Midrash su Esdra 6:3

“It was during the days of Aḥashverosh; that [hu] Aḥashverosh; that [hu] Aḥashverosh who reigned from India to Kush, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces” (Esther 1:1).¹What follows is a series of wordplays on the name Aḥashverosh.
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa said: Who blackened [hishḥir] the faces of Israel like the bottom of a pot. Rabbi Berekhya said: Who weakened [hikḥish] the head of Israel with fasting and abstinence. Rabbi Levi said: Who gave them gall and wormwood to drink [hishka]. Rabbi Yuda son of Rabbi Simon said: Who sought to undermine the foundation of Israel.²Literally, to undermine the egg of Israel. The wordplay with the name Aḥashverosh is obscure in this case. Perhaps it involves the word הוריש, meaning to dispossess or destroy. Rabbi Taḥlifa bar bar Ḥana said: Who was the brother [aḥ] of a leader [rosh], the brother of Nebuchadnezzar. Was he his brother? Was not this one a Chaldean and that one a Median? Rather, this one canceled the construction of the Temple, and that one destroyed it; therefore, Scripture equated them. That is what is written: “Even one who is lax in his work is brother to a master of destruction.” (Proverbs 18:9). “Even one who is lax in his work,” that is Aḥashverosh, who canceled the construction of the Temple. “Is brother to a master of destruction,” that is Nebuchadnezzar, who destroyed the Temple.
Alternatively, “Aḥashverosh” – Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya: One said: “Aḥashverosh,” who killed his wife [Vashti] because of his beloved one [Haman]; “that Aḥashverosh,” who killed his beloved one [Haman] because of his wife [Esther]. Rabbi Neḥemya said: “Aḥashverosh,” who canceled the construction of the Temple; “that Aḥashverosh,” who decreed that it should be rebuilt. Was it him who decreed? Was it not Cyrus who decreed? Rather, it is written: “During the first year of King Cyrus” (Ezra 6:3). During that year, all his advisers came to him; they said to him: ‘Your father decreed about it that it shall not be rebuilt, and you decree about it that it shall be rebuilt? Does a king abrogate the decrees of another king?’ He said to them: ‘Bring me the copies of the decrees.’ Immediately, they brought them to him. That is what is written: “A scroll was found in Aḥmeta in the capital” (Ezra 6:2). What was written in it? “Now, issue a decree to cancel” (Ezra 4:21). He said to them: ‘Is ‘forever’ written? It is only written: “Until a decree from me will be issued.” Who can say to me that were my father alive, he would not have built it?’ Therefore, he is included with the prophets; that is what is written: “The elders of the Jews built and prospered [in accordance with the prophecy of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Ido, and built and finished, by the decree of the God of Israel, and by the decree of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaḥshasta³The midrash identifies Artaḥshasta king of Persia as Aḥashverosh. king of Persia]” (Ezra 6:14).

“…who reigned from India to Kush, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces.” Rabbi Eliezer in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina: Are there not two hundred and fifty-two provinces in the world? David ruled over them all; that is what is written: “David’s renown went out to all the lands” (I Chronicles 14:17). Solomon ruled over them all; that is what is written: “Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms...” (I Kings 5:1). Aḥav ruled over them all; that is what is written: “As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom [to where my lord did not send to seek you]” (I Kings 18:10). Does a person take an oath about a place that he does not rule? Additionally, from here: “He counted the young princes of the dominions, and they were two hundred and thirty-two…” (I Kings 20:15). Where were the rest?⁸Earlier it was said that there were two hundred and fifty-two provinces, and here there are representatives of only two hundred and thirty-two dominions. Rabbi Levi and the Rabbis: Rabbi Levi said: They ceased to exist in the famine during the days of Eliyahu. The Rabbis said that Ben Haddad came and took them. That is what is written: “Ben Haddad king of Aram gathered his entire army, and thirty-two kings were with him, and horses and chariots; he went and besieged Samaria, and waged war against it” (I Kings 20:1). We need twenty, and you say thirty-two? Rather, there were provinces that were intractable, and he would take two [young princes] from them as hostages in his charge.
Rabbi Berekhya and the Rabbis [related to the verse: “He pierced my kidneys with the contents of his quiver [benei ashpato]” (Lamentations 3:13)]. Rabbi Berekhya said: These were the captives [benei ukaifi] and the hostages [benei emuryai].⁹These were the “contents of his quiver,” with which God pierced Israel’s kidneys. The Rabbis said: Benei ukaifi – as they were subjugated with manacles [arkof], and benei emuryai – as they were substitutes [temurot] for their fathers. And so it says: “And the hostages [benei hataaruvot]” (II Kings 14:14), they were guarantees [me’uravot] for their fathers.
Nebuchadnezzar ruled over them all; that is what is written: “Everywhere the sons of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens dwell, [He has given into your hand and set your rule over them all]” (Daniel 2:38). Cyrus ruled over them all; that is what is written: “The Lord…has given me all the kingdoms of the earth” (Ezra 1:2). Darius ruled over them all; that is what is written: “Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, [the nations, and the [speakers of different] languages that reside in the entire earth]” (Daniel 6:26). Aḥashverosh ruled over half of them. Why over half of them? Rabbi Huna in the name of Rabbi Aḥa and the Rabbis, Rabbi Huna in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: The Holy One blessed be He said to him: You divided my kingdom, as you said: “He is the God, who is in Jerusalem” (Ezra 1:3); by your life, I am going to divide your kingdom. The Rabbis say: The Holy One blessed be He said to him: You split My house, as you said: “Its height shall be sixty cubits¹⁰The height of the Sanctuary in Solomon’s Temple was one hundred and twenty cubits. and its width sixty cubits” (Ezra 6:3); by your life, I am going to split your kingdom.
Let it say one hundred and twenty-six, for what reason does the verse state “one hundred and twenty-seven provinces”? Rather, this is what the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: You added one ascent [aliya]¹¹Aliya means both second floor and ascent. to My house from your own, as you said: “Any among you from His entire people, may his God be with him, and he may ascend” (Ezra 1:3); I, too, will provide you with an additional ascent from my own, so he added one province to the tally; that is what is written: “One hundred and twenty-seven provinces.”