Solomon (Shlomo on Hebrew) was a biblical king of Israel, most known for building the first Temple of Jerusalem. Christianity and Judaism mention him for his wisdom, while Islam considers him a prophet. The main source of information about him is the Bible, but archeological records suggest that the fortification and the Temple of Jerusalem were built a century later.
Solomon’s father was David, poet and king who united all the tribes of Israel. His mother was Bathsheba, wife of Hittite general Uriah who served under David. He was probably born around 1010 BC as the tenth son of the king and second of his mother. Although his father was famous and respected in the beginning of his reign, in his last days he seemed to have lost his touch. His son Adonijah (half-brother of Solomon) attempted to take the throne by force. He was unsuccessful, and thus David made Solomon his heir. After David’s death, Solomon took over the kingdom, and, according to the Bible, his first step was to secure his throne. In an attempt to secure an important trade route, he led a successful military campaign in Syria, and established a few colonies; one been Megiddo, which is still preserved today. Solomon’s kingdom was becoming a commercial center, which increased trade in Solomon’s kingdom, but also for neighboring friendly rulers. One of those was the Queen of Sheba, whose Arabian kingdom needed Solomon to market her products. She visited Solomon with many rich gifts in order to establish a friendly relationship between the kingdoms.
The prosperity and wealth of the kingdom made possible a vast building program. He built new cities, fortresses, temples, but the most recognizable are those in Jerusalem. He built a city wall, royal palace, the first Temple of Jerusalem and outside the city, shrines were built for the main groups of foreign merchants that visited the city. The building of the Temple of Jerusalem is mentioned in 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles. According to them, the building started in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, and ended after seven years. They celebrated the completion for seven days, during which 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep were sacrificed. Further into his reign, he improved defense measures, expanded the royal court, and initiated sophisticated taxation.
The Book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of the Solomon are considered to be Solomon’s personal work. Under his rule, many songs and poetry were written as part of Israel’s Golden Age. All these works were gathered in the Hebrew scripts “The Writings” or “Kethubim”. He was considered to have been given divine wisdom. When two women claimed to be mother of the same baby, Solomon decided to split the baby in two, one half for each mother. One of the mothers protested roughly against the decision, and Solomon recognized her motherly love, and gave the baby to her. This is one of the many stories attributed to King Solomon.
King Solomon died in 931 BC, at the age of 80. He was succeeded by his son Rehoboam, but soon a civil war erupted, ending the Kingdom of Israel in 930 BC.