Editing Amman (section)

===Iron Age: the Ammonites===
{{Main|Ammon}}
[[File:Rujm Al-Malfouf.jpg|thumb|right|[[Rujm Al-Malfouf]], Ammonite watch tower built around 1000 BC, currently located in a [[Jabal Amman|residential area]]]]

In the 13th century BC, Amman was the capital of the [[Ammon|Ammonite Kingdom]], and became known as "Rabat Amman". Rabat Amman provided several natural resources to the region, including sandstone and limestone, along with a productive agricultural sector that made it a vital location along the [[King's Highway (ancient)|King's Highway]], the ancient trade route connecting [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] with [[Mesopotamia]], [[Syria (region)|Syria]] and [[Anatolia]]. As with the [[Edomites]] and [[Moabites]], trade along this route gave the Ammonites considerable revenue.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/his_testament.html|access-date=10 October 2015|title=The Old Testament Kingdoms of Jordan|work=kinghussein.gov.jo|archive-date=6 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506015442/http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/his_testament.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Milcom]] is named in the [[Hebrew Bible]] as the [[national god]] of Rabat Amman. Another ancient [[deity]], [[Moloch]], usually associated with the use of children as offerings, is also mentioned in the Bible as a god of the Ammonites, but this is probably a mistake for Milcom. However, excavations by archeologists near [[Amman Civil Airport]] uncovered a temple, which included an altar containing many human bone fragments. The bones showed evidence of burning, which led to the assumption that the altar functioned as a [[pyre]] and used for [[human sacrifice]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.biblestudywithrandy.com/2014/08/temple-human-sacrifice-amman-jordan| access-date=22 September 2015| title=Temple of Human Sacrifice: Amman Jordan| work=Randy McCracken| date=22 August 2014| archive-date=1 October 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001143535/http://www.biblestudywithrandy.com/2014/08/temple-human-sacrifice-amman-jordan/| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/daily-life-and-practice/first-person-human-sacrifice-to-an-ammonite-god/| title=First Person: Human Sacrifice to an Ammonite God?| work=Hershel Shanks| publisher=Biblical Archaeology Review| date=September–October 2014| access-date=24 November 2022| archive-date=24 November 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221124042928/https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/daily-life-and-practice/first-person-human-sacrifice-to-an-ammonite-god/| url-status=live}}</ref>

Amman is mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible. According to the biblical narrative, the Ammonite king [[Hanun]] allied with [[Hadadezer ben Rehob|Hadadezer]], king of [[Zobah|Aram-Zobah]], against the [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|United Kingdom of Israel]]. During the war, [[Joab]], the captain of King [[David]]'s army, laid siege to Rabbah, Hanun's royal capital, and destroyed it ({{Bibleverse|2 Samuel|12:26-28|KJV}}, {{Bibleverse|1 Chronicles|20:1-2|KJV}}). David took a great quantity of plunder from the city, including the king's crown, and brought it to his capital, [[Jerusalem]] ({{Bibleverse|2 Samuel|12:29-31|KJV}}). Hanun's brother, [[Shobi]], was made king in his place, and became a loyal vassal of David ({{Bibleverse|2 Samuel|17:27|KJV}}). Hundreds of years later, the prophet [[Jeremiah]] foresaw the coming destruction and final desolation of the city ({{Bibleverse|Jeremiah|49:2|KJV}}).<ref>Horn, S. H. (1973). The Crown of the King of the Ammonites. ''Andrews University Seminary Studies'', ''11''(2), 3.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hammond |first=Philip C. |date=1 December 1960 |title=An Ammonite Stamp Seal from 'Amman |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/1355646 |journal=Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research |volume=160 |issue=160 |pages=38–41 |doi=10.2307/1355646 |jstor=1355646 |s2cid=163202864 |issn=0003-097X |access-date=23 January 2023 |archive-date=24 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124021940/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/1355646 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Several Ammonite ruins across Amman exist, such as [[Rujm Al-Malfouf]] and some parts of the [[Amman Citadel]]. The ruins of Rujm Al-Malfouf consist of a stone watchtower used to ensure the protection of their capital and several store rooms to the east.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.livius.org/articles/place/rujm-al-malfouf/| title=Rujm al-Malfouf| access-date=22 September 2015| year=2009| publisher=Livius.org| archive-date=25 July 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725233829/https://www.livius.org/articles/place/rujm-al-malfouf/| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.ammancity.gov.jo/en/services/histdetails.asp?id=5| title=Rujom Al Malfouf (Al Malfouf heap of stones / Tower)| access-date=22 September 2015| publisher=Greater Amman Municipality| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923060715/http://www.ammancity.gov.jo/en/services/histdetails.asp?id=5| archive-date=23 September 2015}}</ref> The city was later conquered by the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Assyrians]], followed by the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire|Babylonians]] and the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid Persians]].<ref name="KHh"/>