What famous historical Persian king is king Ahasuerus associated with? (Several answers are possible)
Purim Quiz – Question 2
Hannah's Nook
What famous historical Persian king is king Ahasuerus associated with? (Several answers are possible)
Hannah's Nook 
Artachshasta?
Sorry for my long absence! Hope all is well.
That’s in Hebrew btw, the scientific name would be Xerxes or Artaxerxes.
Found some possible answers:
“In 1923, Dr. Jacob Hoschander wrote The Book of Esther in the Light of History, in which he posited that the events of the book occurred during the reign of Artaxerxes II Mnemon, in the context of a struggle between adherents of the still more-or-less monotheistic Zoroastrianism.”
And:
Those arguing in favour of an historical reading of Esther, most commonly identify Ahasuerus with Artaxerxes II although in the past it was often assumed that he was Xerxes I.
From here: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Book_of_Esther
(thanks for keeping us on our toes!)
My findings were similar although not from the same source.
thanks for keeping us on our toes!
You’re welcome!
The interesting thing is that some historians believe that all the different Xerxeses and Artaxerxeses are the same king. Artaxerxes was a title used to show respect for the king, such as ‘sire’ or ‘royal highness’. This discussion is the basis of a really interesting discussion on the length of the reign of the Persian kings, on which orthodox Jewish historians and other historians tend to disagree (and interesting book on this topic is http://www.amazon.com/Jewish-History-Conflict-Discrepancy-Conventional/dp/1568219709).
Looking forward to tomorrow’s question!!!
Good findings, everyone! I found similar answers as Leora.
Thanks to all of you for taking part.
Xerxes I, Artaxerxes II, Cambyses II.
I searched Wikipedia 🙂
Maria: Thanks for visiting and playing along.
I have been trying to find historical (non biblical) documentation for Esther’s book.
One writer said if Esther had married Xerxes, both of them would have been over 100 yrs old!! I just cant picture a 100 yr + woman going against a bunch of young virgins to win the king!
This writer claimed there was only one king that fit the timeline and it was Cyrus the Great.
I wonder if anyone has searched historical record from Cyrus for ‘haman’, “esther”, “mordecai”, or even “vashti”??