Solomon (-990 to -931)

Solomon's kingship began with a power struggle. Adonijah, his older half-brother, had himself proclaimed king while David was still alive. After David learned of this, he had his son Solomon led to Gihon by the priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan and anointed him king. Adonijah, however, did not give up the power struggle, whereupon Solomon had him killed.

From traditional sources, the accession is given as about -970. His kingship was characterized by good governance. He divided the national territory into 12 provinces and modernized the army.

His court and the pompous palace buildings and a religious policy liberal towards foreign cultures contributed to the cultural bloom. Trade relations with the Phoenician cities (especially Tyre) were intensively developed. Merchant ships even sailed as far as Spain.

How big his empire actually was is not known in detail. The maximum extension could have been up to the banks of the Euphrates. In all Israel's history, its territory was never larger than in the time of Solomon.

The construction of the First Temple to God Yahweh was a highlight of his reign. Thus Jerusalem became the religious and cultural center.  

According to the Old Testament (1 Kings 6:1), the construction of the temple was begun by Solomon in the fourth year of his reign and lasted seven years. (1 Kings 6:38).  

Despite his outstanding talents, Solomon had overtaxed the forces of Israel and Judah. There were revolts among the members of the house of Joseph (Ephraim-Manasseh) led by Jeroboam.

He also antagonized the priesthood because he promoted "polytheism." Peasants and craftsmen hated him because he demanded excessive taxes from them and forced them to work as drudges.

He is considered the author of the biblical writings Book of Proverbs, Kohelet, Song of Songs and Book of Wisdom. In the case of the "Proverbs of Solomon", it is possible that he summarized and added to the existing wisdom sayings.

Solomon is also mentioned in the Koran. The Greek and Syriac traditions know the Psalms of Solomon, a collection of apocryphal psalms of Jewish origin from the 1st century BC, and the Odes of Solomon, a Christian collection of songs and prayers written around 200 AD.

His famous judgment, named after him, has also been handed down: In a dispute between two mothers over a child, Solomon ordered them to divide the child so that each had one half. The false mother agreed, betraying her deceit. A true mother would never allow such a thing.

At that time, two harlots came and stood before the king. One said, "Please, sir, I and this woman live in the same house, and I gave birth there in her presence. On the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. We were together. No stranger was in the house with us, only the two of us were there. Now this woman's son died during the night; for she had smothered him in his sleep. She got up in the middle of the night, took my child from me while your maid slept, and laid him by her side. But her dead child she laid by my side. When I got up in the morning to nurse my child, it was dead. But when I looked closely at it in the morning, it was not my child that I had borne."

Then the other woman cried out, "No, my child is alive, and your child is dead." But the first replied, "No, your child is dead, and my child is alive." The child was brought before the king, and the women continued their quarrel. Then the king began, "This one says, 'My child is alive, and your child is dead!' and that one says, 'No, your child is dead, and my child is alive.'" And the king continued, "Get me a sword!" Now he decided, "Cut the living child in two, and give half to one and half to the other!"

But now the mother of the living child begged the king - for maternal love for her child stirred in her: "Please, Lord, give her the living child, and do not kill it!" But the other cried, "It shall not be mine nor yours. Cut it up!" Then the king commanded, "Give the living child to that one, and do not kill it; for she is its mother."

With this judgment Solomon became legendary and all looked up to him with awe. They recognized him as the wisdom of God when he spoke justice.

The Arab Queen of Sheba visited Solomon primarily for trade interests. This turned into something more, however, and so the ancient Ethiopian emperors sprang from this lineage as descendants of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.  

A genome study has shown that around 1,000 B.C. Ethiopians and inhabitants of the present-day states of Syria and Israel were actually very close and had common descendants.

Therefore, Solomon plays a major role for the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church - and thereby also for the Rastafarian religion of Jamaica.

After Solomon's death, his son Rehoboam succeeded to the throne. This was accepted in the city-state of Jerusalem and in the southern kingdom of Judah. In the north, however, the situation was different: the newly enthroned king had to go to Shechem to negotiate with the representatives of the tribes of Israel. These wanted the restriction of royal power and a return to the traditional role of charismatic leader. Rehoboam was not willing to do this and so the Northern Kingdom of Israel refused to recognize him. He himself narrowly escaped assassination. Thus, the kingdom created by David was divided into two parts.