The History of who were the Foriegn Ruling Kings of Persia?Easton's Bible Dictionary-------------------------
Cyrus (Heb. Koresh) the son of Cambyses, the prince of Persia, the celebrated “King of Persia” (Elam) who was conqueror of Babylon, and issued the decree of liberation to the Jews (Ezr_1:1, Ezr_1:2). Cyrus was born about 599 BC. In the year 559 B.C. he became king of Persia and Media. Cyrus was a great military leader, bent on universal conquest. Babylon fell before his army (538 B.C.) on the night of Belshazzar's feast (Dan_5:30), and then the ancient dominion of Assyria was also added to his empire (cf., “Go up, O Elam” - Isa_21:2). Hitherto the great kings of the earth had only oppressed the Jews. Cyrus was to them as a “shepherd” (Isa_44:28; Isa_45:1). The “first year of Cyrus” (Ezr_1:1) is not the year of his elevation to power over the Medes, nor over the Persians, nor the year of the fall of Babylon, but the year succeeding the two years during which “Darius the Mede” was viceroy in Babylon after its fall. At this time only (536 B.C.) Cyrus became actual king over Palestine. The edict of Cyrus for the rebuilding of Jerusalem marked a great epoch in the history of the Jewish people (2Ch_36:22, 2Ch_36:23; Ezr_1:1-4; Ezr_4:3; Ezr_5:13-17; Ezr_6:3-5). This decree was discovered “at Achmetha [R.V. marg., “Ecbatana”], in the palace that is in the province of the Medes” (Ezr_6:2). A chronicle drawn up just after the conquest of Babylonia by Cyrus, gives the history of the reign of Nabonidus (Nabunahid), the last king of Babylon, and of the fall of the Babylonian empire. In 538 B.C. there was a revolt in Southern Babylonia, while the army of Cyrus entered the country from the north. In June the Babylonian army was completely defeated at Opis, and immediately afterwards Sippara opened its gates to the conqueror. Gobryas (Ugbaru), the governor of Kurdistan, was then sent to Babylon, which surrendered “without fighting,” and the daily services in the temples continued without a break. In October, Cyrus himself arrived, and proclaimed a general amnesty, which was communicated by Gobryas to “all the province of Babylon,” of which he had been made governor. Meanwhile, Nabonidus, who had concealed himself, was captured, but treated honourably; and when his wife died, Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, conducted the funeral. Cyrus now assumed the title of “king of Babylon,” claimed to be the descendant of the ancient kings, and made rich offerings to the temples. At the same time he allowed the foreign populations who had been deported to Babylonia to return to their old homes, carrying with them the images of their gods. Among these populations were the Jews, who, as they had no images, took with them the sacred vessels of the temple.
Darius - The holder or supporter, the name of several Persian kings.(1.) Darius the Mede (Dan_11:1), “the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes” (Dan_9:1). On the death of Belshazzar the Chaldean he “received the kingdom” of Babylon as viceroy from Cyrus. During his brief reign (538-536 B.C.) Daniel was promoted to the highest dignity (Dan_6:1, Dan_6:2); but on account of the malice of his enemies he was cast into the den of lions. After his miraculous escape, a decree was issued by Darius enjoining “reverence for the God of Daniel” (Dan_6:26). This king was probably the “Astyages” of the Greek historians. Some are of opinion that the name “Darius” is simply a name of office, equivalent to “governor,” and that the “Gobryas” of the inscriptions was the person intended by the name. (2.) Darius, king of Persia, was the son of Hystaspes, of the royal family of the Achaemenidae. He did not immediately succeed Cyrus on the throne. There were two intermediate kings, viz., Cambyses (the Ahasuerus of Ezra), the son of Cyrus, who reigned from 529-522 B.C., and was succeeded by a usurper named Smerdis, who occupied the throne only ten months, and was succeeded by this Darius (521-486 B.C.). Smerdis was a Magian, and therefore had no sympathy with Cyrus and Cambyses in the manner in which they had treated the Jews. He issued a decree prohibiting the restoration of the temple and of Jerusalem (Ezr_4:17-22). But soon after his death and the accession of Darius, the Jews resumed their work, thinking that the edict of Smerdis would be now null and void, as Darius was in known harmony with the religious policy of Cyrus. The enemies of the Jews lost no time in bringing the matter under the notice of Darius, who caused search to be made for the decree of Cyrus (q.v.). It was not found at Babylon, but at Achmetha (Ezr_6:2); and Darius forthwith issued a new decree, giving the Jews full liberty to prosecute their work, at the same time requiring the Syrian satrap and his subordinates to give them all needed help. It was with the army of this king that the Greeks fought the famous battle of Marathon (490 B.C.). During his reign the Jews enjoyed much peace and prosperity. He was succeeded by Ahasuerus, known to the Greeks as Xerxes, who reigned for twenty-one years.(3.) Darius the Persian (Neh_12:22) was probably the Darius II. (Ochus or Nothus) of profane history, the son of Artaxerxes Longimanus, who was the son and successor of Ahasuerus (Xerxes). There are some, however, who think that the king here meant was Darius III. (Codomannus), the antagonist of Alexander the Great (336-331 B.C.).
Ahasuerus- There are three kings designated by this name in Scripture.(1.) The father of Darius the Mede, mentioned in Dan_9:1. This was probably the Cyaxares I. known by this name in profane history, the king of Media and the conqueror of Nineveh.(2.) The king mentioned in Ezr_4:6, probably the Cambyses of profane history, the son and successor of Cyrus (529 B.C.).(3.) The son of Darius Hystaspes, the king named in the Book of Esther. He ruled over the kingdoms of Persia, Media, and Babylonia, “from India to Ethiopia.” This was in all probability the Xerxes of profane history, who succeeded his father Darius (485 B.C.). In the LXX. version of the Book of Esther the name Artaxerxes occurs for Ahasuerus. He reigned for twenty-one years (486-465 B.C.). 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.Who was Esther?Easton's Bible Dictionary-------------------------EstherThe queen of Ahasuerus, and heroine of the book that bears her name. She was a Jewess named Hadassah (the myrtle), but when she entered the royal harem she received the name by which she henceforth became known (Est_2:7). It is a Syro-Arabian modification of the Persian word satarah, which means a star. She was the daughter of Abihail, a Benjamite. Her family did not avail themselves of the permission granted by Cyrus to the exiles to return to Jerusalem; and she resided with her cousin Mordecai, who held some office in the household of the Persian king at “Shushan in the palace.” Ahasuerus having divorced Vashti, chose Esther to be his wife. Soon after this he gave Haman the Agagite, his prime minister, power and authority to kill and extirpate all the Jews throughout the Persian empire. By the interposition of Esther this terrible catastrophe was averted. Haman was hanged on the gallows he had intended for Mordecai (Est_7:1-10); and the Jews established an annual feast, the feast of Purim (q.v.), in memory of their wonderful deliverance.
This took place about fifty-two years after the Return, the year of the great battles of Plataea and Mycale (479 B.C.).Esther appears in the Bible as a “woman of deep piety, faith, courage, patriotism, and caution, combined with resolution; a dutiful daughter to her adopted father, docile and obedient to his counsels, and anxious to share the king's favour with him for the good of the Jewish people. There must have been a singular grace and charm in her aspect and manners, since 'she obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her' (Est_2:15). That she was raised up as an instrument in the hand of God to avert the destruction of the Jewish people, and to afford them protection and forward their wealth and peace in their captivity, is also manifest from the Scripture account.”Also See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estherhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vashti (great granddaughter of Nebuchadnezer)
