File:Purim- Folk Dance.jpg

English: Jewish exiles from the Kingdom of Judah who had been living in the Babylonian captivity (6th Century BCE) found themselves under Persian rul . According to the Book of Esther, Haman, royal vizier to King Ahasuerus (possibly Xerxes) planned to annihilate all the Jews and a lot (pur) was casted, but his plans were foiled by Esther (then queen). The Jews were delivered from being the victims of an evil decree against them and were instead allowed by the King to destroy their enemies, and the day after the battle was designated as a day of feasting and rejoicing. The roots of Purim, however, lie beyond the Book of Esther. It is likely that the Jews who returned to Israel from Babylonia in the fifth century B.C. brought with them an ancient Babylonian springtime festival which became transmuted, in Jewish folklore, into the story of Esther.