Jordan (Arabic: الأردنّ‎ al-ʾUrdunn), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in Western Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba. Jordan shares borders with Syria to the north, Iraq to the northeast, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, the Gulf of Aqaba to the southwest, and Palestine and Israel to the west. It shares control of the Dead Sea with Israel. Much of Jordan is covered by the Arabian Desert. However, the north-western part of Jordan is part of the Ancient Fertile Crescent. The capital city is Amman.

During its history, Jordan has seen numerous civilizations, including such ancient eastern ones as the Canaanite and later other Semiticpeoples such as the Edomites, and the Moabites. Other civilizations possessing political sovereignty and influence in Jordan were: Akkadian,Assyrian, Judean, Babylonian, and Persian empires. Jordan was for a time part of Pharaonic Egypt, the Hasmonean Dynasty of theMaccabees, and also spawned the native Nabatean civilization which left rich archaeological remains at Petra. Cultures from the west also left their mark, such as the Macedonian, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Turkish empires. Since the seventh century the area has been ...