Heshbon were at least two different ancient towns located east of the Jordan River in what is now the Kingdom of Jordan, historically within the territories of ancient Ammon. Bronze Age Heshbon of biblical King Sihon has not been identified. The town of Esbus from the Roman and Byzantine period has been identified with a tell known in Arabic as Tell Hisban or Tell Ḥesbān.
Location of Tell Hisban
The Roman and Byzantine town is believed to have been located at the ruin called Hesbân or Hisban, about southwest of Amman, and to the north of Madaba, on one of the highest summits of the mountains of Moab. A large ruined reservoir is located east of the place, and below the town there is a fountain.
Biblical reference to Heshbon
Ancient Heshbon was beyond, i.e. east of, the Jordan. The city was where the Israelites passed by on their entry to the Promised Land, and was assigned to the tribe of Reuben; afterwards it was given to the Tribe of Gad and became a Levitical city for the Merarites. Heshbon is mentioned in the Tanakh in the Books of Numbers and Deuteronomy as the capital of Amorite king, Sihon. The biblical narrative records the story of the Israelite victory over Sihon during the time of the Exodus under the leadership of Moses. Heshbon is highlighted due to its importance as the capital of Sihon, King of the Amorites: Similar passages appear in Deuteronomy and Joshua, with the primary emphasis being the victory of the Israelites over King Sihon at the site of Heshbon. Moses died soon after the victory, after viewing the "promised land" from the top of Mount Nebo. Following the death of Moses, Heshbon became a town at the border between the lands allocated to the Tribe of Reuben and the Tribe of Gad. Further biblical evidence suggests that the town later came under Moabite control, as mentioned by Isaiah and Jeremiah in their denunciations of Moab. Heshbon also appears in the Song of Solomon, where the poet likens his love's eyes to "the pools of Heshbon", which refers to the magnificent fish-pools of Heshbon.
The name occurs in Josephus very often under the form Esbonitis or Sebonitis. According to Josephus, Heshbon was in the possession of the Judeans since Alexander Jannaeus the Maccabee took it and made it a Jewish town. Herod the Great is also said to have had jurisdiction over the town and established a fort there. However, this town might not be identical with Tell Hesban: Josephus tell us that Pheroras, the younger brother of Herod the Great and tetrarch of Perea, had his residence at Esebonitis. This Esebonitis, described as a strongly fortified garrison town, has not been firmly identified and might be identical with either Machaerus, a site well researched by archaeologists and closely resembling Josephus's description of Esebonitis, with Amathus, or with Gadora, the later placed by researchers at Tell Jadur near Salt.
Late Roman Esebon, Esboús
After the Great Revolt the country was invaded by the tribe that Pliny calls Arabes Esbonitae, meaning "Arabs of esebon". Restored under the name of Esboús or Esboúta, it is mentioned among the towns of the Roman Arabia Petraea by Ptolemy.
Byzantine Hesebon
Under the Byzantines, as learned from Eusebius' Onomasticon, it grew to be a town of note in the province of Arabia; George of Cyprus refers to it in the seventh century and it was from Hesebon that the milestones on the Roman road toJericho were numbered. The Byzantine town is mentioned in the 3rd century CEMosaic of Rehob.
Early Arab period
At the beginning of the Early Arab period, Hesebon was still the chief town of the Belka, a territory corresponding to the old kingdom of Sihon. It seems never to have been taken by the Crusaders.
History of excavation
In 1968, archaeological excavations were undertaken at the site of Tell Hesban. This excavation was the beginning of what became called the "Heshbon Expedition". This archaeological work was sponsored by Andrews University and under the authority of the American Schools of Oriental Research. The Heshbon Expedition continued with excavation seasons through 1976. Following the cessation of Heshbon Expedition excavations, archaeological work at the site continued in 1996 under the Madaba Plains Project consortium. The site continues to be excavated into the 2010s; work is also ongoing to support archaeological tourism at the site.
Archaeological findings
Not the Bronze Age Heshbon
The lack of evidence for occupation during the Bronze Age led excavators to conclude that the site is not Sihon's Heshbon.
Two churches have been discovered from the Byzantine era, and both churches produced impressive remains of mosaic floors. Particularly interesting is the mosaic of the presbytery of the North Church where the mosaicists have created a motif of a turtledove set on a nest made of an imaginary flower.
Zosius, whose name occurs in the lists of Chalcedon
Theodore, champion of orthodoxy against monothelism, who received from Pope Martin I a letter congratulating him on his resistance to the heresy and exhorting him to continue the struggle in conjunction with John of Philadelphia. To the latter the pope had entrusted the government of the patriarchates of Antioch and Jerusalem.
