Abyssinia, to marry what number of wives they choose; that these were not, therefore, all queens; but that among them there was one who was considered particularly as queen, and upon her head was placed the crown, and she was called Iteghè.
Thus, in Persia, we read that Ahasuerus loved Esther[1], who had found grace in his sight more than the other virgins, and he had placed a golden crown upon her head. And Josephus[2] informs us, that, when Esther[3] was brought before the king, he was exceedingly delighted with her, and made her his lawful wife, and when she came into the palace he put a crown upon her head; whether placing the crown upon the queen's head had any civil effect as to regency in Persia as it had in Abyssinia, is what history does not inform us.
I have already observed, that there is an officer called Serach Massery, who watches before the king's gate all night, and at the dawn of day cracks a whip to chace the wild beasts out of the town. This, too, is the signal for the king to rise, and sit down in his judgment-seat. The same custom was observed in Persia. Early in the morning an officer entered the king's chamber, and said to him "Arise, O king! and take charge of those matters which Oromasdes has appointed you to the care of."
- ↑ Esther, chap. ii.
- ↑ Joseph. lib. xi. cap. 6.
- ↑ If I remember right, it is D. Prideaux that says Esther is a Persian word, of no signification. I rather think it is Abyssinian, because it has a signification in that language. Eshté, the masculine, signifies an agreeable present, and is a proper name, of which Esther is the feminine.
