Community Magazine March 2014

ADAR II 5774 MARCH 2014 25 1) The events in the Megillah continue until the 14th year of Ahashverosh’s reign, which, according to the Gemara, was his final year of rule. Among the list of 11 Persian kings, Xerxes and two others ruled for nearly 20 years each, while the others ruled either for significantly less than 15 years or for far longer than 20 years. This already narrows down the options to Xerxes and two other kings. 2) Although his name was pronounced by the Greeks as Xerxes, the Persian pronunciation was Hashiarsh . The name also appears as Hashiarsh in Aramaic documents from that period discovered on the island of Elephantine in Upper Egypt. When pronounced in Hebrew, Hashiarsh turns into Ahashverosh . In the Megillah, the king’s name is once spelled Ahashresh , which is even closer to Hashiarsh . 3) According to conventional history, Xerxes’ father was Darius. At least four passages in Midrashic literature refer to Ahashverosh’s father as Darius ( Yalkut Shimoni 1049, Targum Sheini 1:1), and archaeological evidence shows clearly that it was Darius, father of Xerxes, who built the palace in Shushan. According to another Midrash ( Yalkut Shimoni 1046), it was a king by the name of Darius who moved the capital city to Shushan. This Darius must have ruled before Ahashverosh, since the capital was already in Shushan in Ahashverosh’s time. This cannot be Darius the Mede, because Cyrus, who ruled after him, still ruled from Babylon. There is an opinion, which also has historical basis, that Darius usurped Cambyses’ throne and ruled during the time of Cambyses. It is very possible that building Shushan was part of his plan to take control of the empire. It is still unclear who the Darius of the Midrash is and why he does not appear in other Jewish sources. In any case, the documented relationship between Ahashverosh and Darius is another reason why most scholars associate him with Xerxes. 4) There are also events that occurred during the reign of Xerxes that fit well with the story of the Megillah. In the interest of brevity, we will mention just a few examples. Before presenting this evidence, however, we must emphasize that this view is not universally accepted. In Esther Rabbah (1:3), we find the view that Ahashverosh was the king known as Artaxerxes, a view which also appears in Pirkei de’Rabbi Eliezer and in early Greek translations of the Megillah, and was followed by the Jewish historian Josephus. Even so, we must keep in mind that Shushan has been indentified beyond doubt, and that the Persian Empire is surely the empire described in the Megillah. Moreover, the names of the kings other than Xerxes are identical with the names of other Persian kings who appear in the Tanach. Excerpts fromMegillat Esther: ESTHER I I:1 – It happened in the days of Ahashverosh – he is [the same] Ahashverosh who was ruling over 127 provinces from Hodu (India) to Kush (Ethiopia). As mentioned above, the majority of scholars identify Ahashverosh with the Persian king known by the Greeks as Xerxes, who was unquestionably one of the most powerful Persian kings. Who was ruling – Rav says: He raised himself to the throne... Some say it was to his credit – there was no one fit for the throne as he; some say it was to his disgrace – that he was not fit for the throne, but by means of distributing his wealth he rose [to the throne] . (Gemara, Megillah 11a) The Gemara here implies that Ahashverosh was not the next in line to rule, but somehow made his way to the throne. This is exactly the account of Xerxes which appears in the Greek writings, and was actually attested to by Xerxes himself. According to the Greek historians, Xerxes’ father, Darius, had older sons who were to have been given precedence over Xerxes. Nonetheless, Xerxes was able to convince his father that he should be the first in line for the kingship. Darius accepted his claims and named Xerxes heir-apparent. This is also alluded to in a royal inscription discovered at Persepolis: “King Xerxes proclaims: Darius had other sons also; [but] Darius, my father, made me the greatest after himself. ...THE MAJORITY OF SCHOLARS... IDENTIFY THE KING COMMONLY KNOWN AS XERXES AS THE KING AHASHVEROSH OF THE MEGILLAH. Copy of Xerxes inscription at Hamadan Pictured above is a Persian cuneiform which contains names of Persian kings. The name Ahashverosh (pronounced Hashiarsh ) is written on the first line (underlined). The name Daryavesh (pronounced Daryavush ) is written on the second to last line (underlined). King Xerxes sitting on his throne with a scepter in his right hand, as seen on this Persepolis relief. Silver bowl with a royal inscription from Artaxerxes. The inscription reads: “Artaxerxes, the great king, king of kings, king of countries, son of Xerxes the king, of Xerxes [who was] the son of Darius the king, the Ahaemenian, in whose house this silver cup was made.”