Tafilah Governorate (Muḩāfaz̧at aţ Ţafīlah)
Tafilah (الطفيلة) is one of the governorates of Jordan, located about 180 km south-west of Amman, Jordan's capital.
Tafilah Governorate is bordered by Karak Governorate to the north, Ma'an Governorate to the east and south, Aqaba Governorate to the south, and by Palestine to the west. The area of this province constitutes 2.5% of the area of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It is divided into three districts. The population as of 2005 is about 82,000 (i.e. 1.6% of Jordan's population in 2005) living in 32 towns and villages across the governorate ( making it the least populated governorate of Jordan).
As with other parts of the Levant, signs of habitation in Tafilah Governorate have been found dating from the Palaeolithic periods. In 1984 a team of archaeologists from the University of Arizona discovered stone tools estimated at 90,000 years old in caves in Ain Defla and Hessa. Although no human remains could ever be found dating from that era, the discoveries of prehistoric tools supplied scientists with much information about human civilisation stages in the Levant.
Tafilah Governorate has been inhabited by the Edomites since the 11th century BC. The entire land covered by Tafilah Governorate was the stronghold of the Edomites with the town of Busairah as their capital. The valley known as Wadi al-Hasa (ancient Zered) formed the boundary between Edom and the neighboring kingdom of Moab, and it still forms the boundary between Tafilah and Karak Governorates, while itself belongs administratively to Karak Governorate. Almost all towns in Tafilah Governorate date back to the Edomite period, the capital city of Tafilah held the Edomite name of Tophel.
Edom often allied with Moab and Ammon, and later with the Nabataeans until their fall to the Roman Empire. The region was later ruled by the Ghassanids, under Byzantine authority.
It then came under Muslim rule, except for a brief period in the time of the Crusades.
During the Arab Revolt, the region was captured from the Ottomans by Arab forces in the Battle of Tafilah, thanks to a "brilliant feat of arms". The Arab forces mounted a three-prong attack: one on Jurf al-Darwish Station east of Tafilah led by Sherif Nasir, one on Shoubak by Sherif Abdul Mayin, and one up the Wadi Araba by Sherif Mastur. On 25 January 1918, forces under T.E. Lawrence, Jaafar Pasha, and Prince Zeid bin Hussein repulsed a counter-attack of 1000 Turkish soldiers led by Hamid Fakhri Pasha, in an attempt to retake Tafilah. Only 50 Turks survived the retreat, while 250 were taken prisoner.
Tafilah Governorate is bordered by Karak Governorate to the north, Ma'an Governorate to the east and south, Aqaba Governorate to the south, and by Palestine to the west. The area of this province constitutes 2.5% of the area of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It is divided into three districts. The population as of 2005 is about 82,000 (i.e. 1.6% of Jordan's population in 2005) living in 32 towns and villages across the governorate ( making it the least populated governorate of Jordan).
As with other parts of the Levant, signs of habitation in Tafilah Governorate have been found dating from the Palaeolithic periods. In 1984 a team of archaeologists from the University of Arizona discovered stone tools estimated at 90,000 years old in caves in Ain Defla and Hessa. Although no human remains could ever be found dating from that era, the discoveries of prehistoric tools supplied scientists with much information about human civilisation stages in the Levant.
Tafilah Governorate has been inhabited by the Edomites since the 11th century BC. The entire land covered by Tafilah Governorate was the stronghold of the Edomites with the town of Busairah as their capital. The valley known as Wadi al-Hasa (ancient Zered) formed the boundary between Edom and the neighboring kingdom of Moab, and it still forms the boundary between Tafilah and Karak Governorates, while itself belongs administratively to Karak Governorate. Almost all towns in Tafilah Governorate date back to the Edomite period, the capital city of Tafilah held the Edomite name of Tophel.
Edom often allied with Moab and Ammon, and later with the Nabataeans until their fall to the Roman Empire. The region was later ruled by the Ghassanids, under Byzantine authority.
It then came under Muslim rule, except for a brief period in the time of the Crusades.
During the Arab Revolt, the region was captured from the Ottomans by Arab forces in the Battle of Tafilah, thanks to a "brilliant feat of arms". The Arab forces mounted a three-prong attack: one on Jurf al-Darwish Station east of Tafilah led by Sherif Nasir, one on Shoubak by Sherif Abdul Mayin, and one up the Wadi Araba by Sherif Mastur. On 25 January 1918, forces under T.E. Lawrence, Jaafar Pasha, and Prince Zeid bin Hussein repulsed a counter-attack of 1000 Turkish soldiers led by Hamid Fakhri Pasha, in an attempt to retake Tafilah. Only 50 Turks survived the retreat, while 250 were taken prisoner.
Map - Tafilah Governorate (Muḩāfaz̧at aţ Ţafīlah)
Map
Country - Jordan
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| 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 |
