King Solomon’s djinn were supernatural beings enslaved by the biblical and Islamic King Solomon to perform tasks, with a major source of this legend being the Quran and the apocryphal Testament of Solomon. These tales describe Solomon commanding the jinn (djinn) to build monuments like his temple, but later sources and different mythologies expand this into various interpretations. In some versions, Solomon’s power over the djinn is portrayed as a result of his great wisdom, while in others, it’s a story of a powerful magician who controlled spirits and demons. 

In religious texts

• The Quran: According to the Quran, Solomon commanded hosts of jinn and men, and the jinn were forced to build monuments for him, such as the temple. In a key story, Solomon died while leaning on his staff, and the jinn continued working because they thought he was still alive, only discovering the truth when a creature gnawed through his staff.
• The Testament of Solomon: This apocryphal text claims Solomon used his wisdom and supernatural authority to control demons and jinn to do his bidding, including building the temple. It details his encounters with various jinn, some of whom are described with Greek mythological parallels, such as the seven demon-sisters representing the Pleiades and another figure potentially linked to Hecate. 

In other interpretations and lore

• Witchcraft: In certain traditions, Solomon’s control over the jinn is seen as an example of powerful magic. Some believe that Solomon was a great magician who could bind and summon spirits, and he is sometimes credited with creating a legendary almanac of spirits, their laws, strengths, and weaknesses.
• Demonology: Solomon is often associated with the 72 spirits, including King Bael and King Paimon, who are said to have been bound in a magical vessel by him.
• Pop culture and modern adaptations: Many modern stories, such as the manga and anime series Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, draw from the legend of Solomon and his djinn, though they often create their own unique mythology around it. 
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  Islamic and Judeo-Christian mystical traditions, 
  King Solomon is a legendary figure who was granted power by God to command the djinn (also known as jinn or genies) and demons, forcing them to do his bidding. This authority was primarily attributed to his wisdom and a magical signet ring known as the Seal of Solomon. 
  
  Role of the Djinn
  According to tradition, Solomon used the enslaved djinn for various tasks, most notably the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The djinn were also forced to build monuments and retrieve valuable materials like diamonds from the depths of the sea. 
  Key aspects of the legend:
  Divine Gift: In Islam, Solomon (Sulayman in Arabic) is regarded as a prophet, and his control over the wind, animals, and the djinn was a unique gift from God (Allah).
  The Seal of Solomon: This legendary signet ring, often depicted as a hexagram or pentagram, gave him the power to command supernatural entities.
  Binding and Control: Solomon bound the spirits and djinn, often trapping them in flasks, lamps, or rings. He compiled an almanac detailing their nature and weaknesses.
  Death of Solomon: The Quran relates that Solomon died while leaning on his staff. The djinn, not knowing he was dead because he remained upright, continued their work until a termite or worm gnawed through his staff, causing his body to collapse. This revealed to the djinn that they do not know the unseen. 
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  The legends surrounding King Solomon and his command over spirits led to the development of various grimoires (books of magic) in Western occultism, such as The Lesser Key of Solomon (or Lemegeton), which details methods for summoning and controlling the 72 demons (often equated with djinn) that Solomon purportedly commanded. Their names, like Baal, Amon, and Astaroth, are directly mentioned in these texts. 
  The story is a powerful motif in art, literature, and modern pop culture, symbolizing wisdom, power over hidden forces, and the limits of human (and djinn) knowledge. 
• 
  Several other stories and legends detail King Solomon’s interactions with the 
  djinn, focusing on themes of power, wisdom, and the limits of demonic knowledge. 
  Here are some of the most notable stories:
  
  The Loss and Recovery of the Ring
  One prominent legend, found in the Babylonian Talmud and later Islamic traditions, describes how a powerful demon or djinn (often named Asmodeus or Ashmedai) tricked Solomon. 
  The djinn managed to obtain Solomon’s signet ring, the source of his power, either by trickery or while Solomon was bathing in the River Jordan.
  The demon then took on Solomon’s appearance and sat on the throne, ruling in his place.
  Solomon was cast out of his kingdom and forced to wander as a commoner or beggar for a period.
  Eventually, God compelled the djinn to throw the ring into the sea. Solomon, while working as a cook for an Ammonite king, found the ring inside a fish he was preparing.
  With his ring and power restored, Solomon returned to his throne and punished the deceiving djinn. 
  
  The Shamir Worm
  In order to build the Temple without using iron tools (which were forbidden because the Temple was a place of peace), Solomon needed a magical substance that could cut stone. 
  He captured a demon and forced it to reveal the location of the Shamir, a mythical worm or substance that could split the hardest of rocks with its mere gaze.
  Using the Shamir, the djinn under Solomon’s command were able to cut and prepare the massive stones for the Temple in silence and without conventional tools. 
  
  The Fisherman and the Bottle
  A famous story from One Thousand and One Nights(or Arabian Nights) directly connects to the Solomon legends. 
  A powerful djinn who had displeased Solomon was trapped in a bottle or a copper vessel and sealed with the Seal of Solomon, then thrown into the sea.
  Many centuries later, a poor fisherman finds the bottle, breaks the seal, and releases the enraged djinn, who had sworn to kill whoever freed him.
  The clever fisherman outwits the djinn, eventually forcing it back into the bottle and returning it to the sea. 
  
  The Queen of Sheba’s Throne
  When the Queen of Sheba (Bilqis in Islamic tradition) came to visit Solomon, he wanted to demonstrate God’s power and his own authority. 
  Solomon asked his assembly, including humans and djinn, if anyone could bring her distant throne to the palace before she arrived.
  An Ifrit (a powerful type of djinn) offered to bring it before Solomon could even stand up from his seat.
  However, a man who possessed knowledge of the Scripture managed to transport the throne in the “twinkling of an eye,” a testament to divine power being superior to that of the djinn. 
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  The legendary 
  Seal of Solomon has been depicted as both a hexagram (six-pointed star) and a pentagram (five-pointed star) in different mystical and occult traditions. 
  The hexagram is most common in medieval Arabic and later Jewish Kabbalistic traditions, where it became the predecessor to the modern Star of David. It often symbolizes the harmony of opposites (e.g., the union of fire and water, or heaven and earth).
  The pentagram representation arose predominantly in the Western Renaissance magic tradition. It was often referred to as the “pentangle of Solomon” and believed to have the power to exorcise demons. The current flag of Morocco features a green pentagram, which is officially meant to represent the Seal of Solomon and the five pillars of Islam. 
  Ultimately, the exact design of the legendary seal is not specified in religious scripture, and its physical appearance was developed through various medieval mystical and occult texts, leading to both star symbols being used interchangeably over time.