Mesha Stele

The Mesha Stele (also known as the "Moabite Stone") is a stele (inscribed stone) set up around 840 BCE by King Mesha of Moab (a kingdom located in modern Jordan). Mesha tells how Kemosh, the God of Moab, had been angry with his people and had allowed them to be subjugated to Israel, but at length Kemosh returned and assisted Mesha to throw off the yoke of Israel and restore the lands of Moab. Mesha describes his many building projects. It is written using the Phoenician alphabet.

The stone was discovered intact by Frederick Augustus Klein, an Anglican missionary, at the site of ancient Dibon (now Dhiban, Jordan), in August 1868, who was led to it by a local Bedouin. Before it could be seen by another European, the next year it was smashed by local villagers during a dispute over its ownership. A "squeeze" (a papier-mâché impression) had been obtained by a local Arab on behalf of Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau, and fragments containing most of the inscription (613 letters out of about a thousand) were later recovered and pieced together. The squeeze and the reassembled stele are now in the Louvre Museum.

Mesha

King Mesha of Moab was a king of Moab in the 9th century BC, known most famously for having the Mesha Stele inscribed and erected at Dibon. In this inscription he calls himself "Mesha, son of Kemosh[-yatti], the king of Moab, the Dibonite."

The two main records: Mesha Stele and the Bible

The two main sources for the existence and history of King Mesha are the Mesha Stele and the Hebrew Bible. Aside from these attestations, references to Mesha are scanty, a noteworthy exception being the El-Kerak Inscription.

The Books of Samuel record that Moab was conquered by David (floruit c.1000-970 BCE) and retained in the territories of his son Solomon (d. 931 BCE). Later, after the split of Israel into two kingdoms, King Omri of the northern kingdom of Israel reconquered Moab after it had been lost subsequent to King Solomon's reign.

The Mesha Stele, named after the Moabite king who erected it, makes no mention of earlier history and only mentions the conquest of the land by Omri. The stele records Mesha's liberation of Moab from under the suzerainty of Israel in c. 850 BCE.

Mesha (Indian astrology)

Mesha is the first sign, or rāshi in Indian Astrology. The dates it is occupied are April 15 to May 15. Mesha is equivalent to the Western Zodiac Sign Aries (astrology). Mesha's Quality is Chara (mobile), Mesha's Element is Tejas (fire). People born in this sign, or rāshi are believed to be ambitious and forceful in their character.

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