What event in history was King Solomon associated with?

Answer 1

The Bible associates Solomon with the construction of the Jerusalem Temple. Whether the construction of the temple was really an event that took place in history during the time attributed to Solomon is uncertain, as archaeologists say that Jerusalem appears to have been a small village, and the Hebrew population was too small to have been able to undertake the construction of a magnificant temple. They say that the Temple must have been constructed much later than the biblical account states.

The Bible also associates Solomon with the visit to Jerusalem by the Queen of Sheba. Once again, historians and archaeologists doubt the existence of this queen. Israel Finkelstein (Archaeologies of the Middle East: Critical Perspectives, Archaeology, Bible, and the History of the Levant in the lron Age) says that the story of the lavish visit of Solomon's trading partner, the Queen of Sheba, to Jerusalem no doubt reflects the participation of seventh-century Judah in the lucrative Arabian trade - centuries after the time of Solomon. This visit appears not to have been a historical event.