Jul 31, 2025The Book of Esther tells the story of a woman named Esther who risks her life to save the Jewish people from genocide, ultimately leading to the Jews slaughtering their enemies. This tale, however, lacks historical validity and sharply contradicts known historical sources. The Book of Esther is notably absent from the Dead Sea Scrolls. Additionally, distorted versions of the story are prevalent in Iran that diverge from Jewish sources and lack any credible foundation.
The story of Esther is a Jewish legend, yet in recent centuries, due to evolving sociopolitical conditions, it has acquired distinct characteristics. It has become a pretext both for anti-Iranian sentiments and for anti-Semitic discourse.
Some extremist groups in Israel interpret the story in a way that fuels anti-Iranian narratives, while within Iran, others have promoted biased retellings that not only spread anti-Semitism but also unwittingly provide fodder for anti-Iranian rhetoric.
In Iran, some who harbor anti-Semitic views have manipulated the story to falsely portray ancient Iranian history and the Achaemenid Empire. They even link the Persian festival of Sizdah Be-dar to the Esther narrative, despite lacking any historical documentation.
The Book of Esther contains numerous contradictions, rendering it unreliable as a historical source. Its distorted retellings are even more baseless and lack historical grounding. It is best viewed as a legend or myth, especially given its absence from the Dead Sea Scrolls.
This suggests that Purim, though associated with the story of Esther, may not have originated within the Jewish tradition. It has been proposed that Purim was adopted from other cultures before the Esther narrative took shape. During the Hellenistic period, some Jewish groups may have attempted to provide Purim with a distinctly Jewish origin, which eventually led to the composition of the Book of Esther.
In this article, we will examine the Esther story historically and explore its origins, beyond the emotional and political noise surrounding it.
A few key reasons (among many) why the story of Esther appears to be fictional:
- The Book of Esther is not present among the Dead Sea Scrolls!
- No historical or archaeological evidence supports the story!
- The author of the Book of Esther is unknown; the text entered Jewish literature post-Alexander’s conquest.
- The character Mordecai is said to be over 100 years old!
- Jews appear marginally in Achaemenid art and are completely absent in Persepolis!
- Achaemenid inscriptions reference some twenty-odd provinces, while Esther mentions 127!
- The story describes a 180-day feast—unheard of in Iranian culture!
The story unfolds during the reign of a king named "Ahasuerus," likely referencing the Achaemenid period.
Summary:
In the third year of his reign, Ahasuerus hosts an opulent banquet in Susa. When he orders his queen, Vashti, to appear and show her beauty to the guests, she refuses. Enraged, the king deposes her (Esther 1).
To find a new queen, representatives are dispatched across the empire. Esther (originally Hadassah), raised by her cousin Mordecai, is chosen as queen. Esther hides her Jewish identity at Mordecai’s request.
Later, Mordecai uncovers a plot against the king and reports it (Esther 2), earning royal favor (Esther 6). Meanwhile, Haman, a high official, is angered by Mordecai’s refusal to bow to him. Citing the distinct laws of the Jews, Haman seeks permission to exterminate them (Esther 3).
Mordecai urges Esther to intervene, despite the mortal risk of approaching the king uninvited. She agrees and hosts two banquets, during which she reveals her identity and Haman’s plot (Esther 5-7). Haman is hanged, and a royal decree allows Jews to defend themselves (Esther 7-8).
The story ends with the Jews killing 77,000 of their enemies without looting (Esther 9). This is the origin of the Purim.
The tale raises many questions. Its tone is mythological, and it contradicts Achaemenid records.
The absence of the Book of Esther in the Dead Sea Scrolls is telling. The Scrolls, discovered in Qumran, Palestine, are among the oldest biblical manuscripts, yet Esther is entirely missing (Davies, 2014).
The book’s author is anonymous, and most scholars believe it was composed during the Hellenistic period. There is no mention of this story in Greek historical sources or Persian inscriptions. Though Esther 10 claims Mordecai’s deeds are recorded in "the annals of Media and Persia," no non-Jewish sources confirm this.
The Book of Esther seems set in the Achaemenid era. Mentions of a king ruling from India to Ethiopia, and a palace in Susa, mirror historical features. Yet many details clash with Achaemenid history. For example, inscriptions name only around 23 provinces (see DNa, XPh), not 127.
Neither Jews nor Esther/Mordecai are mentioned in Persian inscriptions, and they are absent from Persepolis reliefs that depict various ethnic delegations. This implies Jews were a minor group and not as influential as the story claims.
Some equate Ahasuerus with Artaxerxes, based on the Septuagint rendering the name as Artaxerxes. Yet in other Jewish texts, like Ezra 4, Artaxerxes is distinct from Ahasuerus.
Others suggest Ahasuerus is Xerxes (Old Persian: x-š-y-a-r-š-a), citing similarities in name and characteristics. But Greek sources like Herodotus, Ctesias, and Aeschylus say Xerxes had one queen, Amestris, daughter of Otanes. No mention of a Jewish wife exists.
Further, Esther claims Mordecai was exiled by Nebuchadnezzar (Esther 2:7), implying he lived over a century! Some Jewish traditions date Purim to 355 BCE, during Artaxerxes II’s reign. If so, Mordecai would have lived almost 200 years—a legendary age.
These contradictions, plus the book’s absence from the Dead Sea Scrolls, confirm its legendary nature. The author likely misunderstood Persian history, possibly blending multiple kings.
Esther reads like a novel or epic. The narrator appears omniscient, aware of characters' thoughts (e.g., Haman's inner reasoning in Esther 6).
Characters resemble mythical archetypes. Haman, a non-Iranian (an Amalekite), somehow rises to high office. Jews battle long-time foes, mirroring ancient rivalries (cf. 1 Samuel 15:33).
Talmudic commentaries even link Ahasuerus to Nebuchadnezzar. The heroes possess godlike traits—Esther is dazzlingly beautiful, Mordecai astonishingly long-lived.
The Persian king is portrayed as impulsive, yet supposedly rules a vast empire. He greenlights genocide and then reverses it casually. Such inconsistent leadership strains believability.
The claim that Jews killed 77,000 enemies—or 75,000 in some versions—is likely symbolic, with repeated sevens suggesting mythic numerology.
A 180-day banquet is another absurdity. No Persian festival lasted that long.
The Book of Esther does not once mention God. Its religious elements are minimal, unlike other biblical books. This supports the theory that the story was adapted from foreign myths and molded to fit Jewish perspectives.
Some researchers see parallels between Esther and deities like Ishtar and Marduk. Haman resembles Humman, an Elamite god; Vashti could mirror Mashti, another Elamite deity.
Such similarities suggest the story draws on Babylonian-Elamite divine conflicts. Since Marduk and Ishtar triumph, the tale may have originated in Babylon, and Purim likely derives from a Babylonian festival (Eddy, 1968: 292).
As is well known, the central figure of the Book of Esther is a woman named Esther, who risks her life to save her people from annihilation. In one of the most important parts of the Book of Esther, Mordecai asks Esther to plead with the king for the salvation of the Jewish people. Esther replies:
“All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.” (Book of Esther, 4:11).
Later, Mordecai warns Esther of the consequences of her silence. Eventually, Esther decides to risk her life and sends this message to Mordecai:
“Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” (Book of Esther, 4:16).
The king extends his golden scepter to Esther, and in the end, everything turns in favor of the Jewish people.
Such a story, in which a young woman or girl endangers herself to save others, appears frequently in the tales of the Iranian world, the most famous example being the story of Scheherazade (Shahrzad). In this context, we refer to these as “Stories of the Self-Sacrificing Girl.”
There has been debate over the origin of these stories. Some trace their roots to India, others to Iran, and overall, elements from various cultures have been identified in them. However, these stories are most commonly found in India and the Iranian cultural sphere.
In One Thousand and One Nights, the king asks his vizier to bring him a new girl every night, and due to a grudge against his former wife, he executes them afterward. Eventually, no more girls can be found. The vizier tells this to his daughters, Scheherazade and Dunyazade. Scheherazade, the elder and wiser of the two, seeing her father’s grief, volunteers herself and says: "Either I shall be killed or I shall die to rid the daughters of others of this plague” (One Thousand and One Nights, 2008: pp. 3–4).
Of particular interest are the Sogdian texts—manuscripts from the Sogdian region (Central Asia), where such stories are told repeatedly. Sogdian is an Iranian language. Many of these tales have Manichaean themes. In these stories, self-sacrificing girls often agree to marry a wicked person, a serpent, or a demon, leading to a breaking of a curse or the improvement of dire circumstances. In some versions, the ending is tragic; in others, the girl's love and sacrifice overcome evil, resulting in a happy ending. Ultimately, the girl marries a prince and lives happily ever after (cf. Partoey and Zarrinshenas, 2010: pp. 23–29). This strongly resembles the story of Esther.
Given that these Sogdian manuscripts have reached us directly and unmediated, they are of significant historical value. However, drawing definitive conclusions is difficult. The manuscripts appear to be later than the written version of the Esther story, and many of them are rooted in Manichaean thought—a faith that was itself influenced by Jewish and Christian scriptures. Still, there is no doubt that Manichaeanism also absorbed many aspects of Iranian and Zoroastrian culture. It is not unlikely that the Sogdian stories have roots in even older Iranian tales.
In conclusion, we cannot decisively determine the origin of the self-sacrificing girl motif. But given the prevalence of such stories in the Iranian world, and the marked differences between the Book of Esther and other Jewish narratives, there is a real possibility that the Esther story was influenced by Indian or Iranian traditions.
There is a structure in Hamadan, Iran, dating back to the Ilkhanid period, which has been associated with Esther and Mordecai. It should be noted that this is not the only tomb linked to figures from the Esther story—another exists outside of Iran (Bar’am).
As mentioned earlier, accepting the Esther story as historical fact is highly problematic. Thus, the attribution of a tomb to its characters is also surrounded by uncertainty. The key question regarding such tombs is what evidence led to these associations. Are there credible documents or findings to support them?
It should be remembered that similar misattributions have occurred before in Iranian archaeology. For example, Persepolis has long been referred to as “Takht-e Jamshid,” and the tomb of Cyrus the Great was for some time believed to be the burial place of Solomon’s mother. Therefore, attributing a tomb to specific individuals without strong evidence is not acceptable. In fact, it is common for ordinary people—intentionally or not—to associate unknown ruins over time with myths, heroes, and religious figures.
Therefore, the so-called tomb of Esther and Mordecai lacks solid historical basis and is comparable to some Imamzadehs (local shrines) that, despite popular reverence, do not have authentic historical foundations.
In Iran, some distorted versions of the Esther story are promoted by anti-Semitic and anti-Iranian propagandists. While the specific details of these altered narratives may vary, they generally share the same overarching themes.
The promoters of these stories aim to stir up nationalist sentiment in Iran and incite hatred toward Jews and Israel.
The distortion began with anti-Iranian figures such as Nasser Pourpirar, who twisted the Esther legend to draw absurd conclusions. Later, some extremists with a religious facade, influenced by his claims, created further fabrications. These ideas were then widely disseminated by media outlets linked to certain institutions.
One example is the supposed connection between the story of Esther and the Iranian holiday of Sizdah Bedar (13th Day Picnic). However, this claim lacks any historical basis. There is no evidence of a link between Sizdah Bedar and the festival of Purim in any historical sources, and even their dates do not match.
For further reading, see:
Distortion of Purim and Sizdah Bedar by Anti-Semites
In many ways, the story of Esther resembles a fictional novel, full of exaggerations. It also bears obvious similarities to Babylonian myths and Iranian legends.
It is worth noting that the Book of Esther is not actually included among the Dead Sea Scrolls. This suggests that Purim, based on the Esther story, does not have deep roots within Judaism itself.
While respecting the Jewish people, it must be acknowledged that Purim, sometimes referred to as the “Feast of Persian Slaughter,” lacks historical authenticity.
Moreover, a celebration involving dancing, feasting, and drinking wine in memory of a mass execution—even if it involved enemies or soldiers—can hardly be called a humane or noble tradition. It is important to mention that even among Jews, there are those who criticize the story of Esther from a historical standpoint.
Translated from kheradgan.ir/p/9942
Bibliography:
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– Aeschylus (2011). Collected Works. Translated by Abdollah Kowsari. Tehran: Nashr-e Ney.
– Biruni, Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad (2007). The Remaining Works Concerning the Former Ages (Āthār al-Bāqiya ‘an al-Qurūn al-Khāliyah). Translated by Akbar Danaseresht. Tehran: Amir Kabir.
– Davies, Philip R. (Last Updated: November 26, 2014). “Dead Sea Scrolls.” Encyclopædia Britannica.
– Eddy, Samuel K. (1968). The Doctrine of Kingship in the East. Translated by Fereydoun Badrei. Tehran: Elmi va Farhangi.
– Khaleghian, Majid (September 2015). "The Role of the Sogdians in Preserving, Continuing, and Expanding Iranian Culture in Ancient Times." Master's thesis. University of Tehran.
– Partovi, Anahita; Zarshenas, Zohreh (2010). Tales from Sogdiana. Tehran: Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies.
– Tafazoli, Ahmad (2010). History of Persian Literature before Islam. Tehran: Sokhan.
– Lalehzar, Hammami; Shmuelian, Amin (Summer 2013). "The Incompatibility of Purim with the Thirteenth of Farvardin." Tehran Jewish Association.
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