1. This is what happened during the time of Xerxes, the Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush:
2. at that time King Xerxes reigned from his royal throne in the citadel of Susa,
3. and in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media, the princes, and the nobles of the provinces were present.
4. For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendour and glory of his majesty.
5. When these days were over, the king gave a banquet, lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of the king’s palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest who were in the citadel of Susa.