Haman is the high official of Persia who is hanged near the end of the Book of Esther. Serving under King Ahasuerus, commonly identified with Xerxes I, Haman rises to a powerful position but becomes enraged when Mordecai refuses to bow to him.
Haman responds by plotting the destruction of the Jewish people throughout the Persian Empire. Queen Esther, who is Jewish but has concealed her identity, eventually reveals Haman’s scheme to the king during a banquet. The king then turns against his trusted official.
The reversal is central to the story: Haman had prepared a tall gallows, or stake, for Mordecai, the man he wanted executed. After learning of Haman’s plot, the king orders that Haman be executed on the very gallows intended for Mordecai. Esther 7:9–10 records the episode.
Some translations describe the punishment as being hanged, while others use wording such as impaled on a stake. That translation difference does not change the canonical quiz answer. Haman’s downfall is commemorated in the Jewish festival of Purim, which celebrates the Jews’ deliverance described in Esther.