Zarqa Governorate
Encyclopedia
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
by population. The capital of Zarqa governorate is Zarqa
Zarqa
Az-Zarqāʔ is a city in Jordan located to the northeast of Amman. With a population of more than one million 1000,000. It is the country's second largest city after Amman. Zarqa is the capital of Zarqa Governorate . Its name means "the blue one".- Overview :Zarqa is Jordan's industrial centre, home...
City, which is the largest city in the governorate. It is located 25 km east of the Jordanian capital Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
. The second largest city in the governorate is Russeifa
Russeifa
Russeifa, also spelled Russiefa, , making it the forth largest city in Jordan, after Amman, Irbid, and Zarqa.-Geography:The city of Russeifa is located in the Central region of Jordan, in the Zarqa River basin, on the Amman-Zarqa highway...
.
Zarqa Governorte hosts the largest military and air bases for the Jordan armed forces in the kingdom.
History
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
, most prominent were the Ammon
Ammon
Ammon , also referred to as the Ammonites and children of Ammon, was an ancient nation located east of the Jordan River, Gilead, and the Dead Sea, in present-day Jordan. The chief city of the country was Rabbah or Rabbath Ammon, site of the modern city of Amman, Jordan's capital...
ite kingdom and the Nabateans, who constructed the fort known as Qasr al Hallabat
Qasr al Hallabat
Qasr al Hallabat is a town in the Amman Governorate of north-western Jordan. The town is named after the Umayyad castle located there. Also located in the town is the Qasr Hammam As Sarah. It is located north-east of the capital of Amman.-Castle:...
, which then was used as a fort by the Romans, and then as a desert palace by the Umayyads.
The most significant historical remains are the Umayyad desert palaces, such as Qasr Amra
Qasr Amra
Qasr Amra , often Quseir Amra or Qusayr Amra, is the best-known of the desert castles located in present-day eastern Jordan. It was built early in the 8th century by the Umayyad caliph Walid I whose dominance of the region was rising at the time...
, a World Heritage site, Qasr al Hallabat
Qasr al Hallabat
Qasr al Hallabat is a town in the Amman Governorate of north-western Jordan. The town is named after the Umayyad castle located there. Also located in the town is the Qasr Hammam As Sarah. It is located north-east of the capital of Amman.-Castle:...
, Qasr Shabib in the center of the city of Zarqa, as well as the Castle of Azraq.
After the construction of the Hedjaz railway by the Ottoman Turks at the beginning of the 1900's, Zarqa became a strategically important hub that connects Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
to Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
, the cities along the railway started flourishing. Later, Jordan's Arab Legion
Arab Legion
The Arab Legion was the regular army of Transjordan and then Jordan in the early part of the 20th century.-Creation:...
led by Glubb Pasha had its main bases in Zarqa.
Geography
Zarqa Governorate borders Mafraq GovernorateMafraq Governorate
Mafraq is one of the governorates of Jordan, located to the north-east of Amman, capital of Jordan. It has a population of 254,219 with a percentage of 4.5% of Jordan's population...
from the north and north east, Amman Governorate
Amman Governorate
Officially known as Muhafazat al-Asima , Amman Governorate is one of the governorates - locally known as muhafazat - in Jordan. This governorate's capital is the City of Amman, It is also Jordan's capital...
from the south and south west, Jerash
Jerash Governorate
Jerash is one of the governorates of Jordan; it is located north of Amman, Jordan's capital. It carrys the name of its capital and largest city, Jerash City....
and Balqa Governorates from the west. It also shares an international border with Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
in its south eastern edge. Most of the area covered by the governorate constitutes part of the Syrian desert plateau. the heavily populated western regions of the governorate constitute part of the Zarqa River
Zarqa River
The Zarqa River is the second largest tributary of the lower Jordan River, after the Yarmouk River. It is the third largest river in the region by annual discharge, and its watershed encompasses the most densely populated areas east of the Jordan River...
basin. The two cities of Zarqa
Zarqa
Az-Zarqāʔ is a city in Jordan located to the northeast of Amman. With a population of more than one million 1000,000. It is the country's second largest city after Amman. Zarqa is the capital of Zarqa Governorate . Its name means "the blue one".- Overview :Zarqa is Jordan's industrial centre, home...
and Russeifa
Russeifa
Russeifa, also spelled Russiefa, , making it the forth largest city in Jordan, after Amman, Irbid, and Zarqa.-Geography:The city of Russeifa is located in the Central region of Jordan, in the Zarqa River basin, on the Amman-Zarqa highway...
are the second and fourth largest cities in Jordan.
Demographics
The census of 2004 shows that the population of Zarqa Governorate for that year was 727,268 of whom 94.5% is considered urban population and 5.5% is a rural population. Jordanian citizens made up 97% of the population. The female to male ratio was 46% to 54%. The Jordanian Department of Statistics population estimate for the year 2010 is 910,800 with a female to male ratio of 48.25 to 51.75 and a population density of 191.3 persons per Km2| Demographics of Zarqa Governorate | 2004 Census | 2010 Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Female to Male ratio | 46% to 54% | 48.25% to 51.75% |
| Jordanian citizens to foreign nationals | 97% to 3% | N/A |
| Urban population | 727,268 | 860,700 |
| Rural population | 37,382 | 50,100 |
| Total population | 764,650 | 910,800 |
Administrative Divisions
Zarqa Governorate is divided into three departments:| Department | Arabic name | population (2004) | Administrative Center | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Capital Department (Al-Qasaba) | لواء قصبة الزرقاء | 450,102 | Zarqa Zarqa Az-Zarqāʔ is a city in Jordan located to the northeast of Amman. With a population of more than one million 1000,000. It is the country's second largest city after Amman. Zarqa is the capital of Zarqa Governorate . Its name means "the blue one".- Overview :Zarqa is Jordan's industrial centre, home... |
| 2 | Russeifa Department | لواء الرصيفة | 268,237 | Russeifa Russeifa Russeifa, also spelled Russiefa, , making it the forth largest city in Jordan, after Amman, Irbid, and Zarqa.-Geography:The city of Russeifa is located in the Central region of Jordan, in the Zarqa River basin, on the Amman-Zarqa highway... |
| 3 | Hashemiyya Department | لواء الهاشمية | 46311 | Hashemiyya |
Economy
Due to its close location to the populated cities in Jordan, Zarqa Governorate has the largest number of factories in Jordan, Jordan's only oil refinery plantJordan Petroleum Refinery Company
Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company runs the only oil refinery plant in Jordan. It was established in 1956, and construction of the oil refinery plant started in 1957. Currently, the company covers all the domestic needs of oil products, and commonly exports its products to other countries....
is located in zarqa.
The largest air base in the country, Muwaffaq Salti Air Base
Shaheed Mwaffaq Air Base
Shaheed Mwaffaq Air Base is a Royal Jordanian Air Force base located in Azraq, Zarqa Governorate.-History:In 1918, during World War I, T.E...
is located in Azraq. Zarqa Governorate hosts three universities,
Hashemite University
Hashemite University
The Hashemite University is a university in Zarqa, Jordan. It is named after the Jordanian royal family — the Hashemites — and was established by royal decree in 1992.- History :...
, Al-Balqa` Applied University
Al-Balqa` Applied University
Al-Balqa` Applied University is a government-supported university located in Salt, Jordan, was founded in 1997, a distinctive state university in the field of Bachelor and Associate degree Applied Education, at the capacity of more than 21,000 student distributed into 10,000 at the Bachelor...
-Zarqa College , and Zarqa Private University
Zarqa Private University
Zarqa University formally Zarqa Private University is a university in the city of Zarqa, in Jordan's Zarqa Governorate. It was established in 1994, about 6 Km to the east of the city center. At the university's first academic semester, there were only 150 students. In the scholastic year 2010/2011...
.