[Sam the Sham]

More Persian-bashing.

Hey, Persia lasted a damn sight longer than the Assyrians or Babylonians did so they must have been doing something right. And the subsequent Seleucid monarchy was practically the Persian Empire with Hellenistic Greeks on top.

In Esther, Nehemiah, Daniel, and Ezra the Persians come across as strict but fair and honorable and on occasion generous.

[Chewbacca]

Didn't the Persian Empire abide by the Rule of Law.
At least that is what I seem to remember when reading the Book of Daniel.

I believe Babylon abided by the rule of the king only.

[Verginius Rufus]

In the Book of Esther the villain is Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, who plots to destroy the Jews. In the ancient Greek translation of Esther, he is called a Macedonian instead of an Agagite (9:24).