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142-486: The area of 2,000 square metres (22,000 sq ft) in the Jordan Valley was first excavated in 1962 by Jean Perrot . The deposits on site were 3 metres (9.8 ft) deep and divided up into six distinct layers of occupation. These have been divided into PPNB aceramic during levels six to three, with later Neolithic and Chalcolithic , Yarmukian and Wadi Rabah cultures in levels two and one. Buildings in

284-577: A 363 earthquake destroyed many structures it declined further, eventually being abandoned. The Sasanian Empire in the east became the Byzantines' rivals, and frequent confrontations sometimes led to the Sasanids controlling some parts of the region, including Transjordan. In 629, during the Battle of Mu'tah in what is today Karak Governorate , the Byzantines and their Arab Christian clients ,

426-479: A Mediterranean climate , while the eastern and northeastern areas of the country are arid desert. Although the deserts reach high temperatures, the heat is usually moderated by low humidity and a daytime breeze, while the nights are cool. Summers, lasting from May to September, are hot and dry, with temperatures averaging around 32 °C (90 °F) and sometimes exceeding 40 °C (104 °F) between July and August. The winter, lasting from November to March,

568-689: A $ 150 million casino-hotel was built in Jericho with the backing of Yasser Arafat. The casino closed subsequently during the Second Intifada . Jordan 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 territories to

710-669: A 26 kilometres (16 mi) shoreline on the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea but is otherwise landlocked. The Yarmuk River , an eastern tributary of the Jordan, forms part of the boundary between Jordan and Syria (including the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights ) to the north. The other boundaries are formed by several international and local agreements and do not follow well-defined natural features. The highest point

852-505: A few greenstone beads. The site was also notable for finds of clay figurines of males, females and animals. Radio-carbon dating of the site had large stated errors due to problematic dating materials but gave dates between ca. 7210 and 5420 BC . These provide a vague suggestion of the age of the site. Typological comparisons have been made of various artifacts highlighting a certain regional variation with more elaborate design arrowheads and less pressure flaking. This equates generally with

994-429: A few were notched. Finely denticulated sickle blades were found in large numbers with other tools including end scrapers, blades, burins and borers. One piece of obsidian was found in level six that originated from the same place as a piece from El Khiam . Grinding tools were also found including pestle and mortars of basalt or limestone, polishers, rubbers and grooved stones. Stoneware vessels were found along with

1136-500: 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 with its well-developed health sector . Nonetheless, a lack of natural resources, large flow of refugees, and regional turmoil have hampered economic growth. Jordan takes its name from

1278-711: A level of autonomy by forming the Decapolis , a ten-city league. Jerash is one of the best preserved Roman cities in the East; it was even visited by Emperor Hadrian during his journey to Palestine. In 324 AD, the Roman Empire split and the Eastern Roman Empire, later known as the Byzantine Empire , continued to control or influence the region until 636. Christianity had become legal within

1420-522: A majority vote of no confidence by the elected House of Representatives. After a bill is proposed by the government, it must be approved by the House of Representatives then the Senate and becomes law after being ratified by the king. A royal veto on legislation can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in a joint session of both houses. The parliament also has the right of interpellation . The 65 members of

1562-541: A national army; and that free trade be maintained between Transjordan and the rest of the region. Abdullah, the second son of Sharif Hussein, arrived from Hejaz by train in Ma'an in southern Transjordan on 21 November 1920 to redeem the Greater Syrian Kingdom his brother had lost. Transjordan then was in disarray, widely considered to be ungovernable with its dysfunctional local governments. Abdullah gained

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1704-456: A number of times since, is the legal framework that governs the monarch, government, bicameral legislature and judiciary. The king retains wide executive and legislative powers from the government and parliament . The king exercises his powers through the government that he appoints for a four-year term, which is responsible before the parliament that is made up of two chambers: the Senate and

1846-534: A pebble lined trough, presumably used for craft purposes. The Yarmoukian phase continued with round buildings which developed into rectangular ones in the Rabah phase. A major break in settlement was detected between levels three and two, where the early levels were covered over with sandy soil. Various flint tools and arrowheads were recovered from the site. Arrowheads had distinctive tangs (some barbed) with wings and pointed shoulders, some were diamond or leaf shaped and

1988-631: A period of relative prosperity in the 16th century but were later abandoned. Transjordan was of marginal importance to the Ottoman authorities. As a result, Ottoman presence was virtually absent and reduced to annual tax collection visits. More Arab Bedouin tribes moved into Transjordan from Syria and the Hejaz during the first three centuries of Ottoman rule, including the Adwan , the Bani Sakhr and

2130-557: A result of the 1967 war and the 1970–71 " Black September " war between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Jordan . Investments by the Jordanian government in the region allowed the population to rebound to over 85,000 by 1979. 80% of the farms in the Jordanian part of the valley are family farms no larger than 30 dunams (3 ha, 7.4 ac). Population levels in the past are unclear. According to

2272-556: A thousand people died in Jordan due to the conflict. In September 1970; following failed assassination attempts of the king, and the Dawson's Field hijackings in which 4 planes were hijacked and landed at a desert airstrip in Jordan; the Jordanian king ordered the army to attack and expel Palestinian militants, and declared martial law . Syria attempted to aid the Palestinian cause in Jordan by sending significant military forces across

2414-558: Is Jabal Umm al Dami , at 1,854 m (6,083 ft) above sea level, while the lowest is the Dead Sea −420 m (−1,378 ft), the lowest land point on Earth . Jordan has a diverse range of habitats, ecosystems and biota because of its varied landscapes and environments. The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature was set up in 1966 to protect and manage Jordan's natural resources. Nature reserves in Jordan include

2556-610: Is administered by the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories , including approximately 2,700 people who live in small Bedouin and herding communities. Inside pre-1967 borders, 17,332 Israelis live in the independent municipality of Beit She'an , 12,000 live in 24 communities in Valley of Springs Regional Council that are located in the valley. An additional 12,400 live in 22 communities in

2698-575: 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 Cooperation . The country has

2840-426: Is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and the east, Iraq to the north-east , Syria to the north , and Israel and Palestine ( West Bank ) to the west. The east is an arid plateau irrigated by oases and seasonal streams. Major cities are overwhelmingly located on the north-western part of the kingdom with its fertile soils and relatively abundant rainfall. These include Irbid , Jerash and Zarqa in

2982-464: Is considered to be a rare event in the country, and Jordan's internal security was dramatically improved afterwards. No major terrorist attacks have occurred since then. Abdullah and Jordan are viewed with contempt by Islamic extremists for the country's peace treaty with Israel, its relationship with the West, and its mostly non-religious laws. The Arab Spring were large-scale protests that erupted in

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3124-641: Is disconnected from the rest of the West Bank, and is far from the Israeli hinterland, was viewed as a suitable location for nascent Palestinian self-rule. Subsequent agreements, in the Oslo Accords , handed over additional West Bank territories, however Israel has retained control as Area C administered by Israel, with the exception of an Area A enclave surrounding Jericho and very small Area B zones around some small Palestinian settlements. In 1998,

3266-463: Is relatively cool, with temperatures averaging around 11.08 °C (52 °F). Winter also sees frequent showers and occasional snowfall in some western elevated areas. Over 2,000 plant species have been recorded. Many of the flowering plants bloom in the spring after the winter rains and the type of vegetation depends largely on the levels of precipitation. The mountainous regions in the northwest are clothed in forests, while further south and east

3408-484: Is the valley with the lowest elevation in the world, beginning at −212 m (−696 ft) below sea level (BSL) and terminating at less than −400 m (−1,300 ft) BSL. On both sides, to the east and west, the valley is bordered by high, steep escarpments rising from the valley floor by between 1,200 m (3,900 ft) to 1,700 m (5,600 ft). Over most of its length, the Jordan Valley forms

3550-641: The 1948 Arab–Israeli War , Jordan intervened in Palestine together with many other Arab states. Following the war, Jordan controlled the West Bank , and on 24 April 1950 Jordan formally annexed these territories after the Jericho Conference . In response, some Arab countries demanded Jordan's expulsion from the Arab League . On 12 June 1950, the Arab League declared that the annexation

3692-624: The Arab Federation as a response to the formation of the rival United Arab Republic between Nasser's Egypt and Syria. The union lasted only six months, being dissolved after Iraqi King Faisal II (Hussein's cousin) was deposed by a bloody military coup on 14 July 1958 . Jordan signed a military pact with Egypt just before Israel launched a preemptive strike on Egypt to begin the Six-Day War in June 1967, where Jordan and Syria joined

3834-451: The Arab world in 2011, demanding economic and political reforms. Many of these protests tore down regimes in some Arab nations, leading to instability that ended with violent civil wars. In response to domestic unrest , Abdullah replaced his prime minister and introduced reforms including reforming the constitution and laws governing public freedoms and elections. Proportional representation

3976-694: The Battle of Hattin (1187) near Lake Tiberias just north of Transjordan, the Crusaders lost to Saladin , the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty (1187–1260). The Ayyubids built the Ajloun Castle and rebuilt older castles to be used as military outposts against the Crusaders. Villages in Transjordan under the Ayyubids became important stops for Muslim pilgrims going to Mecca who travelled along

4118-543: The Bronze Age (3600–1200 BC). Wadi Feynan became a regional centre for copper extraction: the metal was exploited on a large scale to produce bronze. Trade and movement of people in the Middle East peaked, spreading cultural innovations and whole civilizations to spread. Villages in Transjordan expanded rapidly in areas with reliable water-resources and arable land. Ancient Egyptian populations expanded towards

4260-830: The Dana Biosphere Reserve , the Azraq Wetland Reserve , the Shaumari Wildlife Reserve and the Mujib Nature Reserve . The climate varies greatly; generally, the further inland from the Mediterranean, there are greater contrasts in temperature and less rainfall. The average elevation is 812 m (2,664 ft) above sea level. The highlands above the Jordan Valley, mountains of the Dead Sea and Wadi Araba and as far south as Ras Al-Naqab are dominated by

4402-610: The Emek HaYarden Regional Council whose southern half is in the valley. In the West Bank the Israeli Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council contains 21 settlements with a total of 4,200 residents as of 2014, and the independent municipality of Ma'ale Efrayim an additional 1,206 as of 2015. The Jordan Valley is part of the Levantine corridor and constitutes a route for animal migration, including in

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4544-679: The Ghassanids , staved off an attack by a Muslim Rashidun force that marched northwards towards the Levant from the Hejaz. The Byzantines however were defeated by the Muslims in 636 at the decisive Battle of the Yarmuk just north of Transjordan. Transjordan was an essential territory for the conquest of Damascus. The Rashidun caliphate was followed by that of the Umayyads (661–750). Under

4686-505: The Hejaz desert, up to as far north as Damascus , which it controlled for a short period (85–71 BC). The Nabataeans massed a fortune from their control of the trade routes, often drawing the envy of their neighbours. Petra, Nabataea's capital, flourished in the 1st century AD, driven by its extensive water irrigation systems and agriculture. The Nabataeans were talented stone carvers , building their most elaborate structure, Al-Khazneh , in

4828-639: The Hejaz Railway in 1908—stretching across the length of Transjordan and linking Damascus with Medina —helped the population economically, as Transjordan became a stopover for pilgrims. Increasing policies of Turkification and centralization adopted by the Ottoman Empire in the wake of the 1908 Young Turk Revolution disenchanted the Arabs of the Levant, which contributed to the development of an Arab nationalist movement. These changes led to

4970-560: The House of Representatives . The judiciary is independent according to the constitution but in practice often lacks independence. The king is the head of state and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces . He can declare war and peace, ratify laws and treaties, convene and close legislative sessions, call and postpone elections, dismiss the government, and dissolve the parliament. The appointed government can also be dismissed through

5112-558: The Howeitat . These tribes laid claims to different parts of the region, and with the absence of a meaningful Ottoman authority, Transjordan slid into a state of anarchy that continued until the 19th century. This led to a short-lived occupation by the Wahhabi forces (1803–1812), an ultra-orthodox Islamic movement that emerged in Najd (in modern-day Saudi Arabia). Ibrahim Pasha , son of

5254-751: The Iron Age : Ammon , Moab and Edom , which were conquered by the Assyrian and later Babylonian empires. In the third century BC, the Arab Nabataeans established their kingdom centered in Petra . The Greco-Roman period saw the establishment of several cities in Transjordan that comprised the Decapolis . Later, the Islamic era began after end of Byzantine rule that set off Islamic empires of

5396-518: The Jordan River , which forms much of the country's northwestern border. While several theories for the origin of the river's name have been proposed, it is most plausible that it derives from the Hebrew word Yarad ( ירד ), meaning "the descender", reflecting the river's declivity. Much of the area that makes up modern Jordan was historically called Transjordan , meaning "across the Jordan";

5538-550: The Late Pleistocene , which resulted in the formation of numerous remains-preserving wetlands in the region. Past lakeshore environments attracted different groups of hominids, and several remains of tools dating from the Late Pleistocene have been found there. Scientists have found the world's oldest known evidence of bread-making at a 14,500-year-old Natufian site in Jordan's northeastern desert. During

5680-618: The Neolithic period (10,000–4,500 BC), there was a transition there from a hunter-gatherer culture to a culture with established populous agricultural villages. 'Ain Ghazal , one such village located at a site in the eastern part of present-day Amman , is one of the largest known prehistoric settlements in the Near East . Dozens of plaster statues of the human form, dating to 7250 BC or earlier, have been uncovered there; they are one of

5822-537: The PLO , before 1967, there were approximately 250,000 Palestinians living in the part of the valley that lies in the West Bank. As of 2009, the number of Palestinians remaining in this area was approximately 58,000, living in about twenty permanent communities, mostly concentrated in the city of Jericho and communities in the greater Jericho area in the south of the valley. Of these, approximately 10,000 live in Area C which

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5964-702: The Rabat summit conference in 1974, in the aftermath of the Yom-Kippur War, Jordan and the rest of the Arab League agreed that the PLO was the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people". Subsequently, Jordan renounced its claims to the West Bank in 1988. At the 1991 Madrid Conference , Jordan agreed to negotiate a peace treaty sponsored by the US and the Soviet Union. The Israel–Jordan peace treaty

6106-408: The Rashidun , Umayyad , Abbasid , and the Ottoman . Following the 1916 Great Arab Revolt during World War I , former Ottoman Syria was partitioned , leading to the establishment of the Emirate of Transjordan in 1921, which became a British protectorate. In 1946, the country gained independence and became officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The country captured and annexed

6248-511: The Sea of Galilee was captured by Israel opening further supply lines to the settlements in the northern Jordan valley. Throughout the entire war, Jordanian Arab Legion forces as well as Iraqi military forces crossed the Jordan valley to support the Arab effort in the central sector, the current West Bank. From the beginning of the second truce on 18 July 1948 and until the end of hostilities with Jordan on 3 April 1949 and Syria on 20 July 1949 there were no further major military operations around

6390-447: 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 km (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

6532-416: The governor of the Egypt Eyalet , rooted out the Wahhabis under the request of the Ottoman sultan by 1818. In 1833 Pasha turned on the Ottomans and established his rule over the Levant. His policies led to the unsuccessful peasants' revolt in Palestine in 1834. Transjordanian cities of As-Salt and Al-Karak were destroyed by Pasha's forces for harboring a peasants' revolt leader . Egyptian rule

6674-399: The white-spectacled bulbul . Four terrestrial ecoregions lie with Jordan's borders: Syrian xeric grasslands and shrublands , Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests , Mesopotamian shrub desert , and Red Sea Nubo-Sindian tropical desert and semi-desert . Jordan is a unitary state under a constitutional monarchy . Its constitution , adopted in 1952 and amended

6816-439: The 2016 election), Christians (9 seats) and Circassians and Chechens (3 seats). Courts are divided into three categories: civil, religious, and special. The civil courts deal with civil and criminal matters, including cases brought against the government. The civil courts include magistrate courts, courts of first instance, courts of appeal, high administrative courts which hear cases relating to administrative matters, and

6958-401: The Arabist cause, offered support. The revolt started on 5 June 1916 from Medina and pushed northwards until the fighting reached Transjordan in the Battle of Aqaba on 6 July 1917. The revolt reached its climax when Faisal entered Damascus in October 1918 and established an Arab-led military administration in OETA East , later declared as the Arab Kingdom of Syria , both of which Transjordan

7100-428: The British empire's Egyptian Expeditionary Force captured Jericho . Subsequently, during the British occupation of the Jordan Valley the Desert Mounted Corps were placed in the valley to protect the eastern flank of the British forces facing Ottoman forces in the hills of Moab . This position provided a strong position from which to launch the Battle of Megiddo which lead to the capture of Amman , Damascus , and

7242-443: The British stated their willingness to recognize the independence of a unified Arab state stretching from Aleppo to Aden under the rule of the Hashemites. British High Commissioner Herbert Samuel travelled to Transjordan on 21 August 1920 to meet with As-Salt's residents. He there declared to a crowd of 600 Transjordanian notables that the British government would aid the establishment of local governments in Transjordan, which

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7384-425: The Ghor a key agricultural area. South of the Dead Sea, the continuation of the larger Jordan Rift Valley contains the hot, dry area known as Wadi 'Araba , the "wilderness" or "Arabah desert" of the Bible. Prior to the 1967 Six-Day War , the valley's Jordanian side was home to about 60,000 people largely engaged in agriculture and pastoralism. By 1971, the Valley's Jordanian population had declined to 5,000 as

7526-410: The Jericho area. Israel has also enforced zoning rules, building permit requirements, natural reserves, and military firing zones in the territory which has restricted Arab development. Jericho, and the surrounding area in the southern valley, along with Gaza was the first territory handed over to the Palestinian National Authority , as a result of the Gaza–Jericho Agreement in 1994. Jericho, which

7668-444: The Jordan Valley, and contact lines remained static in this area. Unlike other areas, at the end of hostilities Israel controlled roughly the same territory of the Jordan Valley that it was allotted in the partition plan. Some Jewish settlements in the Jordanian controlled Jordan Valley were abandoned, while significantly more Arab residents fled mixed cities and Arab settlements as part of the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight . In

7810-484: The Jordan Valley. During and following the Six-Day War, many Palestinians, who at the time had Jordanian citizenship, fled the West Bank to Jordan due to choice, fear, and in some cases being forced to do so. In the Jordan valley the majority of the inhabitants of Aqabat Jaber (30,000) and Ein as-Sultan (20,000) refugee camps fled. In al-Jiftlik over 800 homes were razed by the Israeli army and its 6,000 inhabitants were ordered to leave; most, however, returned to

7952-450: The Jordan Valley. It was negotiated and developed by US ambassador Eric Johnston between 1953 and 1955, and based on an earlier plan commissioned by United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Modeled upon the Tennessee Valley Authority 's engineered development plan, it was approved by technical water committees of all the regional riparian countries—Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Though

8094-409: The Jordan river. Israel's destruction, via airstrikes, of the diversion project in April 1967 was one of the events leading to the Six-Day War . Following commencement of hostilities of the Six-Day War on 5 June 1967, initial hostilities between Israel and Jordan were mainly around the line of contact between Israel and Jordan and around Jerusalem in particular. Following heavy fighting in Jerusalem,

8236-399: The Jordan valley were particularly disconnected from the rest of the Jewish Yishuv , were fairly small and dispersed among Arab settlements, and relied on a tenuous supply line via Nazareth . In March 1948 Haganah forces captured Samakh, Tiberias , located at the northern edge of the valley, the inhabitants fleeing to Nazareth . The Arab population of Tiberias (6,000 residents or 47.5% of

8378-418: The Jordan, while during others the valley was bordered by Syria Vilayet and Beirut Vilayet . According to the PEF Survey of Western Palestine , the people who lived in the Jordan Valley in the late 19th century were almost entirely Arabs of various tribes, save for a group of Armenian hermits on the Mount of Temptation and a group of Greek monks at Mar Saba . The explorers added that fellahin from

8520-401: The Jordanian Jordan Valley population was severe as the valley had a relatively high fraction of Palestinian population and PLO bases and fighters. According to some estimates, half the buildings in the Jordanian side of the Jordan Valley were razed and the population decreased from 63,000 to 5,000. Even though Jordan was Western aligned, and was invaded by Syrian forces just three years prior,

8662-530: The Jordanian Police and army were losing their authority. Uniformed PLO militants openly carried weapons, set up checkpoints, and attempted to extort "taxes". During the November 1968 negotiations, a seven-point agreement was reached between King Hussein and Palestinian organizations. This agreement, however, was not adhered to, and clashes grew between the Jordanian army and Palestinian militants. In February 1970 fighting broke out in Amman resulting in approximately 300 deaths. Between February and June 1970, about

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8804-441: The Jordanian government decided to intervene in the 1973 conflict a week after the beginning of hostilities, sending an armoured division as an Expeditionary Force to southern Syria to aid in the defense of Damascus . However, declassified documents show this was a token participation to preserve King Hussein's status in the Arab world, and that some tacit understandings were made with Israel. The Israeli-Jordanian contact line,

8946-410: The Jordanian side of the Jordan valley and deeper in Jordanian territory. The Jordanian valley features, namely the river and the high and steep escarpments contributed to the strength of this position. Coupled with Israeli reluctance to cross the 1948 British Mandate border in this sector, American diplomatic pressure, and needs on additional fronts the war ended with the sides opposing one another across

9088-416: The Levant and came to control both banks of the Jordan River. During the Iron Age (1200–332 BC), after the withdrawal of the Egyptians, Transjordan was home to the kingdoms of Ammon , Edom and Moab . These peoples spoke Semitic languages of the Canaanite group ; archaeologists have concluded that their polities were tribal kingdoms rather than states. Ammon was located in the Amman plateau; Moab in

9230-451: The Levant. As had happened during the Roman era, growth of maritime trade diminished Transjordan's central position, and the area became increasingly impoverished. After the decline of the Abbasids, Transjordan was ruled by the Fatimid Caliphate (969–1070), then by the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (1115–1187). The Crusaders constructed several castles as part of the Lordship of Oultrejordain, including Montreal and Al-Karak. During

9372-471: The Levant. In Transjordan and with Ottoman support, Circassians first settled in the long-abandoned vicinity of Amman in 1867 and later in the surrounding villages. The Ottoman authorities' establishment of its administration, conscription and heavy taxation policies led to revolts in the areas it controlled. Transjordan's tribes in particular revolted during the Shoubak (1905) and the Karak revolts (1910), which were brutally suppressed. The construction of

9514-454: The PPNB stages of Jericho and Beidha suggesting that occupations overlapped with these sites and a date of occupation during the middle and late 7th millennium BC. Jordan Valley (Middle East) The Jordan Valley ( Arabic : غَوْر الأُرْدُنّ , romanized :  Ghawr al-Urdunn ; Hebrew : עֵמֶק הַיַרְדֵּן , romanized :  Emek HaYarden ) forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley . Unlike most other river valleys,

9656-406: The Palestinians had limited involvement against the Israeli forces, the events at Karameh gained wide recognition and acclaim in the Arab world. As a result, there was an upsurge of support for Palestinian paramilitary elements (the fedayeen ) within Jordan from other Arab countries. The fedayeen activities soon became a threat to Jordan's rule of law. In September 1970, the Jordanian army targeted

9798-414: The Roman culture. Some Edomites survived longer – driven by the Nabataeans, they had migrated to southern Judea , which became known as Idumaea ; they were later converted to Judaism by the Hasmoneans . Alexander the Great 's conquest of the Persian Empire in 332 BC introduced Hellenistic culture to the Middle East. After Alexander's death in 323 BC, the empire split among his generals, and in

9940-434: The Syrian forces' defeat at the Deganias a few days later, they abandoned the Samakh village. Following the heavy fighting, the Arab inhabitants of the city of Beit She'an in the northern valley fled across the Jordan River. Following the first truce which ended on 8 July, the successful Israeli Operation Dekel captured by the time a second truce took effect at 19:00 18 July, the whole Lower Galilee from Haifa Bay to

10082-433: The Syrian-Mandate border in a series of engagement called Battles of the Kinarot Valley . The Syrians thrust down the eastern and southern Sea of Galilee shores, and attacked Samakh the neighboring Tegart fort and the settlements of Sha'ar HaGolan , Ein Gev , but they were bogged down by resistance. Later, they attacked Samakh using tanks and aircraft, and on 18 May they succeeded in conquering Samakh and occupied

10224-736: The Umayyad Caliphate, several desert castles were constructed in Transjordan, including: Qasr Al-Mshatta and Qasr Al-Hallabat . The Abbasid Caliphate 's campaign to take over the Umayyad's began in a village in Transjordan known as Humayma . The powerful 749 earthquake is thought to have contributed to the Umayyads' defeat by the Abbasids , who moved the caliphate's capital from Damascus to Baghdad . During Abbasid rule (750–969), several Arab tribes moved northwards and settled in

10366-458: The West bank portion of the Jordan valley in three main phases: Two of the settlements, Kalya and Beit HaArava , were reestablished on the sites of settlements that were evacuated in the beginning of the 1948 war. Concurrently, as it has done elsewhere , Israel has sought to settle migrant Bedouin pastoral communities, who roamed the arid plateau above the valley without regard to land ownership, into permanent communities particularly around

10508-522: The abandoned Sha'ar HaGolan . On 21 May, the Syrian army was stopped at kibbutz Degania Alef , at the northern edge of the Jordan valley. where local militia reinforced by elements of the Carmeli Brigade halted Syrian armored forces with Molotov cocktails , hand grenades and a single PIAT . The remaining Syrian forces were driven off the next day by four Napoleonchik mountain guns. Following

10650-514: The aftermath of the war, a Palestinian Arab state was not formed in the West Bank, and the Jordanians retained control of both sides of the Jordan Valley along the West Bank – Jordan border due to the Jordanian occupation and annexation of the West Bank . The Jordan Valley Unified Water Plan , commonly known as the " Johnston Plan ", was a plan for the unified water resource development of

10792-474: The beginning of the second millennium, a lordship was established in the area under the name of Oultrejordain . The oldest known evidence of hominid habitation in Jordan dates back at least 200,000 years. Jordan is a rich source of Paleolithic human remains (up to 20,000 years old) due to its location within the Levant , where various migrations out of Africa converged, and its more humid climate during

10934-539: The border between Jordan to the east, and Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank , to the west. The details are regulated by the Israel–Jordan peace treaty of 1994, which establishes an "administrative boundary" between Jordan and the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, without prejudice to the status of that territory. Israel has allocated 86% of the land, in the West Bank portion of

11076-487: The border, though nominally under the Palestine Liberation Army command, which were repulsed after some initial successes as a result of Jordanian air force strikes. After a protracted campaign, lasting 10 months, and claiming more than 3,400 Palestinian deaths the king reasserted Jordanian sovereignty. Yasser Arafat and remaining fighters fled to Southern Lebanon . The effect of Black September on

11218-898: The building projects that he initiated in Moab and commemorates his glory and his victory against the Israelites. The stele constitutes one of the most important archeological parallels to accounts recorded in the Bible . At the same time, Israel and the Kingdom of Aram-Damascus competed for control of the Gilead. Around 740–720 BC, Israel and Aram-Damascus were conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire . The kingdoms of Ammon, Edom and Moab were subjugated but were allowed to maintain some degree of independence. Then in 627 BC, following after

11360-466: The city was captured on 7 June. The Israeli Harel Brigade advanced on the Jordan Valley and Israeli sappers blew up sections of the Allenby Bridge and King Abdullah Bridge in the south of the valley, and forces 36th Division blew up Damia Bridge located in the middle of the valley. As it became clear that the Jordanian position, from the get-go a salient with limited supply routes from

11502-499: The collapse of the Ottoman armies in the Levant. Following conflicting promises and agreements during WWI, in particular McMahon–Hussein Correspondence and Balfour Declaration , as well as a power vacuum following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire led to a series of diplomatic conferences and treaties ( Treaty of Sèvres , San Remo conference , Paulet–Newcombe Agreement ) which convened with continued armed struggle between

11644-416: The common, narrow sense, is a long and narrow trough, 105 km (65 mi) long if measured " as the crow flies ", with a width averaging 10 km (6.2 mi) with some points narrowing to 4 km (2.5 mi) over most of the course, before widening out to a 20 km (12 mi) delta when reaching the Dead Sea. Due to meandering, the length of the river itself is 220 km (140 mi). This

11786-425: The constitutional court which was set up in 2012 in order to hear cases regarding the constitutionality of laws. Although Islam is the state religion , the constitution preserves religious and personal freedoms. Religious law only extends to matters of personal status such as divorce and inheritance in religious courts, and is partially based on Islamic sharia law. The special court deals with cases forwarded by

11928-544: 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

12070-825: The course of the Jordan River through the Hula Valley and the Korazim Plateau , both north of the Sea of Galilee . The lower part of the valley, known as the Ghor (from the Arabic Ghawr or Ghōr , غور ), includes the Jordan River segment south of the Sea of Galilee which ends at the Dead Sea. Several degrees warmer than adjacent areas, its year-round agricultural climate, fertile soils and water supply have made

12212-573: The day hostilities formally commenced with Arab states, an Iraqi brigade invaded via Naharyim in an unsuccessful attempt to take Gesher. After the Tel Or village and the power plant were overrun by the Arab forces they were destroyed. To prevent Iraqi tanks from attacking Jewish villages in the Jordan Valley, the sluice gates of the Degania dam were opened. The rush of water, which deepened the Jordan river,

12354-653: The disintegration of the Assyrians' empire, Babylonians took control of the area. Although the kingdoms supported the Babylonians against Judah in the 597 BC sack of Jerusalem , they rebelled against Babylon a decade later. The kingdoms were reduced to vassals , a status they retained under the Persian and Hellenic empires. By the beginning of Roman rule around 63 BC, the kingdoms of Ammon, Edom and Moab had lost their distinct identities and were assimilated into

12496-499: The division, the concept of an east and west bank of the Jordan, as separate territorial units took hold. As a political example to this new reality, in 1929 Ze'ev Jabotinsky composed the political poem Two Banks to the Jordan which asserts that the Jordan river should be the central feature of Greater Israel , with the repeating refrain : "Two Banks has the Jordan/This is ours and, that is as well." in 1926 Pinhas Rutenberg

12638-475: The earlier stages had stone, paved or plastered floors made of mud bricks on stone foundations with remains of hearths and other stone structures. The north walls of buildings contained a plastered niche, a feature found in a similar room in Jericho . The PPNB levels also revealed an unusual circular courtyard structure with rooms radiating out from it and a large platform with channels cut in it associated with

12780-734: The empire in 313 after co-emperors Constantine and Licinius signed an edict of toleration. In 380, the Edict of Thessalonica made Christianity the official state religion. Transjordan prospered during the Byzantine era, and Christian churches were built throughout the region. The Aqaba Church in Ayla was built during this era; it is considered to be the world's first purpose built Christian church . Umm ar-Rasas in southern Amman contains at least 16 Byzantine churches. Meanwhile, Petra's importance declined as sea trade routes emerged, and after

12922-626: The end much of Transjordan was disputed between the Ptolemies based in Egypt and the Seleucids based in Syria. The Nabataeans , nomadic Arabs based south of Edom, managed to establish an independent kingdom in 169 BC by exploiting the struggle between the two Greek powers. The Nabataean Kingdom controlled much of the trade routes of the region, and it stretched south along the Red Sea coast into

13064-514: The fedayeen and the resultant fighting led to the expulsion of Palestinian fighters from various PLO groups into Lebanon, in a conflict that became known as Black September . In 1973, Egypt and Syria waged the Yom Kippur War on Israel, and fighting occurred along the 1967 Jordan River cease-fire line. Jordan sent a brigade to Syria to attack Israeli units on Syrian territory but did not engage Israeli forces from Jordanian territory. At

13206-901: The first century AD. It is believed to be the mausoleum of the Arab Nabataean King Aretas IV . Roman legions under Pompey conquered much of the Levant in 63 BC, inaugurating a period of Roman rule that lasted four centuries. In 106 AD, Emperor Trajan annexed Nabataea unopposed and rebuilt the King's Highway which became known as the Via Traiana Nova road. The Romans gave the Greek cities of Transjordan—Philadelphia (Amman), Gerasa (Jerash), Gedara (Umm Quays), Pella (Tabaqat Fahl) and Arbila (Irbid)—and other Hellenistic cities in Palestine and southern Syria,

13348-637: The former crown prince of Jordan, who was placed under house arrest, after having been accused of working to "destabilize" the kingdom. Jordan sits strategically at the crossroads of the continents of Asia, Africa and Europe, in the Levant area of the Fertile Crescent , a cradle of civilization . Its area is 89,341 square kilometres (34,495 sq mi), and it is 400 kilometres (250 mi) long between its northernmost and southernmost points; Umm Qais and Aqaba respectively. The kingdom lies between 29° and 34° N , and 34° and 40° E . It

13490-731: The foundation for Aqaba 's free-trade zone and Jordan's flourishing information and communication technology sector. He also set up five other special economic zones. However, during the following years Jordan's economy experienced hardship as it dealt with the effects of the Great Recession and spillover from the Arab Spring . Al-Qaeda under Abu Musab al-Zarqawi 's leadership launched coordinated explosions in three hotel lobbies in Amman on 9 November 2005, resulting in 60 deaths and 115 injured. The bombings, which targeted civilians, caused widespread outrage among Jordanians. The attack

13632-700: The great powers, their proxies, and Arab elements that were part of the Arab Revolt . Following the Battle of Maysalun the Transjordan area east of the valley become a no man's land and the British, who directly controlled the area west of the valley, chose to avoid any definite connection between the two areas. Following the Cairo Conference (1921) and meetings with Abdullah bin Hussein it

13774-637: The highlands east of the Dead Sea; and Edom in the area around Wadi Araba in the south. The northwestern region of the Transjordan, known then as Gilead , was settled by the Israelites . The three kingdoms continually clashed with the neighbouring Hebrew kingdoms of Israel and Judah , centered west of the Jordan River. One record of this is the Mesha Stele , erected by the Moabite king Mesha in 840 BC; in an inscription on it, he lauds himself for

13916-484: The hills come to cultivate their land for them. In 1916, Britain and France engaged in the Sykes–Picot Agreement in which the Ottoman territory of the Levant, which divided the yet undefeated Ottoman regions of the Levant between France and Britain. Under the agreement, the Jordan valley would be entirely within the British sphere of control. In February 1918, as part of the wider Sinai and Palestine Campaign

14058-424: The main portion being the Jordanian valley, remained quiet during the war. Israel and Jordan did however deploy units in a defensive posture on each side of the Jordan valley. Since the end of the 1967 war, many Israeli governments have treated the western Jordan Valley as the eastern border of Israel with Jordan, intending to annex it or keep deployment of Israeli forces in the valley. An early example of this view

14200-591: The northwest are clothed in natural forests of pine , deciduous oak , evergreen oak , pistachio and wild olive . Mammal and reptile species include, the long-eared hedgehog , Nubian ibex , wild boar , fallow deer , Arabian wolf , desert monitor , honey badger , glass snake , caracal , golden jackal and the roe deer , among others. Bird include the hooded crow , Eurasian jay , lappet-faced vulture , barbary falcon , hoopoe , pharaoh eagle-owl , common cuckoo , Tristram's starling , Palestine sunbird , Sinai rosefinch , lesser kestrel , house crow and

14342-562: The northwest, the capital Amman and As-Salt in the central west, and Madaba , Al-Karak and Aqaba in the southwest. Major towns in the east are the oasis towns of Azraq and Ruwaished . In the west, a highland area of arable land and Mediterranean evergreen forestry drops suddenly into the Jordan Rift Valley . The rift valley contains the Jordan River and the Dead Sea , which separates Jordan from Israel. Jordan has

14484-469: The oldest large-scale representations of humans ever found. During the Chalcolithic period (4500–3600 BC), several villages emerged in Transjordan including Tulaylet Ghassul in the Jordan Valley ; a series of circular stone enclosures in the eastern basalt desert from the same period have long baffled archaeologists. Fortified towns and urban centres first emerged in the southern Levant early in

14626-482: The other side of the Jordan river, was collapsing due to lack of suitable supply and reinforcement routes most of the remaining Jordanian units able to retreat did so, crossing the Jordan river to Jordan proper and the remaining West Bank cities were captured with little resistance by the Israelis. These retreating units, as well as two brigades that were held in reserve in the Jordan Valley, formed defensive positions on

14768-607: The outbreak of the 1916 Arab Revolt during World War I , which ended four centuries of stagnation under Ottoman rule. The revolt was led by Sharif Hussein of Mecca, scion of the Hashemite family of the Hejaz, and his sons Abdullah , Faisal and Ali . Locally, the revolt garnered the support of the Transjordanian tribes, including Bedouins, Circassians and Christians . The Allies of World War I , including Britain and France whose imperial interests converged with

14910-575: The past for the developing human species. Genetic studies indicate that during the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods, the Levantine corridor, of which the Jordan Valley is one part, was more important for bi-directional human migrations between Africa and Eurasia than was the Horn of Africa. Nowadays the Jordan Valley still is an essential part of one of the main migration routes for birds in

15052-408: The peace treaty. On 7 February 1999, Abdullah II ascended the throne upon the death of his father Hussein, who had ruled for nearly 50 years. Abdullah embarked on economic liberalization when he assumed the throne, and his reforms led to an economic boom which continued until 2008. Abdullah II has been credited with increasing foreign investment, improving public-private partnerships and providing

15194-507: The plan was rejected by the Arab League, both Israel and Jordan undertook to abide by their allocations under the plan. The US provided funding for Israel's National Water Carrier after receiving assurances from Israel that it would continue to abide by the plan's allocations. Similar funding was provided for Jordan's East Ghor Main Canal project after similar assurances were obtained from Jordan. The Israeli National Water Carrier of Israel

15336-670: The political boundary of the Jordan River. The Jordanian (North Ghor) IBA on the eastern side covers some 6,000 ha, with the Israeli one covering 7,000 ha of the western side. Significant bird populations for which the IBAs were designated, including resident, wintering and passage migrant species, comprise the following: black francolins , marbled teals , black and white storks , black-crowned night herons , cattle and little egrets , collared and black-winged pratincoles , Egyptian vultures , European honey-buzzards , Levant sparrowhawks and Dead Sea sparrows . The Jordan valley

15478-454: The population) was evacuated under British military protection on 18 April 1948 following clashes in the mixed city. The Battle of Mishmar HaEmek in April 1948 a strategic settlement located on the route to the valley was successfully defended by Jewish forces, and Arab positions surrounding it were captured in a counter-attack. The Jewish supply route to the Jordan Valley and Galilee Panhandle

15620-561: The provisions of the mandate dealing with Jewish settlement. On 11 April 1921 the Emirate of Transjordan was established with Abdullah as emir. In September 1922, the Council of the League of Nations recognized Transjordan as a state under the terms of the Transjordan memorandum . Transjordan remained a British mandate until 1946, but it had been granted a greater level of autonomy than

15762-482: The region west of the Jordan River. Multiple difficulties emerged upon the assumption of power in the region by the Hashemite leadership. In Transjordan, small local rebellions at Kura in 1921 and 1923 were suppressed by Abdullah's forces with the help of the British. Wahhabis from Najd regained strength and repeatedly raided the southern parts of his territory, seriously threatening the emir's position. The emir

15904-818: The route that connected Syria to the Hejaz. Several of the Ayyubid castles were used and expanded by the Mamluks (1260–1516), who divided Transjordan between the provinces of Karak and Damascus. During the next century Transjordan experienced Mongol attacks, but the Mongols were ultimately repelled by the Mamluks at the Battle of Ain Jalut (1260). In 1516 the Ottoman Caliphate 's forces conquered Mamluk territory . Agricultural villages in Transjordan witnessed

16046-482: The secret 1916 Sykes–Picot Agreement , which divided the region into French and British spheres of influence, and the 1917 Balfour Declaration , in which Britain announced its support for the establishment of a "national home" for Jews in Palestine. This was seen by the Hashemites and the Arabs as a betrayal of their previous agreements with the British, including the 1915 McMahon–Hussein Correspondence , in which

16188-505: The term "Jordan Valley" often applies just to the lower course of the Jordan River , from the spot where it exits the Sea of Galilee in the north, to the end of its course where it flows into the Dead Sea in the south. In a wider sense, the term may also cover the Dead Sea basin and the Arabah valley, which is the rift valley segment beyond the Dead Sea and ending at Aqaba / Eilat , 155 km (96 mi) farther south. The valley, in

16330-524: The term is used to denote the lands east of the river. The Hebrew Bible uses the term עבר הירדן Ever ha'Yarden ( lit.   ' the other side of the Jordan ' ) for the area. Early Arab chronicles call the river Al-Urdunn (a term cognate to the Hebrew Yarden ). Jund Al-Urdunn was a military district around the river in the early Islamic era. Later, during the Crusades in

16472-608: The throne in 1953 at age 17. Jordan witnessed great political uncertainty in the following period. The 1950s was a period of political upheaval, as Nasserism and Pan-Arabism swept the Arab World. On 1 March 1956, King Hussein Arabized the command of the Army by dismissing a number of senior British officers, an act made to remove remaining foreign influence in the country. In 1958, Jordan and neighbouring Hashemite Iraq formed

16614-648: The total Jordanian was always high, and the 1967 refugees further increased their number. After the Six-Day War in 1967, the PLO and Fatah stepped up their guerrilla attacks against Israel from Jordanian soil, using the Jordan Valley town of Karameh as their headquarters. The Israeli army attacked this base in March 1968 in the Battle of Karameh which ended in the destruction of the PLO base, deaths on both sides, destruction of property, and an Israeli withdrawal. In Palestinian enclaves and refugee camps in Jordan,

16756-489: The trust of Transjordan's tribal leaders before scrambling to convince them of the benefits of an organized government. Abdullah's successes drew the envy of the British, even when it was in their interest. The British reluctantly accepted Abdullah as ruler of Transjordan after having given him a six-month trial. In March 1921, the British decided to add Transjordan to their Mandate for Palestine , in which they would implement their " Sharifian Solution " policy without applying

16898-467: The upper Senate are directly appointed by the king, the constitution mandates that they be veteran politicians, judges and generals who previously served in the government or in the House of Representatives. The 130 members of the lower House of Representatives are elected through party-list proportional representation in 23 constituencies for a 4-year term. Minimum quotas exist in the House of Representatives for women (15 seats, though they won 20 seats in

17040-596: The valley, to Israeli settlements . Annexation of the Jordan Valley to Israel has been proposed by a variety of Israeli politicians, most recently Benjamin Netanyahu in September 2019. According to the definition used in this article, what is elsewhere sometimes termed the Upper Jordan Valley is not considered part of the Jordan Valley. The Upper Jordan Valley comprises the Jordan River sources and

17182-549: The vegetation becomes more scrubby and transitions to steppe-type vegetation. Forests cover 1.5 million dunums (1,500 km ), less than 2% of Jordan, making Jordan among the world's least forested countries, the international average being 15%. Plant species and genera include the Aleppo pine , Sarcopoterium , Salvia dominica , black iris , Tamarix , Anabasis , Artemisia , Acacia , Mediterranean cypress and Phoenecian juniper . The mountainous regions in

17324-492: The village. The population of the Jordan Valley fled in disproportionate numbers compared to the rest of the West Bank. According to some estimates, the population of the Jericho sub-district which is in the Jordan Valley area decreased from around 79,407 in May 1967 to 10,800 in the September 1967 census or 83% compared to an estimate of 850,343 to 661,757 or 23% for the entire West Bank. The proportion of Palestinians in Jordan of

17466-534: The war. The Arab states were defeated, and Jordan lost control of the West Bank to Israel. The War of Attrition with Israel followed, which included the 1968 Battle of Karameh where the combined forces of the Jordanian Armed Forces and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) repelled an Israeli attack on the Karameh camp on the Jordanian border with the West Bank. Despite the fact that

17608-453: 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 the country'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 developed in Transjordan during

17750-816: The world; within the region, it constitutes the Eastern Route which, together with the parallel Western Route and the Southern-Eilat Mountains Route, allow an estimated 500 million birds belonging 200 species to fly across Israel twice a year - in spring from here or from Africa towards their breeding places in Asia and Europe, and in autumn on the way back to their winter home in the Levant or in Africa. The northern Jordan valley has two adjoining and complementary Important Bird Area (IBAs) recognised by BirdLife International , separated only by

17892-484: Was forcibly ended in 1841, with Ottoman rule restored. Only after Pasha's campaign did the Ottoman Empire try to solidify its presence in the Syria Vilayet , which Transjordan was part of. A series of tax and land reforms ( Tanzimat ) in 1864 brought some prosperity back to agriculture and to abandoned villages; the end of virtual autonomy led a backlash in other areas of Transjordan. Muslim Circassians and Chechens , fleeing Russian persecution , sought refuge in

18034-459: Was a temporary, practical measure and that Jordan was holding the territory as a "trustee" pending a future settlement. King Abdullah was assassinated at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1951 by a Palestinian militant, amid rumors he intended to sign a peace treaty with Israel. Abdullah was succeeded by his son Talal , who established the country's modern constitution in 1952. Illness caused Talal to abdicate to his eldest son Hussein , who ascended to

18176-453: Was agreed that he would administer the territory east of the Jordan River, Emirate of Transjordan . The area west of the Jordan river was allocated in 1922 to the Mandatory Palestine under British Administration. The Jordan river, in the middle of the Jordan valley, was the border between these two entities. This agreement split the Jordan valley, which during Ottoman times was under a single administration, to two distinct entities. Following

18318-469: Was completed in 1964, and coupled with increased closing of Degania Dam , greatly decreased the flow of water from the Sea of Galilee down to Jordan Valley. The Jordanian East Ghor Main Canal was completed in stages between 1961 and 1966, and likewise diverts a significant amount of water from the Jordan river. While providing benefits elsewhere by utilization of fresh water, the combined result of both of these projects and subsequent management and usage,

18460-468: Was founded in the vicinity of the power plant. The plant remained in operation until the war of 1948. Under the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine the northern portion of the western side of the valley would have been assigned to the Jewish state, and the southern portion to an Arab state. However hostilities between the Arabs and Jews commenced soon after the UN resolution as 1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine . The Jewish settlements in

18602-450: Was further secured by the Battle of Ramat Yohanan and a modus vivendi agreed with Druze in the Galilee . Subsequently, Operation Yiftach further opened up supply lines via Safed . In the lead up to the full 1948 Arab–Israeli War , Naharayim, Tel-Or, and Gesher were shelled on 27–29 April 1948 by the Arab Legion . The power plant workers and their families without a Jordanian ID card evacuated into Mandatory Palestine. On 15 May 1948,

18744-423: Was granted a 70-year concession for the construction of hydroelectric plants along the Jordan River; the only plant built was the First Jordan Hydro-Electric Power House in the Jordan valley at the confluence of the Yarmouk River with the Jordan River near Naharayim . The Naharayim plant was a major source of electricity to the British Mandate and the Emirate of Transjordan. An adjacent company town, Tel Or ,

18886-468: Was instrumental in blocking the Iraqi-Jordanian incursion. On 20 May 1948, after a failure to reach an agreement with Transjordan 's King Abdullah , the southern Jordan valley Beit HaArava and the nearby north Dead sea Kalia were abandoned due to their isolation amidst Arab settlements. The residents and fighters of the villages evacuated via boat over the Dead Sea to the Israeli post at Sodom . Concurrently, on 14 May Syrian forces began attacking via

19028-489: Was part of. During this period, the southernmost region of the country, including Ma'an and Aqaba , was also claimed by the neighbouring Kingdom of Hejaz . The nascent Hashemite Kingdom over the region of Syria was forced to surrender to French troops on 24 July 1920 during the Battle of Maysalun ; the French occupied only the northern part of Syria, leaving Transjordan in a period of interregnum . Arab aspirations failed to gain international recognition, due mainly to

19170-416: Was raised to the status of a kingdom under the name of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Arabic, with Abdullah as its first king; although it continued to be referred to as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan in English until 1949. 25 May is now celebrated as the nation's Independence Day , a public holiday . Jordan became a member of the United Nations on 14 December 1955. On 15 May 1948, as part of

19312-481: Was re-introduced to the Jordanian parliament in the 2016 general election , a move which he said would eventually lead to establishing parliamentary governments. Jordan was left largely unscathed from the violence that swept the region despite an influx of 1.4 million Syrian refugees into the natural resources-lacking country and the emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). On 4 April 2021, 19 people were arrested , including Prince Hamzeh ,

19454-400: Was signed on 26 October 1994. In 1997, in retribution for a bombing , Israeli agents entered Jordan using Canadian passports and poisoned Khaled Mashal , a senior Hamas leader living in Jordan. Bowing to intense international pressure, Israel provided an antidote to the poison and released dozens of political prisoners, including Sheikh Ahmed Yassin , after King Hussein threatened to annul

19596-461: Was the Allon Plan formulated in 1967–1968. This Israeli position (which has also been held by the Yitzhak Rabin government that signed the Oslo Accords ) stems from the narrowness of the Israeli coastal plain , the geographic defensive barrier created by the Jordan valley, and the demographic realities (lack of a significant Arab population in the valley that would impact the overall demographics of Israel). Israel has constructed settlements in

19738-415: Was to be kept separate from that of Palestine. The second meeting took place in Umm Qais on 2 September, where the British representative Major Fitzroy Somerset received a petition that demanded: an independent Arab government in Transjordan to be led by an Arab prince (emir); land sale in Transjordan to Jews be stopped as well as the prevention of Jewish immigration there; that Britain establish and fund

19880-411: Was to greatly reduce the flow of water through the Jordan valley. The flow rate of the Jordan River once was 1.3 billion cubic meters per year; as of 2010, just 20 to 30 million cubic metres per year flow into the Dead Sea. The Arab League which objected to Israeli National Water Carrier approved in 1964 the Headwater Diversion Plan (Jordan River) which would have diverted two of the three sources of

20022-426: Was unable to repel those raids without the aid of the local Bedouin tribes and the British, who maintained a military base with a small Royal Air Force detachment close to Amman. The Treaty of London , signed by the British government and the Emir of Transjordan on 22 March 1946, recognised the independence of the state. On 25 May 1946, the day that the treaty was ratified by the Transjordan parliament, Transjordan

20164-493: Was under control of the Ottoman Empire from their victory over the Mamluks in 1486, which involved a small battle in the valley en route to Khan Yunis and Egypt , until 1918. The Ottoman internal administrative divisions varied throughout the period with the Jordan river being at times a provincial border, and at times not. However the valley was contained within the group of provinces termed Ottoman Syria . Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem during some periods contained both banks of

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