Tale of demon-fighting king that was so dark it was BANNED from the Bible is found on newly discovered ancient amulet
A DEMON tale so dark it was banned from the bible has been discovered on an ancient pendant in Turkey.
Archaeologists found inscriptions on a fifth century amulet that depicted King Solomon having evil powers.
Solomon, the son of King David, was the focus of a chapter known as The Testament of Solomon.
This banned book started with the Archangel Michael giving Solomon a magic ring which would summon, interrogate, and control demons.
This controversial text also claimed that demons helped to construct Solomon’s temple, which was the first built in the bible.
Archaeologists discovered the Christian pendant showed King Solomon fighting a demon.
Both sides of the amulet had ancient Greek inscriptions and one side translated to “Our Lord defeated evil.”
The other side mentioned the four angels Azrael, Gabriel, Michael and Israfil.
This ancient piece was found in the ruins of a building thought to have been related to the military, in the Turkish city of Paphlagonia in the north of the country.
This city was previously settled by the Romans.
This pendant has been one of its kind to be found in the region.
Archaeologist Ersin Çelikbaş, who led the excavation, revealed this charm would have been used to protect against danger and evil, according to LiveScience.
He said: “It is a symbol of religion and power.”
The Testament of Solomon was written in ancient Greek and dates back to roughly the sixth century, according to a research paper by Sarah Schwartz.
This research suggested the document was likely to have been very different to one read in the first millennium, according to the New York Post.
She added that the word demon, which would have appeared as “daimon” in ancient Greek in this text, does not have as bad connotations compared to the modern word.
What was the Testament of Solomon?
This ancient text about King Solomon was banned from the bible and is not viewed as a canonical scripture by Christians or Jews.
Solomon, the son of King David, was a king of Jerusalem in the bible.
The Testament of Solomon however was a piece of work written centuries after Jesus was born.
This book claims to record the supernatural adventures of Solomon, and controversially his work with demons.
The text suggested Solomon enslaved demons and used them to build his temple, which was the first in the bible.
This book was written over 1,000 years after Solomon’s death but many historians have suggested this piece could reveal some of the myths surrounding the biblical figure.
Many works like this existed and were circulated in the early days of the bible, before its books were finalised.
Despite this, neither Christians nor Jews consider The Testament of Solomon canonical work.
This pendant has not been the only ancient artefact to be found in Turkey.
A perplexing 3,300-year-old clay tablet, which could offer insight into the ancient world, was found in May 2023, The Sun previously reported.
It was discovered in the Hittite ruins of Büklükale, located around 37 miles southeast of Ankara.