Ar Ramtha (Ar Ramthā)
Ar-Ramtha (الرَّمثا), colloquially transliterated as Ar-Romtha (الرُّمثا), is a city situated in the far northwest of Jordan near the border with Syria. It covers 40 km2 on a plain 30 km northeast of the Jordan River and Irbid. In the 2017, Ar-Ramtha had a population of approximately 164,211, making it the eleventh largest city in Jordan, and the second in Irbid Governorate, and the city has grown since then. It is part of the Ar-Ramthā district of the Irbid Governorate.
The origin of the name Ar-Ramtha is debated. Some claim it is named after a local desert plant, al-ramath (الرمثا). Many biblical archaeologists identify Ar-Ramtha with the ancient Israelite city of Ramoth-Gilead, Hebrew for "Heights of Gilead"; in that case, the present-day Arabic name might preserve the Biblical Hebrew one.
During the Roman and Byzantine periods, Ar-Ramtha was known as Ramatha.
The origin of the name Ar-Ramtha is debated. Some claim it is named after a local desert plant, al-ramath (الرمثا). Many biblical archaeologists identify Ar-Ramtha with the ancient Israelite city of Ramoth-Gilead, Hebrew for "Heights of Gilead"; in that case, the present-day Arabic name might preserve the Biblical Hebrew one.
During the Roman and Byzantine periods, Ar-Ramtha was known as Ramatha.
Map - Ar Ramtha (Ar Ramthā)
Map
Country - Jordan
Flag of Jordan |
Modern-day Jordan has been inhabited by humans since the Paleolithic period. Three stable kingdoms emerged there at the end of the Bronze Age: Ammon, Moab and Edom. In the third century BC, the Arab Nabataeans established their Kingdom with Petra as the capital. Later rulers of the Transjordan region include the Assyrian, Babylonian, Roman, Byzantine, Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, and the Ottoman empires. After the Great Arab Revolt against the Ottomans in 1916 during World War I, the Greater Syria region was partitioned by Britain and France. The Emirate of Transjordan was established in 1921 by the Hashemite, then Emir, Abdullah I, and the emirate became a British protectorate. In 1946, Jordan gained independence and became officially known in Arabic as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The country captured the West Bank during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and annexed it until it was lost to Israel in 1967. Jordan renounced its claim to the territory in 1988, and became the second Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1994.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
---|---|---|---|
JOD | Jordanian dinar | دا | 3 |
ISO | Language |
---|---|
AR | Arabic language |
EN | English language |