JORDAN
(The Arab State of Jordan in the Middle East)

Capital: Amman
Currency: Jordanian dinar (JOD)
Population: 10,2 million people
GDP (PPS): 91 bln. dollars of the USA (2017)
Area: 89,342 sq.km.
IRCHP: 80 (2015)

ABOUT THE COUNTRY

And now Jordan is inhabited by people since a paleolith. Three kontinentny kingdoms appeared at the end of a bronze era there: Ammon, Moab and Edom. Subsequently governors include the Nabateysky Kingdom, the Roman Empire and the Ottoman Empire. After the Great Arab revolt against Ottomans in 1916 during World War I the Ottoman Empire was divided by Great Britain and France. The Emirate of Transiordan was founded in 1921 Hashimitom, then the Emir, Abdullah I, and the emirate became the British protectorate. In 1946 Jordan became the independent state officially known as the Hashimitsky Kingdom of Transiordan, but was renamed in 1949 into the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan after the country occupied the West bank during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948 and attached it until it wasn't lost Israel in 1967. Jordan refused the claims for the territory in 1988 and became one of two Arab states which signed the peace treaty with Israel in 1994. Jordan is one of founders of League of Arab States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. The country is constitutional monarchy, but the king has large executive and legislative powers.

HISTORY

The oldest evidence of dwelling of hominids in Jordan contains not less than 200 000 years. Jordan is rich with a paleolith (about 20 000 years ago) is still connected with its arrangement in Levant where expansion a hominid from Africa met. In last environments of the lake various hominids were observed, and from this period several remains of tools were found. The oldest proof of bread in the world was revealed on the 1400-year site of Natufian in the northeast desert of Jordan. Transition from the hunter collector to creation of populous agricultural villages happened in the period of the Neolithic (10 000-4 500 BC). "Ain Ghazal, one of such villages located in today's east Amman is one of the largest known prehistoric settlements in the Middle East. There tens of plaster statues of a human form dated 7250th year B.C. were found, and they are one of the oldest of found. Besides usual halkolitichesky (4500-3600) of villages, such as Tulaylet Gassul in the valley of the Jordan River, a series of circular stone protections in east basalt desert which purpose remains uncertain - confused archeologists.

GEOGRAPHY

Jordan sits strategically at the intersection of continents of Asia, Africa and Europe, near Levant of the Fertile Half moon, a civilization cradle. These are 89,341 square kilometers (34 495 quarter. Miles) and 400 kilometers (250 miles) between its most northern and most southern points; Umm Qais and Aqaba respectively.