Nation
Ammon
AM-un · Modern Northwestern Jordan, around modern Amman
Ammon is a nation of the biblical world, known today as Northwestern Jordan, around modern Amman.
What is known
- King Nahash of Ammon besieged Jabesh-gilead and demanded the right eye of every inhabitant as tribute; Saul's rescue of the city launched his reign as Israel's first king (1 Samuel 11:1-11)
- Hanun, Nahash's son, humiliated David's envoys of condolence by shaving their beards and cutting their garments, triggering a major war between Israel and Ammon (2 Samuel 10)
- Solomon married Ammonite wives and, under their influence, built a high place for the Ammonite god Molech (Milcom) near Jerusalem (1 Kings 11:1, 5, 7)
- The Ammonite capital Rabbah/Rabbath-Ammon survives today as the Amman Citadel, a continuously significant hilltop site now in the heart of Jordan's capital city
History
- Founded
- Traditionally traced to Ben-ammi, son of Lot (Genesis 19:38); developed as a settled kingdom centered at Rabbah (Rabbath-Ammon) by the Iron Age, with clear kingdom-level organization by the 8th-7th centuries BC under Assyrian vassalage
- Population
- Concentrated around the capital Rabbah and secondary towns on the Ammonite plateau; population figures are not precisely attested
- Industry
- Agriculture on the Ammonite plateau, herding, and control of King's Highway trade routes; later a fortified capital at Rabbah/Rabbath-Ammon (modern Amman's citadel hill)
- Coordinates
- 31.9500° N, 35.9300° E
Rulers and powers
- Nahash, king of the Ammonites — c. 11th century BC, contemporary with Saul
- Hanun, son of Nahash (humiliated David's envoys) — 2 Samuel 10:1-4
- Vassal kingdom under Assyrian, then Babylonian and Persian control — 8th-5th century BC
Archaeology
The Ammonite capital Rabbath-Ammon is preserved as the Amman Citadel (Jabal al-Qal'a), a fortified hilltop in central Amman with continuous occupation spanning the Bronze Age through the Islamic period, including Iron Age Ammonite remains, a Roman temple of Hercules, and a Umayyad palace.
Scripture references
- Genesis 19:38
- Deuteronomy 2:19
- Judges 11:4-33 — Jephthah's war with Ammon
- 1 Samuel 11:1-11 — Nahash besieges Jabesh-gilead
- 2 Samuel 10:1-14 — Hanun humiliates David's envoys
- 2 Samuel 11:1 — Siege of Rabbah, where Uriah dies
- 2 Samuel 12:26-31
- 1 Kings 11:1-7
- Jeremiah 49:1-6
- Ezekiel 25:1-7
On a modern map
Further reading
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