Hesban in Global History
| Polity and Dates |
Epicenter | Written Sources | Archaeological Sources | Hesban Architectural and Ceramic Evidence | Hesban Iconographic and Epigraphic Evidence | Relevant Hesban Strata and other Evidence |
|
Egyptian Late Bronze to Iron I-IIA (ca. 1500-900 BC) |
Thebes/ Rameses/ Tanis |
Amun Temple at Karnak; Hasel 1998); Kitchen (1982; 1992); Redford (1982a; 1982b) | Tale of Sinuhe |
Arch. Evidence: None Ceramic Evidence: None |
Scarabs, Bes and Horus amulets found in late contexts | Strata 21-18 (possible periods of Egyptian presence during the 18th, 19th and 22nd dynasties) |
|
Amorite Late Bronze Age |
Heshbon/ Madaba Plains |
Num 20:14-21: 30; 33:37-49; Dt 1-3, 29; Luke (1983); Jahn (2007) | Unidentifiable |
Arch. Evidence: None Ceramic Evidence: None |
None | Stratum 21 |
|
Hittite Late Bronze Age |
Hattusas | Num 13:29; Josh 1:4; 11:3 | Bones of Indo-Europeans at the Amman Airport Structure; see Herr (1983) |
Arch. Evidence: None Ceramic Evidence: None |
None | Stratum 21 |
|
Canaanite (Israelite) Iron Age I-IIB |
Jerusalem/ Shechem/ Tirzah/ Samaria |
Num 32:37; 2 Sam. 8:2-12; 1 Chr 18:2-11; 2 Sam. 10:1-19; 1 Chr 19:1-19; 2 Chr 14:25; Mesha Stele | Omride sites north of Arnon Gorge; Finkelstein (2000); Finkelstein and Lipschits (2010) |
Arch. Evidence: Reservoir, Segments of Walls, Podium? Ceramic Evidence: Storage Jars and Iron II successors; see Herr (1999b) |
Female Plaque | Strata 21-17 (intermittent) |
|
Moabite Iron Age IIB-C |
Kir Hareseth/ Dibon | Mesha Stele; 2 Kgs 1:1; 3:4-5; 13:20 Is 15:4; 16:8-9; Jer 48; Ray (2003) | Dibon, Balu‘a, Khirbet el-Medeineh(s), al-Kerak, Madaba, Jalul |
Arch. Evidence: Podium? Replastered reservoir Ceramic Evidence: Moabite ceramic forms |
Possible Moabite figurine | Stratum 17 |
|
Aram-Damascus Iron Age IIB |
Damascus | 2 Kgs 10:32-33 | Tall al- Rumaith | N/A | None | Stratum 17 |
|
Neo-Assyrian Iron Age IIB-C; ca. 733-625 BC |
Nimrud, Khorsabad, Nineveh | ANET: 282; Bennett (1978; 1982); Bienkowski (2000); Daviau (1997; 2001); Oded (1970); Salje (2009); Weippert (1987) | Assyrian influenced building plans at various sites |
Arch. Evidence: N/A Ceramic Evidence: Assyrian influenced local ware, figurines |
None | Strata 16-17 |
|
Ammonite Iron Age IIB-C |
Rabbath-Ammon | Jer 49:1-6; Herr (1999a); Younker (1994; 1999; 2003) | Amman Citadel, Tall al-‘Umayri, Tall Jawa |
Arch. Evidence: Podium? Ceramic Evidence: Ammonite ware and forms; Herr (2006) |
Ammonite Ostraca and Graffito; Horse and Rider figurines | Stratum 16 |
|
Neo-Babylonian Iron Age III-Babylonian; ca. 604-540 BC |
Babylon | Josephus Ant. 10.9.7; Weippert (1987) | Nabonidas Relief at Sela’; Herr (1995) | N/A | Stratum 16 | |
|
Persian Iron Age III-Persian; 539-333 BC |
Persepolis, Susa with Amman as the provincial capital | Neh 2:7-19; Ezra 4:10-20; 8:36; Bienkowski (2001; 2008); Ray (2006); Weippert (1987) | See sites discussed in Ray (2006) |
Arch. Evidence: N/A Ceramic Evidence: Fish sauce plates |
Aramaic Ostraca | Stratum 16 |
|
Ptolemaic/ Seleucid Hellenistic; 332-164 BC |
Alexandria, Antioch | Josephus Ant. 13.15.4 | ‘Araq al-Amir, Amman |
Arch. Evidence: Acropolis Fortress or Podium, Houses, silos Ceramic Evidence: N/A |
Ostracon, Rhodian Jar Date Stamp | Stratum 15 Seleucid and Ptolemaic coins |
|
Hasmonean Hellenistic; 129-63 BC |
Jerusalem | Josephus Ant.13.9.1, 13.15.5 1 Macc 5:26, 36 | Machaerus | N/A | Hasmonean coins | |
|
Nabataean ca. 4 BC-AD 106 |
Petra | Is 11:14; Ezek 25:9 | Petra city and Necropolis | N/A | Safaitic burial inscription | Nabataean coins |
|
Roman Roman; 63 BC-AD 330 |
Rome | Pliny Natural Hist, Josephus Ant. 13.15.4; 15.8.5 | Extremely rich architectural remains e.g.: the Decapolis cities and forts |
Arch. Evidence: Temple, Inn with court-yard, Rolling Stone Tomb Ceramic Evidence: Abundant ceramic evidence, with Terra sigillata ware |
Latin Seal Impression Esbus Coins; Roman Mile stones; stamped Terra sigillatas | Strata 11-14 Roman coins Intaglio depicting Zeus Triad Fenestrated Bowl |
|
Byzantine Byzantine; AD 330-664 |
Constantinople | Scriptorum ecclesiasticorum, epistola of Pope Martin, Eusebius, Onomasticon | Rich remains: churches and mosaics at Madaba, Um- al Rasas, Amman, Jerash |
Arch. Evidence: Basilica-churches, reservoir, mosaics, farm houses at base of tell, cisterns Ceramic Evidence: Abundant ceramic evidence |
Madaba Mosaic Map, Church entablature with Greek inscription, Ostracon | Strata 7-11 Byzantine coins, Bronze Crosses Prometheus bone carving |
|
Umayyad Early Islamic I; AD 661-750 |
Damascus | Al-Tabari | Desert “forts”, Amman |
Arch. Evidence: Area N House, oven Ceramic Evidence: “Palace Ware” |
Mosaics at Umm al-Rasas and Ma’in, a possible Kufic inscription, Ostracon | Stratum 6, coins, zoomorphic spout |
|
‘Abbasid Early Islamic II; ca. AD 750-1000 |
Baghdad | Yaqut; Grabar (1964); Whitcomb (2000) | Humayma |
Arch. Evidence: Area N House Ceramic Evidence: Red-painted and red clay cups and bowls and glazed ware |
Stratum 5A, coin | |
|
Fatimid Middle Islamic I; ca. AD 970-1200 |
Mahdia/ Cairo |
Arch. Evidence: N/A Ceramic Evidence: Continuity of some forms |
Stratum 5B | |||
|
Seljuk ca. AD 1071-1100 |
Isfahan | N/A | Stratum 5B | |||
|
Crusader Crusader; |
Jerusalem | al Kerak, Oultrejourdain |
Arch. Evidence: N/A Ceramic Evidence: Cookpots and glazed imports |
Stratum 5B | ||
|
Ayyubid Middle Islamic IIA; AD 1187-1260 |
Cairo/ Damascus |
Ibn Shaddad: campsite for Saladin | ‘Ajlun Castle | N/A | Stratum 4, coins | |
|
Early Mamluk Middle Islamic IIB; AD 1260-1400 |
Cairo/ Damascus |
Abū al-Fidā’ Ibn Hijji; see also Walker (2001a; 2003; 2004; 2007; 2008; 2011) for entire period |
Arch. Evidence: Vaulted building complex: residence and garrison of Balqa governor, medieval village at base of tell Ceramic Evidence: Sugar pots; elephant ear handled cookpots; HMGP ware |
Inscribed bronze bowl | Stratum 3A-B, coin hoard, bird figurine | |
|
Late Mamluk Late Islamic I; ca. AD 1400-1500 |
Cairo/ Damascus |
Ibn Qadi Shuhba al-Qalqashandi and Al-Zāhirī |
Arch. Evidence: Gradual abatement of village Ceramic Evidence: Glazed and painted ware |
Stratum 2, coins | ||
|
Ottoman Late Islamic II-Modern; |
Istanbul/ Damascus |
‘Ajarma, ‘Adwān and Beni Sakhr tribes and Ottoman tax registers (“defters”) | al-Salt, forts, Hejaz Railway and stations |
Arch. Evidence: Village at base of tell, foundation of Nabulsi qasr; cemetery (see Walker 2001b) Ceramic Evidence: Coarse wares; Walker (2009) |
Stratum 1, clay pipes, inscribed rings | |
|
British Mandate AD 1917-1946 |
London | British Mandate land registers | Tegart Forts |
Arch. Evidence: Nabulsi stables Ceramic Evidence: N/A |
Stratum 1 | |
|
Hashemite 1921-present |
Ma’an, Amman |
Arch. Evidence: Municipality development, post office, schools Ceramic Evidence: N/A |
Stratum 1 |
Key
|
Column 1
|
Polity:
Dates: |
Title or name of empire or power that either controlled or exerted influence over Hesban and the surrounding region Approximate dates of polity’s presence in the Levant, particularly in Trans-Jordan |
| Column 2 | Epicenter: | Seat of power; the capital city or cities of polity |
| Column 3 | Written Sources | Relevant historical and epigraphic sources to polity’s control or influence over Hesban and the surrounding region |
| Column 4 | Archaeological Sources | Archaeological evidence of polity’s regional presence (attested sites in Trans-Jordan) |
|
Column 5
|
Architectural Evidence:
Ceramic Evidence: |
Archaeological remains relating to or contemporary with polity from Hisban or vicinity Relevant ceramic evidence from Hisban or vicinity |
| Column 6 | Iconographic Evidence | Relevant iconographic and epigraphic evidence from Hisban or vicinity |
| Column 7 | Other Evidence | Relevant small finds from Hisban or vicinity |
References
Bennett, Crystal- M.
1978
Some Reflections on Neo-Assyrian Influence in Transjordan. Pp. 164-71 in Archaeology in the Levant: Essays for Kathleen Kenyon, eds. Roger Moorey and Peter Parr. Warminster: Aris and Phillips.
1982
Neo-Assyrian Influence in Transjordan. Pp. 181-87 in Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan I, ed. Adnan Hadidi. Amman: Department of Antiquities, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Bienkowski, Piotr
2000
Transjordan and Assyria. Pp. 44-58 in The Archaeology of Jordan and Beyond: Essays in Honor of James A. Sauer, ed. Lawrence E. Stager, Joseph A. Greene, and Michael D. Coogan. Studies in the Archaeology and History of the Levant 1. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.
2001
The Iron Age and Persian Periods in Jordan. Pp. 265-74 in Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan VII. Amman: Department of Antiquities, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
2008
The Persian Period. Pp. 335-62 in Jordan: An Archaeological Reader, ed. Russell B. Adams. London: Equinox.
Daviau, P. M. Michèle
1997
Technological Change and Assyrian Influence at Tall Jawa, Jordan. Bulletin of the Canadian Society for Mesopotamian Studies 32: 23-32.
2001
Assyrian Influence and Changing Technologies at Tall Jawa, Jordan. Pp. 214-38 in The Land that I Will Show You: Essays on the History and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East in Honour of J. Maxwell Miller, eds. J. Andrew Dearman and M. Patrick Graham. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series 343. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic.
Finkelstein, Israel
2000
Omride Architecture. Zeitschrift des deutschen Palästina-Vereins 116: 114-38.
Finkelstein, Israel, and Lipschits, Oded
2010
Omride Architecture in Moab: Jahaz and Ataroth. Zeitschrift des deutschen Palästina-Vereins 126: 29-42.
Gilmour, Garth, and Kitchen, Kenneth A.
2012
Pharaoh Sety II and Egyptian Political Relations with Canaan at the End of the Late Bronze Age. Israel Exploration Journal 62: 1-21.
Grabar, Oleg
1964
A Small Episode of Early ‘Abbāsid Times and Some Consequences. Eretz-Israel 7: 44*-47* (L. A. Mayer Memorial Volume), eds. Michael Avi-Yonah; H. Z. Hirschberg; Benjamin Mazar; and Yigael Yadin. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society.
Hasel, Michael
1998
Domination and Resistance: Egyptian Military Activity in the Southern Levant, ca. 1300-1185 B.C. Probleme Der Agyptologie 11. Leiden: Brill.
Herr, Larry G.
1983
The Amman Airport Structure and the Geopolitics of Ancient Transjordan. Biblical Archaeologist 46: 223-29.
1995
Wine Production in the Hills of Southern Ammon and the Founding of Tall al-‘Umayri in the Sixth Century BC. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 39: 121-25.
1999a
The Ammonites in the Late Iron Age and Persian Period. Pp. 219-37 in Ancient Ammon, eds. Burton MacDonald and Randall W. Younker. Studies in the History and Culture of the Ancient Near East 17. Leiden: Brill.
1999b
Tall al-‘Umayri and the Reubenite Hypothesis. Eretz-Israel 26: 64*-77* (Frank Moore Cross Volume), eds. Baruch A. Levine; Philip J. King; Joseph Naveh and Ephraim Stern. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society.
2006
Black-Burnished Ammonite Bowls from Tall al’Umayri and Tall Hisban in Jordan. Pp. 525-540 in “I Will Speak the Riddles of Ancient Times”: Archaeological and Historical Studies in Honor of Amihai Mazar, eds. Aren M. Maeir and Pierre de Miroschedji. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.
Jahn, Brit
2007
The Migration and Sedentarization of the Amorites from the Point of View of the Settled Babylonian Population. Pp. 193-209 in Representations of Political Power: Case Histories from Times of Change and Dissolving Order in the Ancient Near East, eds. Marlies Heinz and Marian H. Feldman. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.
Kitchen, Kenneth A.
1982
Pharaoh Triumphant: The Life and Times of Ramesses II, King of Egypt. Warminster: Aris & Phillips.
1992
The Egyptian Evidence on Ancient Jordan. Pp. 21-34 in Early Edom and Moab: The Beginning of the Iron Age in Southern Jordan, ed. Piotr Bienkowski. Sheffield Archaeological Monographs, 7. Sheffield: J. R. Collis.
Luke, J. Tracy
1983
“Your Father Was an Amorite” (Ezek 16:3, 45): An Essay on the Amorite Problem in OT Traditions. Pp. 221-37 in The Quest for the Kingdom of God: Studies in Honor of George E. Mendenhall, eds. Herbert B. Huffmon, Frank A. Spina, and Alberto R. W. Green. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.
Oded, Bustenay
1970
Observations on Methods of Assyrian Rule in Transjordania after the Palestinian Campaign of Tiglath-Pileser III. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 29: 177-86.
1972
The Historical Background of the Syro-Ephraimite War Reconsidered. Catholic Biblical Quarterly 34: 153-165.
Ray, Paul J.
2001
Hesban 6: Tell Hesban and Vicinity in the Iron Age. Berrien Springs: Andrews University.
2003
The Moabites at Tall Hisban. Pp. 202-18 in Wort und Stein: Studien zur Theologie und Archäologie Festschrift für Udo Worschech, ed. Friedbert Ninow. Beiträge zur Erforschung der Antiken Moabitis (Ard El-Kerak) 4. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
2006
Connectivity: Transjordan during the Persian Period. Pp. 75-92 in Connectivity in Antiquity: Globalization as a Long-Term Historical Process, eds. Øystein S. LaBianca and Sandra Arnold Scham. London: Equinox.
Redford, Donald B.
1982a
Contact between Egypt and Jordan in the New Kingdom: Some Comments on Sources. Pp. 115-19 in Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan I, ed. Adnan Hadidi. Amman: Department of Antiquities.
1982b
A Bronze Age Itinerary in Transjordan (Nos. 89-101 of Thutmose III’s List of Asiatic Toponyms). Journal for the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities 12: 55-74.
Salje, Beate
2009
The Kingdoms of Transjordan and the Assyrian Expansion. Pp. 737-43 in Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan X, ed. Fawwaz al-Khraysheh. Amman: Department of Antiquities.
Strange, John
2004
Jordan between Mesopotamia and Egypt in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan VIII, ed. Fawwaz al-Khraysheh. Amman: Department of Antiquities.
Walker, Bethany J.
2001a
Mamluk Administration of Transjordan: Recent Findings from Tall Hisban. al-‘Usur al-Wusta 13.2: 29-33.
2001b
The Late Ottoman Cemetery in Field L, Tall Hisban. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 322: 1-19.
2003
Mamluk Investment in Southern Bilad al-Sham in the Fourteenth Century: The Case of Hisban. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 62: 241-61.
2004
Mamluk Investment in the Transjordan: A ‘Boom and Bust’ Economy. Mamluk Studies Review 8: 119-47.
2007
Transformation of the Agricultural Economy of Late Mamluk Jordan. Mamluk Studies Review 11: 1-27.
2008
The Role of Agriculture in Mamluk-Jordanian Power Relations. Pp. 19-30 in le pouvoir à l’âge des sultanats dans le Bilâd al-Shâm, eds. Bethany J. Walker and Jean-François Salles. Bulletin d’Études Orientales 57 Supplement.
2009
Identifying the Late Islamic Period Ceramically: Preliminary Observations on Ottoman Wares from Central and Northern Jordan. Pp. 37-65 in Reflections of Empire: Archaeological and Ethnographic Studies on the Pottery of the Ottoman Levant, ed. Bethany J. Walker. The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 64. Boston: American Schools of Oriental Research.
2011
Jordan in the Late Middle Ages: Transformation of the Mamluk Frontier. Chicago: Middle East Documentation Center.
Weippert, Manfred
1987
The Relations of the States East of the Jordan with the Mesopotamian Powers during the First Millennium BC. Pp. 97-105 in Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan III, ed. Adnan Hadidi. Amman: Department of Antiquities.
Whitcomb, Donald
2000
Ḥesban, Amman, and Abbasid Archaeology in Jordan. Pp. 505-15 in The Archaeology of Jordan and Beyond: Essays in Honor of James A. Sauer, ed. Lawrence E. Stager, Joseph A. Greene, and Michael D. Coogan. Studies in the Archaeology and History of the Levant 1. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.
Younker, Randall W.
1994
Ammonites. Pp. 293-316 in Peoples of the Old Testament World, eds. Alfred J. Hoerth, Gerald L. Mattingly and Edwin M. Yamauchi. Grand Rapids: Baker.
1999
The Emergence of the Ammonites. Pp. 189-218 in Ancient Ammon, eds. Burton MacDonald and Randall W. Younker. Studies in the History and Culture of the Ancient Near East 17. Leiden: Brill.
2003
The Emergence of Ammon: A View of the Rise of Iron Age Polities from the Other Side of the Jordan. Pp. 153-76 in The Near East in the Southwest: Essays in Honor of William G. Dever, ed. Beth Alpert Nakhai. The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 58. Boston: ASOR.