Hamma Mirwaisi & Alison Buckley
Who Was Queen Vashti Princess Vashti was born into the newly established Median Empire around 624 BCE. Her mother was the sister of King Cyaxares, her father was the leading general in the Medes' army, so a lot was expected of her. Her cousin Princess Amytis was married to another powerful man, Prince Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. But the Medes were different from the surrounding nations in that they had a simple ethical code (think good thoughts, say good words, do good deeds), they had only One god and they granted their women equal status to their men. So in theory a Queen had as much power as a King, although queens did not go into battle and the main signature on royal decrees was the king's. Some of these little discrepancies probably led to Queen Vashti's problem, when in 582 BCE she found herself mired in a terrible predicament. How she survived the challenges of her refusal to obey the king's order is described in Vashti, Queen of the Ancient Medes: Paperback