Solomon's Throne

In Solomon-1, I gave an introduction to write my blogs about Solomon.
Solomon was a great Jew king of his times. He was the son of David. David himself was a great king but Solomon had special grace of his God Yahweh.

Recently I read about the throne of Solomon, I have yet to read any such description of a throne of somebody else...

When I read this description - among the thrones I have read, we have heard about King Vikram's throne which had 32 figures carved in his throne, which spoke of Vikram's qualities to Raajaa Bhoj through Sinhaasan Batteessee's 32 stories before he tried to ascended his throne. Since Raajaa Bhoj did not find himself comparable to Vikram at all he did not ascend his throne.  The second throne we know that of Mugal Emperor Shaah Jahaan. He had a peacock throne in which Kohinoor diamond was studded. But this throne was not any special, it just had only a very expensive diamond.

But read the description of Solomon's throne....

Solomon's Throne
Solomon's throne was not an ordinary throne, it was very grand. It was made of marble stone with ivory work on it. It was studded with numerous rubies and emeralds. It had flowers made of gold and lattice of pearl work on it. Its arm rests were made of gold and its foot stool was made of sapphire. His throne had 6 steps to climb to sit on it. It is believed that since between the World of Yahweh and this Earth there were 6 worlds, that is why Solomon's throne had 6 steps. But according to first Midrash, there were 6 steps because Solomon foresaw 6 kings will sit on that throne including Solomon.

On the first step, there were an iron lion and an iron ox. On the second step, there were a tiger and a goat made of lead. On its third step, there were a wolf and a sheep made of brass. On its fourth step, there were a bear and a stag made of bronze. On its fifth step, there were a buffalo and a donkey made of copper. On its sixth and the last step, there were a hawk and a dove made of silver. When the King climbed on his throne carrying the Book of Law and the royal scepter made of emerald then those animals spoke in their own language on whichever step he stepped on. [Different sources give the names of these animals differently.]

Supposedly due to another mechanical trick, when the King reached the first step the ox would stretch forth his leg, on which Solomon leaned. A similar action took place on each step by their respective animals. From the sixth step the the hawk and dove would raise the King and placed him in his seat, near which a golden serpent lay coiled. When the King was seated, the hawk will place the crown on his head. The serpent would uncoil itself and would move upward to make a shade over his head. The dove would then descend, took the scroll of the Law from the Ark and placed it on Solomon's knees.

On its top there was a candle holder which could hold 14 candles altogether. Above this candle holder there was a golden jar filled with olive oil and beneath it was a golden basin which supplied the jar with oil. There were 24 vines fixed over the throne to cast a shadow on the King's head. When the King sat on the throne, these golden vines surrounded him from all around spreading their fragrance.

When everything was done, and Solomon was ready to judge the people, the wheels began to turn and the beasts and the fowls began to utter their respective cries to frighten those who came there for false testimony. His throne could follow him wherever he wanted to go by mechanical contrivance. For all the people who came there to attend his court, there were the benches of jasper for them to sit.

After Solomon's death Egypt's Pharaoh took the treasures of the Temple, including his Throne. After some time this throne was passed on to Persians whose King Darius was the first king to sit on that throne. So such was the gracious throne of Solomon.

Do you any other throne like this in the history?
If yes, please tell us about it.

Sushma Gupta
www.sushmajee.com