To Sit or Not to Sit

Ester 1:2: "In those days, when King Achashverosh sat upon his royal throne that was in Shushan (Susa) the capital."

Targum: "In those days, when King Achasverosh wanted to sit upon Shelomoh's (Solomon's) royal throne..."

[Not just any throne, but Shelomoh's throne! Even though Shelomoh lived centuries earlier than Achashverosh, he built a spectacular throne that remained extant and renowned even in Achashverosh's time. What was so spectacular about it? An abbreviated (albeit impressive) description of the throne based on Jewish sources can be found here (or at the above link). The Targum proceeds to fill us in on a bit of this throne's history:]

"...which was captured from Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) by Sheshak, King of Egypt..."

[This happened when Shelomoh's son, Rechavam (Rehoboam), reigned after him and came under attack by Egypt after what the prophet calls a defection of sorts from HaShem (G-d). Read the Biblical account here.]

"...and from Egypt was captured by Sancheriv (Sannacherib)..."

[Sancheriv was emperor of the ancient Assyrian Empire, and no friend of the Jews. In an attack on the Kingdom of Judah, then under the rule of the righteous King Chizkiyah(Hezekiah), Sancheriv's forces, over 185,000 strong, beseiged Yerushalayim, in what seemed certain doom for us. Miraculously, however, HaShem saved the Jews (go G-d!) and overnight 185,000 of Sancheriv's men dropped dead. (Read about Chizkiyah and his conflict with Sancheriv in II Kings 18-19.) Sancheriv also conducted wars against Egypt, during which, according to the Targum, he got his hands on Shelomoh's throne.]

"...and from Sancheriv was captured by Chizkiyah and returned to Yerushalayim..."

[Hooray! Go Jews!]

"...and again from Yerushalayim was captured by Pharoah Chagira, King of Egypt..."

[In fact, Pharoah Chagira, in Aramaic, literally means "Pharoah the Lame." He was so named because, upon trying to sit upon this great throne, was struck by one of the beasts that adorned it (if you didn't already, see the description of Shelomoh's throne here), rendering him a lame duck (or Pharoah, as it were).]

"...and from Egypt was captured by Nevuchadnetzar (Nebuchadnezzar) and brought to Bavel (Babylon)."

[We all know Nevuchadnetzar already as that bad boy who destroyed the first Beth haMikdash. Boo! He had other enemies, too, like the Egyptians, from whom he appropriated the throne next.]

"When Koresh (Cyrus) captured the vessels of Bavel he brought [the throne] to Elam."

[Koresh was emperor of the combined Persian-Median Empire which succeeded in conquering even the mighty Bavel and was the largest empire in history up to that point. It is this empire, under the subsequent rule of Achashverosh, in which the megilah takes place. Elam was the area of the empire in which Shushan, Achashverosh's capital, was located.]

"After this, Achashverosh became king, and wanted to sit upon [this throne] but was unable."

[Why was he unable? As indicated earlier, Pharoah "the Lame" Chagira made the almost fatal mistake of trying to sit on this throne, fit only for kings of Judah, an experience that earned him his name. Understandably then, Achashverosh was also unfit for this throne and was fortunate enough not to repeat the experience of others before him. Nonetheless:]

"He sent for and brought artisans from Alexandria to make one like it but they were unable, so they made one of lesser quality. They worked on it for two years, and on the 3rd year of his reign, [Achashverosh] sat upon that royal throne that the artisans made for him in Shushan the capital."