Sihon, according to the Old Testament, was an Amorite king who refused to let the Israelites pass through his country. The Book of Numbers recounts that as the Israelites making their Exodus journey came to the country east of the Jordan, near Heshbon, King Siḥon of the Amorites refused to let them pass through his land:
Biblical historian Joel S. Baden discusses the similarities between the encounter with Sihon and the earlier encounter with the king of Edom (Numbers 20:14-21) as well as a later parallel passage. (Deuteronomy 2:2-3:11)
Moses allocated the land of Sihon, the king of Heshbon, to the Tribe of Gad in the allocation of land to the Israelite tribes. (Joshua 13:24-28)
In a similar way, the Israelites took the country of Og, and these two victories gave them possession of continuous land east of the Jordan, from the Arnon to the foot of the Hermon. These victories, among the earliest successful campaigns of the Israelites, quickly became legendary among them, and are referred to numerous times in the Bible as prototypical examples of God-given victory.