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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Jordanian art has a very ancient history. Some of the earliest figurines, found at Aïn Ghazal, near Amman, have been dated to the Neolithic period. A distinct Jordanian aesthetic in art and architecture emerged as part of a broader Islamic art tradition which flourished from the 7th-century. Traditional art and craft is vested in material culture including mosaics, ceramics, weaving, silver work, music, glass-blowing and calligraphy. The rise of colonialism in North Africa and the Middle East, led to a dilution of traditional aesthetics. In the early 20th-century, following the creation of the independent nation of Jordan, a contemporary Jordanian art movement emerged and began to search for a distinctly Jordanian art aesthetic that combined both tradition and contemporary art forms. (Full article...)

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Abdullah II in 2020

Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein (born 30 January 1962) is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of the Hashemite dynasty, who have been the reigning royal family of Jordan since 1921, and is considered a 41st-generation direct descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Abdullah was born in Amman as the first child of King Hussein and his wife, Princess Muna. As the king's eldest son, Abdullah was heir apparent until Hussein transferred the title to Abdullah's uncle Prince Hassan in 1965. Abdullah began his schooling in Amman, continuing his education abroad. He began his military career in 1980 as a training officer in the Jordanian Armed Forces, later assuming command of the country's Special Forces in 1994, eventually becoming a major general in 1998. In 1993, Abdullah married Rania Al-Yassin, with whom he has four children: Crown Prince Hussein, Princess Iman, Princess Salma and Prince Hashem. A few weeks before his death in 1999, King Hussein named Abdullah his heir, and Abdullah succeeded his father. (Full article...)

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Abdullah Tal Hussein of Jordan Abdullah I of Jordan Haya bint Hussein 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 1Ibn Hathal, the Paramount Sheikh of the Anazzah (from History of Jordan)
Image 2A young Emir Sattam bin Fendi in 1848 (from History of Jordan)
Image 3The 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 4The Dana Biosphere Reserve in south central Jordan. (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 5Image showing the approximate land exchanged in 1965 between Jordan (gaining green) and Saudi Arabia (gaining red). (from History of Jordan)
Image 6Wadi Rum (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 7Al-Khazneh in Petra (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 8Al-Karak castle (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 9The critically endangered sociable lapwing (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 10Jerusalem on the Madaba Map (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 11Zahir Al Umar, who during his reign fought both the Bani Sakher and the Adwan (from History of Jordan)
Image 12King Hussein Mosque in Amman (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 13Qasr Amra a desert castle from the era of the Islamic Empire (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 14The Kerak Castle, used by the Majalis for centuries (from History of Jordan)
Image 15Ajloun Castle (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 16Statue 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 17Iron Age ramparts in Tulul adh-Dhahab, sometimes identified with the Israelite city of Mahanaim mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. (from History of Jordan)
Image 18Tourists photograph Al Khazneh (not visible) upon arriving in Petra. The Siq can be seen on the right.
Image 19Thorny burnet (Sarcopoterium spinosum) (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 20Petra (from Culture of Jordan)
Image 21Egyptian mongoose (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 22This 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 23First election in Transjordan's history on 2 April 1929. (from History of Jordan)
Image 24Majid 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 25Prince Fendi Al-Fayez in the 1870s (from History of Jordan)
Image 26Rujm 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 27Jordan 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 28The south gate in the ancient city of Jerash (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 29Tourist police kiosk at Petra (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 30The Moabite Stone, first revealed to the western world by Sattam bin Fendi (from History of Jordan)
Image 31Jerash Festival, 2018 (from Culture of Jordan)
Image 32Suleiman Mousa (1919–2008), pioneer in the modern history of Jordan and Arab Revolt. (from History of Jordan)
Image 33Petra, 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 34Amman Citadel reflects 7,000 years of Jordanian history (from History of Jordan)
Image 35Mahis in northwestern Jordan (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 36Southern Levant during Iron Age II (c. 830 BCE) (from History of Jordan)
Image 37Desert vegetation in Wadi Rum, southern Jordan. (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 38Dead Sea (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 39A large plate of Jordanian mezze in Petra (from Culture of Jordan)
Image 40The Mesha Stele (c. 840 BCE), a royal Moabite inscription commemorating the victory of Moab over the Kingdom of Israel. (from History of Jordan)

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The Azraq refugee camp is a refugee camp, located near Azraq, Jordan, built for refugees of the Syrian Civil War. It was developed, and is operated, by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in conjunction with the Government of Jordan. It first opened in April 2014. As of March 2016 it had over 32,000 refugees in it; by August 2019 that number was over 35,000. (Full article...)

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

See also: List of cities in Jordan

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Energy in Jordan

Jordan has substantial oil shale reserves underneath approximately 60% of the country.
The Baynouna Solar Power Plant, which will generate an estimated 3% of the country's power, began construction in 2017 near Amman.
In 2015, Jordan launched an initiative to have solar panels on every mosque in the country.
The Arab Gas Pipeline is a natural gas pipeline which runs north-south through Jordan, connecting Egypt with Syria and Lebanon.

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