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King Solomon.
Biography, myths and legends.
King Solomon ( Shlomo) is the son of King David and Bathsheba (Bat Sheba), the third king of Judah.
The period of his reign (approximately 967-928 BC) is considered the period of the greatest dawn and prosperity of the united kingdom of Israel.
In 967-965 BC, Solomon apparently ruled together with King David and after his death became the sole ruler.
David promised the throne to the son of his beloved wife Bathsheba - Solomon, and the prophet Nathan (Nathan) already at the birth of Solomon singled him out among the other sons of David and considered him worthy of the mercy of God.
David's eldest son, Adonijah, knowing about this promise of David, tried to seize power during his father's lifetime, but his plan was not fulfilled, since the prophet Nathan and Bathsheba convinced David to hurry up with the anointing of Solomon to the kingdom.
King David did not punish Adonijah and took an oath from Solomon that he would not do anything bad to his brother, provided that he would not claim the throne of Solomon.
After David's death, Adonijah turned to Bathsheba with a request to marry Abishag (a servant of King David at the end of his life).
Solomon saw in this Adonijah's claim to his throne, since, according to custom, the right to the throne belongs to the one who gets the king's wife or concubine, and ordered Adonijah to be killed.
King Solomon was famous for his wisdom, animals, birds and spirits obeyed him.
One night, God appeared to Solomon in a dream and promised to fulfill his every wish.
Solomon asks: "Give Your servant a reasonable heart, so that He can judge Your people and distinguish between what is good and what is evil."
"And God said to him, Because you asked for this, and did not ask for a long life, did not ask for riches, did not ask for the souls of your enemies, but asked for understanding, so that you could judge, behold, I will do according to your word: behold, I give you a wise and reasonable heart, so that there was no one like you before you, and after you, no one like you will arise; and what you did not ask, I give you, both wealth and glory, so that there will be no one like you among kings all your days; and if you walk in my way, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, I will also continue your days."
(The Book of Kings).
King Solomon was a peaceful ruler and during his reign (he ruled for 40 years) there was not a single big war.
He inherited a large and strong state and he had to support and strengthen it.
At the beginning of his reign, he married the daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh, thereby strengthening the southern borders of his state.
Subsequently, he repeatedly married women of other nations to maintain good neighborly relations with neighboring states (Solomon's harem numbered 700 wives and 300 concubines).
King Solomon was a good diplomat, builder and merchant.
He turned an agricultural country into a strong, economically developed state that had a great influence on the international arena.
He rebuilt and fortified Jerusalem and other cities of his kingdom, erected the First Jerusalem Temple, introduced cavalry and chariots into the Jewish army for the first time, built a merchant fleet, developed crafts and supported trade with other countries in every possible way.
Solomon surrounded his reign with luxury and wealth "and the king made silver in Jerusalem equal to simple stones."
Ambassadors from various countries came to Jerusalem to conclude peace and trade agreements with Israel and brought rich gifts.
But during his reign, Solomon also made mistakes that led to the collapse of the state after his death.
Grandiose construction and rapid economic development required labor " and King Solomon imposed a duty on all Israel; the duty consisted of thirty thousand people."
Solomon divided the country into 12 tax districts, obliging them to maintain the royal court and the army.
The tribe of Judah, from which Solomon and David came, was exempt from taxes, which caused discontent among the representatives of the other tribes of Israel.
Solomon's extravagance and desire for luxury led to the fact that he could not pay off King Hiram, with whom he signed a contract during the construction of the Temple, and was forced to give him several of his cities on account of the debt.
The priests also had reasons for discontent.
King Solomon had many wives of different races and religions, they brought their own deities with them.
Solomon built temples for them, where they could worship their gods, and at the end of his life he himself began to participate in pagan cults.
In the Midrash (Oral Torah) it is said that when King Solomon married the daughter of Pharaoh, the archangel Gabriel descended from heaven and stuck a pole into the depths of the sea, around which an island was formed, on which Rome was later built, which conquered Jerusalem.
At the end of his life, God appeared to Solomon and said: "Because this is what is being done with you, and you have not kept my covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant; but in your days I will not do this for the sake of David your father;
I will tear it out of the hand of your son" (The Book of Kings).
After the death of King Solomon, his kingdom split into two weak states, Israel and Judea, leading constant internecine wars.
The name of King Solomon is associated with many myths and legends, let's look at some of them.
The Queen of Sheba.
Having heard about the wisdom and fabulous wealth of King Solomon, the legendary Queen of Sheba visited him to test his wisdom and make sure of his wealth (according to other sources, Solomon himself ordered her to come to him, having heard about the wonderful and rich country of Saba).
The queen brought with her numerous gifts.
The state of Saba really existed on the Arabian Peninsula (there are references to it in Assyrian manuscripts of the 8th century BC).
It flourished due to the cultivation and trade of spices and incense.
At that time, spices were valued at their weight in gold and Saba successfully traded them with many states.
Trade routes passed through the territory of the Kingdom of Solomon and the passage of caravans depended on the will and location of the king.
This was the real reason for the visit of the Queen of Sheba.
There is an opinion that she was only a "delegate", "ambassador" of the country and was not a dynastic queen.
But only an equal in status could speak to the king, so the envoys were "given" a temporary status for conducting negotiations.
In later Muslim legends, the name of the queen is revealed - Bilkis.
Folk legends gave a romantic coloring to this visit.
King Solomon, struck by the beauty of Bilkis, became infatuated with her, she reciprocated him, all questions about the progress of the caravans were settled and, upon returning home, in due time Bilkis gave birth to a boy named Menelik.
The Ethiopians claim that their imperial dynasty originates from him.
I will mention another legend.
King Solomon had heard that the Queen of Sheba has goat hooves, that is, the devil is hiding under the image of a beautiful woman.
To do this, he built a palace, the floor of which he made transparent, and launched fish there.
When he invited the queen to enter, she instinctively lifted the hem of her dress, afraid of getting it wet, thereby showing the king her feet.
She had no hooves, but her legs were covered with thick hair.
Solomon said, " Your beauty is the beauty of a woman, and your hair is the hair of a man.
It is beautiful for a man, but it is considered a flaw for a woman."
The ring of King Solomon.
This is one of the variants of the parable about the ring of Solomon.
Despite his wisdom, the life of King Solomon was not calm.
And once King Solomon turned to the court sage for advice with a request: "Help me - a lot of things in this life can make me lose my temper.
I am very prone to passions, and this hinders me! "
To which the sage replied:" I know how to help you.
Put on this ring - the phrase is carved on it: "It will pass!"
When there is a strong anger or a strong joy, look at this inscription, and it will sober you up.
In this you will find salvation from the passions!"
Solomon followed the sage's advice and found peace.
But there came a moment when, looking at the ring, as usual, he did not calm down, but on the contrary, he lost his temper even more.
He tore the ring off his finger and wanted to throw it away into the pond, but suddenly noticed that there was some kind of inscription on the inside of the ring.
He looked closely and read: "And this will also pass…"
King Solomon's Mines.
After the publication of Henry Rider Haggard's book "King Solomon's Mines" in 1885, many adventurers lost their peace and went on a treasure hunt.
Haggard believed that King Solomon owned diamond and gold mines.
We know from the Old Testament that King Solomon possessed enormous wealth.
It is said that every three years he sailed to the country of Ophir and brought back gold, mahogany, precious stones, monkeys and peacocks.
Scientists have tried to find out what Solomon took to Ophir in exchange for these riches and where this country is located.
The location of the mysterious country has not yet been clarified.
It is assumed that it may be India, Madagascar, Somalia.
Most archaeologists are sure that King Solomon mined copper ore in his mines.
"The real mines of King Solomon" periodically appeared in different places.
In the 30s of the last century, it was suggested that the Solomon mines are located in southern Jordan.
And only at the beginning of our century, archaeologists found evidence that, indeed, the copper mines discovered in the territory of Jordan in the town of Khirbat en Nahase, may be the legendary mines of King Solomon.
Obviously, Solomon had a monopoly on the production of copper, which gave him the opportunity to make huge profits.
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