Read Online Esther : Royal Beauty (9781441269294) by Angela Elwell Hunt - Free Book Online
Authors: Angela Elwell Hunt
people who did not worship HaShem. But King Xerxesâs royal banquet for all the citizens of Susa had left a deep impression on my young imagination, and even Vashtiâs abrupt demotion had done little to dispel the romantic haze that enveloped my memory of the event.
Any nation that could produce Cyrus, I told myself, could produce any number of kings and noblemen who would do good and honor the people who honored Adonai.
Chapter Seven Harbonah
M Y KING SET ASIDE HIS QUEEN during the third year of his reign, but in subsequent months he had little time to mourn her loss. Confident after quashing rebellions in Egypt and Babylon, he turned his thoughts to the trophy he coveted most: Greece.
My master might never have admitted the truth to his generals, but I understood why he desired Greece so earnestly. His father, the great Darius, had experienced only one military loss: the battle of Marathon, where seven thousand Greeks defeated Dariusâs army of more than thirty thousand. That loss loomed over the great Dariusâs career, the one blot upon a spotless record.
I had come to Dariusâs palace as a ten-year-old, and even then I had noticed how nine-year-old Xerxes yearned for his royal fatherâs approval. Working in the shadows as a fly swatter, an errand boy, and a cookâs boy, I watched the young prince grow up in his powerful fatherâs shadow. I saw him skillfully wield bow and sword and spear in an effort to win his fatherâs admiration.
At twenty, I was given to the crown prince, so I was with my master when Darius named his twenty-one-year-old son viceroy to Babylon. I rejoiced with my master when he obeyed his fatherâs wishes and married Vashti that same year.
But on the day my masterâs first son was born, I shared his outrage and frustration. On the day he should have been elated over the birth of a future crown prince, my masterâs joy was swallowed up by the news that his father, the invincible Darius, had been crushed at Marathon.
Four years later, when my master ascended to the throne, I knew he would never feel equal to the task of ruling the empire unless he could avenge his fatherâs loss. My king wanted to control Greece, but he especially wanted to annihilate the Greeks at Marathon.
After the kingâs celebratory banquets in Susa, my masterâs life filled with preparation for a military campaign. The royal treasury stockpiled grain and weapons, generals conscripted slaves for the army, and captains hired mercenaries as mounted swordsmen. Those who had chosen to serve in the Persian army trained hard, hoping to become one of the kingâs hand-picked Immortals.
So my kingâs thoughts turned toward war, not love, and he did not particularly pine for Vashti.
I was not keen on the idea of accompanying my king to yet another war, but I had no choice. I could, however, be grateful that the odds of my standing on an actual battlefield were slim, as my master planned to direct, not fight in, the battle ahead.
After months of preparation, most of the royal household trekked toward Greece. Though we traveled with dozens of the kingâs concubines, we left his former wife, children, and a skeleton crew of slaves behind to oversee the fortress in Susa.
We would not return until the seventh year of my masterâs reign.
Chapter Eight Hadassah
W E DIDN â T HEAR MUCH about the kingâs activities during the months of preparation for his military campaign, but we certainly saw the results of his labor. Regular shipments of food, horses, slaves, and weapons arrived at a depot near the royal fortress, transported on wagons from all over the empire. Hardly a week went by that we didnât glimpse foreigners entering the city, most of them speaking languages Iâd never heard. During the hours of early evening we could climb onto our rooftops, gaze out across the plain, and see the glimmer of the soldiersâ campfires. Thousands of
Any nation that could produce Cyrus, I told myself, could produce any number of kings and noblemen who would do good and honor the people who honored Adonai.
Chapter Seven Harbonah
M Y KING SET ASIDE HIS QUEEN during the third year of his reign, but in subsequent months he had little time to mourn her loss. Confident after quashing rebellions in Egypt and Babylon, he turned his thoughts to the trophy he coveted most: Greece.
My master might never have admitted the truth to his generals, but I understood why he desired Greece so earnestly. His father, the great Darius, had experienced only one military loss: the battle of Marathon, where seven thousand Greeks defeated Dariusâs army of more than thirty thousand. That loss loomed over the great Dariusâs career, the one blot upon a spotless record.
I had come to Dariusâs palace as a ten-year-old, and even then I had noticed how nine-year-old Xerxes yearned for his royal fatherâs approval. Working in the shadows as a fly swatter, an errand boy, and a cookâs boy, I watched the young prince grow up in his powerful fatherâs shadow. I saw him skillfully wield bow and sword and spear in an effort to win his fatherâs admiration.
At twenty, I was given to the crown prince, so I was with my master when Darius named his twenty-one-year-old son viceroy to Babylon. I rejoiced with my master when he obeyed his fatherâs wishes and married Vashti that same year.
But on the day my masterâs first son was born, I shared his outrage and frustration. On the day he should have been elated over the birth of a future crown prince, my masterâs joy was swallowed up by the news that his father, the invincible Darius, had been crushed at Marathon.
Four years later, when my master ascended to the throne, I knew he would never feel equal to the task of ruling the empire unless he could avenge his fatherâs loss. My king wanted to control Greece, but he especially wanted to annihilate the Greeks at Marathon.
After the kingâs celebratory banquets in Susa, my masterâs life filled with preparation for a military campaign. The royal treasury stockpiled grain and weapons, generals conscripted slaves for the army, and captains hired mercenaries as mounted swordsmen. Those who had chosen to serve in the Persian army trained hard, hoping to become one of the kingâs hand-picked Immortals.
So my kingâs thoughts turned toward war, not love, and he did not particularly pine for Vashti.
I was not keen on the idea of accompanying my king to yet another war, but I had no choice. I could, however, be grateful that the odds of my standing on an actual battlefield were slim, as my master planned to direct, not fight in, the battle ahead.
After months of preparation, most of the royal household trekked toward Greece. Though we traveled with dozens of the kingâs concubines, we left his former wife, children, and a skeleton crew of slaves behind to oversee the fortress in Susa.
We would not return until the seventh year of my masterâs reign.
Chapter Eight Hadassah
W E DIDN â T HEAR MUCH about the kingâs activities during the months of preparation for his military campaign, but we certainly saw the results of his labor. Regular shipments of food, horses, slaves, and weapons arrived at a depot near the royal fortress, transported on wagons from all over the empire. Hardly a week went by that we didnât glimpse foreigners entering the city, most of them speaking languages Iâd never heard. During the hours of early evening we could climb onto our rooftops, gaze out across the plain, and see the glimmer of the soldiersâ campfires. Thousands of
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