General Information

At the crossroads of the Middle East today's Jordan has seen numerous civilizations like the Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, the Persians, the Seleucids, and the Greeks. In biblical times the Jordan territory contained three kingdoms: Edom in the south, Moab in central Jordan, and Ammon in the northern mountain areas. The growing importance of the trade route from Arabia boosted in the southeast the Nabataean kingdom with Petra as capital. In 106 AD it became part of the Roman province of Arabia. The Romans finalized in 114 the Via Nova Traiana, an important trade route, linking the port of Aqaba with Bosra in the north. Cities like Umm Quais, Jerash and Amman took advantage from the close location to this route. With the division of the Roman Empire in east and west in the 4th century, Jordan passed to the Byzantine Empire. As the emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, many churches and chapels had been also built on Jordanian territory. The prosperity of this period finds it expression in mosaic art, still can be seen in Madaba.

In 636 the Jordan territory was conquered by the Arabs, establishing the Umayyad dynasty with Damascus as capital. The 11th and 12th centuries were characterized by the conflicts between the Christian Crusaders and Islamic forces. In 1116 the Crusaders controlled most of Jordan, till in 1187 sultan Salah ad Din conquered the area. Salah ad Din and his successors ruled from Cairo till the late 12th century until they were displaced by the Mamluks. In 1517 the Ottoman Turks took over Jordan and 4 centuries of general stagnation begun. In 1908 the Hejaz Railway opens, running from Damascus to Medina, passing through Jordan and gave room for some economic development.

The Hejaz Railway was repeatedly damaged during the Arab Revolt, particularly by the guerrilla force led by the British T. E. Lawrence, known as Lawrence of Arabia. After World War I the Ottoman Empire was broken, the major Western powers distributed the territories among themselves, the area east of the Jordan River fell to the British.

In December 1920 Transjordan was established as British mandate; Abdullah Bin Al Hussein, born in Mecca, ruled as Emir the country. In May 1946 Transjordan became independent and Abdullah acted as first king. Two years later the country participated in the First Palestinian War against the new state of Israel. At the end of the war Jordan controlled the West Bank. In July 1951, King Abdullah I was shot dead by a Palestinian in Jerusalem while visiting the Al Aqsa Mosque. King Abdullah's eldest son, Talal Ibn Abdullah, was proclaimed king but he was deposed in 1952 because of health reasons. During his short reign he was responsible for the formation of a liberalized constitution for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, ratified in January 1952.

His son, Hussein, ruled as king from 1953 for 46 years as a pragmatic ruler. He successfully navigated the country through several wars, crises and pressures from major powers like USA and USSR, various Arab states and Israel. In the 1967 war with Israel Jordan lost the West Bank and had to cope with a dramatic increase of Palestinians refugees. The following years showed the rising power of Palestinian militants in Jordan. They constituted a growing threat to the sovereignty and security of the state, and open fighting erupted in June 1970. In July 1971 the Jordanian forces won a decisive victory over the Palestinian guerillas. In 1974 Jordan recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole represen-tative for the Palestinians. In 1988 it gives up all claims on the West Bank, declaring it Palestinian territory. In 1991 Jordan joined the Middle East peace talks with Israel. Three years later King Hussein and the Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin signed a treaty ending 46-year official state of war. The agreement improved Jordan's relations with the USA and moderate Arab states.

A domestic issue for democratic development had been in 1991 the end of martial law, existing since 1967. The signing of a national charter by King Hussein and leaders of the main political groups meant, political parties were permitted in exchange for acceptance of the constitution and the monarchy. Following the legalization of political parties in 1993 Jordan held free and fair parliamentary elections.

King Hussein died in February 1999 and his son Abdullah II Bin Al-Hussein ascended the throne. Since, King Abdullah II has continued his father's commitment to creating a strong and positive moderating role for Jordan within the Arab region and the world, following a pragmatic, non-confrontational line in foreign relations.

King Abdullah focuses moreover on economic growth and social development. Under his reign, Jordan was admitted to the World Trade Organization, and ratified agreements for the establishment of a Free Trade Area with the United States of America, the European Union, the European Free Trade Association countries, and sixteen Arab countries. King Abdullah II has also been involved in the drive for national administrative reform, as well as governmental transparency and accountability. Also, he supported the necessary legislations that guarantee women a full role in the kingdom's socio-economic and political life. Abdullah actively encouraged information technology, democracy, liberal economic policies and integration with the rest of the world.

The parliamentary election in June 2003, the first parliamentary elections under King Abdullah II, resulted in a majority for the king's supporters, win two-thirds of the seats. Parliamentary elections last took place in November 2007 with independent, pro-government candidates winning the majority of seats.