Absalom

"See, your claims are good and right, but there is no-one deputed by the king to hear you. If only I were the judge of the land! Then all who had a suit or cause might come to me, and I would give them justice."

- Absalom rallies the Israelites to him.

Absalom was, according to the Old Testament, the third son of King David of Israel.

Biography
Absalom was the son of King David, and was widely regarded as the most handsome man in the kingdom. He was the favourite of his father, and had fifty men to run before him every time he went out on his chariot.

When Absalom was young, his sister Tamar was raped by David's eldest son Amnon, and David did nothing when he heard about it. Absalom was infuriated when he heard, and took Tamar in to protect her from further actions against her by Amnon. Two years later, Absalom invited Amnon to a feast, where he and his men killed Amnon. Absalom then fled to Talmai, where he stayed for three years until David forgave him for Amnon's murder.

After Absalom's return, he approached those who came to King David for justice and, with his father's tolerance of Amnon's crime in mind, told them that David would not give them justice and that he would if he was made king. After three years of building support, Absalom declared himself king and attacked David's forces at Hebron, showing his irreverence towards his father's power by sleeping with his concubines. David, his bodyguards, and the remains of his army fled from Absalom, who sought the advice of his confidant Ahithophel as to what he should do next. Ahithophel advised him to assault David's forces as they retreated, however David's spy Hushai advised him to wait and gather his forces for a larger attack. Absalom followed Hushai's advised, allowing David to escape to the other side of the River Jordan and gather his forces. This lead to Ahithophel's suicide when he realised the rebellion was doomed.

When Absalom had assembled his armies per Hushai's advice, he crossed the River Jordan and attacked David's forces in Ephraim's Wood. However, as David had been able to gather his forces, Absalom was defeated and attempted to retreat. As Absalom fled on his horse, his hair caught on an oak bough, causing him to be left dangling from the tree as his horse rode on. When David's general Joab heard that Absalom was trapped, he approached him and hacked him to death. This resulted in his demotion in response to Absalom's death, as David had specifically ordered that Absalom be taken alive.