Hisban is located on the edge of the highland plateau, overlooking the northern tip of the Dead Sea and the Lower Jordan Valley.
Modern-day Hisban is widely identified with one of the Cities of the Plain, Heshbon, due to the similarity in their names (Numbers 21:26). Formerly ruled by the Amorite King Sihon, this region of central Jordan was referenced in the Song of Solomon 7:5, “…your eyes are like pools in Heshbon”.
Later fortified in the Roman-Byzantine period, Hisban, also called Esbus, was an important station on early Christian pilgrims’ route from Jerusalem to Mount Nebo via the Jordan River.
Modern Hisban village is the first major antiquities site on the King’s Highway south of Amman. Some scholars believe that the nearby Tell Jalul is a better candidate for ancient Heshbon.
