SOLOMON'S PALACE FOR 1,000 WIVES

The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon, Sir Edward Poynter

19th century artists let their imagination run wild when they painted biblical scenes like the one above. Only rarely did they bow to historical reality.

In fact, the throne/judgement room in Solomon's palace was probably similar, in size if not in decoration, to the throne room excavated at Knossos (see below).

Photograph by Patrick Beasom 2001

The royal palace of Solomon took twice as long to build as the Temple. There were other royal buildings around it:

• the cedar-pillared House of the Forest of Lebanon, whose function is not clear
• a treasury or strongroom
• the Judgement Hall where Solomon's magnificent ivory throne stood
• a special palace for the daughter of Pharaoh, Solomon's most high-born wife
• living quarters for Solomon's multitude of wives and children. Though the 'thousand wives of Solomon' is probably an exaggeration, there were certainly many of them. Solomon cemented alliances with his territories by marrying their high-born daughters, and by giving his own daughters in marriage to governors of provinces.