Portal:Jordan

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The Jordan Portal

Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian West Bank to the west. The Jordan River, flowing into the Dead Sea, is located along the country's western border. Jordan has a small coastline along the Red Sea in its southwest, separated by the Gulf of Aqaba from Egypt. Amman is Jordan's capital and largest city, as well as the most populous city in the Levant.

Modern-day Jordan has been inhabited by humans since the Paleolithic period. Three kingdoms emerged in Transjordan at the end of the Bronze Age: Ammon, Moab and Edom. In the third century BC, the Arab Nabataeans established their kingdom centered in Petra. Later rulers of the Transjordan region include the Assyrian, Babylonian, Roman, Byzantine, Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, and the Ottoman empires. After the Great Arab Revolt against the Ottomans in 1916 during World War I, the Greater Syria region was partitioned by Britain and France. The Emirate of Transjordan was established in 1921 by the Hashemite, then Emir, Abdullah I, and the emirate became a British protectorate. In 1946, Jordan gained independence and became officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The country captured and annexed the West Bank during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War until it was occupied by Israel in 1967. Jordan renounced its claim to the territory to the Palestinians in 1988, and signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994.

Jordan is a semi-arid country, covering an area of 89,342 km² (34,495 sq mi), with a population of 11.5 million, making it the eleventh-most populous Arab country. The dominant majority, or around 95% of the country's population, is Sunni Muslim, with the rest being mostly Arab Christian. Jordan was mostly unscathed by the violence that swept the region following the Arab Spring in 2010. From as early as 1948, Jordan has accepted refugees from multiple neighbouring countries in conflict. An estimated 2.1 million Palestinian refugees, most of whom hold Jordanian citizenship, as well as 1.4 million Syrian refugees, were residing in Jordan as of 2015. The kingdom is also a refuge for thousands of Christian Iraqis fleeing persecution. While Jordan continues to accept refugees, the large Syrian influx during the 2010s has placed substantial strain on national resources and infrastructure.

The sovereign state is a constitutional monarchy, but the king holds wide executive and legislative powers. Jordan is a founding member of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation. The country has a high Human Development Index, ranking 99th, and is considered a lower middle income economy. The Jordanian economy, one of the smallest economies in the region, is attractive to foreign investors based upon a skilled workforce. The country is a major tourist destination, also attracting medical tourism due to its well developed health sector. Nonetheless, a lack of natural resources, large flow of refugees, and regional turmoil have hampered economic growth. (Full article...)

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Umm Qais from north

Umm Qais or Qays (Arabic: أم قيس, lit. 'Mother of Qais') is a town in northern Jordan principally known for its proximity to the ruins of the ancient Gadara. It is the largest city in the Bani Kinanah Department and Irbid Governorate in the extreme northwest of the country, near Jordan's borders with Israel and Syria. Today, the site is divided into three main areas: the archaeological site (Gadara), the traditional village (Umm Qais), and the modern town of Umm Qais. (Full article...)

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Princess Haya in 2017

Princess Haya bint Al Hussein (Arabic: الأميرة هيا بنت الحسين; born 3 May 1974) is the daughter of King Hussein of Jordan and his third wife, Queen Alia. She is the half-sister of King Abdullah II.

Haya is a graduate of the University of Oxford in England and an accomplished equestrian. She represented Jordan at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and is the two-term President of the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI). (Full article...)

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Abdullah II of Jordan Abdullah Tal Hussein of Jordan Abdullah I of Jordan Druze in Jordan Hashemites Ali Abu Nuwar Hussein, Crown Prince of Jordan Marouf al-Bakhit

WikiProject

For editor resources and to collaborate with other editors on improving Wikipedia's Jordan-related articles, see WikiProject Jordan.

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The following are images from various Jordan-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Egyptian mongoose (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 2A large plate of Jordanian mezze in Petra (from Culture of Jordan)
Image 3Statue of an Ammonite deified king on display at the Jordan Museum. The statue was found near the Amman Citadel and is thought to date to 8th century BC. (from History of Jordan)
Image 4Jerusalem on the Madaba Map (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 5Ajloun Castle (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 6Ibn Hathal, the Paramount Sheikh of the Anazzah (from History of Jordan)
Image 7Image showing the approximate land exchanged in 1965 between Jordan (gaining green) and Saudi Arabia (gaining red). (from History of Jordan)
Image 8Dead Sea (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 9The Moabite Stone, first revealed to the western world by Sattam bin Fendi (from History of Jordan)
Image 10The critically endangered sociable lapwing (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 11Petra, the capital of the Nabatean kingdom, is where the Nabatean alphabet was developed, from which the current Arabic alphabet further evolved. (from History of Jordan)
Image 12Prince Fendi Al-Fayez in the 1870s (from History of Jordan)
Image 13Desert vegetation in Wadi Rum, southern Jordan. (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 14Southern Levant during Iron Age II (c. 830 BCE) (from History of Jordan)
Image 15Majid Sultan Al Adwan at Shunet Nimrin, Paramount Sheikh of the Adwan in the early 20th century, and the great great great great grandson of Salih ibn Adwan. (from History of Jordan)
Image 16Al-Karak castle (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 17First election in Transjordan's history on 2 April 1929. (from History of Jordan)
Image 18Tourist police kiosk at Petra (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 19This basalt stone is incised with a scene showing two animals, probably gazelles. From Dhuweila, eastern Jordan, c. 6200 BCE. British Museum (from History of Jordan)
Image 20The Mesha Stele (c. 840 BCE), a royal Moabite inscription commemorating the victory of Moab over the Kingdom of Israel. (from History of Jordan)
Image 21Tourists photograph Al Khazneh (not visible) upon arriving in Petra. The Siq can be seen on the right.
Image 22Thorny burnet (Sarcopoterium spinosum) (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 23Rujm Al-Malfouf, a watchtower dating to 1000 BCE found in Amman. The city was known then as Rabbah of the Ammonites, and served as the capital city of the Ammonites. (from History of Jordan)
Image 24Amman Citadel reflects 7,000 years of Jordanian history (from History of Jordan)
Image 25The Dana Biosphere Reserve in south central Jordan. (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 26A young Emir Sattam bin Fendi in 1848 (from History of Jordan)
Image 27Qasr Amra a desert castle from the era of the Islamic Empire (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 28Suleiman Mousa (1919–2008), pioneer in the modern history of Jordan and Arab Revolt. (from History of Jordan)
Image 29Petra (from Culture of Jordan)
Image 30Jerash Festival, 2018 (from Culture of Jordan)
Image 31Jordan 1948–1967. The East Bank is the portion east of the Jordan river, the West Bank is the part west of the river (from History of Jordan)
Image 32King Hussein Mosque in Amman (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 33Mahis in northwestern Jordan (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 34The Kerak Castle, used by the Majalis for centuries (from History of Jordan)
Image 35The Al-Jizah reservoir, dating back to the Pax Romana, and the Mamluk building which was refitted by the Ottoman for Sattam to govern from. (from History of Jordan)
Image 36The south gate in the ancient city of Jerash (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 37Iron Age ramparts in Tulul adh-Dhahab, sometimes identified with the Israelite city of Mahanaim mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. (from History of Jordan)
Image 38Al-Khazneh in Petra (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 39Wadi Rum (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 40Zahir Al Umar, who during his reign fought both the Bani Sakher and the Adwan (from History of Jordan)

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Irbid (Arabic: إِربِد), known in ancient times as Arabella or Arbela (Άρβηλα in Ancient Greek), is the capital and largest city of Irbid Governorate. It has the second-largest metropolitan population in Jordan after Amman, with a population of around 2,003,800. As a city, Irbid is Jordan's third-largest, after Amman and Zarqa.

Irbid is located about 70 kilometres (43 mi) north of Amman on the northern ridge of the Gilead, equidistant from Pella, Beit Ras (Capitolias), and Um Qais, and approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of the Syrian border. (Full article...)

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Amman Zarqa Aqaba Russeifa Ajloun Madaba Huwwarah Al-Salt Aydoun Jerash Ma'an Al Husn Azraq refugee camp Azraq, Jordan Al-Karak Der Abi Saeed Tafilah Anjara

See also: List of cities in Jordan

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Religion in Jordan

The vast majority of Jordanians practice Sunni Islam, the state religion.
In addition to civil and special courts, Jordan has special religious courts which enforce Sharia law.
Jordan has Christian minorities, mostly in major cities, and several Druze communities exist in the country's north.

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The Al-Maghtas ruins on the Jordanian side of the Jordan River, believed by many to have been the location of the Baptism of Jesus and the ministry of John the Baptist.

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