Heshbon Heart of Ammonite territory

Today we were to walk the Roman road from Tall Heshbon to Livias (Tall el-Hammam). We arrived at 8:30am and asked around but could not locate the beginning of the Roman Road. We were situated on the highest point in this photograph. The valley below is part of the Wadi Heshbon and we knew that the Roman road veered off to the right so we headed out descending into the valley below. Four hours later we were exhausted and had walked from this entire valley and climbed up the other side to this point where I took this photograph. We will try to walk the Roman road again another day from the location of the Roman road below. I walked the lower half last year and know where that section is located. We found a house and the young man drove us back to our car at Tall Heshbon.

The significance of this tall, excavated by Andrews University, is that it was the center of the Ammonite territory and ruled by Sihon King of Heshbon (Numbers 21:26). the Israelites conqured it just before descending into the region below Pisgah around Tall el-Hammam and settling for two year before entering the promised land.

"Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon. He ruled from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge-- from the middle of the gorge-- to the Jabbok River, which is the border of the Ammonites. This included half of Gilead." (Joshua 12:2). What an amazing privilege to literally walk the land of the Bible.