Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan اَلمَمْلَكَة اَلأُرْدُنِيَّة اَلهَاشِمِيَّة Al-Mamlakah Al-Urdaniyyah Al-Hashimiyyah
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Arabic: الله، الوطن، الملك Transliteration: Allah, Al-Watan, Al-Malek Translation: "God, Country, The King"
Anthem: عاش الملك   The Royal Anthem of Jordan   ("As-salam al-malaki al-urdoni")1 Long Live the King
Capital		Amman 31°57′N 35°56′E / 31.95°N 35.933°E / 31.95; 35.933
Official language(s)		Arabic[1]
Spoken languages		English, French, Circassian (Adyghe&Kabardey) Chechen, Armenian Persian, Kurdish, Turkish
Ethnic groups		Arab 98% Circassian 1% Armenian 1%
Demonym		Jordanian
Government		Constitutional monarchy[2]
-	King	Abdullah II
-	Prime Minister	Fayez al-Tarawneh
Legislature		Parliament
-	Upper house	Senate
-	Lower house	Chamber of Deputies
Independence
-	End of British League of Nations mandate	25 May 1946
Area
-	Total	89,342 km2 (112th) 35,637 sq mi
-	Water (%)	0.8
Population
-	July 2011 estimate	6,508,271[3] (106th)
-	July 2004 census	5,611,202
-	Density	68.4/km2 (133st) 138.8/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$36.893 billion[4] (98th)
-	Per capita	$5,899[4] (108th)
GDP (nominal)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$29.233 billion[4] (90th)
-	Per capita	$4,674[4] (96th)
Gini (2002–03)		38.8 (medium)
HDI (2011)		0.698[5] (medium) (95th)
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, الاردن.
Calling code		962
1	Also serves as the Royal anthem.

Jordan ( /ˈdʒɔr.dən/;^[6] Arabic: اَلأُرْدُنّ, Al-'Urdunn), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Arabic: اَلمَمْلَكَة اَلأُرْدُنِيَّة اَلهَاشِمِيَّة), Al-Mamlakah Al-Urdaniyyah Al-Hashimiyyah) 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 and Israel to the west, sharing control of the Dead Sea with the latter. Jordan's only port is at its south-western tip, at the Gulf of Aqaba, which is shared with Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Over half of Jordan is covered by the Arabian Desert. However, the western part of Jordan is arable land and forests. Jordan is part of the Fertile Crescent. The capital city is Amman. According to the CIA World Factbook, Jordan has the second highest life expectancy in the Middle East, after Israel. The average life expectancy is one position behind the United Kingdom, although the age remains exactly the same (80.05 years).^[7]

The precursor to modern Jordan was founded in 1921 as the Hashemite Emirate, 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 became an independent sovereign state officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. After capturing the West Bank area of Cisjordan during the 1948–49 war with Israel, Abdullah I took the title King of Jordan and Palestine, and he officially changed the country's name to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in April 1949.

Modern Jordan is classified as a country of "medium human development"^[8] by the 2011 Human Development Report, and an emerging market with a free market economy by the CIA World Fact Book. Jordan has an "upper middle income" economy.^[9] Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States went into effect in December, 2001 phased out duties on nearly all goods and services between the two countries. Jordan has also enjoyed "advanced status" with the European Union since December 2010^[10] as well as being a member of the Euro-Mediterranean free trade area. Jordan has more Free Trade Agreements than any other country in the region. It has close relations with the United States and the United Kingdom, and became a major non-NATO ally of the United States in 1996. Jordan is a founding member of the Arab League,^[11] and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Jordan was invited to Join the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Jordan was the first Arab and Middle Eastern state to join the International Criminal Court. The Jordanian Government is one of three members of the 22 Arab League states to maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, the others being the Egyptian and Palestinian governments.^[12][13]

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Jordan
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Climate  · Governorates  · Nahias Cities  · The Mediterranean Dead Sea  · Red Sea  · River Jordan Nature reserves  · Extreme points
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Pre-modern history
Ammon  · Moab  · Edom Nabataeans  · Ghassanids Islamic Empire  · Oultrejordain Greater Syria  · Ottoman Empire
Hashemite rule
Hashemites  · Arab Revolt Sykes-Picot  · Transjordan memo. British Mandate  · Emirate of Transjordan Kura Rebellion  · Adwan Rebellion  · Ikhwan raids 1948 War  · 1967 War  · Black September Israel–Jordan Treaty of Peace  · 2011 protests
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Etymology[link]

The kingdom is named after the River Jordan. The name "Jordan" derives from ancient Semitic and has the following meaning from Canaanite root Arda, and eventually Hebrew Yorad (יורד) and Aramaic Yarden (ירדן) meaning "down-flowing" or "one who descends" in the root Yrd (ירד). This refers to the Jordan river, that down flows to the Dead sea. In Arabic the term Al-Urdunn (الأردن) is meaning "Steep/Slope" from the root Ard/Yrd (يرد/أرد ).

Geography[link]

Jordan lies between latitudes 29° and 34° N, and longitudes 35° and 40° E (a small area lies west of 35°). It consists of an arid plateau in the east, irrigated by oasis and seasonal water streams, with highland area in the west of arable land and Mediterranean evergreen forestry.

The Roman Oval Piazza in the ancient city of Jerash

The Jordan Rift Valley of the Jordan River separates Jordan from the West Bank and Israel. The highest point in the country is Jabal Umm al Dami, at 1,854 m (6,083 ft) above sea level, its top is also covered with snow, while the lowest is the Dead Sea −420 m (−1,378 ft). Jordan is part of a region considered to be "the cradle of civilization", the Levant region of the Fertile Crescent. Major cities include the capital Amman and as-Salt in the west, Irbid, Jerash and Zarqa, in the northwest and Madaba, Karak and Aqaba in the southwest. Major towns in the eastern part of the of the country are the oasis town of Azraq and Ruwaished.

Climate[link]

The climate in Jordan is semi-dry in summer with average temperature in the mid 30 °C (86 °F) (mid 90°F) and relatively cold in winter averaging around 13 °C (55 °F). The western part of the country receives greater precipitation during the winter season from November to March and snowfall in Amman (756 m (2,480 ft) ~ 1,280 m (4,199 ft) above sea-level) and Western Heights of 500 m (1,640 ft). Excluding the rift valley the rest of the country is entirely above 300 m (984 ft)(SL).^[14] The weather is humid from November to March and semi dry for the rest of the year. With hot, dry summers and cool winters during which practically all of the precipitation occurs, the country has a Mediterranean-style climate. In general, the farther inland from the Mediterranean a given part of the country lies, the greater are the seasonal contrasts in temperature and the less rainfall.

Atmospheric pressures during the summer months are relatively uniform, whereas the winter months bring a succession of marked low pressure areas and accompanying cold fronts. These cyclonic disturbances generally move eastward from over the Mediterranean Sea several times a month and result in sporadic precipitation.

Most of the land receives less than 620 mm (24.4 in) of rain a year and may be classified as a semi dry region. Where the ground rises to form the highlands east of the Jordan Valley, precipitation increases to around 300 mm (11.8 in) in the south and 500 mm (19.7 in) or more in the north. The Jordan Valley, forms a narrow climatic zone that annually receives up to 900 mm (35.4 in) of rain in the northern reaches; rain dwindles to less than 120 mm (4.7 in) at the head of the Dead Sea.

The country's long summer reaches a peak during August. January is usually the coldest month. The fairly wide ranges of temperature during a twenty-four-hour period are greatest during the summer months and have a tendency to increase with higher elevation. Daytime temperatures during the summer months frequently exceed 29 °C (84.2 °F) and average about 32 °C (89.6 °F). September to March are moderately cool and sometimes very cold, averaging about 3.2 °C (37.8 °F). Except in the rift depression, frost is fairly common during the winter, it may take the form of snow at the higher elevations of the north western highlands. Usually it snows a couple of times in the winter.

For a month or so before and after the summer dry season, hot, dry air from the desert, drawn by low pressure, produces strong winds from the south or southeast that sometimes reach gale force. Known in Western Asia by various names, including the khamsin, this dry, sirocco-style wind is usually accompanied by great dust clouds. Its onset is heralded by a hazy sky, a falling barometer, and a drop in relative humidity to about 10%. Within a few hours there may be a 10 °C (18.0 °F) to 15 °C (27.0 °F) rise in temperature. These windstorms ordinarily last a day or so, cause much discomfort, and destroy crops by desiccating them.

The shamal comes from the north or northwest between June and September. Steady during daytime hours but becoming a breeze at night, the shamal may blow for nine days out of ten and then repeat the process. It originates as a dry continental mass of polar air that is warmed as it passes over the Eurasian landmass.

Petra, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World

History of Jordan[link]

Ancient history[link]

In antiquity, the present day Jordan became a home for several ancient kingdoms including: the kingdom of Edom, the kingdom of Moab and the kingdom of Ammon. Throughout different eras of history, parts of the country were laid under the control of some regional powers including Pharaonic Egypt during their wars with the Babylonians and the Hittites; and for discrete periods of times by Israelites. The Mesha Stele recorded the glory of the King of Edom and the victories over the Israelites and other nations. The Ammon and Moab kingdoms are mentioned in ancient maps, Near Eastern documents, ancient Greco-Roman artifacts, and Christian and Jewish religious scriptures.^[15]

Classical period[link]

Due to its strategic location in the middle of the ancient world, Transjordan became to be controlled by the ancient empires of Persians and later the Macedonian Greeks, who became to dominate the region, following the conquests of Alexander the Great. It later fell under the changing influence of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire from the North and the Parthians from the East.

The Nabatean kingdom was one of the most prominent states in the region through the middle classic period, since the decline of the Seleucid control of the region in 168 BC. The Nabateans were most probably people of Arabian ancestry, who fell under the early influence of the Hellenistic and Parthian cultures, creating a unique civilized society, which roamed the roads of the deserts. They controlled the regional and international trade routes of the ancient world by dominating a large area southwest of the fertile crescent, which included the whole of modern Jordan in addition to the southern part of Syria in the north and the northern part of Arabian Peninsula in the south. The Nabataeans developed the Arabic Script, with their language as an intermediary between Aramaean and the ancient Classical Arabic, which evolved into Modern Arabic.

The Nabateans were largely conquered by the Hasmonean rulers of Judea and many of them forced to convert to Judaism in the late second century BC. However, the Nabataeans managed to maintain a sort of semi-independent kingdom, which covered most parts of modern Jordan and beyond, before it was taken by the Herodians and finally annexed by the still expanding Roman empire in 106 AD. However, apart from Petra, the Romans maintained the prosperity of most of the ancient cities in Transjordan which enjoyed a sort of city-state autonomy under the umbrella of the alliance of the Decapolis. Nabataean civilization left many magnificent archaeological sites at Petra, which is considered one of the New Seven Wonders of the World as well as recognized by the UNESCO as a world Heritage site.

Following the establishment of Roman Empire at Syria, the country was incorporated into the client Judaean Kingdom of Herod, and later the Iudaea Province. With the suppression of Jewish Revolts, the eastern bank of Transjordan was incorporated into the Syria Palaestina province, while the eastern deserts fell under Parthian and later Persian Sassanid control. During the Greco-Roman period, a number of semi-independent city-states also developed in the region of Transjordan under the umbrella of the Decapolis including: Gerasa (Jerash), Philadelphia (Amman), Raphana (Abila), Dion (Capitolias), Gadara (Umm Qays), and Pella (Irbid).

With the decline of the Eastern Roman Empire, Transjordan came to be controlled by the Christian Ghassanid Arab kingdom, which allied with Byzantium. The Byzantine site of Um er-Rasas is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Middle Ages[link]

In the seventh century, and due to its proximity to Damascus, Transjordan became a heartland for the Arabic Islamic Empire and therefore secured several centuries of stability and prosperity,^{[citation needed]} which allowed the coining of its current Arabic Islamic identity. Different Caliphates' stages, including the Rashidun Empire, Umayyad Empire and Abbasid Empire controlled the region. Several resources pointed that the Abbasid movement, was started in region of Transjordan before it took over the Umayyad empire. After the decline of the Abbasid, It was ruled by several conflicting powers including the Mongols, the Crusaders, the Ayyubids and the Mamluks until it became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1516.^[16]

The Arabic Islamic Empire has left desert palaces such as Qasr Mshatta, Qasr al Hallabat and Qasr Amra; and the castles of Ajloun and Al Karak which were used in the Crusader, Ayyubid and Mamluk eras.

In the 11th century, Transjordan witnessed a phase of instability, as it became a battlefield for the Crusade wars which ended with defeat by the Ayyubids. Jordan suffered also from the Mongol attacks which were blocked by Mamluks.

Ottoman rule[link]

In 1516, Transjordan became part of the Ottoman Empire and it remained so until 1918, when the Hashemite Army of the Great Arab Revolt took over, and secured the present day Jordan with the help and support of Transjordanian local tribes.

Hashemite domination[link]

Arab Revolt Tribal Cavalry – Tribes of Jordan and Arabia, c. 1918

Adyghe (Circassian) horsemanship in Transjordan, April 1921

During World War I, the Transjordanian tribes fought, along with other tribes of Hijaz and Levant regions, as part of the Arab Army of the Great Arab Revolt. The revolt was launched by Hashemites and led by Sherif Hussein of Mecca against the Ottoman Empire. It was supported by the Allies of World War I. The chronicle of the revolt was written by T. E. Lawrence who, as a young British Army officer, played a liaison role during the revolt. He published the chronicle in London, 1922 under the title "Seven Pillars of Wisdom",^[17] which was the base for the iconic movie "Lawrence of Arabia".

The Great Arab Revolt was successful in liberating most of the territories of Hijaz and the Levant, including the region of east of Jordan. However, it failed to gain international recognition of the region as an independent state, due mainly to the secret Sykes–Picot Agreement of 1916 and the Balfour Declaration of 1917.^{[citation needed]} This was seen by the Hashemites and the Arabs as betrayal of the previous agreements with the British, including the McMahon–Hussein Correspondence in 1915, in which the British stated their willingness to recognize the independence of the Arab state in Hijaz and the Levant. However, a compromise was eventually reached and the Emirate of Transjordan was created under the Hashemites reign.

British mandate on Transjordan[link]

In September 1922 the Council of the League of Nations recognized Transjordan as a state under the British Mandate and Transjordan memorandum excluded the territories east of the River Jordan from all of the provisions of the mandate dealing with Jewish settlement.^[18] The Permanent Court of International Justice and an International Court of Arbitration established by the Council of the League of Nations handed down rulings in 1925 which determined that both a Jewish and an Arab state in the Mandatory regions of Palestine and Transjordan were to be newly created successor states of the Ottoman Empire as defined by international law.^[19] The country remained under British supervision until 1946.

The Hashemite leadership met multiple difficulties upon assuming power in the region. The most serious threats to emir Abdullah's position in Transjordan were repeated Wahhabi incursions from Najd into southern parts of his territory.^[20] The emir was powerless to repel those raids by himself, thus the British maintained a military base, with a small air force, at Marka, close to Amman.^[20] The British military force was the primary obstacle against the Ikhwan, and was also used to help emir Abdullah with the suppression of local rebellions at Kura and later by Sultan Adwan, in 1921 and 1923 respectively.^[20]

Arar (1897-1949) Poet of Jordan

Under King Abdullah I[link]

On May 25, 1946 the United Nations approved the end of the British Mandate and recognized Transjordan as an independent sovereign kingdom. The Parliament of Transjordan proclaimed King Abdullah as the first King. The country's name was later changed from Transjordan to Jordan.

On April 24, 1950, Jordan formally annexed the West Bank and East Jerusalem, an act that was regarded as illegal and void by the Arab League. The move formed part of Jordan’s "Greater Syria Plan" expansionist policy,^[21] and in response, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Syria joined Egypt in demanding Jordan’s expulsion from the Arab League.^[22][23] A motion to expel Jordan from the League was prevented by the dissenting votes of Yemen and Iraq.^[21] On June 12, 1950, the Arab League declared the annexation was a temporary, practical measure and that Jordan was holding the territory as a “trustee” pending a future settlement.^[24][25] On July 27, 1953, King Hussein of Jordan announced that East Jerusalem was "the alternative capital of the Hashemite Kingdom" and would form an "integral and inseparable part" of Jordan.^[26]

Abdullah I was assassinated in 1951 by a Palestinian militant Mustafa Ashu, of the jihad al-muqaddas, as he was leaving the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The reason for his murder was allegedly the power rivalry of the al-Husseinis over control of Palestine, which was declared a part of the Hashemite Kingdom by Adbullah I. Though Amin al-Husseini, former mufti of Jerusalem, was not directly charged in the plot, Musa al-Husseini was among the 6 executed by Jordanian authorities, following the assassination.

Under King Hussein[link]

Jordan, which became a founding member of the Arab League in 1945 and gained independence in 1946, joined the United Nations in 1955. In 1957 it terminated the Anglo-Jordan treaty, one year after the king sacked the British personnel serving in the Jordanian Army. This act of Arabization ensured the complete sovereignty of Jordan as a fully independent nation.

Field marshal Habis Al-Majali and former prime minister Wasfi Al-Tal

In May 1967, Jordan signed a military pact with Egypt. In June 1967, it joined Egypt, Syria and Iraq in the Six Day War against Israel, which however ended in an Israeli victory and the capture of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The period following the war saw an upsurge in the activity and numbers of Arab Palestinian paramilitary elements (fedayeen) within the state of Jordan. These distinct, armed militias were becoming a "state within a state", threatening Jordan's rule of law. King Hussein's armed forces targeted the fedayeen, and open fighting erupted in June 1970. The battle in which Palestinian fighters from various Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) groups were expelled from Jordan is commonly known as Black September.

The heaviest fighting occurred in northern Jordan and Amman. In the ensuing heavy fighting, a Syrian tank force invaded northern Jordan to back the fedayeen fighters, but subsequently retreated. King Hussein urgently asked the United States and Great Britain to intervene against Syria. Consequently, Israel performed mock air strikes on the Syrian column at the Americans' request. Soon after, Syrian President Nureddin al-Atassi, ordered a hasty retreat from Jordanian soil.^[27][28] By September 22, Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo arranged a cease-fire beginning the following day. However, sporadic violence continued until Jordanian forces, led by Habis Al-Majali, with the help of Iraqi forces,^[29] won a decisive victory over the fedayeen on July 1971, expelling them, and ultimately the PLO's Yasser Arafat, from Jordan.

In 1973, allied Arab League forces attacked Israel in the Yom Kippur War, and fighting occurred along the 1967 Jordan River cease-fire line. Jordan sent a brigade to Syria to attack Israeli units on Syrian territory but did not engage Israeli forces from Jordanian territory. At the Rabat summit conference in 1974, Jordan was now in a more secure position to agree, along with the rest of the Arab League, that the PLO was the "sole legitimate representative of the [Arab] Palestinian people", thereby relinquishing to that organization its role as representative of the West Bank.

The Amman Agreement of February 11, 1985, declared that the PLO and Jordan would pursue a proposed confederation between the state of Jordan and a Palestinian state.^[30] In 1988, King Hussein dissolved the Jordanian parliament and renounced Jordanian claims to the West Bank. The PLO assumed responsibility as the Provisional Government of Palestine and an independent state was declared.^[31]

A handshake between Hussein I of Jordan and Yitzhak Rabin, accompanied by Bill Clinton, after signing the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace, October 26, 1994

In 1991, Jordan agreed to participate in direct peace negotiations with Israel at the Madrid Conference, sponsored by the US and the Soviet Union. It negotiated an end to hostilities with Israel and signed a declaration to that effect on 25 July 1994. As a result, an Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty was concluded on 26 October 1994. King Hussein was later honored when his picture appeared on an Israeli postage stamp in recognition of the good relations he established with his neighbor. Since the signing of the peace treaty, the United States not only contributes hundreds of millions of dollars in an annual foreign aid stipend to Jordan, but also has allowed it to establish a free trade zone in which to manufacture goods that will enter the US without paying the usual import taxes as long as a percentage of the material used in them is purchased in Israel.

The last major strain in Jordan's relations with Israel occurred in September 1997, when Israeli agents allegedly entered Jordan using Canadian passports and poisoned Khaled Meshal, a senior leader of Hamas. Israel provided an antidote to the poison and released dozens of political prisoners, including Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.

Under King Abdullah II[link]

Abdullah became king on 7 February 1999, upon the death of his father King Hussein. Hussein had recently named him Crown Prince on 24 January, replacing Hussein's brother Hassan, who had served many years in the position. He is the namesake of King Abdullah I, his great grandfather who founded modern Jordan.^[32]

Visiting Washington, D.C. with Queen Rania, 6 March 2007

Jordan's economy has improved greatly since Abdullah ascended to the throne in 1999, and he has been credited with increasing foreign investment, improving public-private partnerships, and providing the foundation for Aqaba's free trade zone and Jordan's flourishing ICT sector. He also set up five other special economic zones: Irbid, Ajloun, Mafraq, Ma'an and the Dead Sea. As a result of these reforms, Jordan's economic growth has doubled to 6% annually under King Abdullah's rule compared to the latter half of the 1990s.^[33] Foreign direct investment from the West as well as the countries of the Persian Gulf has continued to increase.^[34] He also negotiated a free trade agreement with the United States, which was the third free trade agreement for the U.S. and the first with an Arab country.^[35]

In 2005 BBC international published an article titled "Jordan edging towards democracy", where King Abdullah expressed his intentions of making Jordan a democratic country. According to the article, president George W. Bush "urged King Abdullah, a U.S. ally, to take steps towards democracy."^[36] Thus far, however, democratic development has been limited, with the monarchy maintaining most power and its allies dominating parliament. Elections were held in November 2010, and following the Arab Spring 2011, a new prime minister was appointed. In June 2011 the King has announced a move to a British style of Cabinet Government.

Jordan Joins the Arab Spring[link]

Starting in December 2010 with Tunisia, many of the Arab countries started to revolt against their dictators.^[37] Jordan was not an exception and became the sixth country to revolt after Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Yemen and Lebanon.^[38] One of the main causes of their first protest on January 28, 2011 was because of their prime minister Samir Rifai and his new tax policies that made the price of food skyrocket. As many as 2,500 protesters took to the streets, many of them members of the Islamic Action Front who are the main opposition to the Jordan government. Many of these protesters are appealing to King Abdullah who has the power to elect his own cabinet and prime minister. He has promised some changes, but it is unlikely that he will go so far as to expel the Prime Minister. Some of this, however, is not the governments fault, as Jordan’s economy continues to suffer with a two billion deficit and 6.1% inflation rate. In addition, unemployment is recorded at 12% and poverty at 25%. Even so, the population has risen up because of the rising taxes that they cannot afford to pay.^[39] Samir Rifai resigned in February 2011 due to pressure from the public, which in turn influenced the king to relieve him. He was succeeded by Marouf al-Bakhit who had already been the Prime Minister from 2005 to 2007 but resigned due to pressure from the public.^[40] This second time as Prime Minister did not last long, and he resigned again in October 2011 because of a parliamentary vote for him to be fired as he was not causing reforms fast enough.^[41] He was succeeded by Awn Khasawneh who was formerly a judge in the international court of Justice. Jordan’s efforts to control the Arab spring are continually deteriorating as Awn Khasawneh also resigned in April 2012 marking the third resignation of a Prime Minister in the last 18 months. The next Prime Minister will be Fayez al-Tarawneh who was in power in 1998. All of these resignations will put pressure on the King to speed up the reforms and respond to the protesters who have been unsatisfied. The protesters claim that the “...the government wants to eat [our] flesh. Raise fuel prices to fill their pockets with millions.” and they will continue to show restlessness until the government responds to their appeals.^[42]

Government[link]

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a constitutional monarchy with an appointed government. The reigning monarch is the chief executive and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The king exercises his executive authority through the prime ministers and the Council of Ministers, or cabinet. The cabinet, meanwhile, is responsible before the democratically elected House of Deputies which, along with the House of Notables (Senate), constitutes the legislative branch of the government. The judicial branch is an independent branch of the government.

King Abdullah II, Jordanian Head of State.

Queen Rania of Jordan

King Abdullah I ruled Jordan after independence from Britain. After the assassination of King Abdullah I in 1951, his son King Talal ruled briefly. King Talal's major accomplishment was the Jordanian constitution. King Talal was removed from the throne in 1952 due to mental illness. At that time his son, Hussein, was too young to rule, and hence a committee ruled over Jordan.

After Hussein reached 18, he ruled Jordan as king from 1953 to 1999, surviving a number of challenges to his rule, drawing on the loyalty of his military, and serving as a symbol of unity and stability in Jordan. King Hussein ended martial law in 1991 and legalized political parties in 1992. In 1989 and 1993, Jordan held free and fair parliamentary elections. Controversial changes in the election law led Islamist parties to boycott the 1997 elections.

King Abdullah II succeeded his father Hussein following the latter's death in February 1999. Abdullah moved quickly to reaffirm Jordan's peace treaty with Israel and its relations with the United States. Abdullah, during the first year in power, refocused the government's agenda on economic reform.

Jordan's continuing structural economic difficulties, burgeoning population, and more open political environment led to the emergence of a variety of political parties. Moving toward greater independence, Jordan's parliament has investigated corruption charges against several regime figures and has become the major forum in which differing political views, including those of political Islamists, are expressed. While the King remains the ultimate authority in Jordan, the parliament plays an important role.

Parliament[link]

The 1952 Constitution provided for the establishment of the bicameral National Assembly of Jordan (‘Majlis al-Umma’). The Parliament consists of two Chambers: The Chamber of Deputies (‘Majlis al-Nuwaab’) and the Senate (‘Majlis al-Aayan’; literally, ‘Assembly of Notables’). The Senate has 60 Senators, all of whom are directly appointed by the King,^[43] while the Chamber of Deputies/House of Representatives has 120 elected members representing 12 constituencies. Of the 120 members of the Lower Chamber, 12 seats are reserved for women, 9 seats are reserved for Christian candidates, 9 seats are reserved for Bedouin candidates, and 3 seats are reserved for Jordanians of Chechen or Circassian descent. The Constitution ensures that the Senate cannot be more than half the size of the Chamber of Deputies.

The constitution does not provide a strong system of checks and balances within which the Jordanian Parliament can assert its role in relationship to the monarch. During the suspension of Parliament between 2001 and 2003, the scope of King Abdullah II's power was demonstrated with the passing of 110 temporary laws. Two of such laws dealt with election law and were seen to reduce the power of Parliament.^[44][45]

Senators have terms of four years and are appointed by the King and can be reappointed. Prospective Senators must be at least forty years old and have held senior positions in either the government or military. Appointed Senators have included former Prime Ministers and Members of the Chamber of Deputies. Deputies are elected to also serve a four year term. Candidates must be older than thirty-five, cannot have blood ties to the King, and must not have any financial interests in government contracts.^[46]

Constitution[link]

Jordan is a constitutional monarchy based on the constitution promulgated on 8 January 1952. Executive authority is vested in the king and his council of ministers. The king signs and executes all laws. His veto power may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of both houses of the National Assembly. He appoints and may dismiss all judges by decree, approves amendments to the constitution, declares war, and commands the armed forces. Cabinet decisions, court judgments, and the national currency are issued in his name. The council of ministers, led by a prime minister, is appointed by the king, who may dismiss other cabinet members at the prime minister's request. The cabinet is accountable to the Chamber of Deputies on matters of general policy and can be forced to resign by a 50% or more of vote of "no confidence" by that body.

The constitution provides for three categories of courts: civil, religious, and special. Administratively, Jordan is divided into twelve governorates, each headed by a governor appointed by the king. They are the sole authorities for all government departments and development projects in their respective areas.

Legal system and legislation[link]

Jordan's legal system is based on French code law system via the Egyptian civil laws while Islamic law is limited to civic status legislation for Muslims. Religious minority civic status is regulated by respective religious courts. Judicial review of legislative acts occurs in a special High Tribunal. It has not accepted International Court of Justice jurisdiction.

Jordan has multi-party politics. There are over 30 political parties in Jordan from extreme left (Jordanian Communist Party) to extreme right (Islamic Action Front). Article 97 of Jordan's constitution guarantees the independence of the judicial branch, clearly stating that judges are 'subject to no authority but that of the law.' While the king must approve the appointment and dismissal of judges, in practice these are supervised by the Higher Judicial Council.

The Jordanian legal system draws upon civil traditions as well as Islamic law and custom. Article 99 of the Constitution divides the courts into three categories: civil, religious and special. The civil courts deal with civil and criminal matters in accordance with the law, and they have jurisdiction over all persons in all matters, civil and criminal, including cases brought against the government. The civil courts include Magistrate Courts, Courts of First Instance, Courts of Appeal, High Administrative Courts and the Supreme Court. The religious courts include shari’a (Islamic law) courts and the tribunals of other religious communities, namely those of the Christian minority. Religious courts have primary and appellate courts and deal only with matters involving personal law such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and child custody. Shari’a courts also have jurisdiction over matters pertaining to the Islamic waqfs. In cases involving parties of different religions, regular courts have jurisdiction.^[47]

Despite traditional male domination, the number of women lawyers has been increasing. As of mid-2006 Jordan had 1,284 female lawyers, out of a total number of 6,915, and 35 female judges from a total of 630.

A female police officer in Amman

Police[link]

Jordan ranked 24th in the world, 4th in the Middle East, in terms of police services' reliability in the Global Competitiveness Report. Jordan also ranked 13th in the world and 3rd in the Middle East in terms of prevention of organized crime, making it one of the safest countries in the world.^[48]

King Abdullah II on a visit to The Pentagon.

Foreign relations[link]

Jordan has followed a pro-Western foreign policy and maintained close relations with the United States and the United Kingdom. These relations were damaged by Jordan's neutrality and maintaining relations with Iraq during the first Gulf War. During the 1970s, King Hussein negotiated with Iran to halt the military buildup to annex the small Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain. In the 1990s, he tried to mediate the conflict between the United States and Iraq and tried to bring an end to hostilities while still condemning the Iraqi annexation of Kuwait. Jordan has historically been at the forefront of negotiating peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. King Abdullah II is the mediator between Israel and the Arab League's negotiations for peace and normalization of bilateral ties.

Following the Gulf War, Jordan largely restored its relations with Western countries through its participation in the Southwest Asia peace process and enforcement of UN sanctions against Iraq. Relations between Jordan and the Persian Gulf countries improved substantially after King Hussein's death. Following the fall of the Iraqi regime, Jordan has played a pivotal role in supporting the restoration of stability and security to Iraq. The Government of Jordan signed a memorandum of understanding with the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq to facilitate the training of up to 30,000 Iraqi police cadets at a Jordanian facility.

Vladimir Putin visiting the Baptism Site Bethany Beyond the Jordan in the Jordan Valley, 2007

Jordan signed a non-belligerency agreement with Israel in Washington, D.C. on 25 July 1994. King Hussein and Yitzhak Rabin negotiated this treaty. Jordan and Israel signed a historic peace treaty on 26 October 1994, witnessed by President Bill Clinton, accompanied by US Secretary, Warren Christopher. The US has participated with Jordan and Israel in trilateral development discussions in which key issues have been water-sharing and security; cooperation on Jordan Rift Valley development; infrastructure projects; and trade, finance, and banking issues.

Jordan and Israel had generally close relations even before the signing of the 1994 Peace Treaty. On more than one occasion, Jordan warned Israel of an impending attack by Syria and Egypt. Also, during the Black September conflict in Jordan, Israel warned Syria that any Syrian intervention on the side of the PLO against the Jordanian monarchy would result in an Israeli attack. Israel and Jordan along with Lebanon were already negotiating a peace treaty as early as the 1950s. However, this friendship has been damaged several times due to the worsening situation in the Palestinian territories and the slow peace process with the Palestinians. In Israel in 2009, several Likud lawmakers proposed a bill that called for a Palestinian state on both sides of the Jordan River, presuming that Jordan should be the alternative homeland for the Palestinians. Later, following similar remarks by the Israeli Speaker of the Knesset, twenty Jordanian lawmakers proposed a bill in the Jordanian Parliament in which the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan would be frozen. The Israeli Foreign Ministry disavowed the original proposal.^[49][50]

The Jordanian General Intelligence Department is reportedly the CIA's closest partner after Britain's MI6. Also, the release classified US cables on Wikileaks proved the depth of US-Jordan relations. Over 4,000 military cables were sent from Amman, the fifth most popular origin of US military cables worldwide, higher than from London or Tel Aviv. Jordan provides extensive strategic and logistic support to US military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the leaked military cables show that America had kept Jordan's involvement in the War on Terror quiet whether it be its rendition program or Jordan's leading of counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Jordan also participates in the multilateral peace talks. Jordan belongs to the UN and several of its specialized and related agencies, including the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the World Health Organization (WHO). Jordan also is a member of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Nonaligned Movement (NAM), and Arab League.

Military[link]

Six USAF F-16 fighters in Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Azraq. JAF F-16's can be seen to the right.

Jordanian troops in a military parade in Amman

Jordanian Special Forces

Jordan has a strong defensive army with strong support and aid from the United States, the United Kingdom and France. This is due to its critical position between Israel and the West Bank, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia with very close proximity to Lebanon and Egypt. The development of the special forces has been particularly significant, enhancing the capability of the forces to react rapidly to threats to state security, as well as training special forces from the region and beyond.^[51][52]

The Royal Special Forces is a unit of the armed forces of Jordan. The Commander was Prince Abdullah (now Abdullah II of Jordan), 1993–1996. In 2007, these forces received training from Blackwater Worldwide.^[53]

The Royal Naval Force is the Naval entity of the Jordanian Armed Forces.

The Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) (Arabic: سلاح الجو الملكي الأردني, transliterated: Silah al-Jaw Almalaki al-Urduni) is the aviation branch of the Jordanian Armed Forces and includes the Royal Jordanian Air Defence.

UN Peacekeeping force[link]

There are about 50,000 Jordanian troops working with the United Nations in peacekeeping missions across the world. These soldiers provide everything from military defense, training of native police, medical help, and charity. Jordan ranks third internationally in taking part in UN peacekeeping missions.^[54]

Jordan has dispatched several field hospitals to conflict zones and areas affected by natural disasters across the world such as Iraq, the West Bank, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Haiti, Indonesia, Congo, Liberia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sierra Leone and Pakistan. The Kingdom's field hospitals extended aid to more than one million people in Iraq, some one million in the West Bank and 55,000 in Lebanon. According to the military, there are Jordanian peacekeeping forces in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. Jordanian Armed Forces field hospital in Afghanistan has since 2002 provided assistance to some 750,000 persons and has significantly reduced the suffering of people residing in areas where the hospital operates.In some missions, the number of Jordanian troops was the second largest, the sources said.^[55] Jordan also provides extensive training of security forces in Iraq,^[56] the Palestinian territories,^[57] and the GCC.^[58]

Political parties[link]

Jordan's most executive power is the King and it is a constitutional monarchy with an appointed government. The King traditionally has held substantial power, however the democratically elected Parliament holds significant influence and power in national governance.

The reforms of 1989 legalized political parties and opposition movements. The result is over 30 political parties, but the only political party that plays a role in the legislature is the Islamic Action Front (IAF). Political parties can be seen to represent four sections: Islamists, leftists, Arab nationalists and liberals. Some other political parties in Jordan including the Jordanian Arab Democratic Party, Jordanian Socialist Party, and Muslim Centre Party, but these have little impact on the political process because of lack of organization and clear platforms on key domestic issues as well as differences and factions within these political parties.

Amman

Ar Ramtha

Ajloun

Karak

Aqaba

Azraq

Deir Alla

Irbid

Jerash

Madaba

Mafraq

Ma'an

Ruwaished

Russeifa

Shoubak

Tafilah

Petra

Salt

Wadi Rum

Zarqa

Administrative centers in Jordan