Charles Ellicott Commentary Esther 10:1

"And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea." — Esther 10:1 (ASV)

Laid a tribute. —The disastrous expedition to Greece must have taxed the resources of the empire to the utmost, and fresh tribute would therefore be required to fill the exhausted coffers. Besides this, a harassing war was still going on, even ten years after the battle of Salamis, on the coast of Asia Minor, and this would require fresh supplies.

The isles of the sea. —The chief island still remaining to the Persian Empire was Cyprus. Those in the Ægean Sea were now free from Persian rule, but possibly, even after the loss, the old phrase may have been retained; just as in modern times we have Kings of “England, France, and Ireland,” and of “the two Sicilies, and Jerusalem,” etc.