Archaeologists find 1,600-year-old amulet with depiction of King Solomon killing devil in Turkey

In a stunning discovery, a rare fifth-century Christian pendant was found by archaeologists in Turkey. 

The pendant depicts King Solomon riding on horseback and killing the devil. 

It was the only such pendant found in Anatolia, which is a region that is spread on a major part of modern-day Turkey to date.

The two sides of the bronze pendant had inscriptions in ancient Greek. On the side of King Solomon's depiction, the text read "Our Lord defeated evil" while the other side had the names of four angels, Azrael, Gabriel, Michael, and Israfil.

"It is a symbol of religion and power," said Ersin Çelikbaş, who is an archaeologist at Karabuk University in Turkey, while speaking to Live Science. 

In a statement, Çelikbaş said that people were using the pendant as an amulet because they believed that it would protect them against danger or evil. 

As mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, King Solomon was ancient Israel's ruler during the 10th century B.C., however, there is very little archaeological evidence to verify the biblical account.

Çelikbaş believed that the artefact discovered was a Christian pendant. 

"Solomon is an important figure in all three holy religions," he explained in a statement.

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"While he is referred to as a ruler in the Torah and the Bible, he is also recognised as a prophet in Islam. The depiction of Solomon on this [pendant] surprised us and revealed the importance of the artefact for Anatolian archaeology," Çelikbaş further said. 

Here's how archaeologists found the pendant

The pendant was found by archaeologists while carrying out excavations at Hadrianopolis. 

This ancient city was earlier known as Uskudama and was inhabited by tribal people called Thracians before it was rebuilt by the Roman emperor Hadrian around A.D. 124, who gave it the new name, according to Britannica. The city today is called Edirne.

The pendant was found in a building that was likely related to military activity, said Çelikbaş while speaking to Live Science.

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"In our previous excavations, we had determined the existence of a cavalry unit here," said Çelikbaş, in the statement. 

"Prophet Solomon is also known as the commander of armies. We understand that he was also considered a protective figure for the Roman and Byzantine cavalry in Hadrianopolis," he added.

Çelikbaş also hinted that the pendant must have belonged to a cavalry soldier. He added that something similar was found in Jerusalem. 

"The presence of similar artefacts in these two distant geographies indicates that Hadrianopolis was an important religious centre in ancient times," said the researcher, in the statement.

(With inputs from agencies)