Amman Citadel Inscription
Material	Limestone
Writing	Ammonite language
Created	late 9th century BCE[1]
Discovered	1961
Present location	Jordan Archaeological Museum
Identification	J 9000

Part of a series on
Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions
Corpora Scripturae Linguaeque Phoeniciae CIS (Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum) NE (Handbuch der Nordsemitischen Epigraphik) KAI (Kanaanäische und Aramäische Inschriften) TADAE (Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt)
Discoveries (17th & 18th c.) Punic-Libyan bilinguals Cippi of Melqart Carpentras Stela Pococke Kition inscriptions Benhisa inscription Phoenician Harpocrates statues Nora Stone Athenian Greek-Phoenician inscriptions
Discoveries (19th c.) Tripolitania Punic inscriptions Elephantine papyri and ostraca Mdina steles Carthaginian tombstones Humbert Carthage inscriptions Turin Aramaic Papyrus Blacas papyrus Falbe Punic inscriptions Reade Punic inscriptions Limyra bilingual Abu Simbel Phoenician graffiti Ain Nechma inscriptions Kellia inscription Marseille Tariff Nimrud ivory inscriptions Assyrian lion weights Phoenician metal bowls Anat Athena bilingual Bourgade inscriptions Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar II Gozo stele Serapeum Offering Table Cirta steles Carthage Tariff Son of Baalshillek marble base Carthage tower model Bodashtart inscriptions Kition Resheph pillars Ankh-Hapy stele Pauli Gerrei trilingual inscription Baalshamin inscription Phoenician sun dial Umm al-Amad votive inscription Cesnola Phoenician inscriptions Khaznadar inscriptions Hadrumetum Punic inscriptions Mesha Stele Abydos graffiti Idalion bilingual Idalion Temple inscriptions Yehawmilk Stele Tharros Punic inscriptions Royal Steward inscription Carthaginian slaughterhouse inscription Carthaginian mother goddess inscription Carthage Festival Offering inscription Wilmanns Neopunic inscriptions Pricot de Sainte-Marie steles Cherchell Neopunic inscriptions Bashamem inscription Baal Lebanon inscription Saqqara Aramaic Stele Tayma stones Kition Tariffs Adadnadinakhe bricks Siloam inscription Sant'Antioco bilingual Palmyra Tariff Osorkon Bust Pierides Kition inscriptions Eshmun obelisk Persephone Punic stele Lilybaeum stele Henchir Guergour Neopunic inscriptions Guelaât Bou Sbaâ Neopunic inscriptions Tyre Cistern inscription Tamassos bilinguals Masub inscription Tabnit sarcophagus Panamuwa II inscription Madaba Nabataean Inscriptions Hadad Statue Abdmiskar cippus Maktar and Mididi inscriptions Bar-Rakib inscriptions Neirab steles Sarıaydın inscription Larnakas tis Lapithou pedestal inscription Kilamuwa Stela Hasanbeyli inscription Kition Necropolis Phoenician inscriptions Douïmès medallion El Amrouni mausoleum Abiba’l inscription Tortosa “bomos” inscription El-Osiris inscription Avignon Punic inscription Punic Tabella Defixionis Quintus Markius trilingual inscription
Discoveries (20th c.) Farasa bilingual inscription Phoenician Adoration steles Banobal stele Eshmun inscription Sibbolet funeral inscription Stele of Zakkur Villaricos Phoenician stele Assur ostracon and tablets Throne of Astarte Gözne Boundary Stone Thinissut sanctuary inscription Gezer calendar Samaria Ostraca Olbia pedestal Giardino Birocchi inscription Sardis bilingual inscription Rhodes Phoenician-Greek bilingual inscriptions Kesecek Köyü inscription Aramaic Inscription of Taxila Arwad bilingual Mitsri genealogy inscription KNMY inscription Ahiram Sarcophagus Byblos Necropolis graffito Byblos altar inscription Ophel ostracon Phoenician arrowheads Ur Box inscription Byblos bronze spatulas Abda sherd Son of Safatba'al inscription Batnoam sarcophagus Yehimilk inscription Sefire steles Arslan Tash ivory inscription Hama graffiti Pul-i-Darunteh Aramaic inscription Arslan Tash amulets Tell Halaf inscription Agrigentum inscription Lachish letters Safatba'al inscription Hermopolis Aramaic papyri Phoenician papyrus letters Melqart stele Honeyman inscription Stele of Serapeitis Jebel Massoudj Neopunic inscription Adon Papyrus Kilamuwa scepter Tel Qasile ostraca Karatepe bilingual Tel el Maskhuta silver bowls Pumayyaton and Pnytarion's inscriptions Byblos clay cone inscriptions Carchemish Phoenician inscription Hatran Aramaic inscriptions Djinet Neopunic inscriptions Wadi Murabba'at papyrus Hazor inscriptions Al Jib jar handles Byblos marble inscription Kubaba Aramaic inscription El-Kerak Inscription Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription Yavne-Yam ostracon Arad ostraca Nebi Yunis ostraca Tel Dan bowl Seville statue of Astarte Khirbet Beit Lei graffiti Amman Citadel Inscription Ein Gev jar Phoenician Sphinx inscription Baalshillem Temple Boy Abydos Aramaic papyrus Pyrgi Tablets Carthage Administration Inscription Daskyleion steles Mozia Punic inscriptions Deir Alla Inscription Grotta Regina Punic inscriptions Tekke Bowl Inscription (Knossos) Aramaic Sustenance tablet Aramaic inscription of Laghman Tel Siran inscription Letoon trilingual Aramaic inscription from al-Mal Hadad-yith'i bilingual inscription Ketef Hinnom scrolls Sarepta Tanit Inscription Çebel Ires Dağı inscription Monumental Hebrew inscription from Jerusalem Hazael horse frontlet Bukan inscription İvriz inscription Bactria Aramaic documents Tel Dan Stele Ekron Royal Dedicatory Inscription Çineköy inscription Tablet De Geest
Discoveries (21st c.) Zayit Stone Kuttamuwa stele Khirbet Qeiyafa ostracon Ataruz altar inscriptions Ishbaal Inscription
v t e

TheAmman Citadel Inscription is the oldest known inscription in the so-calledAmmonite language. It was discovered in 1961 in theAmman Citadel, and first published in full in 1968 bySiegfried Horn.^[2] At the time of its discovery it was the third longest Semitic stone inscription ever found in theSouthern Levant, after theMesha Stele and theSiloam inscription.^[3] The inscription is known asKAI 307. As of 1969, the inscription was on display at theJordan Archaeological Museum.^[2]

The inscription is carved into a whitelimestone block of approximately 26 × 19 cm (10" × 7½") in size, with parts of the inscription lost. Most letters are clearly visible, and the stone has few traces oferosion and was therefore probably not exposed to the elements.

The inscription contains eight lines. The left and right sides of the inscription are missing parts, and the bottom line does not seem to include the end of the inscription. The top line is thought to be the beginning of the inscription since there is space above it.

In the eight lines, 93 letters are shown, which are interpreted to be spread between about 33 words.^[4] The size and shape of individual letters vary considerably, suggesting that the inscription comes from a novice scribe. Numerous letters have unusual shapes, for example theḥēt has only two cross beams, compared to the usual three (𐤇‎), similar to theMesha stele. Theṭēt is only a crossbar in a circle (instead of the usual𐤈‎), and theʿayin is already slightly open upwards (𐡏‎ instead of𐤏‎), which occurs in Phoenician inscriptions only from the 5th century.

It is understood to be a building inscription, although due to the fragmented nature of the inscription, the translation remains uncertain. The reconstruction byWilliam Fulco assumes that the inscription concerns the Ammonite chief deityMilcom, restoring a single missing letter to form the name.

• Aufrecht, Walter E. (1989).A Corpus of Ammonite Inscriptions. Ancient Near Eastern Texts & Studies Vol. 4.Lewiston, NY:Edwin Mellen and others.ISBN 0889460892.OCLC 17440634.
• Cross, Frank Moore (1969). "Epigraphic Notes on the ‘Ammān Citadel Inscription".BASOR193, pp. 13–19.
• Fulco, William J. (1978). "The ‘Ammān Citadel Inscription: A New Collation".BASOR230, pp. 39–43.
• Horn, Siegfried (1969). "The Ammān Citadel Inscription".BASOR193, pp. 2–13.
• Shea, William H. (1981). "The Amman Citadel Inscription Again".Palestine Exploration Quarterly.113 (2):105–110.doi:10.1080/00310328.1981.11910756.

• The Amman Citadel Inscription at kchancon.com

• 1961 archaeological discoveries
• Archaeological artifacts
• Ancient Near East
• KAI inscriptions
• Canaanite inscriptions
• Ammon
• Archaeological discoveries in Jordan
• 9th-century BC inscriptions

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles containing Ammonite-language text