Then send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. Give them a message for their masters and say, `This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Tell this to your masters: With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please.
Jeremiah 27:3-5
In ancient times, Jordan was the home of three small nations that regularly interacted with Israel: Ammon, Moab, and Edom. We visited the capitals of each of these kingdoms.
The first we visited was Rabbah, which is modern Amman. I’ve mentioned this one before. We spent our first night in Amman. It was the northernmost of the three kingdoms. The ancient core of the city is surrounded by valleys on three sides and connected by a spur on one side.
The southernmost capital and kingdom was Edom with its capital of Bozrah. It is surrounded by deep valleys on three sides and connected by a spur on one side. The deep valleys around it made it the hardest of all the ones we looked at to conquer.
In between was the kingdom of Moab. Their main capital was Kir, which is modern Karak. We spent our third night here. It is surrounded by valleys on three sides and connected by a spur on one side. Crowning it today is a Crusader castle, which we explored.
Moab had a secondary capital that we visited: Dibon. From the Moabite core region, they had to cross the Arnon canyon and push into the Medeba plateau to the north. The Arnon is about three miles wide and 1200 feet deep, presenting an imposing barrier to their expansion, but also good protection from invaders. Dibon is surrounded by valleys on three sides and connected by a spur on one side.
Perhaps you’re getting a sense of some commonality among these sites. Did I mention that the ancient core of Jerusalem is a hill surrounded by valleys on three sides and connected by a spur to the north?