Jordan

Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Jordan fought or stood against, from the first to today.

1. Kingdom of Israel880 BC to 840 BC

   The northern Israelite kingdom dominates Moab under kings Omri and Ahab. Mesha of Moab rebels after Ahab's death, and his inscribed stele, found at Dhiban in 1868, boasts of retaking Moabite towns.

2. 🇮🇹 Rome62 BC to 106

   Pompey's general Scaurus marches against Petra in 62 BC and is bought off with tribute. The Nabataeans then live as Rome's clients until Trajan annexes their kingdom in 106 AD and makes it the province of Arabia.

3. Rashidun Caliphate629 to 636

   A Muslim army from Medina is beaten by Byzantine forces at Mu'tah in 629. It returns under the first caliphs: after taking Bosra and Damascus, Arab forces destroy the Byzantine army at the Yarmuk in 636, ending Roman rule east of the Jordan.

4. Kingdom of Jerusalem1115 to 1189

   Crusaders hold the lands east of the Jordan as the lordship of Oultrejordain, with castles at Shobak and Kerak. Raynald of Chatillon raids caravans from Kerak, provoking Saladin, whose forces take both castles in 1188 and 1189.

5. 🇹🇷 Ottoman Empire1916 to 1918

   The Arab Revolt, led by the Hashemite family of Mecca, fights the Ottomans along the Hejaz Railway. Arab forces take Aqaba in 1917 and reach Damascus in October 1918, ending four centuries of Ottoman rule east of the Jordan.

6. 🇸🇦 Ikhwan of Najd1922 to 1924

   Wahhabi Ikhwan warriors, followers of Ibn Saud, raid Transjordan in 1922 and 1924. The second raid reaches villages near Amman before British aircraft and armoured cars drive it back.

7. 🇮🇱 Israel1948 to 1994

   Jordan's Arab Legion fights Israel in 1948 and holds East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Border raids and reprisals follow, then defeat in 1967. After decades of secret contacts, the two countries sign a peace treaty in 1994.

8. Palestinian armed groups (PLO)1968 to 1971

   Palestinian fighters based in Jordan after 1967 fight Israel alongside Jordanian troops at Karameh in 1968, then challenge King Hussein's rule. In Black September 1970 the army defeats them, and by July 1971 they are expelled to Lebanon.

9. 🇸🇾 Syria1970

   During Black September in 1970, Syrian tanks cross into northern Jordan to support the Palestinian fighters. Jordan's army and air force stop them, and they withdraw within days.

Today

Jordan now

After World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the League of Nations awarded Britain the mandate to govern much of the Middle East. In 1921, Britain demarcated from Palestine a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan and recognized ABDALLAH I from the Hashemite family as the country's first leader. The Hashemites also controlled the Hijaz, or the western coastal area of modern-day Saudi Arabia, until 1925, when IBN SAUD and Wahhabi tribes pushed them out.

Capital

Amman

Government

parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Head of government

Jafar Hassan

Head of state

Abdullah II of Jordan

Languages

Arabic

Area

89,318 km²

Through time

Then and now

• Population11.4 million2023 · 438,800 in 1950
• Life expectancy77.8 years2023 · 40.9 years in 1950
• GDP per person$9,1512022 · $2,651 in 1950
• Living in cities93%2025 · 33% in 1950
• Literacy94%2024 · 18% in 1950
• Political regimeClosed autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
• Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
• Military spending4.6% of GDP2025
• War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.