Ancient Dhiban with modern settlement in the background, looking south

Dhiban is a modern town in Jordan, approximately 70 kilometers south of Amman and east of the Dead Sea. Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern Amman (ɑˈmɑːn sometimes spelled Ammann ( Arabic عمان ʿAmmān) is the Capital city of the Hashemite Kingdom The Dead Sea (יָם הַ‏‏מֶ‏ּ‏לַ‏ח, "Sea of Salt"البَحْر المَيّت, "Dead Sea" is a salt lake between Previously nomadic, the modern community settled the town in the 1950s. Today, Dhiban is approximately 15000 members strong, with many working in the army, government agencies, or in seasonal agricultural production. A number of young people study in nearby universities in Karak, Madaba, and Amman. Madaba, مادبا, is the capital city of Madaba Governorate of Jordan, which has a population of about 60 Amman (ɑˈmɑːn sometimes spelled Ammann ( Arabic عمان ʿAmmān) is the Capital city of the Hashemite Kingdom Most inhabitants belong to the Bani Hamida tribe and practice Islam. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation.

Ancient Dhiban

The ancient settlement lies adjacent to the modern town. Excavations have revealed that the site was occupied intermittently over the past 5,000 years, its earliest occupation occurring in the Early Bronze Age in the third millennium BCE. The site's extensive settlement history is in part due to its location on the King's Highway, a major commercial route in antiquity. The King’s Highway was a Trade route of vital importance to the ancient Middle East.

The Israelites stopped at Dhiban during the Exodus. See also History of ancient Israel and Judah According to the Bible, the Israelites were the dominant group living in the Land of Israel. The Exodus ( is the term used for the escape departure and emancipation of the enslaved Israelites freed from Ancient Egypt as described in the Hebrew The Bible mentions "Divon" (Hebrew: דִּיבֹן), or "Divon Gad" (דִּיבֹן גָּד) because the city was said to have been occupied by the Gad. The Tribe of Gad ( was one of the Tribes of Israel. At its height Gad occupied a region to the east of the River Jordan, though the exact location is ambiguous The name in Biblical Hebrew means wasting or pining.

According to the Mesha Stele found at the site, Mesha, a Moabite king, expelled the Israelites and established ancient Dhiban as an important settlement in the kingdom of Moab. Iye Abarim (עִיֵּי הָעֲבָרִים was one of the places the Israelites stopped at during The Exodus. The Exodus ( is the term used for the escape departure and emancipation of the enslaved Israelites freed from Ancient Egypt as described in the Hebrew The Stations list is the list of the locations visited by the Israelites following their exodus from Egypt found in the Bible Almon Diblathaim (עַלְמֹן דִּבְלָתָיְמָה was one of the places the Israelites stopped at during The Exodus. The Mesha Stele (popularized in the 19th century as the "Moabite Stone") is a black Basalt stone bearing an inscription by the 9th century BC Mesha was a 9th Century BCE King of Moab, a strip of hilly land in present-day Jordan, which lay north of Edom, across the Dead Sea from Moab (; Greek Μωάβ; Arabic مؤاب, Assyrian Mu'aba, Ma'ba, Ma'ab; Egyptian

Ancient Dhiban was also occupied in the Roman, Bzyantine, Early Islamic Umayyad, and Middle Islamic (Mamluk) Period. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC

Sources

• Porter, Benjamin et al. “Tall Dhiban 2004 Pilot Season: Prospection, Preservation, and Planning. ” Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 49 (2005): 201-216.
• Tushingham, A. Douglas The Excavations at Dibon (Dhiban) in Moab: The Third Campaign (1972).
• Winnett, Fred and William Reed The Excavations at Dibon (Dhiban) in Moab: The First and Second Campaigns (1964).
• This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.

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