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(June 2010) Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan المملكة الردنية الهاشمية Al-Mamlakah al-ʾ Urdunniyyah al-Hāšimiyyah Flag Coat of arms ال، الوطن، المليك :Motto: Arabic Transliteration: Allah Al-Watan Al-Malek Translation: "God,Homeland,The King" ككك كككككك :Anthem The Royal Anthem of Jordan > ("As-salam al-malaki al-urdoni")1 Long Live the King Amman Capital 31°57′N 35°56′E / 31.95°N 35.933°E / 31.95; 35.933 Official language(s) Arabic [1] Arabic, English, French, Spoken languages Circassian, Levantine Arabic, Chechen, Turkish Demonym Jordanian Government Constitutional monarchy - King of Jordan Abdullah II - Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit Independence End of British League - of Nations mandate 25 May 1946 Area 92,300 km 2 (111th) - Total 35,637 sq mi - Water (%) 0.8 Population - July 2010 estimate 6,407,085[2] (102nd) - July 2004 census 5,611,202 68.4/km2 (131st) - Density 138.8/sq mi GDP (PPP) 2010 estimate - Total $35.3 billion[3] - Per capita $5,956 [4] GDP (nominal) 2010 estimate - Total $27.129 billion - Per capita $4,435[5] Gini (2002–03) 38.8 (medium) HDI (2010) 0.681[6] (high) (82nd) Currency Jordanian dinar (JOD) Time zone UTC+2 (UTC+2) - Summer (DST) UTC+3 (UTC+3) Drives on the Right ISO 3166 code JO Internet TLD .jo Calling code 962 1 Also serves as the Royal anthem. Al-'Urdunn), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of ,الردن :Jordan ( i / ˈ dʒ ɔr d ən /: Arabic Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) and ,(المملكة الردنية الهاشمية :Jordan (Arabic also known as JK (short for The Jordanian Kingdom), is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan in Western Asia. It borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel 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. The territory of Jordan had been occupied by many civilizations before the creation of the modern state, including those of the Ancient Near East with the Canaanite and later other Semitic peoples such as the Edomites, and the Moabites. Other civilizations possessing the territory east of the river Jordan were: Akkadian, Assyrian, Israelite/Judean, Babylonian, and Persian empires. For a time the lands of the Jordan valley were under the rule of Pharaonic Egypt, including parts of the greater Kingdom of Israel, the later Judaean Kingdom, Hasmonaen Kingdom of Israel and the Herodian Dynasty). The region of the Jordan Valley was also inhabited by the Nabataean civilization which left rich archaeological remains at Petra, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World located in the modern Ma'an Governorate. Cultures from the west bank of the Jordan river also left archaeological evidence of their influence, notably the Macedonian/Greek/Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman empires. The Muslim Arabs occupied the region from the seventh century until the creation of the Kingdom of Karak during the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.[7] The kingdom was later taken over by the Seljuk Turks, and later the entire region was governed by the Ottoman Empire until 1918 imposition of the British rule which led to the 1922 creation of an autonomous region of Transjordan, later the independent state of Jordan. Modern Jordan is predominantly urbanized. Jordan is classified as a country of "high human development" by the 2010 Human Development Report.[8] 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. It also became a major non-NATO ally of the United States in 1996, and is one of only two Arab nations, the other being Egypt, that have diplomatic relations with Israel.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] It is a founding member of the Arab League,[17] the WTO,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] the AFESD,[26] the Arab Parliament,[27] the AIDMO, the AMF,[28] the IMF,[29][30] the International Criminal Court,[31] the UNHRC,[32] the GAFTA, the ESCWA,[33] the ENP [34] [35] [36] and the United Nations.[37] Jordan is also currently undergoing close integration with the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Jordan enjoys "advanced status" with the European Union.[38] Contents • 1 History ○ 1.1 Etymology ○ 1.2 History of habitation ○ 1.3 After the Ottoman Empire ○ 1.4 Modern Jordan 1.4.1 2011 Jordanian protests • 2 Geography ○ 2.1 Climate • 3 Government ○ 3.1 Kings ○ 3.2 Parliament ○ 3.3 Constitution ○ 3.4 Legal system and legislation ○ 3.5 Police ○ 3.6 Foreign relations ○ 3.7 Military ○ 3.8 Peacekeeping abroad • 4 Politics ○ 4.1 Political parties ○ 4.2 Human rights • 5 Demographics ○ 5.1 Religion ○ 5.2 Language ○ 5.3 Health ○ 5.4 Quality of life ○ 5.5 Education 5.5.1 School education 5.5.2 Higher education • 6 Economy ○ 6.1 Natural resources ○ 6.2 Currency and exchange rates ○ 6.3 Tourism 6.3.1 Medical tourism 6.3.2 Nature reserves 6.3.3 Influence of the Southwest Asian conflict 6.3.3.1 Opportunity cost of the conflict ○ 6.4 Transportation ○ 6.5 Defence industry • 7 Culture • 8 Globalization • 9 List of Jordanians • 10 See also • 11 References • 12 Further reading • 13 External links [edit] History [edit] Etymology The kingdom is named after the river Jordan. The name "Jordan" derives from the meaning الردن Semitic languages and has multiple meanings (Ancient Arabian Yrd and Canaanite), via the ירד Arda, Hebrew root أرد Steep/Slope" from the root" Aramaic Yarden meaning "one who descends". [edit] History of habitation Main article: History of Jordan The ancient city of Petra, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. The Mesha stele as photographed circa 1891. The stele describes the wars of king Mesha of Moab against the Israelites. One of the most prominent, ancient states geographically located in what is now the State ,ְנָביֹות :Al-Anbāt) (Hebrew ,النباط :of Jordan, was the Nabatean Kingdom (Arabic Nevayōt), with their capital at Petra, an ancient Semitic people who inhabited the wilderness region east of Israel/Judaea from Edom to Syria, northwest of the Arabian peninsula. The Nabataeans developed the North Arabic Script, with their language an intermediary between Hebrew, Aramaean, and that which evolved into the Modern Arabic script. During its peak, the Nabataean Kingdom controlled regional trade routes by dominating a large area southwest of the fertile crescent, which included the whole of modern Jordan extending from Syria in the North to the northern Arabian Peninsula in the south. As a result, Petra enjoyed independence, prosperity and wealth for hundreds of years until it was absorbed by the Persian Empire and later the Roman Empire which was still expanding in 100 CE. Various ancient sovereign kingdoms in the region of Jordan, in addition to the Nabataeans, have included the Kingdoms of Edom, Ammon, Moab, Israel/Judah, all of which are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and other ancient Near Eastern documents.[39] During the Greco-Roman period of influence, a number of semi-independent city-states also developed in the region of Jordan under the umbrella of the Decapolis including: Gerasa (Jerash), Philadelphia (Amman), Raphana (Abila), Dion (Capitolias), Gadara (Umm Qays), and Pella (Irbid). Later, the lands of Jordan became part of the Islamic Empire across its different Caliphates' stages, including the Rashidun Empire, Umayyad Empire and Abbasid Empire. After the decline of the Abbasid, the region of Jordan was ruled by several conflicting powers including the Mongols, the Christian Crusaders, the Ayyubids and the Mamluks until it became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1516.[40] [edit] After the Ottoman Empire Adyghe (Circassian) horsemanship in Transjordan, April 1921 With the break-up of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I, the League of Nations and the occupying powers chose to redraw the borders of the Eastern Mediterranean. The ensuing decisions, most notably the Sykes–Picot Agreement, gave birth to the French Mandate of Syria and British Mandate of Palestine. In September 1922, Transjordan was formally created from within the latter, after the League of Nations approved the British Transjordan memorandum which stated that the Mandate territories east of the River Jordan would be excluded from all the provisions dealing with Jewish settlement.[41] The country was under British supervision until after World War II. In 1946, the British requested that the United Nations approve an end to British Mandate rule in Transjordan. Following the British request, the Transjordanian Parliament proclaimed King Abdullah as the first ruler of the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. Abdullah I continued to rule until a Palestinian Arab assassinated him in 1951 as he was departing from the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Jordan occupied the area of Cisjordan (Judaea/Samaria) now known as West Bank, which it continued to control in accordance with the 1949 Armistice Agreements and a political union formed in December 1948.

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