Amman Citadel
The Amman Citadel is a historic site that sits on the highest hill at the centre of downtown Amman in Jordan. It is the site of ancient Rabbath-Ammon that occupied the site since the Bronze Age. Archaeologists have excavated numerous artifacts that prove that the area has been inhabited by different peoples of different cultures; therefore, it is considered important because of its long history of occupation by many great civilisations. It is surrounded by a long wall, which has been rebuilt many times but remarkably still serves its purpose even to this day.
The small archaeological museum on the hill features and exhibits some items that date back several thousands of years. Impressive collections of great historical importance and incredible collections of stone are on display. The most striking sights within the vicinity are the Temple of Hercules and the Umayyad Palace.
To me, the most significant thing that happened in this ancient Ammonite city is the account mentioned in the Bible in 2 Samuel 11: 1–17. It is a tragic story of betrayal of trust by the king. It is where Uriah, husband of Bathsheba and loyal soldier of King David, died during the battle. David had seduced Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, and then sent Uriah to war and ordered him to be placed on the front lines where he was eventually killed.
Bathsheba is the mother of King Solomon.
David and Bathsheba:
“11 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. 2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, ‘She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.’ 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, ‘I am pregnant.’
6 So David sent this word to Joab: ‘Send me Uriah the Hittite.’ And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, ‘Go down to your house and wash your feet.’ So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.
10 David was told, ‘Uriah did not go home.’ So he asked Uriah, ‘Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?’ 11 Uriah said to David, ‘The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents,[a] and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!’ 12 Then David said to him, ‘Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.’ So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next.13 At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home. 14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah.
15 In it he wrote, ‘Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.’ 16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.” (New International Version, 2 Samuel 11:1-17).
It’s at Amman Pasha Hotel where i stayed in one of my trips to Amman, Jordan. Being a solo traveler, I had a fantastic time especially one night when i went to the bar at the hotel where I met some other tourists and locals. They played traditional music and then asked everyone to dance. It was enjoyable!
For more details about my visit to Jordan, please see my other blogs below:
