Edom and Southern Jordan in the Iron Age

Abstract

Located in modern southwestern Jordan, Edom is the least known of the peoples of the Iron Age southern Levant. Until recently, the history of the Edomites was based mostly on the biblical text, a few references in Egyptian and Mesopotamian sources, and the very limited number of epigraphic inscriptions found in the region. However, recent archaeological discoveries have expanded our knowledge about the Edomites´ life, extending their history back to the early Iron Age. Like their neighbors living in central Transjordan, tribalism constituted the most important factor that shaped the social organization and economy of the Edomites. The history of Iron Age Edom was characterized by two short waves of polity formation and collapse. Restricted by rough terrain and difficult climate, the chiefdoms of Faynan (10th–9th centuries BCE) and Busayra (late 8th–mid 6th centuries BCE) were highly vulnerable to the changes in the outside demand for local resources and the variations in the interregional trade networks. The presence of Edomite cultural traits in the Iron Age Negev was the first chapter of a long history of relations with the Judaeans that was going to extend throughout the following centuries, epitomized by the creation of Idumaea.