Portal:Jordan

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 both Israel and Palestine (West Bank) to the west. The Jordan River, flowing into the Dead Sea, is located along the country's western border within the Jordan Rift Valley. 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.

Inhabited by humans since the Paleolithic period, three kingdoms developed in Transjordan during the Iron Age: Ammon, Moab and Edom. 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. After the end of Byzantine rule, the region became part of the Islamic caliphates of 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, Jordan gained independence and became officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Jordan captured and annexed the West Bank during the 1948 Palestine 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 in 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 semi-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. Jordan has a high Human Development Index, ranking 100th, 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. Jordan 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. (Full article...)

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King Hussein after checking an abandoned Israeli Centurion tank

The Battle of Karameh (Arabic: معركة الكرامة) was a 15-hour military engagement between Israel and the combined forces of Jordan and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in the Jordanian border town of Karameh during the War of Attrition on 21 March 1968. It was planned by Israel as one of two concurrent raids on PLO camps, one in Karameh along the Jordan River and the other in the distant village of Ghor es-Safi south of the Dead Sea.

After Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967, Palestinian fighters, also known as fedayeen, moved to Jordan and stepped up their attacks on Israel and the occupied territories, basing themselves in Karameh. Israel stated that it aimed to destroy fedayeen camps at Karameh, and to capture the leader of the PLO Yasser Arafat as reprisal. Israel also wanted to punish Jordan for its perceived support to the fedayeen. A large Israeli force launched an attack on the town on the dawn of 21 March, supported by fighter jets. Israel assumed the Jordanian Army would choose to not get involved in the battle, but the latter deployed heavy artillery fire, while the Palestinian irregulars engaged in guerrilla warfare. The Israelis withdrew, or were repulsed, after a day-long battle. (Full article...)

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al-Bakhit in 2011

Marouf Suleiman al-Bakhit (Arabic: معروف البخيت; 18 March 1947 – 7 October 2023) was a Jordanian politician who was twice prime minister. He first served as prime minister from 27 November 2005 until 25 November 2007 and then again from 9 February 2011 to 17 October 2011. Bakhit also held the position of Jordanian ambassador to Israel and the national security chief. Appointed prime minister by King Abdullah II less than three weeks after the 2005 Amman bombings, Bakhit's main priorities were to maintain security and stability in Jordan. He was reappointed prime minister by the King on 1 February 2011, following weeks of protests.

Al-Bakhit resigned from his post on 17 October 2011, and was succeeded by Awn Al-Khasawneh on 24 October. (Full article...)

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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 1Amman Citadel (from History of Jordan)
Image 2Zahir Al Umar, who during his reign fought both the Bani Sakher and the Adwan (from History of Jordan)
Image 3The south gate in the ancient city of Jerash (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 4Egyptian mongoose (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 5Petra (from Culture of Jordan)
Image 6Jordan 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 7Prince Fendi Al-Fayez in the 1870s (from History of Jordan)
Image 8Dead Sea (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 9A young Emir Sattam bin Fendi in 1848 (from History of Jordan)
Image 10Thorny burnet (Sarcopoterium spinosum) (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 11Jerash Festival, 2018 (from Culture of Jordan)
Image 12Desert vegetation in Wadi Rum, southern Jordan. (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 13Al-Khazneh in Petra (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 14Tourist police kiosk at Petra (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 15First election in Transjordan's history on 2 April 1929. (from History of Jordan)
Image 16Ajloun Castle (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 17Al-Karak castle (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 18Majid 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 19Swimming in the Dead Sea (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 20King Hussein Mosque in Amman (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 21The Mesha Stele (c. 840 BCE), a royal Moabite inscription commemorating the victory of Moab over the Kingdom of Israel. (from History of Jordan)
Image 22Suleiman Mousa, who did groundbreaking work on the modern history of Jordan and the Arab Revolt. (from History of Jordan)
Image 23Mahis in northwestern Jordan (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 24The Moabite Stone, first revealed to the western world by Sattam bin Fendi (from History of Jordan)
Image 25The 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 26Jerusalem on the Madaba Map (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 27View of Petra in Jordan (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 28Petra, 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 29The critically endangered sociable lapwing (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 30Image showing the approximate land exchanged in 1965 between Jordan (gaining green) and Saudi Arabia (gaining red). (from History of Jordan)
Image 31The Kerak Castle, used by the Majalis for centuries (from History of Jordan)
Image 32Qasr Amra a desert castle from the era of the Islamic Empire (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 33Wadi Rum (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 34A large plate of Jordanian mezze in Petra (from Culture of Jordan)
Image 35This 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 36The Dana Biosphere Reserve in south central Jordan. (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 37Tourists photograph Al Khazneh (not visible) upon arriving in Petra. The Siq can be seen on the right.

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The town of Russeifa

Russeifa (Arabic: الرصيفة, also spelled Ruseifa(h), Rusaifa(h), Russiefa, etc., also with preceding article el-, al-, er- or ar-) is a city in Zarqa Governorate in Jordan. It had a population of 472,604 inhabitants in 2015, making it the fourth-largest city in Jordan, after Amman, Irbid, and Zarqa. (Full article...)

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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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