Jordan- The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Jordan officially the
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (
Arabic: المملكة الأردنية الهاشمية), Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) and also known as the 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 east,
Syria to the north and
West Bank and
Israel to the west, sharing control of the
Dead Sea. Jordan's only port is at its southern 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.
During its history, Jordan has seen numerous civilizations, 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 political sovereignty and influence in Jordan were:
Akkadian,
Assyrian,
Israelite/
Judean, Babylonian, and
Persian empires. The lands of Jordan were for a time under the rule of
Pharaonic Egypt, composed part of the greater
Kingdom of Israel (including the later Judaean
Kingdom, Hasmonaen Kingdom of Israel and
Herodian Dynasty), and notably, the region of Jordan also gave birth to the
Nabataean civilization which left rich archaeological remains at
Petra, one of the
New Seven Wonders of the
World located in the
Ma'an Governorate. Cultures further west also left their mark, such as the
Macedonian/Greek/
Hellenistic,
Roman,
Byzantine, and Ottoman empires. Since the seventh century, the area has been under the primary rule of Muslim and
Arab cultures, with the exceptions briefly for the area in
Western Jordan during the
Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, and for the entire region during the early-mid twentieth century under
British rule which led to Jordan's establishment as an autonomous state.
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a constitutional monarchy with representative 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.
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 nations in the region, 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.
SOURCE :
WIKIPEDIA