Vashti

Vashti was the queen of Persia, wife of King Ahasuerus (Xerxes I), whose refusal to appear before the king and his guests at the great banquet held in Susa led to her deposition and the search for a replacement queen (Esther 1:9–22). Her act of defiance — whatever its motivation — set in motion the chain of events that brought Esther to the Persian court. The royal counselors persuaded Ahasuerus that her disobedience posed a dangerous precedent for wives throughout the empire, resulting in an imperial edict commanding wives to honor their husbands.