The Book of the Bee was written in the thirteenth century ce by the Nestorian Christian bishop Solomon (Shelemon), a metropolitan bishop of Basra (al-Basrah), in what is now Iraq. Bishop Solomon wrote the Book of the Bee during the Pax Mongolica, the era when the Mongols' four great khanates stretched from China to Persia and into eastern Europe, controlling the Silk Road and ruling vast lands that were home to many of the world's religions. During this time, the learned Nestorians occupied many administrative positions within the Mongol Empire, enjoying a time of relative peace for their church. As a general history spanning the time before Creation to Judgment Day, the Book of the Bee represents Bishop Solomon's commentary on elements of the Old and New Testaments as well as theological speculations on such matters as good and evil and the afterlife.