Old Testament Character Encyclopedia AEHMV A Ahasuerus / Xerxes I Ahasuerus was the powerful king of Persia who made Esther his queen — and whose decisions shaped the fate of the Jewish people throughout the empire. E Esther / Hadassah The Jewish queen who risked her life to help save her people from destruction in the Persian Empire. H Haman / Haman the Agagite Haman was the chief official of the Persian king Ahasuerus who plotted to destroy every Jewish person in the empire — and was ultimately destroyed by his own scheme. M Mordecai Mordecai was a Jewish man living in Persia who raised his orphaned cousin Esther and helped her save their people from destruction — all while refusing to bow to a wicked official named Haman. V Vashti Vashti was the queen of Persia before Esther — a woman whose single act of refusal set the entire story of Esther in motion.
