1200-1000 B.C., known as Iron I A-B, this period corresponds to the time of the Judges in Biblical tradition.

1000-925 B.C., known as Iron II A, this period corresponds to the reigns of Saul, David and Salomon.

925-720 B.C., known as Iron II B, this period coincides with the kingdoms of Israel and Juda, and further east of the River Jordan, the kingdoms of Ammon, Moab and Edom.

720-587 B.C., known as Iron II C, period marks the fall of Samaria, the cities of Jerusalem and Rabbat-Ammon.

  Nowadays, we rely on archaeology as a tool for the reconstitution of history. Our reliance on written sources, such as Biblical scriptures and inscriptions has been greatly modified. We now have a very different impression of the history of the kingdom, or the kingdoms of Moab, presented by analogy with the kingdom of Israel. The conquest, The Book of Judges, and the Book of Kings now read as less linear. We now see a pastoral culture, based on a network of rather small strongholds. Nevertheless, the Biblical date for the independence of Edom, taken over by King Mesha of Moab around 845 B.C., appears to be correct. Israel passed from Assyrian domination sometime after 722, allowing the Kingdom of Ammon, freed from any competition, to flower during a half century, producing numerous monumental sculptures. The destruction of Jerusalem and Rabbat-Ammon, around 867, ended the independence of the kingdoms of Juda and Ammon, and allowed the nomads of Edom to penetrate the territories, thus bringing about the breakdown of the urban fabric.