King Solomon
King Solomon is a figure described in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the Quran.
Connected Sites
| Site | Rationale | Link |
| Aksum | Ethiopian Legend has it that the son of the Queen of Sheba and Solomon became Menelik I of Axum (c 950 BCE) who founded the "Solomonic dynasty" which went on to rule the whole of Ethiopia. Tradition has it that Menelek returned to Jerusalem to see his father and returned with the "Ark of the Covenant" to Axum where it "still" remains! | |
| Biblical Tells | Megiddo reached its peak under King Solomon in the 10th century BCE - he rebuilt the city (as mentioned in the Bible) | |
| El Escurial | The monastery of San Lorenzo de el Escorial has many references to the temple of Solomon and to the King. Including a statue in the basilica, a fresco in the library, another in the prior quarters and possibly the general plan of the building. | |
| Great Zimbabwe | Its discovery raised the issue at the time of which people created it (since it "couldn't" have been the indigenous ones!). A German archaeologist geologist Carl Mauch, wrote, having seen the ruins in 1871, "I do not think that I am far wrong if I suppose that the ruin on the hill is a copy of Solomon's Temple on Mount Moriah and the building in the plain a copy of the palace where the Queen of Sheba lived during her visit to Solomon." This idea was cemented by the novel "King Solomon's mines" by Sir H Rider Haggard (1885) | |
| Old City of Jerusalem | The Temple Mount. The site, according to Biblical tradition, of the first Temple of the Jews at Jerusalem and built by Solomon | |
| Palmyra | Its Aramaic name was "Tadmor". Various references assign its creation to Solomon. 2 biblical :- 2 Chronicles 8:4 "And Solomon built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the store cities, which he built in Hamath." 1 Kings 9:17/18 "And Solomon built Gezer, and Bethhoron the nether, and Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land," And also the historian Flavius Josephus (1st century Jewish Roman citizen):- "When he had therefore built this city, and encompassed it with very strong walls, he gave it the name of Tadmor; and that is the name it is still called by at this day among the Syrians; but the Greeks name it Palmyra." (Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 8.6.153-154) | |
| Pasargadae | Muslims used to believe Cyrus' Tomb belonged to King Solomon's mother | |
| Sulaiman-Too | "The modern name related to a Muslim legend about stay of the prophet Sulaiman, or the Bible Solomon in Arabian sources, at the mountain." (Nomination document) | |
| Takht-e Soleyman | The "Throne of Solomon" (the site also contains the Zendan or "Prison of Solomon"). The connection (and hence the name) is entirely legendary though the site is considerably older than the c 6th Century CE Sassanian period which is mainly represented in the remains and goes back to the first millenium BCE (which is contemporaneous with Solomon) |
Suggestions?
Do you know of another WHS we could connect to King Solomon?
A connection should:
- Not be "self evident"
- Link at least 3 different sites
- Not duplicate or merely subdivide the "Category" assignment already identified on this site.
- Add some knowledge or insight (whether significant or trivial!) about WHS for the users of this site
- Be explained, with reference to a source