Esther is the seventeenth book of the Old Testament of the Bible, closing the historical books. It is set during the reign of Xerxes I (Ahasuerus), son of Darius, of Persia. The book of Esther tells the the story of a young Jewish woman named Hadassah ("Myrtle"), but known by the Persian name Esther ("Star"), who becomes queen of the Persian Empire. She would use her position in the kingdom to expose a man, named Haman, in King Ahasuerus' court who had plotted to destroy the Jews. Later she would craft a plan to protect them from their attackers.