The Book of Esther Essay Example

The Persian Empire is arguably one of the greatest and largest empires ever in the history of the world. It was in place from approximately 550 to 334 BCE in Asia Minor and Persia. Throughout the time the empire was in place there were multiple kings that ruled it changing the cultures of the people living in the empire. The Book of Ester is a book from the Hebrew Bible written during the fourth century BCE that tells the story of a Persian king Achashvairosh. In the story information is given on how Persian Kings were able rule their vast empire for such a long period of time. The Persian Kings that ruled the Persian Empire were able to do their job successfully, deal with problems they faced, and keep their empire culturally vast because of the methods that they used to rule. Persian kings ruled their empire by sending scrolls with new laws to their provinces and with the help of their advisors and by doing anything that they thought would make it better for themselves of the people in it. The king listened to their advisors when making decisions and also the advisors came up with some of their own ideas. The king used the advisors to help them make decisions when he was unsure of what action to take because he did not want to make decisions that went against previous laws and customs. The advisors were knowledgeable on these subjects and also knew how certain laws would affect the empire as a whole. For example in the Book of Esther king Achashvairosh commanded his queen (Vashti) to come to him wearing only her crown, but she refused and this made the king angry. King Achashvairosh did not know how this would affect the empire. It then states “The King spoke to his advisors, who were familiar with established precedents, because it was the King’s custom to confer with those who knew law and custom.” (The Kings Reaction, 13) This section shows that kings relied on their advisors to help make decisions because they knew how to keep situations like this from