Jordan (
[color:5bc9=#00e]i /ˈdʒɔrdən/:
Arabic: الأردن, Al-'Urdunn), officially the
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (
Arabic: المملكة الأردنية الهاشمية), Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) and also known as
JK (short for The Jordanian Kingdom), is a
kingdom on the
East Bank of the
River Jordan. The country borders
Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east,
Iraq to the north-east,
Syria to the north and the
West Bank to the west, sharing control of the
Dead Sea. Jordan's only port is at its south-western tip, at the
Gulf of Aqaba, which is shared with Israel,
Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Much of Jordan is covered by the
Arabian Desert. However, the north-western part of Jordan is part of the
Fertile Crescent. The capital city is
Amman.
Modern Jordan was founded in 1921, and it was recognized by the
league of nations as a state under the British mandate in 1922 known as The Emirate of
transjordan. In 1946, Jordan joined the
United nations as an independent sovereign state officially known as the
Hashemite kingdom of Jordan.
In ancient times, the now a day Jordan was in the heart of the earlier civilizations which prospered in the
Fertile Crescent including the
Babylonian and the
Canaanites. Later, Jordan became a home for several ancient kingdoms including: the kingdom of
Edom, the kingdom of
Moab, the kingdom of
Ammon and the prominent
Nabataean kingdom of
Petra. However, across different eras of history, parts of the country laid under the control of some regional powers including the
Pharaonic Egypt during their wars with the
Babylonian and the
Hetites; and for discrete periods of times by
Israelites whose been taken under the captivity of the
Babylonian, and whose been later defeated by the
Moabites as recorded in
Mesha stele. Furthermore, and due to its strategic location in the middle of the ancient world, Jordan was also controlled by the ancient empires of
Greek, the
Persians, the
Romans and later by the
Byzantine. Yet, the
Nabataean managed to create their independent kingdom which covered most part of modern Jordan and beyond, for some centuries, before it been over taken by the still expanding
Roman empire. However, apart from Petra, the Romans maintained the prosperity of most of the ancient cities in Jordan which enjoined a sort of city-states autonomy under the umbrella of the alliance of the
Decapolis. With the decline of the
Roman Empire, Jordan became under the control of the
Ghassanid Arab kingdom. In the seventh century, and due to its proximity to
Damascus, Jordan became a heartland for the
Arabic Islamic Empire and therefore secured several centuries of stability and prosperity, which allowed the coining of its current Arabic Islamic identity. In the 11th century, Jordan witnessed an era phase of instability, as it became a battle field for the
Crusade wars which ended with defeat by the
Ayyobis. Jordan suffered also from the
Mongol attacks which was blocked by
Mamluks. In 1516, It became part of the
Ottoman Empire and it remained until 1918, when the Army of the
Great Arab Revolt took over, and secured the now a day Jordan with the help and support of Jordan local tribes.
As witness of the Jordanian rich history, the
Nabataean civilization left many magnificent
archaeological sites at
Petra, which is considered one of the
New Seven Wonders of the World as well as been recognized by the UNISCO as a
world Heritage. Beside Petra, other civilization also left their archaeological fingerprints on Jordan including the
Hellenistic and the
Roman through their ruins in
Decapolis cities of
Gerasa (
Jerash),
Gadara (Umm Qais),
Amman(
Amman), Capitolias (Beit Ras), Raphana,
Pella and
Arabella (
Irbid) and the
Byzantine site of
Um er-Rasas (a UNESCO
World Heritage Site). The
Arabic Islamic Empire also left its unique architectural signature which is embodied by dessert palaces including
Qasr Mshatta,
Qasr al Hallabat and
Qasr Amra which is recognized as
World Heritage; in addition to the castles of
Ajloun and
Karak which combine the
Crusade,
Ayyobi and
Mumlouk eras all together. The more recent
Ottomans left some landmarks including several mosques, tombs, small railway stations and castles.
Modern Jordan is predominantly urbanized. Jordan is classified as a country of "high human development" by the 2010 Human Development Report.
[6] Furthermore, The Kingdom has been classified as an
emerging market with a
free market economy by the
CIA World Fact Book. It has more
Free Trade Agreements than any other country in the region. It has a "pro-Western" regime with very close relations with the United Kingdom and the United States, and became a
major non-NATO ally of the United States in 1996. The Jordanian Government is one of only three members of the 22 state
Arab League to have
diplomatic relations with
Israel, the others being the Egyptian and Palestinian governments.
[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] It is a founding member of the
Arab League,
[15] the
WTO,
[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] the
AFESD,
[24] the
Arab Parliament,
[25] the
AIDMO, the
AMF,
[26] the
IMF,
[27][28] the
International Criminal Court,
[29] the
UNHRC,
[30] the
GAFTA, the
GCC,
[31] the
ESCWA,
[32] the
ENP[33][34][35] and the
United Nations.
[36] Jordan enjoys "advanced status" with the
European Union.
[37] 
موضوع: we love jordan 
الإثنين يونيو 06, 2011 9:16 pm
