King Solomon was the son and successor to the throne of King David and his wife Bathsheba. The dates of his birth and death are not known as a certainty, but his forty-year reign over Israel was approximately from 970-930 BCE. King Solomon is allegedly the wisest and wealthiest man of all time. 1 Kings describes how God, when the king was a young man, asked Solomon what gift he would like to receive from God. Solomon asked for wisdom, and the Lord was pleased at Solomon's request, granting him not only the wisdom Solomon sought, but power and wealth as well. The king's wisdom led him to write a 'book' of wise maxims, today the book of Proverbs in the Deuterocanonical Bible, and a love poem now called Song of Songs. Solomon went on to obtain 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines, given to him to seal treaties and foster relationships between other nations and Israel. Solomon's reign as king marked the last time that Israel was unified; this period is known as the Solomonic Era. According to scholars, King Solomon died circa 926-922 BCE.
1 Kings. Concordia Self-Study Bible: New International Version. St. Louis, MO: International Bible Society, 1973.