Dear comrades and brothers in arms,
I am writing to you three weeks after the funeral of Haman, and two weeks after the horrific putsch, orchestrated by that pestilent fellow (((Mordecai))). Insolent Jew. Pretends to be loyal to the God of his fathers, but then swanks around in that adopted name of Mordecai—dedicated to Marduk, is he? Dedicated to the elders of Zion, more like. Some might object to my use of putsch because the king remains, but all our authority that was vested in his counselors behind the scenes has borne the brunt of this coup. A coup it most certainly was.
I haven’t been able to write because the uproar in Susa has been so difficult to navigate—we have been fully occupied with moving from place to place, mostly at night. And then when I finally had this letter largely composed, we had to wait on a courier. Many of our best men had been lost in the massacre.
We even had to hold the funeral of Haman in an undisclosed place, and that was before they made their move, before the actual slaughtering started. And now (((they))) are in control of everything—the seal, the ring, the king’s heart, everything. That witch queen is beautiful, I’ll give her that, but what a calculating and coldhearted jade she has been. But you should hear the rabble talk about her—like she was the best thing that ever happened. Of course the rabble always think that life is a beauty pageant. She has the king dazzled, all right. She must know some tricks and turns that Vashti didn’t. I even saw him extend his scepter to her once when she dared to come into the throne room uninvited. The effrontery of these Hebrews! It doesn’t matter what we do, or what measures we take, they always manage to get through somehow and if you blink just once or twice, they turn up in key positions. I even found myself wondering about that new cupbearer Nehemiah—you can’t trust anyone anymore.
At least we know her real name now, Hadassah, which is more than can be said of her cousin (((Mordecai.))) At least that’s the story because he sure doesn’t look like her cousin—more like a grandfather, I’d say.
Haman was the first one to notice any of these Jew plots. What a man he was! I well remember the day when he first spoke to me about it. “I am not paranoid, Zethar,” he said, “but I am starting to notice things.” This is going to be a long war, I can tell now, but at least he will always have the honor of having been the first one up to the top of the siege ladders. He was the first one to notice, really to notice. Not many of our people even know this, but he was a direct lineal descendant of Agag, the great king of the Amalekites. This explains his regal bearing, and the true sense of authority that Haman always carried with him. You could always tell. He understood himself to be entitled to the great honors he received. Some, even in our own camp, sometimes complained or tried to represent it as envious greed or personal aggrandizement, but nothing could be more wide of the mark. Haman was simply secure in the knowledge of who he was—and his wife was even more secure in that same knowledge.
And Haman saw it all from the beginning. He already knew that (((Mordecai))) was descended from Kish, that two-bit lackey family that used to dance along behind Samuel, that shameless butcher. You have no doubt heard the story of how that Samuel hacked Agag to pieces, and what a dishonorable business that was. Haman knew all about that backstory, and so when he saw Mordecai refuse to bow down that time, when everyone else knew what their duty was, he understood immediately that “the time” had arrived, and that the cabal of Jewish elders behind Mordecai must have given the signal that it was their moment to move. And that is why Haman had to act.
The slander the Jews are circulating is that the decree Haman arranged with the king was a murderous one, and some of our people have been swayed by it, but what these chattering morons do not understand is the nature of a preemptive strike. A coup was certainly in the offing, and it was most necessary to act when we did. Would to the gods we had been able to act just a few weeks earlier. Haman certainly wanted to, if you remember. He knew there was no time to waste. If only our other counselors had understood his sense of urgency, and the reasons for it.
We have had quite a debate amongst ourselves over the matter of Bigthan and Teresh. We have simpletons in our own ranks, sad to say, and they have simply accepted the enemy’s propaganda on the point. But as far as I have been able to determine, those two men were loyal subjects of the king . . . and everyone knew it except for (((Mordecai))). He had to have made up the evidence against them as a way of ingratiating himself with the king. The story is that after he accused them, the thing was investigated and confirmed, but you know how these Jews are. Rigging evidence in a situation like that would be child’s play for them. I were jubilant when that particular plot seemed like it was going to come to nothing, but that was when the king’s sleepless night came. That had to have been just sheer bad luck.
And Hadassah—I refuse to call her (((Esther)))—has been a conniving little hellcat. I understand from some of our sources (who still remain among the courtiers) that she was under strict orders from (((Mordecai))) not to reveal her people or kindred to anybody. Why would you hide something like that unless you were up to no good? And why would Mordecai insist on it unless their conspiracy was already in motion? The thing is as plain as the fields of Shinar.
I have heard that some of your people have been asking why. Why would these parasitic Jews conspire against the commonwealth like this? I think that if you look around for more than a few minutes the answer will become quite obvious. What is always the driving motivation for these people? I really don’t have to tell you—it is money. That is always what their eyes rest on first. Did you notice how the king just gave the estates of Haman to Hadassah? Just gave them. All of them, and the revenues from them. That (((Mordecai))) is no doubt plenty pleased with himself, but however pleased he is, I have no doubt that he is nowhere close to being satisfied. There is more to be squeezed out of the Persian people, after all.
And then when the king gave them the right to resist the righteous sanctions and restrictions that had been established with regard to them and their tricks, not only were they given the right to resist, but also the right to pillage in return, to take spoil. They were actually given the right to ransack the law-abiding citizens of Persia, their own neighbors . . . who just happened to be among the wealthiest citizens. Naturally. It is not hard to conclude that money is the driving force behind all of this. You do know who controls the three largest banks in Susa, don’t you?
I tell you, it is hard to describe the magnitude of the disaster. But it is also equally plain that these Jews have been coveting the wealth of Persia ever since they got here. After this episode, anybody who doesn’t understand the rapacity of these Jews is someone not to be trusted with any civic responsibility at all. While Haman was the first one to notice, there will be plenty of people who will be vying to be the last to notice.
In the meantime, what should we be doing? On the one hand, we have to give our attention to whatever it takes to regroup our forces. That will take some time, and we will need to find a satrap or governor who is willing to pretend we are not there in his jurisdiction. I know of several likely candidates, and will soon send you their names by a means that is less risky. Until that time, what account should we give of this calamity?
I have mentioned the issue of noticing a few times, and this is how we must frame it. We must deny that we presented any threat whatever to the commonwealth. Of course not. We were merely “guilty” of the crime of noticing what these Jews were up to. We must not allow the Hebrews any opportunity to villainize Haman—and we must never be embarrassed by his farsighted leadership. He was simply the first to notice, and has become the first martyr of noticing, and we must be courageous enough to carry on his legacy of noticing. It is the least we can do.
They were far more prepared to resist us than any peace-loving segment of the population had any right to be. Or did you not notice?
Under the care of the gods,
Zethar