Strange Story: Esther 1 My Timeline of the Story of Esther

Years are those of the reign of King Xerxes.

Months are expressed with modern month names.

Xerxes succeeded his father, Darius I, as king in 486 BC.
Year 3 of the King Xerxes’ reign, at least 187 days into the year (no earlier than early July), Queen Vashti was deposed.
Later but probably still in year 3, the search for beautiful virgins was begun and the first batch of them began their beauty treatments (Esther 2:1). My personal opinion is that this entire process was started in October.
During most of Year 4 of the king’s reign, the beauty treatments continued in preparation for going to see the king.
During that same period of time, year 4 of the king’s reign, but before October, Mordecai was granted a position in the government which required him to be stationed during the day near the gate of the king’s palace (2:19).
Late in the 4^th year of the king’s reign, probably in October, one year after the skin treatments began, the girls in the first group transitioned from the preparation phase to the “going-to-the-king” phase, and one of them was taken to the king each night (2:14).
At the same time that the first group was entering their “going-to-the-king” phase, a second group was chosen and brought in so they could begin their preparation phase with one year of skin treatments. Eshter 2:19 tells us that there were at least 2 gatherings of virgins.
That process continued with a new group of girls coming in each year at the time the former group was transitioning to phase 2. I think these transitions always happened in October.
During the 6^th year of his reign, King Xerxes went to war against Greece to avenge his father, Darius’s defeat in Greece. Historical records show there was a massive build up in preparation for this war. They knew such a war would take several months during the time of the year when the weather was conducive for the movements of large armies.
Therefore, I imagine that the number of virgins brought in for the year of the war (year six of his reign) was much smaller than the number brought in other years, possibly about half.
I think Esther entered the king’s citadel in October of year 6 of his reign. The gathering of virgins had begun (in October) in year 3, and continued in years 4, 5 and 6, thus she was part of group 4, the smaller group of virgins.
That means she transitioned to phase two in October of the king’s 7^th year.
2:16 tells us that in October of year 7 of the king’s reign, Esther took her turn to go to King Xerxes. Since the head eunuch seems to have made lots of the decisions related to these girls, I assume he chose the order in which they went to the king. Since we know that Esther pleased him and won his favor (2:9), I assume that he sent her to the king as the first one from her group. That is why I think everything started in October and the transitions were always made in October of each year.
It appears that she was made queen very soon after she went to be with the king. She was probably called back to the king several times before a final decision was made.
At some point after Esther was made queen at the end of the 7^th year of king Xerces, and before the beginning of his 12^th year, Mordecai, who was still serving at the king’s gate (2:21), discovered an assassination plot against the king, told Queen Esther (2:22), and the would-be assassins were killed.
After Mordecai foiled the assassination plot, but before the beginning of the 12^th year of Xerxes, Haman was promoted to a high position. There was probably a considerable gap between these two events for 6:1-3 hints at the fact that enough time had gone by for the details of the assassination plot to be unclear in the king’s memory.
Early January of year 12, Haman cast lots for the day the Jews would be attacked and plundered.
January 13, year 12 – the royal secretaries wrote down Haman’s edit in all the languages of the kingdom and dispatches were sent out (3:12).
Mid January, year 12 – The Jews fasted, Esther requested and held 2 banquets for the king. Haman was found out and killed on his own gallows. Mordecai was made second in command.
March 23, year 12– the royal secretaries wrote down the new edict in all the languages of the kingdom and dispatches were sent out again.
December 13, year 12 – the Jews could defend themselves against their attackers, and got to do damage to their enemies.
In 465 BC, during his 21^st year as king, Xerxes was assassinated by Artabanus, the commander of the royal body guard, and one of his sons became king in his place, taking the name Artaxerxes. In all probability, Mordecai, Esther and all of Esther’s children were killed at the same time.