This book examines the ways in which the Biblical Book of Esther was read, understood, and used in Muslim lands, from ancient to modern times. It features case-studies covering works from various periods and regions of the Muslim world.

• Introduction


• 1: Haman in the Qur'an


• 2: Esther in Islamic Historical Sources


• 3: The Samaritan Esther


• 4: The Persian Esther 'Midrash'


• 5: Esther and Ancient Persian Storytelling


• 6: Bougaios: The Islamic Evidence


• 7: Why Did Mordecai Refuse to Bow?


• Conclusions


• Appendix: An Arab feminist on Esther


• Bibliography

Adam J. Silverstein is Associate Professor of Middle Eastern History at Bar Ilan University. He held a British Academy post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Cambridge, before taking up lectureships in Near and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oxford, where he was also a Fellow of Queen's College. Subsequently, Professor Silverstein was Reader in Abrahamic Religions at King's College London. His publications include The Oxford Handbook of the Abrahamic Religions (2015) and Islamic History: A Very Short Introduction (2010). He is also the series editor for The Oxford Studies in the Abrahamic Religions with Guy G. Stroumsa.