History & Heritage

The first villages

People have lived in the land of Jordan since the Stone Age. Tools made by early hunters and gatherers have been found in the eastern desert and along ancient lake shores, including around the Azraq oasis. Later, during the Neolithic period, people began to farm, keep animals and build permanent houses. Villages such as 'Ain Ghazal in Amman and Beidha near Petra are among the important early settlements of the region.

At 'Ain Ghazal, archaeologists discovered remarkable human figures made of lime plaster, dating to around 9,000 years ago. These statues, with their wide painted eyes, are among the oldest large human sculptures known anywhere. Some of them can be seen today in the Jordan Museum in Amman, where they are among the most admired objects in the collection.

Ancient kingdoms and trading peoples

During the Iron Age, three local kingdoms grew up on the plateau east of the Jordan Valley: Ammon in the north, with its capital at Rabbath Ammon, today's Amman; Moab in the centre, around Dhiban and Karak; and Edom in the south, with its centre at Busayra. These kingdoms controlled farmland and trade routes, and they left inscriptions, pottery and fortified towns that archaeologists continue to study.

Later, the Nabataeans, an Arab people skilled in trade and water engineering, built a powerful network across the region. Their capital, Petra, became a meeting point for caravans carrying incense, spices and other goods. They carved monumental tombs and temples into the rose-coloured cliffs and built channels and cisterns that allowed a large city to thrive in a dry landscape.

Greek, Roman and Byzantine cities

After the time of Alexander the Great, Greek-style cities were founded or renamed across the region, and Rabbath Ammon became Philadelphia. Under Roman rule, several of these cities belonged to a loose group known as the Decapolis, or ten cities. Jerash (Gerasa), Umm Qais (Gadara), Pella and Amman flourished with colonnaded streets, theatres, temples and baths, many of which still stand today.

In the Byzantine period, Christianity spread widely and many churches were built, often decorated with detailed floor mosaics. Madaba, Mount Nebo, Umm ar-Rasas and Jerash preserve some of the finest examples. The famous Madaba Map, a mosaic floor from the 6th century, shows the cities and landscapes of the region and is one of the oldest surviving maps of its kind.

Islamic eras

From the 7th century, the region became part of the early Islamic world. Under the Umayyad caliphs, who ruled from nearby Damascus, a number of elegant buildings were raised in the eastern desert. These desert castles, such as Qusayr Amra with its painted walls, Qasr Kharana and Qasr al-Hallabat, served as residences, meeting places and stops along travel routes. The Umayyads also built a palace on the Amman Citadel.

In later centuries, under the Ayyubids and Mamluks, hilltop castles at Ajloun, Karak and Shobak guarded roads and pilgrimage routes, and inns and watchtowers linked distant cities. Under the Ottomans, from the 16th century, the pilgrimage road to Mecca passed through Jordan, supported by a line of forts and water stations. In the early 20th century, the Hejaz Railway was built along much of the same route.

The modern kingdom

The Emirate of Transjordan was established in 1921, with Emir Abdullah bin al-Hussein at its head and Amman as its capital. On 25 May 1946 the country became an independent kingdom, and a few years later its name became the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The constitution that still forms the basis of the state was adopted in 1952.

In the following decades, the country built roads, airports, schools, hospitals and universities, beginning with the University of Jordan in 1962. Education became widely available, and Amman grew from a small town into a large modern capital. Tourism developed around Petra, the Dead Sea, Wadi Rum and Aqaba, and new museums, protected areas and heritage projects now help to share Jordan's past with visitors from around the world.