Dhiban

Dhiban ذيبان
City
Ancient Dhiban with modern settlement in the background, looking south
Dhiban
Coordinates: 31°29′56″N 35°47′8″E / 31.49889°N 35.78556°E / 31.49889; 35.78556
Country	Jordan
Province	Madaba Governorate
Founded	2000 B.C.
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Mayor	Salim Hawawsheh
Area
• City	10.24 km2 (3.95 sq mi)
• Metro	20.35 km2 (7.86 sq mi)
Elevation	726 m (2,382 ft)
Population
• Metro	13,043
Time zone	GMT +2
• Summer (DST)	+3 (UTC)
Area code(s)	+(962)5

Dhiban is a Jordanian town located in Madaba Governorate, approximately 70 kilometres south of Amman and east of the Dead Sea. Previously nomadic, the modern community settled the town in the 1950s. Dhiban's current population is about 15,000, with many working in the army, government agencies, or in seasonal agricultural production. A number of young people study in nearby universities in Karak, Madaba, and Amman. Most inhabitants practice Islam.

The ancient settlement lies adjacent to the modern town. Excavations have revealed that the site was occupied intermittently over the past 5,000 years, its earliest occupation occurring in the Early Bronze Age in the third millennium BC. The site's extensive settlement history is in part due to its location on the King's Highway, a major commercial route in antiquity. The majority of evidence for this population is concentrated in a 15 hectare tall. The release of the Mesha Inscription in 1868 led to an upsurge in visitors to the town (including tourists and scholars) due to its ostensible confirmation of biblical passages.

The first substantial settlement at Dhiban’s tell was during the Early Bronze Age. Archaeological evidence for a habitation of the tell between the Early Bronze Age and Iron Age has not yet been found. However, the disturbed archaeological context at the site means that this might not be definitive. Dhiban might correspond with the town “Tpn” or “Tbn” found in Egyptian texts from the reigns of Thutmoses III, Amenhotep III, and Rameses II.

According to the Bible, the Israelites stopped at Dhiban during the Exodus. The Bible mentions "Divon" (Hebrew: דִּיבֹן‎‎), or "Divon Gad" (דִּיבֹן גָּד) because the city was said to have been occupied by the Gad. The name in Biblical Hebrew means wasting or pining.