taanis esther is a fast that is not one of the typical 4 fasts mentioned in Sefer Zecharia (the fast of the 4th month, 5th month, 7th month and 10th month, also known as 17 tammuz, 9 av, tzom Gedaliah Ben Achikam and Asara Beteves). In fact, the rishonim grapple with how it could even be allowed, as it comes the day before a holiday. But it’s not in the gemara. The Raavad in sefer Ha’eshkol says taanis esther is to prevent people from becoming too drunk on erev purim to be yotzei the megilla. As for the authenticity of purim, Josephus refers to it, and the fact that there are preserved in the apocrypha additions to megillas esther (wikipedia says they were written in 170 bce, the time of nes chanukah) shows that it had a universal acceptance.
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