Epipaleolithic Period

The Epipalaeolithic Period shows that hunters were using composite tools, and hunting not just the large mammals, but also smaller creatures. At Wadi Madamagh near Petra, nearly 82% of the bones studied were from wild goats, evidence suggesting that the people already knew how to herd these animals.

Paleolithic Era: c 200,000 BC – 8000 BC

Man's activity in Jordan appeared as early as the beginning of the Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age). Flint hand axes, knives, and scrapers of the Paleolithic Age are spread all over Jordan from north to south, notably in the regions of Aqaba, Jerash, Wadi Arabah, Ma'an, Jafr in the south, Kharranah and Azraq  east of Amman. People lived in this early period as hunters.

Mesolithic Period: c 12,000 BC – 10,000 BC (Middle Stone Age)

The Mesolithic Period is part of the upper Paleolithic. It was followed by the pre-pottery Neolithic era and represented a new phase of culture, characterized by the beginning of settled life.

Neolithic Period: 8000 BC – 4500 BC

The best evidence of the Neolithic Period comes in the form of villages and  pottery. Such evidence has been found in Jericho and areas of the Jordan River Valley such as Tell esh-Shuneh, Tel Abu Habil, Ghrubba in the East Bank of Jordan, and villages such as Ain Ghazal, Beidha and Basta Wadi Yarmuk also boasts a Neolithic pottery culture.

Chalcolithic Era: 4500 BC – 3300 BC (Copper – Stone Age)

Archeological surface exploration indicates that there are numerous Chalcolithic sites in Jordan. Flint tools continued to be used, but in contrast with the Neolithic, this period is marked by the appearance of metal objects. One of the most outstanding Chalcolithic settlements in the country is Tuleilat al Ghussul, north-east of the Dead Sea. Some of the built houses discovered at this site were decorated with painted frescos in polychrome. One room, perhaps part of a sanctuary, had colorful paintings depicting what appears to be a religious procession in front of a shrine. Belonging to this period, are hundreds of dolmens distributed on the mountainous regions overlooking Tuleilat al Ghussul and Ghor Damiah, and also on the hills east of Jerash, around Irbid, and near Hesban and Ma'an. Dolmens are structures of two massive vertical slabs of stone, spaced about a meter apart, and topped with a third large stone slab, and in some cases, closed in on one side with yet another slab. These enormous stone structures possessed some cultic or funerary significance.

 

 

Early Bronze Age: 3300 BC – 2100 BC

A series of fortified towns representing the Early Bronze Age have been found along the edge of the southern Jordan Valley, south and east of the Dead Sea. At all of these sites there were burials, and at several, the cemeteries were extensive. Around 2150 BC towns were largely abandoned for unknown reasons. The period extending from this date on to approximately 1900 BC is designated as the intermediate period between the Early Bronze Age and the Middle Bronze Age. Material remains from this period are found in Ader, Khirbet Iskandar, Tell Iktanu, Husn, Amman, and Bad ed-Dhra'. Considerable archeological material was uncovered in Amman, Naur, Mount Nebo, Tell Safut, Midayineh, and Jalul, near Madaba.

Middle Bronze Age: 2100 BC – 1500 BC

The Middle Bronze Age was an important and flourishing period in Jordan. This period witnessed the Hyksos or Shepherd Kings of the Bible, who brought with them a new culture. An entirely new type of pottery and new bronze weapons appeared. This development had already begun throughout the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze periods. Strong fortified towns and villages also appeared at this time. It was the Hyksos peoples who introduced the horse and chariot into the near East.

Late Bronze Age: 1500 BC – 1200 BC

Excavations at Irbid, Tabaqat Fahl, Amman, Sahab, Madaba, Wadi Abu Al Naml, Jalul, and other sites surveyed in southern Jordan show that the country continued to flourish during the Late Bronze Age, even after the pharaohs expelled the Hyksos from the area. Trade with Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus improved the economic conditions in Syria, Jordan and Palestine. The most important discovery was the temple at the Amman Airport in Marka excavated by G.L Harding and B. Hennessy. The temple was a square building, and courts and rooms surrounded the central part of the shrine. Pottery of Mycenaean and Cypriot origin was associated with the temple, as well as scarabs, and bronze weapons. The temple shows strong affinities with Iranian temples, but more striking parallels are found in the Nabatean temples of Khirbet Tannur and Wadi Rum.

Iron Age: 1200 BC – 550 BC

Jordan became massively settled during the Iron Age. The Early Iron Age is characterized as the age of the native Arab kingdoms of the Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, and Gileadites. All these kingdoms and their capitals are mentioned often in Biblical texts.

Persian Period: 594 BC – 331 BC

Little has been uncovered regarding Jordan's history during the Persian period. Literary texts and the Bible provide most of the available information. According to Herodotus, the empire administration was divided into twenty satrapies (provinces). Jordan was the fifth satrapy of Palestine.

Hellenistic Period: 311 BC – 63 BC

During the Hellenistic Period, Jordan was heavily Hellenized. The successors of Alexander the Great founded a chain of Greek fortified colonies along the caravan route from Damascus to Aqaba, and therefore Greek became the lingua franca of the whole area.

Nabatean Era: 312 BC – 112 AD

During the second half of the second century BC and down to the year 63 BC, the history of Jordan was linked to the history of the Nabateans. Their capital city was Petra, the meeting center of the trade routes coming form the Persian Gulf, Western Arabia, and the Red Sea. The Nabatean civilization can be studied through its particularly unique pottery. Petra was a deeply routed city, and, conclusively, only settled people of advanced cultural and economic attainments could have produced it.

Roman Period: 63 BC – 330 AD

Under the leadership of General Pompey, the Romans arrived in Syria and marched on to Jordan. One of Pompey's first acts was to declare all Greek cities free in northern Jordan. These cities formed a loose league that came to be known as the Decapolis, or the League of Ten Cities. Although subject to the Roman governor of Syria, they were given a considerable amount of autonomy. Among these cities were Philadelphia (Amman), Gadara (Um-Qais), Pella (Tabqat Fahl), Abila (Qweilbeh) and Gerasa (Jerash).

Byzantine Period: 330 AD – 640 AD

Under the Byzantine Empire, Jordan's population increased, and was apparently prosperous. Most of the Byzantine remains were located on previously used sites. The main archeological remains of this period towns and the Christian churches found throughout the country. The most impressive cultural remains are the mosaic pavements in Madaba and Jerash.

Islamic Conquest: 640 AD – 1099 AD

At Motah, just south of the city of Kerak, was the first clash between the Arabs and the Byzantines. In 630 AD, near the Northern town of Um-Qais (Gadara), the battle of Yarmuk took place, leading the Ummayad caliphs to march onto Damascus where they established their capital. Amman continued to mint coins under the Ummayads, who built several palaces and hunting lodges in the Jordanian desert.

Ayyubid Period: 1174 AD – 1263 AD

The Rabadh Castle in Ajlun is just one example of Muslim military architecture during the Ayyoubid Period. Izzudin Usama, a prominent Muslim leader, was responsible for its construction. Another Islamic castle built by the Ayyoubids in this period can be found at Azraq.

Mamluk Period: 1263 AD – 1516 AD

Jordan witnessed great advancements in architecture and agriculture throughout the Mamluk Period. This prosperity was short-lived, however, when Al Ashraf Khalil, one of the successors of Azzahir Baibars, drove out the Crusaders from the country in 1290 AD. As a result, Jordan lost its strategic importance and subsequently found itself being neglected by the sultans. The reason for this decline was due to the Mamluk's main concern, namely to secure the pilgrim road.

Ottoman Period: 1516 AD – 1918 AD

The northern area of Jordan (the district of Ajlun) was the first to come under the Ottoman administration during the Ottoman Period. In 1851, the government decided to form a Kaza out of that area to be part of the Nablus district (Mutassarifieh). A governor was installed in the town of Irbid. The second area to come under ottoman authority was the central district of Belqa, in 1868. It was also decreed that it should become a Kaza under the governor of Nablus. The town of Salt became the seat of the governor. The southern area, Kerak and Ma'an, was placed under Nablus in name only. Later it became a district under the Wilayat of Syria. The district was enlarged to include Ma'an, Salt, Tebuk, and Madain Saleh.

Modern Age: 1920 AD – 2000 AD

In 1921, Britain recognized Transjordan as an independent state under its protection with Abdullah as its Emir.
On May 25th 1946, Britain gave up its mandate on Transjordan and Jordan became the independent Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
On July 20th 1951, King Abdullah was assassinated in Jerusalem while praying. King Talal succeeded to the throne a few months.
In 1952, King Hussein succeeded on abdication of King Talal. During his reign of 47 years, King Hussein established the modern Jordan. He died on February 7, 1999 after a long suffer of Cancer, and was succeeded by King Abdallah II who was coronated on June 9, 1999.