Jerusalem circa 970 BC is on the verge of catastrophe. The king is dying, who is to succeed him? In order to stave off disaster he moves decisively and elevates the promising young Solomon. Guided by the steady, if not cranky, hand of his trusted advisor and spymaster, Mehuman, Solomon sets about building on his father’s legacy. Early in his reign there are glimpses of his brilliance. A brilliance that is tested time and time again, forging the quintessential philosopher king. Solomon is a scribe in his father David’s kingdom in Jerusalem. One of many princes, he holds no aspirations to his ailing father’s throne. This all changes when his brother, Adonijah, allows himself to be inveigled by the wily commander, Joab. In order to stave off likely unrest David moves decisively and with a bit of prodding from Bathsheba elevates the young Solomon to the highest office in the land.Guided by the steady, if not cranky, hand of his trusted advisor and spymaster, Mehuman, Solomon sets about building on his father’s legacy. Early in his reign there are glimpses of his brilliance. A brilliance that does not go unnoticed and he’s soon summoned to Tanis in Egypt by the pharaoh Siamun who rules over a divided kingdom. An alliance is formed, cemented by Solomon’s marriage to the pharaoh’s daughter, Itawy. Solomon wastes no time in forming another, more fruitful, alliance with Hiram the convivial Phoenician king of Tyre who embraces him as a brother and the two grow to treasure the mutually beneficial partnership. So much so that Hiram dispatches his favoured master mason Hiram Abi to Jerusalem to aid Solomon in the construction of his temple and various magnificent projects.When Ezron, a brutal Aramean warlord seizes Damascus and proceeds to wage war across the region Solomon finds himself playing the role of mediator for the kings of the Levant. His deft handling of the crisis earns him the epithet ‘The Axis of The Levant’ and his stature as a wise and just ruler grows immensely. Solomon’s alliance with King Hiram proves testing at times with one adventure seeing him venturing to Utica where he’s met with a formidable adherent of an ancient order. He manages to gain the upper hand against this fearsome warrior but no sooner than he returns home he’s faced with another crisis in the form of the death of his father-in-law, Pharaoh Siamun which causes alarm that his alliance with Egypt may be in jeopardy. These fears are soon allayed once he gets to know the new pharaoh, Psusennes.Despite Solomon’s wealth, prosperity and acclaim his life is haunted by tragedy and the death of his first-born son, Mordecai sees him spiral into a morose depression from which he never properly recovers. Pharaoh Psusennes’s reign is an uneventful one and when he dies a powerful Meshwesh commander, Sheshonk ascends the throne bringing about a new dynasty. Solomon finds his mettle is thoroughly tested, culminating in an assassination attempt. What follows is a tense standoff between his nascent kingdom and the long-established Egyptian empire. Over time Solomon becomes increasingly withdrawn until towards the end of his reign when Menelik, a son he knew never existed arrives in Jerusalem. Not only does the charismatic Menelik restore his jaded father’s hopes, the king’s subjects are soon enamoured with him and implore him to stay. Unfortunately, Menelik chooses to return to his home in Axum and their hopes are dashed. The sorrow is too much for the ailing Solomon and he dies within weeks of Menelik’s departure.
