Assyrian and Moabite Relations in the 8th-6th Centuries BC
Dr. Michael Van Zant
Who in the world? Where in the world?
Assyrian winged lion sculpture, The Louvre Museum
The dynamic period of the 8th-6th centuries BC produced tremendous changes and upheaval in Palestine and the area now known as the Middle East. Prior to the mid-8th century BC the region consisted of numerous small kingdoms competing for influence in the region. The biblical books of 1 & 2 Kings often depicts this tumultuous period in the Middle East in terms of conflict between these small kingdoms. West of the Jordan River Valley the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah dominate the biblical text. Yet, several kingdoms east of the Jordan are addressed in the Old Testament, Ammon in the north, Edom in the south, and Moab due east of the Dead Sea. By the mid-8th century BC, however, a new presence began to spread its long shadow from the north over the region. Assyria, or the Neo-Assyrian Empire, pressed its influence into the region with horrendous results for some nations and subjection for others. Numerous Assyrian cuneiform inscriptions provide an excellent source for the study of Moabite-Assyrian relations. The relationship of Moab with the Assyrian rulers is a case study of Assyrian methods of control and government of these vassal nations.
Ancient Moab centered primarily on a high plateau east of the Dead Sea called al-Karak in modern times. The Karak plateau slopes from its high western ridge overlooking the Dead Sea down to the desert fringe in the east and is diverse in climate and agriculture. Rain is more common on the high western plateau and much less frequent on the desert edge. For millennia, steep wadis north and south, the Wadi al-Mujib [al-Mogib] (the biblical Arnon River) and the Wadi al-Hasa (the biblical Zered River) along with the precipitous drop to the Dead Sea on the west and the Arabian Desert on the east helped isolate Moab. This isolation allowed Moab a continuity and relative peace as pictured in Jeremiah 48:11; a condition that was strained by the rise of Assyrian power.