baskets offish, and 500 rolls of papyrus. In some places, like Mycenaean
Greece, the inferior party was now expected to outgive his superior as a mark
of subordination. Rulers kept careful inventories of gifts sent and accepted
and frequently noted in their records the exchange value of a gift in relation
to other commodities, particularly silver. Occasionally the king on the
receiving end openly complained that the exchange value of a gift was less
than what was expected. In one letter, a Hittite king complained to the
King of Babylon:“Why did you send me lapis lazuli of poor quality?”The
Biblical King Solomon enjoyed a reciprocal relationship with Hiram, King
of Tyre, who provided timber and gold to help Solomon build his temple. In
return, Solomon sent grain and other foodstuffs, but at one point the ledger
swung too far, so to compensate, Solomon offered Hiram a one-time gift of
20 cities. On inspection, however, Hiram sent a message saying,“What kind
of cities are these which you have given me, my brother?”And he called
them the“land of Cabul [garbage].”
Rulers do not appear to have taken such rebuffs personally. In the incident
involving the“garbage cities,”for example, Hiram and Solomon continued
as allies and business partners who combined to develop the only substantial
commercial enterprise in the Red Sea since the end of the Egyptian expedi-
tions to Punt. Together they built a merchantfleet at Ezion-geber on the
shore of the Gulf of Aqaba. Their intention was to open a new market with
the inhabitants of Ophir, a place whose identity remains more mysterious
than that of Punt. Ophir may have been Punt or any other place on the East
African or Arabian coast, or, since ships were said to return every 3 years,
Ophir could have been much farther away, almost anywhere in the Indian
Ocean.
The Ophir trade is described in the Bible (1 Kings and 2 Chronicles) as
bringing back“gold and a very great amount of almug wood and precious
stones.”Almug wood was used in the construction of Solomon’s temple and
palace, and what was left was made into lyres and harps for his singers. But
the primary objective was gold. Prior to this time the Egyptians not only
controlled their own production and that of Nubia but also gold coming
from Punt, which may have originated in the African interior or somewhere
in Asia. Hiram and Solomon intended to break the Egyptian monopoly, and
initially they enjoyed great success:“They went to Ophir and brought from
there gold to the amount of 420 talents; and they brought it to King
Solomon”(a talent was the equivalent of 60 pounds).
Both monarchs used their gain for building projects. Hiram initiated a
massive program to expand his city, including the harbor in preparation for
the great age of Phoenician expansion that would soon follow. Solomon spent
much of his profit on his temple:“Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings
of the earth in riches and in wisdom.” Solomon’s reputation eventually
reached the Queen of Sheba (Saba in modern Yemen), who came to
Jerusalem with a caravan of camels bearing spices, precious stones, and“very
Land of gold 49