Who is…
Ahasuerus

This is the name of 3 biblical kings.

  1. King Ahasuerus, the son of Darius Hystaspes, the husband of Queen Esther and recorded in the Book of Esther

    also known as: Artaxerxes, Xerxes I

    He ruled over the kingdoms of Persia, Media, and Babylonia, “from India to Ethiopia.”

    This was in all probability the Xerxes of secular history, who succeeded his father Darius (B.C. 485).

    In the Septuagint version of the Book of Esther the name Artaxerxes occurs for Ahasuerus.

    He reigned for 21 years (B.C. 486-465).

    He invaded Greece with an army, it is said, of more than 2,000,000 soldiers, only 5,000 of whom returned with him. Leonidas, with his famous 300, arrested his progress at the Pass of Thermopylae, and then he was defeated disastrously by Themistocles at Salamis.

    It was after his return from this invasion that Esther was chosen as his queen.

  2. King Ahasuerus, the father of Darius the Mede, mentioned in Dan. 9:1

    This was probably Cyaxares I—the name that appears in secular history, the king of Media and the conqueror of Nineveh.

  3. King Ahasuerus, the sovereign mentioned in Ezra 4:6

    This was possibly the Cambyses of secular history, the son and successor of Cyrus (B.C. 529).

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Article Version: September 14, 2017