Vashti | |
|---|---|
 Vashti Refuses the King's Summons (1879) by Edwin Long | |
| Nationality | Persian |
| Occupation | Queen of Persia |
| Known for | Figures in the Book of Esther of the Hebrew Bible |
| Spouse | Ahasuerus of Persia |
Vashti (Hebrew: וַשְׁתִּי, romanized: Vaštī; Koinē Greek: Ἀστίν, romanized: Astín; Modern Persian: واشتی, romanized: Vâšti) was a queen of Persia and the first wife of Persian king Ahasuerus in the Book of Esther, a book included within the Tanakh and the Old Testament which is read on the Jewish holiday of Purim. She was either executed or banished for her refusal to appear at the king's banquet to show her beauty as Ahasuerus wished, and was succeeded as queen by Esther, a Jew. That refusal might be better understood via the Jewish tradition that she was ordered to appear naked. In the Midrash, Vashti is described as wicked and vain; she is viewed as an independent-minded heroine in feminist theological interpretations of the Purim story.
Attempts to identify her as one of the Persian royal consorts mentioned in extra-biblical records remain speculative.