Question: are xerxes and ahasuerus the same person?
Answer: Ahasuerus, a royal Persian name occurring throughout the Old Testament. Immediately preceding Artaxerxes I in the line of Persian kings, Ahasuerus is evidently to be identified with Xerxes. ... The Jews of the Persian empire were threatened with destruction due to the machinations of Haman, the chief minister to Ahasuerus.