Despite its short lifespan, the United Kingdom of Israel left a legacy that reverberates throughout the world today. The Israelites developed a religion that would influence three of the world's monotheist religions – Christianity, Islam, and Judaism – and their governments and armies would play a major role in the geopolitics of the Iron Age in the ancient Near East. The Old Testament of the Bible provides the chronological outline to examine the history of the kingdom of Israel, but historiographical and archaeological sources from throughout the Near East corroborate many of those accounts and add details and context to the overall picture. The picture that emerges of the kingdom of Israel is often more complex than most expect. From a literary and historical, critical perspective, however, the accounts of David's rise preserved in the Deuteronomistic History serve a decidedly apologetic and propagandistic function. Their main goal was to legitimize a man who, in historical terms, appeared to be usurping the throne, and since he did not have any claim to Saul's dynastic lineage, David's direct election by Yahweh provided the sole unassailable justification for his right to rule, shielding him from the serious accusation that he had seized the throne through illegal and opportunistic means. It is within this carefully constructed apologetic framework that the celebrated figure of the "shepherd" takes on its full meaning. Similarly, David's son, King Solomon, is one of the most famous men in the Bible, but also one of the most elusive historical figures. He is credited with supervising the construction of the first Temple in Jerusalem, and excavations and archaeologists continue to dig in an effort to find it in places that are now religiously sensitive for Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Information about King Solomon comes almost exclusively from the Book of Kings, occasionally supplemented by additional material found in the Book of Chronicles.
