Travel in Amman - Jordan - History - WorldTravelGate.net®-

The Kingdom of Jordan is steeped in history and had been a major site for civilization since the Palaeolithic Age. Archaeological evidence is constantly bringing to light signs of habitation from the dawn of history to the present day.

In 331B.C., the armies of Alexander the Great conquered the Near East, introducing Hellenic culture to the area. On Alexander's death in 323B.C., the Greek Empire was divided between his two generals. Jordan, Palestine and Egypt were given to General Ptolemy.

Between 400B.C. and 160A.D., the Nabataean civilization flourished in the southern part of the Kingdom. The awe-inspiring Nabataean capital of Petra is now Jordan's most popular tourist attraction.

Jordan was part of the Roman Empire between 63 and 324A.D. A league of ten cities, known as the Decapolis, was established at this time to facilitate the area's trade and commerce. Four cities in Jordan; Jeresh, Philadelphia (now Amman), Umm Qais and Pella formed part of the Decapolis.

The Byzantine period, 324 to 632A.D. saw the inhabitants of Jordan providing crops and livestock from their farmlands to sustain travellers on the caravan routes, which linked China, India and southern Arabia with Egypt, Syria and the Mediterranean.

630A.D. marked the beginning of the Arab-Islamic era. The area was ruled for two centuries by the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties of Baghdad and Damascus.

In 1099, the Crusaders arrived in Jerusalem, establishing them by building two castles in Jordan at Shobak and Kerek, to protect their conquests. In 1187, Salah al Din (known as Saladin) defeated the Crusaders at Kerek, thus leading to their complete withdrawal from the Near East.

A 300-year rule by the Mamelukes followed, after which Jordan became part of the Ottoman Empire. This period came to an end with the famous Arab Revolt, between 1915 and 1918. Jordan's modern history dates from 1921, when Emir Abdullah, the second son of Sherif Hussein, established the Emirate of Trans-Jordan as a self-governing territory under British mandate. In May 1946, Emir Abdullah was proclaimed King of the independent Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The formal union of Jordan and the West Bank was declared in 1950.

In 1953, King Hussein ibn Talal, Emir Abdullah's grandson, formally ascended the throne of Jordan. His reign continued until 7th February 1999, when he finally succumbed to cancer at the age of 63. The late King Husseien will be remembered for many achievements, but he will perhaps be remembered most of all as the "King of Peace" due to his efforts in establishing and maintaining peace in the Middle East.

Shortly before King Hussein's demise, he relieved his own brother and Crown Prince for more than 34 years Prince Hassan from his duties and appointed his eldest son Prince Abdullah as Crown Prince. On 6th February 1999, crown prince Abdullah ibn Hussein was sworn in as Regent, and was proclaimed and sworn in as King of Jordan on 7th February 1999. King Abdullah II appointed his younger brother Prince Hamza as his Crown Prince.Amman, the capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan since 1950, was one of the cities that constituted the Decapitalias, the Greko-Roman trade cities. It was then called Philadelphia. Little visible evidence remains of its Roman period, apart from the ruins of the citadels" atop one of the cit's seven hills, and the splendid Roman theater located just east of downtown. Around it swirls a cease-less traffic of a thriving, modern city. It has grown dramatically during the past four or five decades. From a small town of forty thousand, to a metropolis of one and a half million. That is more than a quarter of the country's entire population. But still Amman goes on expanding, pushing ever- outward into the surrounding desert.