The third king of the kingdom of Israel, the legendary Solomon began to rule in 970 BC. Under him, the Jewish state became the respected superpower of the Middle East. He went down in history as a wise ruler.
But the legend of King Solomon has its own secrets. It is known that he possessed enormous wealth: gold and jewelry. The Bible mentions that the source of their origin was the country of Ophir. Where it is located is the main mystery of all times and peoples. The fleet of the Tyrian king Hiram I brought from there gold, sandalwood and precious stones, monkeys and peacocks. This is mentioned in the third book of Kings (chapter 10 verse 11).
In terms of modern money, historians have calculated that the fortune of King Solomon is estimated at 60 trillion dollars. Most of it was a gold reserve. Approximate weight - 500 tons.
Cups, shields, swords, plates were made of gold. The decorations of the Temple of Solomon, built in the 10th century BC, were also made of this metal. The throne of King Solomon was carved from ivory and shone with gold. A golden foot led to it, on which were a dozen life-size lions.
The throne of King Solomon.
Unfortunately, the Bible did not give clear clues where the mysterious country of Ophir is. There are no chapters describing Solomon's mines. Historians suggest that the Jewish king mined gold there together with Hiram I. He ruled over Tire, which was presumably located on the territory of modern Lebanon.
Under him, the state flourished. He built new temples, restored ancient sanctuaries, created a protective bastion for Phenicia. The Phoenicians traveled a lot, built several fortresses throughout the Mediterranean, conducted extensive trade, reaching the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Since the field of activity of the Phoenicians is vast, the location of the mysterious Ophir can be anywhere.
There are several theories. Copper mines have been discovered by archaeologists in Israel and Jordan. Despite the fact that some experts claim that these are the desired mines of King Solomon, nevertheless there is still no unequivocal convincing evidence.
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Tom Lopez, the chronicler of the famous traveler Vasco de Gama, believed that Ophir was an ancient state called Great Zimbabwe. The grounds for such an assumption appeared in connection with the fact that during the Renaissance there was a center for gold trade. Archaeologists believe that this region was not developed during the time of Solomon.
A map of biblical times with the alleged location of the state of Ophir.
Other scholars suggest that Ophir was on the shores of the Red Sea. Possibly in Ethiopia. The Afar tribe lived there.
There is a point of view that the magic country was in Tunisia, where the Afri people lived.
In Asia, the Dravidians, another candidate for Ophir, were known for their precious stones and ivory. In ancient times, they were almost exclusive suppliers of sandalwood. Most historians support this very option in their search for a mysterious country. The fact is that some of the words of the Dravidians are reflected in the Hebrew Bible.
The anonymous author of a Spanish book entitled The General Collection of Documents Related to the Philippine Islands describes the method required to find Ophir. In the section "Document No. 98", written between 1519-1522, it is said that Ophir can be found by going first from the Cape of Good Hope to India. From there to Burma, Sumatra, then to the Moluccas, Borneo, Sulu, and then to China. According to this statement, Ophir was in front of China at sea and occupied several islands. This assumption makes the Philippines the most viable option.
Zimbabwe - the area is famous for its mines.
About 50 years after the publication of Benito's General Collection of Documents, Arias Montano suggested that the native Peruvians were descendants of the Ophir tribe. He believed that the province of Yucatan shared the name with Ophir's father, Joktan. Supporters of pre-Columbian ties between Eurasia and South America dispute the idea of Peru in favor of Brazil.
All of these suggestions are truly based on the personal beliefs of the authors. There are several hard facts to back up any claim. One of the few facts revealed in the pages of the Bible was that each journey to find Ophir began in the same place: in the port of the Red Sea of Etzion-Gever. Not only gold came to Israel from Ophir.
Author: Pavel Romanutenko