Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
UNITY IN ADVERSITY (1200-333 BC)
Emergence of a Recognisable 'Jordan'
It is difficult to talk about Jordan as a single entity for most of the country's history. That's
because, at least until the latter part of the 20th century AD, its borders expanded and re-
treated and its peoples came and went, largely driven by the political ambitions and expedi-
encies of more powerful regional neighbours.
Around 1200 BC, however, something akin to a recognisable 'Jordan' emerged from the
regional mayhem in the form of three important kingdoms: Edom in the south, with its cap-
ital in Bozrah (modern Buseira, near Dana); Moab near Wadi Mujib; and Ammon on the
edge of the Arabian Desert, with a capital at Rabbath Ammon (present-day Amman). It is
unlikely that any of the three kingdoms had much to do with each other until the foundation
of the new neighbouring city-state of Israel.
Succumbing to Powerful Neighbours
Israel quickly became a military power to be reckoned with,
dominating the area of Syria and Palestine and coming into in-
evitable conflict with the neighbours. Under King David the Is-
raelites wrought a terrible revenge on Edom, massacring almost
the entire male population; Moab also succumbed to Israelite
control and the people of Ammon were subject to forced labour
under the new Jewish masters. However, Israelite might proved
short-lived and, after King Solomon's brief but illustrious reign,
the kingdom split into Israel and Judah.
By the middle of the first millennium BC - perhaps in re-
sponse to Israelite aggression - Ammon, Moab and Edom be-
came a unified entity, linked by a trade route known today as the King's Highway. The
fledgling amalgam of lands, however, was not strong enough to withstand the might of bul-
lying neighbours, and it was soon overwhelmed by a series of new masters: the Assyrians,
Babylonians and Persians. It would be centuries before Jordan achieved a similar distinct
identity within its current borders.
Books on
Jordan's His-
tory
»
»
The Middle East: A Brief
History of the Last 2000 Years
(Bernard Lewis, 1996)
»
»
History of the Arabs
(Philip Hitti, 1937)
