebraeus who identified him more precisely as Artaxerxes II ).

She orders Mordechai to have all Jews fast for three days together with her, and on the third day she goes to Ahasuerus, who stretches out his sceptre to her which shows that she is not to be punished.

Ahasuerus is told that Mordechai has not received any recognition for saving the king's life.

Immediately after, Ahasuerus and Haman attend Esther's second banquet, at which she reveals that she is Jewish and that Haman is planning to exterminate her people, including her.

* The Greek Book of Esther, included in the Septuagint, is a retelling of the events of the Hebrew Book of Esther rather than a translation and records additional traditions, in particular the identification of Ahasuerus with Artaxerxes and details of various letters.

The Hebrew Ahasuerus is most likely derived from Persian Khshayarsha, the origin of the Greek Xerxes.

Bar-Hebraeus identified Ahasuerus explicitly as Artaxerxes II ; however, the names are not necessarily equivalent: Hebrew has a form of the name Artaxerxes distinct from Ahasuerus, and a direct Greek rendering of Ahasuerus is used by both Josephus and the Septuagint for occurrences of the name outside the Book of Esther.

Instead, the Hebrew name Ahasuerus accords with an inscription of the time that notes that Artaxerxes II was named also Arshu, understood as a shortening of Achshiyarshu the Babylonian rendering of the Persian Khshayarsha ( Xerxes ), through which the Hebrew Achashverosh ( Ahasuerus ) is derived.

Based on the view that the Ahasuerus of the Book of Tobit is identical with that of the Book of Esther, some have also identified him as Nebuchadnezzar's ally Cyaxares ( ruled 625 – 585 BCE ).

Jonah is mentioned twice in Chapter 14 of the apocryphal Book of Tobit, the conclusion of which finds Tobit's son, Tobias, at the extreme age of one hundred and twenty seven years, rejoicing at the news of Nineveh's destruction by Nebuchadnezzar and Ahasuerus in apparent fulfillment of Jonah's prophecy against the Assyrian capital.

Between Cyrus and Darius, an exchange of letters with King Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes is described ( chapter 4, verse 7 ), the grandson of Darius I, in whose reign Ezra and Nehemiah came to Jerusalem.

The form Xerxes has not traditionally appeared in English Bibles, but has rather appeared as Ahasuerus.

Haman ( Also known as Haman the Agagite המן האגגי, or Haman the evil המן הרשע ) is the main antagonist in the Book of Esther, who, according to Old Testament tradition, was a 5th Century BC noble and vizier of the Persian empire under King Ahasuerus, traditionally identified as Artaxerxes II.

The story told in the book of Esther takes place during the rule of Ahasuerus, who has been identified as the fifth-century Persian king Xerxes ( 486-465 ).

Wilson, who identified Ahasuerus with Xerxes I and Vashti with Amestris, suggested that both " Amestris " and " Esther " derived from Akkadian Ammi-Ishtar or Ummi-Ishtar.

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.

The novel Overburdened with Evil ( 1988 ) by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky involves a character in modern setting who turns out to be Ahasuerus, identified at the same time in a subplot with John the Divine.

Wilson, who identified Ahasuerus with Xerxes I and Vashti with Amestris, suggested that both " Amestris " and " Esther " derived from Akkadian words Ammi-Ishtar or Ummi-Ishtar.

According to the Book of Esther, in the Tanakh, Haman was an Agagite noble and vizier of the empire under Persian King Ahasuerus, generally identified as Xerxes the Great ( son of Darius the Great ) in 6th century BCE.

Ahasuerus remains very powerful and continues reigning, with Mordechai assuming a prominent position in his court.

Those arguing in favour of an historical reading of Esther, most commonly identify Ahasuerus with Artaxerxes II ( ruled 405 – 359 BCE ) although in the past it was often assumed that he was Xerxes I ( ruled 486 – 465 BCE ).

Jewish tradition relates that Esther was the mother of a King Darius and so some try to identify Ahasuerus with Artaxerxes I and Esther with Kosmartydene.

The view that it was Mordecai would be consistent with the identification of Ahasuerus with Cyaxares.

* The novel ' Hadassah ' by J. Francis Hudson ( Lion Publishing 1996 ) integrates the Biblical narrative with ancient Greek accounts of the reign of Xerxes ( Ahasuerus ).

* A 2006 movie about Esther and Ahasuerus, entitled One Night with the King, stars Tiffany Dupont and Luke Goss.

This was part of the basis for Esther's relationship with Ahasuerus.

Other works dealing with the Persian Empire or the Biblical story of Esther have also referenced Xerxes, such as the video game Assassin's Creed II and the film One Night with the King, in which Ahasuerus ( Xerxes ) was portrayed by British actor Luke Goss.

In some versions of the apocryphal or 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.

The legend became more popular after it appeared in a 17th-century pamphlet of four leaves, Kurtze Beschreibung und Erzählung von einem Juden mit Namen Ahasverus ( Short description and tale of a Jew with the name Ahasuerus ).

The French writer Edgar Quinet published his prose epic on the legend in 1833, making the subject the judgment of the world ; and Eugène Sue wrote his Juif errant in 1844, in which the author connects the story of Ahasuerus with that of Herodias.

The name Ahasuerus is equivalent to the Greek name Xerxes, both deriving from the Old Persian language Xšayārša.

If this refers to Mordecai, he would have had to live over a century to have witnessed the events described in the Book of Esther ( assuming the biblical Ahasuerus is indeed Xerxes I ).

According to the Book of Esther, in the Hebrew Bible, Haman, royal vizier to King Ahasuerus ( presumed to be Xerxes I of Persia ), planned to kill all the Jews in the empire, but his plans were foiled by Mordecai and his adopted daughter Queen Esther.

According to Ezra 4: 1-6 " the enemies of Judah and Benjamin " asked to help build the temple, and when this was denied hired counselors to frustrate the people of Judah from completing the rebuilding throughout the reign of Cyrus, Xerxes (' Ahasuerus '), and Artaxerxes, until the reign of Darius.

Upon the discovery of the equivalence of the names Ahasuerus and Xerxes, Bible commentators attempted to identify Ahasuerus with Xerxes I of Persia and Vashti with a wife named Amestris mentioned by Herodotus.

He places events during the rule of Ardashir Bahman ( Artaxerxes II ), but confuses him with Ardashir al-Tawil al-Ba ( Artaxerxes I ), while assuming Ahasuerus to be the name of a co-ruler.

Amestris remained in power well into the reign of her son Artaxerxes I and moreover the identification of Ahasuerus with Xerxes was rejected by later scholars.

Given the similarity of names, and the parallel identification of Ahasuerus with her husband Xerxes I, it is possible that Amestris is the Biblical Vashti.

Esther discovers what has transpired ; she requests that all Jews of Shushan fast and pray for three days together with her, and on the third day she seeks an audience with Ahasuerus, during which she invites him to a feast in the company of Haman.