King Solomon was, according to the Hebrew Bible, Quran, Hadith and Hidden Words, a wealthy and wise king of Israel who succeeded his father, King David. The conventional dates of Solomon’s reign are 970 to 931 BCE, normally given in alignment with the dates of David’s reign. Take a look below for 30 more interesting and awesome facts about King Solomon.

1. He is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, which would break apart into the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah shortly after his death.

2. According to Talmud, Solomon is one of the 48 prophets.

3. In the Quran, he is considered a major prophet, and Muslims generally refer to him by the Arabic variant Sulayman, son of David.

4. The Hebrew Bible credits him as the builder of the First Temple in Jerusalem, beginning in the fourth year of his reign, using the vast wealth he had accumulated.

5. He dedicated the temple to Yahweh, the God of Israel.

6. He is portrayed as great in wisdom, wealth and power beyond either of the previous kings of the country, but also as a king who sinned.

7. Solomon’s sins include idolatry, marrying foreign women and, ultimately, turning away from Yahweh, and they led to the kingdom’s being torn in two during the reign of his son Rehoboam.

8. Solomon is the subject of many other later references and legends, most notably in the first century apocryphal work known as the Testament of Solomon.

9. In the New Testament, he’s portrayed as a teacher of wisdom excelled by Jesus, and as arrayed in glory, but excelled by “the lilies of the field.”

10. In later years, in mostly non-biblical circles, Solomon also came to be known as a magician and an exorcist, with many amulets and medallion seals dating from the Hellenistic period invoking his name.

11. He was the second son of King David and Bathsheba.

12. Yedidia, friend of God, is the name that Nathan the prophet gave to King Solomon when he was born.

13. Solomon built the First Temple in Jerusalem.

14. He had 700 wive sand 300 mistresses. Scholars claim that his marriage to the Pharaoh’s daughter was the cause of the destruction of the Second Temple. He also had three children: Rehoboam, Bashemath and Tefat.

15. He was blessed by Got with unique wisdom and was the wisest man that ever lived; according to legend.

16. According to the Bible, Solomon died of natural causes when he was about 80 years old.

17. The biblical narrative shows that Solomon served as a peace offering between God and David, due to his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba. In an effort to hide this sin, for example, he sent the woman’s husband to battle, hoping that he would be killed there.

18. Christianity has traditionally accepted the historical existence of Solomon, though some modern Christian scholars have also questioned at least his authorship of those biblical texts ascribed to him.

19. Of the two genealogies of Jesus given in the Gospels, Matthew mentions Solomon, but Luke doesn’t.

20. Jesus makes reference to Solomon, using him for comparison purposes in his admonition against worrying about your life.

21. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Solomon is commemorated as a saint, with the title of “Righteous Prophet and King.” His feast day is celebrated on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers.

22. The staunchly Catholic King Philip II of Spain sought to model himself after King Solomon. Statues of King David and Solomon stand on either side of the entrance to the basilica of El Escorial, Philip’s palace, and Solomon is also depicted in a great fresco at the center of El Escorial’s library.

23. In Islamic tradition, Solomon is venerated as a Prophet and a Messenger of God, as well as a divinely appointed monarch, who ruled over the Kingdom of Israel.

24. The Qur’an ascribes to Solomon a great level of wisdom, knowledge and power.

25. Solomon was also known in Islam to have supernatural abilities bestowed upon him by Allah, after a special request by Solomon himself, such as controlling the wind, ruling over the Jinn, including demons, and the hearing of distant speeches by ants.

26. In the Baha’i Faith, Solomon is regarded as one of the lesser prophets along with David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, along with others.

27. Baha’is see Solomon as a prophet who was sent by God to address the issues of his time.

28. According to the Rabbinical literature, on account of his modest request for wisdom only, Solomon was rewarded with riches and an unprecedented glorious realm, which extended over the upper world inhabited by the angels and over the whole of the terrestrial globe with all its inhabitants, including all beasts, fowl, and reptiles, as well as the demons and spirits.

29. Masonic rituals refer to King Solomon and the building of his Temple.

30. Masonic Temples, where a Masonic Lodge meets, are an allegorical reference to King Solomon’s Temple.