paleolithic period
during the paleolithic period (c. 500,000-17,000 bce), the inhabitants of jordan hunted wild animals and foraged for wild plants, probably following the movement of animals seeking pasture and living near sources of water. the climate during this period was considerably wetter than today, and therefore large areas of modern-day desert were open plains ideal for a hunting and gathering subsistence strategy. evidence has also been found of paleolithic inhabitation near a large expanse of water at azraq. paleolithic man in jordan left no evidence of architecture, and no human skeleton from this period has yet been found. however, archaeologists have uncovered tools from this period such as flint and basalt hand-axes, knives and scraping implements. ancient man also left clues to the nature of his existence beginning in paleolithic times and continuing through the neolithic and chalcolithic eras.

neolithic period
during the neolithic period (c. 8500-4500 bce), or new stone age, three great shifts took place in the land now known as jordan. first, people settled down to community life in small villages. this corresponded to the introduction of new food sources-such as cereal agriculture, domesticated peas and lentils, and the newly-widespread practice of goat herding- into the diet of neolithic man

the iron age (c. 1200-332 bce) saw the development and consolidation of three new kingdoms in jordan: edom in the south, moab in central jordan, and ammon in the northern mountain areas. to the north in syria, the aramaeans made their capital in damascus. this period saw a shift in the level of power from individual "city-states" to larger kingdoms. one possible reason for the growth of these local kingdoms was the growing importance of the trade route from arabia, which carried gold, spices and precious metals through amman and damascus up to northern syria.

the bulk of the biblical old testament took place during this period. there is little archeological evidence to fully support the biblical account of the israelites' occupation of palestine. although archaeologists have demonstrated that certain cities supposedly taken by the israelites were indeed destroyed during this period, it is equally feasible that they may have been sacked by invading egyptian armies. it is probable that the "conquest" occurred more gradually than in the biblical narrative, with the process more akin to waves of ethnic migration than a conventional military campaign.

according to the biblical account of the exodus from egypt (c. 1270-1240 bce), the israelites requested permission to pass unharmed through the kingdom of edom. after having been denied permission, they skirted edom to the east and continued north until they reached the borders of the amorite country near madaba. not trusting the israelites' intentions, and not wishing to place the added strain of thousands of migrants upon his food and water stores, the amorite leader sihon refused them passage as well. this time, the israelites fought back and defeated sihon, occupying his territory.

according to the bible, the israelites then continued their northward trek into the kingdom of moab, where the moabite king set up an alliance between the five tribal kings of midian (the hijaz of arabia). the increasingly powerful israelites triumphed over the midianites as well, and some of the tribes settled in the conquered territories. the prophet moses apparently climbed, or was carried, to the top of mount nebo, where, according to some sources, he died. joshua then led the remaining tribes across the jordan river into palestine. a united kingdom of israel arose there about 1000 bce with saul and david as its first kings. after the death of david's son king solomon in 922 bce, the kingdom divided into two, with israel in the north and judah in the south.

the relative ease with which the israelites made their way north and west into palestine says much about the situation in egypt, which still nominally ruled the lands of jordan and palestine. attacks from the "sea peoples" of the mediterranean sea had weakened the pharaonic empire and allowed the philistines to gain a foothold on egyptian soil as well as in palestine and jordan. the primary contribution of the philistines to local culture was the introduction of iron working to the region. their superior skills in weapon-making gave them a military advantage and assisted in their early victories over the israelite tribes. by around 1000 bce, however, iron was in widespread use throughout the region.

in general, trouble for the israelites was good news for the kingdoms of jordan. the split into israel and judah in 922 bce, combined with the invasion of the egyptian shishak against israel four years later, allowed the three kingdoms a bit of breathing room and prosperity. after the death of king david around 960 bce, edom regained most of its former independence. the edomites occupied southern jordan and their capital at buseira possessed at least one large temple or palace. they were skilled in copper mining and smelting, and had settlements near modern-day petra and aqaba.

the moabites are best known from the mesha stele, a ninth-century bce stone which extols the deeds of the moabite king mesha. he won a victory over the occupying israelites, who were still clearly a major thorn in the side of the moabites. the kingdom of moab covered the center of jordan, and its capital cities were at karak and dhiban. the kingdom of ammon around 950 bce displayed rising prosperity based on agriculture and trade, as well as an organized defense policy with a series of fortresses. its capital was in the citadel of present-day amman.

the wealth of these kingdoms made them targets for raids or even conquest by the neighboring israelites, the aramaeans in damascus, and the assyrians with their capital at ashur in northern mesopotamia (modern-day iraq). from the ninth century bce on, the assyrians campaigned against the aramaeans, and in the late eighth century bce they captured damascus as well as samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of israel. the kingdoms of ammon, moab and edom retained their independence, however, by buying the assyrians off with tribute.

the assyrian empire came crashing down in 612 bce, when nineveh fell to an alliance of medes of persia and the chaldean kings of babylonia. in its place arose the babylonian empire and king nebuchadnezzar, whose defeat of the egyptians at carchemish in 605 bce threw much of the region into turmoil. considerable population shifts took place under the babylonians, exemplified by the edomites' migration from jordan into the area in southern palestine known as idumaea. in fact, there was a decline in urban development and power swung back again to nomadic tribes. in 587 bce, nebuchadnezzar ii of babylon destroyed jerusalem and deported thousands of jews to babylonia.

in 539 bce, the persians under cyrus ii ended the disruptive rule of the babylonian empire and paved the way for a period of more organized life and prosperity. the persian empire became the largest yet known in the near east, and cyrus' successors conquered egypt, northern india, asia minor, and frequently conflicted with the greek states of sparta and athens. internal turmoil continued in jordan, with numerous clashes occurring between the moabites and ammonites.

jordan and palestine were placed under the control of a persian viceroy with subordinate governors. meanwhile, cyrus freed the jews from captivity in babylonia and allowed them to rebuild the temple in jerusalem. the moabites and ammonites interpreted this as a virtual declaration of sovereignty, and hence organized attacks upon the resettled jews. they were led in this campaign by tobiah, whom the persians had appointed as governor. tobiah set up a short-lived local dynasty, but ultimately the persian leader darius i (522-486 bce) safeguarded the jewish community and the temple was rebuilt.

after establishing the greatest empire yet known in the near east, economic decline, revolts, murders and palace conspiracies weakened the persian throne. in 332 bce, alexander the great conquered the persian capital of persepolis (in modern iran) and established greek control over jordan and surrounding countries

before alexander's conquest, a thriving new civilization had emerged in southern jordan. it appears that a nomadic tribe known as the nabateans began migrating gradually from arabia during the sixth century bce. over time, they abandoned their nomadic ways and settled in a number of places in southern jordan, the naqab desert in palestine, and in northern arabia. their capital city was the legendary petra, jordan's most famous tourist attraction. although petra was inhabited by the edomites before the arrival of the nabateans, the latter carved grandiose buildings, temples and tombs out of solid sandstone rock. they also constructed a wall to fortify the city, although petra was almost naturally defended by the surrounding sandstone mountains. building an empire in the arid desert also forced the nabateans to excel in water conservation. they were highly skilled water engineers, and irrigated their land with an extensive system of dams, canals and reservoirs.

the nabateans were exceptionally skilled traders, facilitating commerce between china, india, the far east, egypt, syria, greece and rome. they dealt in such goods as spices, incense, gold, animals, iron, copper, sugar, medicines, ivory, perfumes and fabrics, just to name a few. from its origins as a fortress city, petra became a wealthy commercial crossroads between the arabian, assyrian, egyptian, greek and roman cultures. control of this crucial trade route between the upland areas of jordan, the red sea, damascus and southern arabia was the lifeblood of the nabatean empire.

we still know comparatively little about nabatean society. however, we do know that they spoke a dialect of arabic and later on adopted aramaic. much of what is now known about nabatean culture comes from the writings of the roman scholar strabo. he rcorded that their community was governed by a royal family, although a strong spirit of democracy prevailed. according to him there were no slaves in nabatean society, and all members shared in work duties. the nabateans worshipped a pantheon of deities, chief among which were the sun god dushara and the goddess allat.

as the nabateans grew in power and wealth, they attracted the attention of their neighbors to the north. the seleucid king antigonus, who had come to power when alexander's empire was divided, attacked petra in 312 bce. his army met with relatively little resistance, and was able to sack the city. the quantity of booty was so great, however, that it slowed their return journey north and the nabateans were able to annihilate them in the desert. records indicate that the nabateans were eager to remain on good terms with the seleucids in order to perpetuate their trading ambitions. throughout much of the third century bce, the ptolemies and seleucids warred over control of jordan, with the seleucids emerging victorious in 198 bce. nabatea remained essentially untouched and independent throughout this period.

although the nabateans resisted military conquest, the hellenistic culture of their neighbors influenced them greatly. hellenistic influences can be seen in nabatean art and architecture, especially at the time that their empire was expanding northward into syria, around 150 bce. however, the growing economic and political power of the nabateans began to worry the romans. in 65 bce, the romans arrived in damascus and ordered the nabateans to withdraw their forces. two years later, pompey dispatched a force to cripple petra. the nabatean king aretas iii either defeated the roman legions or paid a tribute to keep peace with them.

the assassination of julius caesar in 44 bce augured a period of relative anarchy for the romans in jordan, and the parthian kings of persia and mesopotamia took advantage of the chaotic situation to attack. the nabateans made a mistake by siding with the parthians in their war with the romans, and after the parthians' defeat, petra had to pay tribute to rome. when they fell behind in paying this tribute, they were invaded twice by the roman vassal king herod the great. the second attack, in 31 bce, saw him take control of a large swath of nabatean territory, including the lucrative northern trading routes into syria.

nonetheless, the nabateans continued to prosper for a while. king aretas iv, who ruled from 9 bce to 40 ce, built a chain of settlements along the caravan routes to develop the prosperous incense trade. the nabateans realized the power of rome, and subsequently allied themselves with the romans to quell the jewish uprising of 70 ce. however, it was only a matter of time before nabatea would fall under direct roman rule. the last nabatean monarch, rabbel ii, struck a deal with the romans that as long as they did not attack during his lifetime, they would be allowed to move in after he died. upon his death in 106 ce, the romans claimed the nabatean kingdom and renamed it arabia petrea. the city of petra was redesigned according to traditional roman architectural designs, and a period of relative prosperity ensued under the pax romana.

the nabateans profited for a while from their incorporation into the trade routes of the roman near east, and petra may have grown to house 20,000-30,000 people during its heyday. however, commerce became less profitable to the nabateans with the shift of trade routes to palmyra in syria and the expansion of seaborne trade around the arabian peninsula. sometime probably during the fourth century ce, the nabateans left their capital at petra. no one really knows why. it seems that the withdrawal was an unhurried and organized process, as very few silver coins or valuable possessions have been unearthed at petra.

pompey's conquest of jordan, syria and palestine in 63 bce inaugurated a period of roman control which would last four centuries. in northern jordan, the greek cities of philadelphia (amman), gerasa (jerash), gadara (umm qais), pella and arbila (irbid) joined with other cities in palestine and southern syria to form the decapolis league, a fabled confederation linked by bonds of economic and cultural interest.

of these, jerash appears to have been the most splendid. it was one of the greatest provincial cities in rome's empire, and was honored by a visit of the emperor hadrian himself in 130 ce. in southern jordan, the kingdom of nabatea retained its independence until 106 ce, when emperor trajan's forces took control of the region.

roman road-builders followed soon after the military, and in 111 ce the via nova triana (trajan new road) was completed. it ran from the southern port of aqaba all the way to the syrian city of bosra. forts and watch-towers were built along this and other trading routes, while amman, jerash, and umm qais were laid out with colonnaded streets and theaters. a degree of cultural tension existed between the inhabitants of jordan, who at this time largely spoke greek, and their roman occupiers who decreed that latin should be the official language of the country and that their religion should follow that of rome. nevertheless, it was generally a peaceful period during which a number of important
infrastructural developments occurred.

the byzantines' preoccupation with the sassanians diverted their attention away from what was happening in the arabian desert. for countless years marauding bedouin tribesmen had periodically staged raids to the north. what was new, however, was that the arabs who swept northward on horse and camel-back were now united by a common faith, that of islam.

after hearing the call of god, the prophet muhammad, praise be unto him (pbuh), first tried to convert the people of his home, mecca. when the meccans threatened him and his followers, they journeyed to the neighboring town of medina in the year 622 ce. this migration, known as the hijra, marks the beginning of the muslim calendar. eight years later, the prophet returned to mecca to convert its people to islam. from then on, the new faith spread rapidly throughout the middle east and north africa.

it took the arabs only ten years to fully dismantle byzantine control over the lands of jordan, palestine and syria. after two unsuccessful attacks against the byzantine garrison town of mu'ta (south of amman, near karak) in 629 ce, the muslim arab tribes regrouped for a much wider military operation. in the year 636 ce, the muslim armies overran the transjordanian highlands and won a decisive battle against the byzantines on the banks of the yarmouk river, which marks the modern border between jordan and syria. this victory opened the way to the conquest of syria, and the remaining byzantine troops were forced to retreat into anatolia only a few years later.

umayyad empire

the muslims wasted no time in taking damascus, and in 661 ce proclaimed it the capital of the umayyad empire. jordan prospered during the umayyad period (661-750 ce) due to its proximity to the capital city of damascus. its strategic geographic position also made it an important thoroughfare for pilgrims venturing to the holy muslim sites in arabia. as islam spread, the arabic language gradually came to supplant greek as the main language. christianity was still widely practiced through the eighth century.

the umayyads were comfortable and at home in the desert. they felt little need for the roman fortifications which guarded trading routes, and subsequently allowed them to fall into disrepair. however, they left an enduring legacy to bear testimony to their love of hunting, sport and leisure.

they constructed caravan stops (caravanserais), bath houses, hunting complexes and palaces in the eastern jordanian desert. these palaces are collectively known as the "desert castles." examples of umayyad artistry and ingenuity include the triple-domed qusayr ‘amra bath house with its magnificent frescoed walls, and the massive qasr al-haraneh. the greatest of all umayyad constructions is the dome of the rock mosque, built by caliph ‘abd al-malik ibn marwan in the year 691 ce, in al-quds (jerusalem).

abbasids
a powerful earthquake rocked jordan in 747 ce, destroying many buildings and perhaps contributing to the defeat of the umayyads by the abbasids three years later. the abbasids established their capital in baghdad, leaving jordan a provincial backwater far from the center of the empire. the desert castles were abandoned, and jordan now suffered more from benign neglect than from the attentions of invading armies. however, recent excavations have shown that the population of jordan continued to increase, at least until the beginning of the 9th century ce.

fatimids
in 969 ce, the fatimids of egypt took control of jordan and struggled over it with various syrian factions for about two centuries. at the beginning of the 12th century ce, however, a new campaign was launched which would once again place jordan at the center of a historical struggle. the impetus for the crusades came from a plea for help from the emperor of constantinople, alexius, who in 1095 reported to his christian european brothers that his city, the last bastion of byzantine christendom, was under imminent threat of attack by the muslim turks. the prospect of such a severe defeat prompted pope urban ii to muster support for constantinople as well as for the retaking of jerusalem.

the so-called "holy wars" thus began in 1096 ce. they resulted in the conquest of al-quds (jerusalem) by christian forces and the establishment of a kingdom there. the crusaders' interest then centered on the protection of the route to jerusalem, prompting the crusader king baldwin i to build a line of fortresses down the backbone of jordan. the most substantial of these were at karak and shobak. however, after having unified syria and egypt under his control, the muslim commander salah eddin al-ayyubi (saladin) defeated the crusaders at the battle of hittin in 1187 ce. this opened the way for the muslim armies to liberate jerusalem,
effectively eliminating the foreign domination of jordan.

ayyubid and mamluks
salah eddin founded the ayyubid dynasty, which ruled much of syria, egypt and jordan for the next eighty years. in the year 1258 ce, an invasion of mongols swept across much of the near east. the marauding invaders were eventually turned back in 1260 ce by the mamluk sultan baybars, who fought a successful battle at ein jalut. the mamluks, who were from central asia and the caucasus, seized power and ruled egypt and later jordan and syria from their capital at cairo.

the unification of syria, egypt and jordan under the ayyubids and mamluks led to another period of prosperity for jordan, as it once again occupied a key position between its two larger neighbors. castles were constructed or rebuilt, and caravanserais were built to host pilgrims and strengthen lines of communication and trade. sugar was widely produced and refined at water-driven mills in the jordan valley. however, another mongol invasion in 1401 ce, combined with weak government and widespread disease, weakened the entire region. in 1516 ce, the mamluks were defeated by the ottoman turks. jordan became part of the ottoman empire and remained so for the next 400 years.

the ottoman
the four centuries of ottoman rule (1516-1918 ce) were a period of general stagnation in jordan. the ottomans were primarily interested in jordan in terms of its importance to the pilgrimage route to mecca al-mukarrama. they built a series of square fortresses—at qasr al-dab'a, qasr qatraneh, and qal'at hasa—to protect pilgrims from the desert tribes and to provide them with sources of food and water. however, the ottoman administration was weak and could not effectively control the bedouin tribes. over the course of ottoman rule, many towns and villages were abandoned, agriculture declined, and families and tribes moved frequently from one village to another. the bedouins, however, remained masters of the desert, continuing to live much as they had for hundreds of years.

population continued to dwindle until the late 19th century, when jordan received several waves of immigrants. syrians and palestinians migrated to jordan to escape over-taxation and feuds, while muslim circassians and chechens fled russian persecution to settle in jordan, syria, iraq and turkey.

the ottoman period saw a general neglect of infrastructural development in jordan, and what was constructed was usually with some specific religious orientation. for instance, castles such as qatraneh were built to protect pilgrimage routes, while most schools, hospitals, baths, wells, orphanages and, of course, mosques, were built with a particular religious function in mind. the most significant infrastructural development of the ottoman period was the hijaz railway from damascus to al-madina al-munawarra in 1908. designed originally to transport pilgrims to mecca al-mukarrama—the extension from al-madina al-munawwara was never completed—the railway was also a useful tool for ferrying ottoman armies and supplies into the arabian heartland. because of this, it was attacked frequently during the great arab revolt of world war i.

much of the trauma and dislocation suffered by the peoples of the middle east during the 20th century can be traced to the events surrounding world war i. during the conflict, the ottoman empire sided with the central powers against the allies. seeing an opportunity to liberate arab lands from turkish oppression, and trusting the honor of british officials who promised their support for a unified kingdom for the arab lands, sharif hussein bin ali, emir of mecca and king of the arabs (and great grandfather of king hussein), launched the great arab revolt. after the conclusion of the war, however, the victors reneged on their promises to the arabs, carving from the dismembered ottoman lands a patchwork system of mandates and protectorates. while the colonial powers denied the arabs their promised single unified arab state, it is nevertheless testimony to the effectiveness of the great arab revolt that the hashemite family was able to secure arab rule over transjordan, iraq and arabia.

in order to discern the motives of the hashemites in undertaking the revolt, one must understand the policies undertaken by the ottoman empire in the years leading up to world war i. following the young turk coup of 1908, the ottomans abandoned their pluralistic and pan-islamic policies, instead pursuing a policy of secular turkish nationalism. the formerly cosmopolitan and tolerant ottoman empire began overtly discriminating against its non-turkish inhabitants. arabs in particular were faced with political, cultural and linguistic persecution. during this time, arab nationalist groups in syria, iraq and arabia began to rally behind the hashemite banner of abdullah and faisal, sons of sharif hussein bin ali, king of the arabs.

when the ottomans entered world war i on the side of the central powers in 1914, they upheld the ban on the official use of the arabic language and its teaching in schools, while arresting many arab nationalist figures in damascus and beirut. arabs were further threatened by the construction of the hijaz railway, connecting damascus and mecca, which promised to facilitate the mobility of turkish troops into the arab heartland.

consequently, in june 1916, as head of the arab nationalists and in alliance with britain and france, sharif hussein initiated the great arab revolt against ottoman rule. his sons, the emirs abdullah and faisal, led the arab forces, with emir faisal's forces liberating damascus from ottoman rule in 1918. at the end of the war, arab forces controlled all of modern jordan, most of the arabian peninsula and much of southern syria.

sharif hussein's objective in undertaking the great arab revolt was to establish a single independent and unified arab state stretching from aleppo (syria) to aden (yemen), based on the ancient traditions and culture of the arab people, the upholding of islamic ideals and the full protection and inclusion of ethnic and religious minorities. arab nationalists in the fertile crescent and the arabian peninsula found in the hashemite commanders of the great arab revolt the leadership that could realize their aspirations, and thus coalesced around them.

the clash of promises and interests

the political aspirations of the arabs were not to be realized, however, due to the conflicting promises made by the british to their wartime allies. the first of these came during 1915 in an exchange of ten letters between sir henry mcmahon, britain's high commissioner in egypt, and sharif hussein. essentially, britain pledged, in what became known as the hussein-mcmahon correspondence, to support arab independence if hussein's forces revolted against the turks.

but the agreement excluded three areas: the wilayets (ottoman provinces) of basra and baghdad, the turkish districts of alexandretta and mersin, and, most importantly, "portions of syria lying to the west of the districts of damascus, homs, hama, and aleppo." the interpretation of the last section was to be the source of great controversy. the british later claimed that palestine was meant to be excluded from the area of arab rule, as it is technically located west of damascus: for obvious reasons the zionists took the same position. the arabs interpreted the letter as it reads: lebanon, not palestine, is to the west of damascus and the other areas mentioned.

in any case, the interests of the colonial powers took precedence over promises made to the arabs. while accepting the principle of arab independence laid down in the hussein-mcmahon correspondence, the sykes-picot agreement, signed by britain, france and russia in 1916, divided the area into zones of permanent colonial influence. the agreement recognized french interests in greater syria and northern iraq, while acknowledging british designs on a belt of influence from the mediterranean to the gulf to protect its trade and communications links with the indian subcontinent. the sykes-picot agreement specified that most of palestine was to be entrusted to an international administration. the agreement clearly contradicted the promises made to sharif hussein of mecca.

to further complicate matters, in a totally deceitful move british foreign secretary arthur james balfour in 1917 issued a letter to a prominent british jew, lord rothschild, promising britain's commitment and support for a jewish home in palestine. known as the balfour declaration, the letter calls for the "establishment in palestine of a national home for the jewish people . . . it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-jewish communities in palestine...