Purim (; Hebrew: Pûrîm "lots", from the word פור pur, related to Akkadian: pūru) is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, who was planning to kill all the Jews. This took place in the ancient Persian Empire. The story is recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther (Megillat Ester מגילת אסתר in Hebrew).