AMMONITES, am'mon-itz, or "children of Ammon." In the cuneiform inscriptions their land is called Bit-Amman, as if Amman were a personal name; but Genesis says Ben-ammi, and Ammi was perhaps a local god. Their land was in the eastern part of the district now called Belka, on the northeast of the Dead Sea next the desert; its capital Rabbah or Rabbath Ammon. Their real history begins with Saul, though Jephthah the freebooter is said to have delivered Israel from them, and one tradi tion represents Balaam as an Ammonite—but this is thought a later excuse for excluding them from the Jewish body. They were m a state of chrome border warfare with the Hebrews, their close kinsmen, and speaking a closely related dialect. Nahash, King of Am mon, besieges Jabesh-Gilead (1 Sam. xi), and offers terms for its capitulation on condition of putting out the chief men's right eyes,— but Saul wins a crushing victory over the besiegers. David as Saul's enemy is well treated by Nahash; but when he takes Saul's place the old feelings are resumed. Hanun, the son and successor of Nahash, treats David's messengers of congratulation with gross contumely (2 Sam. x) ; David wins a victory over them and
the Syrian allies they have called in, and exacts a frightful vengeance from them, putting his captives to the torture quite in the Assyrian fashion, and leaving us to infer that there was little to choose in savagery. They probably re covered their independence after Solomon's death. Later they were subjugated by the Assyrians, as the inscriptions of several kings evince. Under Jeroboam II they make incur sions into Gilead and are blamed for in humanity. After the Israelitish deportation of 734 they occupied the land of Gad; under Jehoiakim they are incorporated into Judah; under Zedekiah they are allied with him against Assyria, but seem to have drawn out in time for safety, and Israelitish fugitives find refuge with their King, Baalis. Later they intermarried with the Jews, and there was a village of them in Benjamin; Judas Maccabmus defeated them; but they were gradually absorbed by invading Arab tribes. Their great local god was Milcom.