Amon
Amon
663 av. J.-C. — 639 av. J.-C.
royaume de Juda
Amon was the fourteenth king of Judah, son of Manasseh, who reigned around 642–640 BC. Like his father, he practiced idol worship and abandoned the Yahwist faith. He was assassinated by his own servants after only two years of rule.
Key Facts
- Reigned around 642–640 BC as king of Judah
- Son of Manasseh and father of Josiah
- Continued the idolatrous practices introduced by his father
- Assassinated by his servants after two years of reign (2 Kings 21:23)
- His son Josiah succeeded him and led a major religious reform
Works & Achievements
Amon's most theologically significant act was to perpetuate, without remorse, the foreign religious practices established by his father: the worship of Baal, Astarte, and the 'host of heaven.' This syncretic legacy became the ideological foil against which Josiah's future Yahwist reform would define itself.
Despite his brief two-year reign, Amon kept the Judean state functioning as a vassal of Ashurbanipal, ensuring the payment of tribute, the management of the provinces, and the continuity of the palace administration he had inherited from Manasseh.
Paradoxically, Amon's reign and his assassination brought Josiah to power — one of the greatest religious reformers in the history of Judah. In the biblical narrative, Amon represents the final moment of spiritual darkness before a radical Yahwist renaissance.
Anecdotes
Amon ascended to the throne at the age of twenty-two and reigned in Jerusalem for only two years. Unlike his father Manasseh, who — according to biblical texts — eventually repented and returned to the worship of Yahweh, Amon never underwent such a spiritual turnaround: he maintained the worship of idols until his death and offered sacrifices to the many gods of the region.
In 640 BCE, servants of the royal court hatched a conspiracy and assassinated King Amon in his own palace. But the 'people of the land' — a biblical expression likely referring to an elite class of landowners — rose up against the conspirators, put them to death, and placed Amon's son, the young Josiah, on the throne at only eight years old.
Amon was buried in the 'Garden of Uzza,' a private garden adjoining the royal palace in Jerusalem, where his father Manasseh had also been interred. This royal burial site, mentioned in the Books of Kings, has yet to be definitively identified by archaeologists.
The name 'Amon' carries a fascinating ambiguity: it echoes that of Amun-Ra, the great solar deity of Egyptian religion. In a context where Judah was subject to Assyrian influence while also maintaining ties with Egypt, this royal name could evoke connections to the foreign cults that the Yahwist prophets so strongly condemned.
According to biblical tradition, Amon multiplied the 'high places' — rural shrines dedicated to deities other than Yahweh — and offered worship to Baal and Astarte, Canaanite deities associated with fertility. His reign is presented as a providentially necessary relapse before the great religious reform carried out by his son Josiah.
Primary Sources
"Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done. He followed completely the ways of his father, worshiping the idols his father had worshiped and bowing down to them."
"Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done. Amon worshiped and offered sacrifices to all the idols Manasseh his father had made, and served them."
The annals mention the vassal kings of the Syro-Palestinian region who were compelled to supply tribute and military contingents to Assyria, illustrating the empire's domination over Judah in the 7th century BCE — the direct political context of Amon's reign.
"I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place, the very names of the idolatrous priests [...] those who bow down on the rooftops to worship the starry host."
Key Places
The seat of royal power in Judah, the palace of Jerusalem was the place of Amon's reign and assassination. Archaeological excavations in the City of David have uncovered remains of administrative structures from this period of the 7th century BC.
The center of Yahwistic worship built by Solomon, the Temple is said to have housed altars dedicated to foreign deities under Manasseh and Amon. It would later be purified by Josiah during the great reform of 622 BC.
The burial place of Amon and his father Manasseh, this private garden adjoining the royal palace is mentioned in the Books of Kings and Chronicles. Its exact location remains unknown to modern archaeologists.
An ancient sanctuary of the Kingdom of Israel, Bethel was known for its syncretic religious practices following the fall of the Northern Kingdom. In biblical literature, it symbolizes the sin of idolatry perpetuated by kings such as Amon.
The capital of the Assyrian Empire under Ashurbanipal, Nineveh was the dominant power exerting pressure on Judah during Amon's reign. Assyrian vassalage partly explains the religious syncretism that was tolerated — and even encouraged — in tributary kingdoms.