View source for Ammon

{{Short description|Ancient Semitic kingdom in the Levant}}
{{distinguish|Amman}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox Former Country
| native_name            = 𐤏𐤌𐤍
| conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Ammon
| common_name            = Ammon
| era                    = [[Iron Age]]
| status                 = [[Monarchy|Kingdom]]
| year_start             = [[10th century BC]]
| event_start            = Kingdom of Ammon flourishes
| date_start             =
| year_end               = 332 BC
| event_end              = Invasion by [[Alexander the Great]]
| date_end               =
| life_span              = {{circa|lk=no|10th century BC}}{{snd}}332 BC
| event1                 = [[Battle of Qarqar]] against the [[Assyria]]ns
| date_event1            = 853 BC
| event_pre              =
| date_pre               =
| event_post             = Rabbat Ammon renamed to Philadelphia
| date_post              = 248–282 BC
| image_flag             =
| flag                   =
| flag_type              =
| image_coat             =
| symbol_type            =
| symbol_type_article    =
| image_map              = Kingdoms around Israel 830 map.svg
| image_map_caption      = Ammon and its neighbors, around 830 BC{{citation needed|date=June 2012}}
| p1                     = Arameans
| flag_p1                =
| s1                     =
| s2                     = [[Macedonian Empire]]
| flag_s2                = Vergiasun.svg
| capital                = [[Rabbath Ammon]] (Amman)<sup>1</sup>
| common_languages       = [[Ammonite language|Ammonite]], [[Moabite language|Moabite]]
| religion               = [[Canaanite religion]]
| currency               =
| leader1                = [[Hanun]]
| leader2                = [[Sanipu]]
| leader3                = Amminadab I
| year_leader1           = Around 1000 BC
| year_leader2           = 740–720 BC
| year_leader3           = 680–640 BC
| title_leader           =
| legislature            =
| stat_year1             =
| stat_area1             =
| stat_pop1              =
| today                  = [[Jordan]]
}}
[[File:Rujm Al-Malfouf.jpg|thumb|right|An Ammonite watch tower at [[Rujm Al-Malfouf]] in [[Amman]]]]
[[File:Qasralabdfront.jpg|thumb|right|[[Qasr al Abd|Qasr Al Abd]] was built by the governor of Ammon in 200 BC]]
{{History of Jordan}}
'''Ammon''' ([[Ammonite language|Ammonite]]: 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''ʻAmān''; {{langx|he|עַמּוֹן}} ''{{Lang|he-latn|ʻAmmōn}}''; {{langx|ar|عمّون|ʻAmmūn}}) was an ancient [[Semitic languages|Semitic-speaking]] kingdom occupying the east of the [[Jordan River]], between the torrent valleys of [[Wadi Mujib|Arnon]] and [[Jabbok]], in present-day [[Jordan]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Marilyn J. Lundberg|title=Ancient Texts Relating to the Bible: Amman Citadel|url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/wsrp/educational_site/ancient_texts/Citadel.shtml|access-date=2011-01-11|publisher=[[University of Southern California]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101126125659/http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/wsrp/educational_site/ancient_texts/Citadel.shtml|archive-date=2010-11-26|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref name="LaBiancaYounker">{{cite book |title=The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land |chapter=The Kingdoms of Ammon, Moab and Edom: The Archaeology of Society in Late Bronze/Iron Age Transjordan (ca. 1400–500 BCE)|editor-last=Levy |editor-first=Tom|last1=LaBianca|first1=Øystein S.|last2=Younker|first2=Randall W.|publisher=A&C Black |year=1995 |page=399 |isbn=9780718513887 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TqRIlVBRv34C&q=Ammon&pg=PA399}}</ref> The chief city of the country was ''Rabbah'' or ''Rabbat Ammon'', site of the modern city of [[Amman]], Jordan's capital. [[Milcom]] and [[Moloch|Molech]] are named in the [[Hebrew Bible]] as the gods of Ammon. The people of this kingdom are called '''Children of Ammon''' or '''Ammonites'''.
==History==
{{Further|List of rulers of Ammon}}
[[File:Statue of an Ammonite deified King on display at the Jordan Museum.jpg|thumb|right|Statue of an Ammonite deified King on display at the [[Jordan Museum]]. The statue was found near the [[Amman Citadel]] and is thought to date to 8th century BC.]]
The Ammonites occupied the northern Central Trans-Jordanian Plateau from the latter part of the second millennium BC to at least the second century AD.
Ammon maintained its independence from the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] (10th to 7th centuries BC) by paying tribute to the Assyrian kings at a time when that Empire raided or conquered nearby kingdoms.<ref name=Jordan/> The [[Kurkh Monolith]] lists the Ammonite king [[Baasha ben Ruhubi]]'s army as fighting alongside [[Ahab]] of [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Israel]] and [[Syria]]n allies against [[Shalmaneser III]] at the [[Battle of Qarqar]] in 853 BC, possibly as vassals of [[Hadadezer]], the Aramaean king of [[Aram Damascus|Damascus]]. In 734 BC the Ammonite king [[Sanipu]] was a vassal of [[Tiglath-Pileser III]] of Assyria, and Sanipu's successor [[Pudu-ilu]] held the same position under [[Sennacherib]] ({{reign|705|681}}) and [[Esarhaddon]] ({{reign|681|669}}).<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline= y|wstitle= Ammonites |volume=1|pages=863–864}}</ref> An Assyrian tribute-list exists from this period, showing that Ammon paid one-fifth as much tribute as Judah did.<ref>See Schrader, ''K.A.T.'' pp. 141 et seq.; Delitzsch, ''Paradies,'' p. 294; Winckler, ''Geschichte Israels,'' p. 215.</ref>
Somewhat later, the Ammonite king [[Amminadab I of Ammon|Amminadab I]] ({{floruit | 650 BC}}) was among the tributaries who suffered in the course of the great [[Arabia]]n campaign of [[Assurbanipal]].<ref name="EB1911" /> Other kings attested to in contemporary sources are [[Barachel (Ammon)|Barachel]] (attested to in several contemporary [[seal (device)|seals]]) and [[Hissalel]]; Hissalel reigned about 620 BC, and is mentioned in an inscription on a [[Tel Siran inscription|bronze bottle found at Tel Siran]] in present-day [[Amman]], along with his son, King [[Amminadab II of Ammon|Amminadab II]], who reigned around 600 BC.
Archaeology and history indicate that Ammon flourished during the period of the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]] (626 to 539 BC). This contradicts the view, dominant for decades, that Transjordan was either destroyed by [[Nebuchadnezzar II]], or suffered a rapid decline following Judah's destruction by that king. Newer evidence suggests that Ammon enjoyed continuity from the Neo-Babylonian to the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian]] period of 550 to 330 BC.<ref name="Barstad2012">{{cite book|author=Barstad, Hans M. |authorlink=Hans M. Barstad|editor1=John J. Ahn|editor-link1=John J. Ahn|editor2=Jill Middlemas |chapter=The City State of Jerusalem in the Neo-Babylonian Empire: Evidence from the Surrounding States|title=By the Irrigation Canals of Babylon: Approaches to the Study of the Exile|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a6eoAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA42|date=18 February 2012|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-0-567-19775-7|pages=42–44}}</ref> One reason includes Ammon becoming a Babylonian province, shortly after being devastated by Nebuchadnezzar II in the 580s BC.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lipschits |first=Oded |date=2004 |title=Ammon in Transition from Vassal Kingdom to Babylonian Province |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/4150068 |journal=Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research |volume=335 |issue=1 |pages=37–52 |doi=10.2307/4150068 |jstor=4150068 |via=The University of Chicago Press Journals}}</ref>
In accounts in the [[First Book of Maccabees]], the Ammonites and their neighboring tribes are noted for having resisted the revival of Jewish power under [[Judas Maccabaeus]] in the period 167 to 160 BC.<ref name="EB1911" /><ref>[[1 Maccabees]] 5:6; cf. [[Josephus]] ''[[Jewish Antiquities]]'' xii. 8. 1.</ref> The dynast Hyrcanus founded [[Qasr al Abd#History|Qasr Al Abd]], and was a descendant of the Seleucid [[Tobiad]] dynasty of [[Book of Tobit|Tobiah]], whom [[Nehemiah]] mentions in the 5th century BC as an Ammonite (ii. 19) from the east-Jordanian district.
By the [[Roman Republic|Roman]] conquest of the Levant by [[Pompey]] in 63 BC,<ref name="roman2">{{Cite book |last1=Parker |first1=Samuel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PVZfx3Y6o5IC&pg=PA573 |title=The Roman Frontier in Central Jordan: Final Report on the Limes Arabicus Project |last2=Betlyon |first2=John |publisher=Dumbarton Oaks |year=2006 |isbn=9780884022985 |page=573 |access-date=3 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410044112/https://books.google.com/books?id=PVZfx3Y6o5IC&pg=PA573 |archive-date=10 April 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> Ammon lost its distinct identity through assimilation.<ref name="AEM">{{cite conference |last1=LaBianca |first1=Oystein S. |last2=Younker |first2=Randall W. |date=1995 |title=The Kingdoms of Ammon, Moab, and Edom: The Archaeology of Society in Late Bronze/Iron Age Transjordan (ca. 1400–500 BCE) |url=https://www.academia.edu/744029 |publisher=Leicester University Press |page=114 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809031715/https://www.academia.edu/744029 |archive-date=9 August 2021 |access-date=16 June 2018 |book-title=The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land |editor=Thomas Levy |url-status=live}}</ref>
However, the last notice of the Ammonites occurs in [[Justin Martyr]]'s ''Dialogue with Trypho'' (§ 119), in the second century CE; Justin affirms that they were still a numerous people.<ref name="EB1911" /><ref>{{cite web|author=St. Justin Martyr |title=Dialogue with Trypho|url=http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/justinmartyr-dialoguetrypho.html|website=Early Christian Writings|publisher=Peter Kirby|access-date=27 June 2016}}</ref>
==Biblical account==
[[File:079.David Attacks the Ammonites.jpg|thumb|David punishing the Ammonites, by [[Gustave Doré]]]]
The first mention of the Ammonites in the [[Hebrew Bible]] is in Genesis 19:37-38. It is stated there that they descended from [[List of minor Old Testament figures, A–K|Ben-Ammi]], a son of [[Lot (biblical)|Lot]] with his younger daughter who plotted with her sister to intoxicate Lot and, in his inebriated state, have intercourse with him to become pregnant.<ref name=Bibler>{{cite web |url=http://www.bibler.org/glossary/ammon.html |title=www.Bibler.org - Dictionary - Ammon |date=2012-06-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Mirabeau |first= Honoré |others= Chevalier de Pierrugues |title= Erotika Biblion |publisher= Chez tous les Libraries |year= 1867 |url= https://archive.org/stream/erotikabiblion00mirauoft#page/n11/mode/1up}}</ref> Ben-Ammi literally means "''son of my people''". After the destruction of [[Sodom and Gomorrah]], Lot's daughters' plot resulted in them conceiving and giving birth to Ammon and his half-brother, [[Moab]].
The Ammonites settled to the east of the Jordan, invading the [[Rephaim]] lands east of Jordan, between the [[Jabbok]] and [[Wadi Mujib|Arnon]], dispossessing them and dwelling in their place. Their territory originally comprising all from the Jordan to the wilderness, and from the River Jabbok south to the River Arnon. It was accounted a land of giants; and that giants formerly dwelt in it, whom the Ammonites called Zamzummim.<ref name=Fenlon/>
Shortly before the Israelite [[the Exodus|Exodus]], the [[Amorite]]s west of Jordan, under King [[Sihon]], invaded and occupied [[Transjordan (region)|a large portion of the territory of Moab and Ammon]]. The Ammonites were driven from the rich lands near the Jordan and retreated to the mountains and valleys to the east.<ref name=Fenlon/> The invasion of the Amorites created a wedge and separated the two kingdoms of Ammon and Moab.<ref name=Bibler/>
Throughout the Bible, the Ammonites and the Israelites are portrayed as mutual antagonists. During the Exodus, the Israelites were prohibited by the Ammonites from passing through their lands. This mistreatment is one of the reasons given for why the [[Torah]] forbids Jewish women from marrying Ammonite men.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Klein |first1=Reuven Chaim |year=2015 |title=The Iniquities of Ammon and Moab
| url=https://jbqnew.jewishbible.org/assets/Uploads/432/jbq_432_kleinmoab.pdf |journal=Jewish Bible Quarterly
|volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=93–100 |issn=0792-3910}}</ref>
In the times of [[Book of Judges|Judges]], the Ammonites allied themselves with [[Eglon (king)|Eglon]] of Moab in attacking Israel. The Ammonites maintained their claim to part of [[Transjordan (Bible)|Transjordan]], after it was occupied by the Israelites who obtained it from [[Sihon]]. During the days of [[Jephthah]], the Ammonites occupied the lands east of the River Jordan and started to invade Israelite lands west of the river. Jephthah became the leader in resisting these incursions.
The constant harassment of the Israelite communities east of the Jordan by the Ammonites was the impetus behind the unification of the tribes under [[Saul]]. King [[Nahash of Ammon]] ({{circa|1010}}{{snd}}990 BC) lay siege to [[Jabesh-Gilead]]. Nahash appears abruptly as the attacker of [[Jabesh-Gilead]], which lay outside the territory he laid claim to. Having subjected the occupants to a [[siege]], the population sought terms for [[Surrender (military)|surrender]], and were told by Nahash that they had a choice of death (by the sword) or having their right eyes gouged out. The population obtained seven days' grace from Nahash, during which they would be allowed to seek help from the [[Israelites]], after which they would have to submit to the terms of surrender. The occupants sought help from the people of Israel, sending messengers throughout the whole territory, and [[Saul]], a herdsman at this time, responded by raising an army which decisively defeated Nahash and his cohorts at [[Adoni-Bezek#Bezek|Bezek]].
The strangely cruel terms given by Nahash for surrender were explained by [[Josephus]] as being the ''usual practice'' of Nahash. A more complete explanation came to light with the discovery of the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]]: although not present in either the [[Septuagint]] or [[masoretic text]], an introductory passage, preceding this narrative, was found in a copy of the Books of Samuel among the scrolls found in [[Qumran Caves|cave 4]]:<ref>Frank Moore Cross, Donald W. Parry, Richard J. Saley and Eugene Ulrich, ''Qumran Cave 4 – XII, 1-2 Samuel (Discoveries in the Judaean Desert Series, XVII''), Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2005</ref>
{{blockquote|[N]ahash, king of Ammonites would put hard pressure on the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Ruben and would gouge everyone's right eye out, but no res(cuer) would be provided for Israel and there was not left anyone among the children of Israel in the Tr(ans Jordan) whose right eye Nahash the king of Ammonites did not gouge out but be(hold) seven thousand men (escaped the power of) Ammonites and they arrived at (Ya)besh Gilead. About a month later Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-Gilead.}}
This eventually led to an alliance with Saul. Under his command, the Israelites relieved the siege and defeated the Ammonite king, eventually resulting in the formation of the [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|Israelite kingdom]].
During the reign of [[King David]], the Ammonites humiliated David's messengers, and hired the Aramean armies to attack Israel. This eventually ended in a war and a year-long siege of [[Rabbah]], the capital of Ammon. The war ended with all the Ammonite cities being conquered and plundered, and the inhabitants being killed or put to forced labor at David's command.<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Samuel|12:31|KJV}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse|1|Chronicles|20:3|KJV}}</ref>
According to both 1 Kings 14:21-31 and 2 Chronicles 12:13, [[Naamah (wife of Solomon)|Naamah]] was an Ammonite. She was the only wife of King [[Solomon]] to be mentioned by name in the [[Tanakh]] as having borne a child. She was the mother of Solomon's successor, [[Rehoboam]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=The Jewish Encyclopedia |title=Naama |url= http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1&letter=N |access-date= 2007-08-05| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070813035717/http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1&letter=N |archive-date=13 August 2007 <!--DASHBot-->|url-status = live}}</ref>
When the Arameans of Damascus city-state deprived the Kingdom of Israel of their possessions east of the Jordan, the Ammonites became allies of [[Hadadezer|Ben-hadad]], and a contingent of 1,000 of them served as allies of Syria in the great [[Battle of Qarqar|battle]] of the Arameans and Assyrians at [[Qarqar]] in 854 BC in the reign of [[Shalmaneser III]].
The Ammonites, Moabites and [[Meunim]] formed a coalition against [[Jehoshaphat]] of Judah. The coalition later was thrown to confusion, with the armies slaughtering one another.<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Chronicles|20:1|NIV}}</ref> They were subdued and paid tribute to Jotham.<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Chronicles|27:5|NIV}}</ref>
After submitting to [[Tiglath-Pileser III]] they were generally tributary to the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]], but had joined in the general uprising that took place under [[Sennacherib]]; but they submitted and they became tributary in the reign of [[Esar-haddon]]. Their hostility to Judah is shown in their joining the Chaldeans to destroy it.<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Kings|24:2|NIV}}</ref> Their cruelty is denounced by the prophet Amos<ref>{{bibleverse||Amos|1:13|NIV}}</ref> and their destruction (with their return in the future) by [[Jeremiah]];<ref>{{bibleverse||Jeremiah|49:1-6|NIV}}</ref> [[Ezekiel]];<ref>{{bibleverse||Ezekiel|21:28-32|NIV}}</ref> and [[Zephaniah]].<ref>{{bibleverse||Zephaniah|2:8-11|NIV}}</ref> Their murder of [[Gedaliah]]<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Kings|25:22-26|NIV}}; {{bibleverse||Jeremiah|40:14|NIV}}</ref> was a dastardly act. They may have regained their old territory when Tiglath-pileser carried off the Israelites east of the Jordan into captivity.<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Kings|15:28|NIV}}; {{bibleverse|1|Chronicles|5:26|NIV}}</ref>
Tobiah the Ammonite united with [[Sanballat the Horonite|Sanballat]] to oppose Nehemiah,<ref>{{bibleverse||Nehemiah|4:1-14|NIV}}</ref> and their opposition to the Jews did not cease with the establishment of the latter in Judea.
The Ammonites presented a serious problem to the [[Pharisees]] because many marriages between Israelite men and Ammonite (and Moabite) women had taken place in the days of [[Nehemiah]].<ref>{{bibleverse|Nehemiah|13:23|NIV}}</ref> The men had married women of the various nations without conversion, which made the children not Jewish. They also joined the Syrians in their wars with the Maccabees and were defeated by Judas.<ref name=Bibler/> The "sons of Ammon" would be subject to Israel during the time of the [[Messiah in Judaism|Messiah's rulership]] [[Book of Isaiah|according to the prophet Isaiah]] (Isaiah 11:14). The [[book of Zephaniah]] states that "Moab will assuredly be like Sodom, and the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah—Ground overgrown with weeds and full of salt mines, and a permanent desolation." (Zephaniah 2:9).
===Modern interpretation===
The biblical narrative has traditionally been considered literal fact, but is now generally interpreted as recording a gross popular irony by which the Israelites expressed their loathing of the morality of the Moabites and Ammonites. It has been doubted, however, whether the Israelites would have directed such irony to Lot himself,<ref name=Fenlon>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01431b.htm Fenlon, John Francis. "Ammonites." The Catholic Encyclopedia] Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 14 April 2016</ref><ref>King [[Joash of Judah]] was one of the four men who pretended to be gods. He was persuaded thereto particularly by the princes, who said to him. "Wert thou not a god thou couldst not come out alive from the Holy of Holies" (Ex R. viii. 3). He was assassinated by two of his servants, one of whom was the son of an Ammonite woman and the other the offspring of a [[Moab]]ite {{bibleverse|2|Chron.|24:26|HE}}; for God said: "Let the descendants of the two ungrateful families chastise the ungrateful Joash" ([[Yalk.]], Ex. 262). Moab and Ammon were the two offspring of [[Lot (biblical person)|Lot]]'s incest with his two daughters as described in {{bibleverse||Gen.|19:30–38|HE}}.</ref> particularly because incest was not explicitly forbidden or stigmatized until the [[Book of Leviticus]], i.e. centuries after the time of Abraham and Lot.
===Rabbinic literature===
The Ammonites, still numerous in the south of Palestine in the second century CE according to [[Justin Martyr]],<ref>"Dialogus cum Tryphone," ch. cxix.</ref> presented a serious problem to the Pharisaic scribes because many marriages with Ammonite and Moabite wives had taken place in the days of [[Nehemiah]] (Neh. 13). Still later, it is not improbable that when [[Judas Maccabeus]] had inflicted a crushing defeat upon the Ammonites, Jewish warriors took Ammonite women as wives, and their sons, sword in hand, claimed recognition as Jews notwithstanding the law (Deut. 23) that "an Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord." Such a condition or a similar incident is reflected in the story told in the Talmud<ref>Yeb. 76b, 77a; Ruth R. to ii. 5</ref> that in the days of King [[Saul]], the legitimacy of David's claim to royalty was disputed on account of his descent from [[Ruth (biblical figure)|Ruth]], the Moabite; whereupon Ithra, an [[Israelite]],<ref>II Sam. xvii. 25; compare I Chron. ii. 17</ref> girt with his sword, strode like an [[Ishmaelites|Ishmaelite]] into the schoolhouse of [[Jesse (biblical figure)|Jesse]], declaring upon the authority of [[Samuel]], the prophet, and his bet din (court of justice), that the law excluding the Ammonite and Moabite from the Jewish congregation referred only to the men—who alone had sinned in not meeting Israel with bread and water—and not to the women. The story reflects actual conditions in pre-[[Talmud]]ic times, conditions that led to the fixed rule stated in the [[Mishnah]]: "Ammonite and Moabite men are excluded from the Jewish community for all time; their women are admissible."<ref>Yeb. viii. 3</ref>
That [[Rehoboam]], the son of King [[Solomon]], was born of an Ammonite woman<ref>I Kings, xiv. 21-31</ref> also made it difficult to maintain the messianic claims of the [[Davidic line|house of David]]; but it was adduced as an illustration of divine Providence which selected the "two doves," Ruth, the Moabite, and [[Naamah (wife of Solomon)|Naamah]], the Ammonitess, for honorable distinction.<ref>B. Ḳ. 38b</ref><ref>[http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1414-ammon-ammonites Jewish encyclopedia Ammonites]</ref> Ruth's kindness as noted in the Book of Ruth by Boaz is seen in the Jewish Tradition as in rare contradistinction to the peoples of Moab (where Ruth comes from) and Amon in general, who were noted by the Torah for their distinct ''lack'' of kindness. Deut. 23:5: "Because they [the peoples of Amon and Moab] did not greet you with bread and water on the way when you left Egypt, and because he [the people of Moab] hired Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor in Aram Naharaim against you, to curse you." Rashi notes regarding Israel's travels on the way: "when you were in [a state of] extreme exhaustion."
[[Jehoash of Judah|Jehoash]] was one of the four men who pretended to be gods.<ref>The other three were Pharaoh; Hiram and Nebuchadnezzar (Louis Ginzberg's The Legends of the Jews From Moses to Esther; Notes for Volumes Three and Four(p.423)</ref> He was persuaded thereto particularly by the princes, who said to him. "Wert thou not a god thou couldst not come out alive from the Holy of Holies" {{clarify |text=(Ex R. viii. 3) |reason=what does this set of letters and numbers mean? |date=November 2023}}. He was assassinated by two of his servants, one of whom was the son of an Ammonite woman and the other the offspring of a Moabite (2 Chron. 24:26); for God said: "Let the descendants of the two ungrateful families chastise the ungrateful Joash" ([[Yalk.]], Ex. 262). Moab and Ammon were the two offspring of [[Lot (biblical person)|Lot]]'s incest with his two daughters as described in Gen. 19:30–38.
Baalis, king of the Ammonites, envious of the Jewish colony's prosperity, or jealous of the might of the Babylonian king, instigated [[Ishmael son of Nethaniah|Ishmael, son of Nathaniel]], "of the royal seed," to make an end of the Judean rule in Palestine, Ishmael, being an unscrupulous character, permitted himself to become the tool of the Ammonite king in order to realize his own ambition to become the ruler of the deserted land. Information of this conspiracy reached [[Gedaliah]] through Johanan, son of Kareah, and Johanan undertook to slay Ishmael before he had had time to carry out his evil design; but the governor disbelieved the report, and forbade Johanan to lay hands upon the conspirator. Ishmael and his ten companions were royally entertained at Gedaliah's table. In the midst of the festivities Ishmael slew the unsuspecting Gedaliah, the Chaldean garrison stationed in Mizpah, and all the Jews that were with him, casting their bodies into the pit of Asa (Josephus, "Ant." x. 9, § 4). The Rabbis condemn the overconfidence of Gedaliah, holding him responsible for the death of his followers (Niddah 61a; comp. Jer. xli. 9). Ishmael captured many of the inhabitants of Mizpah, as well as "the daughters of the king" entrusted to Gedaliah's care by the Babylonian general, and fled to Ammon. Johanan and his followers, however, on receiving the sad tidings, immediately pursued the murderers, overtaking them at the lake of Gibeon. The captives were rescued, but Ishmael and eight of his men escaped to the land of Ammon. The plan of Baalis thus succeeded, for the Jewish refugees, fearing lest the Babylonian king should hold them responsible for the murder, never returned to their native land. In spite of the exhortations of Jeremiah they fled to Egypt, joined by the remnant of the Jews that had survived, together with Jeremiah and Baruch (Jer. xliii. 6). The rule of Gedaliah lasted, according to tradition, only two months, although Grätz argues that it continued more than four years.<ref>[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6548-gedallah Jewish Encyclopedia Gedallah]</ref>
==Language==
{{Main|Ammonite language}}
The few Ammonite names that have been preserved also include Nahash and [[Hanun]], both from the Bible.<ref name="EB1911"/> The Ammonites' language is believed to be in the [[Canaanite languages|Canaanite family]], closely related to [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] and [[Moabite language|Moabite]]. Ammonite may have incorporated certain [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] influences, including the use of ''‘bd'', instead of commoner Biblical Hebrew ''‘śh'', for "work". The only other notable difference with Biblical Hebrew is the sporadic retention of feminine singular ''-t'' (e.g., ''šħt'' "cistern", but ''lyh'' "high (fem.)".)<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Cohen|editor-first=D |year=1988|title=Les langues dans le monde ancien et modern, part 3|chapter=Les Langues Chamito-semitiques|publisher=[[French National Centre for Scientific Research|CNRS]]|location=Paris}}{{cite book|last=Aufrecht|first=WE|title=A Corpus of Ammonite Inscriptions|isbn=0-88946-089-2|location= [[Lewiston, New York]] |publisher=[[Edwin Mellen Press]] |year=1989}}</ref>
===Inscriptions===
Inscriptions found in the Ammonite language include an [[Tel Siran inscription|inscription on a bronze bottle]] dating to c. 600 BC<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smit |first1=E. J. |title=The Tell Siran inscription. Linguistic and historical implications |journal=Journal for Semitics |date=1989 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=108–117 |url=https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/AJA10318471_215}}</ref> and the [[Amman Citadel Inscription]].
==Religion==
Sources for what little is known of Ammonite religion are mostly the [[Hebrew Bible]] and material evidence. In general it appears to have been rather typical [[Ancient Canaanite religion|for Levantine religions]], with [[Milcom]], [[El (deity)|El]] and the [[moon god]] being the most prominent deities.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi = 10.3390/rel10030153|doi-access = free|title = The Religion of the Ammonites: A Specimen of Levantine Religion from the Iron Age II (Ca. 1000–500 BC)|year = 2019|last1 = Tyson|first1 = Craig W.|journal = Religions|volume = 10|issue = 3|page = 153}}</ref>
==Economy==
The economy, for the most part, was based on agriculture and herding. Most people lived in small villages surrounded by farms and pastures. Like its sister-kingdom of Moab, Ammon was the source of numerous natural resources, including [[sandstone]] and [[limestone]]. It had a productive agricultural sector and occupied a vital place along the [[King's Highway (ancient)|King's Highway]], the ancient trade route connecting [[Egypt]] with [[Mesopotamia]], [[Syria]], and [[Asia Minor]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Ancient Ammon |chapter=Review of Archaeological Research in Ammon|editor1=Burton MacDonald |editor2=Randall W. Younker |author-first=Randall W. |author-last=Younker |publisher=BRILL |year=1999 |page=1– |isbn=978-90-04-10762-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Sm7BOubDYcC&pg=PA1}}</ref> As with the Edomites and Moabites, trade along this route gave them considerable revenue. Circa 950 BC Ammon showed rising prosperity, due to [[agriculture]] and [[trade]], and built a series of fortresses. Its capital was located in what is now the Citadel of [[Amman]].<ref name=Jordan>{{cite web|url=http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/his_testament.html|title=The Old Testament Kingdoms of Jordan|access-date=2009-05-12| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506015442/http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/his_testament.html| archive-date=6 May 2009 <!--DASHBot-->|url-status = live}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[List of rulers of Ammon]]
* [[Abel-cheramim]]
* Ammon as a name used in the Book of Mormon
** [[Ammon (Book of Mormon explorer)]]
** [[Ammon (Book of Mormon missionary)]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
===Bibliography===
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* {{Cite book |title=The Ammonites: Elites, Empires, and Sociopolitical Change (1000–500 BCE) |last=Tyson |first=Craig W. |publisher=A&C Black |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-567-65544-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TSceAwAAQBAJ&q=The%20Ammonites%3A%20Elites%2C%20Empires%2C%20and%20Sociopolitical%20Change}}
* {{Cite book |title=The Ancient Israelite World |last=Younker |first=Randall W. |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-000-77324-8 |pages=600–618 |editor-last=Keimer |editor-first=Kyle H. |chapter=Ammonites in the World of Israel |editor-last2=Pierce |editor-first2=George A. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4beREAAAQBAJ&dq=the+ancient+israelite+world+edom&pg=PA600}}
* {{JewishEncyclopedia|title=Ammon, Ammonites |url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1414-ammon-ammonites}}
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* Hertz J.H. (1936) ''The Pentateuch and Haftoras''. "Deuteronomy." Oxford University Press, London.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051107091756/http://www.hostkingdom.net/Jordan.html#Ammon Ammon on Bruce Gordon's Regnal Chronologies] (also at [https://web.archive.org/web/20091003064338/http://www.ellone-loire.net/obsidian/Jordan.html#Ammon])
{{Ancient states and regions of the Levant |state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Ammon| ]]
[[Category:Ancient history of Jordan]]
[[Category:Ancient Israel and Judah]]
[[Category:Semitic-speaking peoples]]
[[Category:Vayeira]]
[[Category:States and territories established in the 10th century BC]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 4th century BC]]
[[Category:Former monarchies of Asia]]
[[Category:Canaanite people]]