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Azraq
Azraq ( meaning "blue") is a small town in Zarqa Governorate in central-eastern Jordan, east of Amman. The population of Azraq was 9,021 in 2004. The Muwaffaq Salti Air Base is located in Azraq. History Prehistory archaeology, Archaeological evidence indicates that Azraq has been occupied for hundreds of thousands of years, with the oldest known remains dating to the Lower Palaeolithic, around 500–300,000 years ago. The spring-fed oasis provided a more or less constant source of water throughout this period, and probably acted as a refugium (population biology), refugium for humans and other animals at times when the surrounding area dried out. The oasis itself changed as the climate fluctuated: at times a permanent lake, a marsh, or a seasonal Dry lake, playa. Animals found in Lower Palaeolithic layers at the Shishan Marsh site include a large elephant (probably the extinct ''Palaeoloxodon recki''), a smaller elephant (probably ''Elephas hysudricus,'' the ancestor of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qasr Azraq
Qasr al-Azraq (, "Blue Fortress") is a large fortress located in present-day eastern Jordan. It is one of the desert castles, located on the outskirts of present-day Azraq, roughly east of Amman. Its strategic value came from the nearby oasis, the only water source in a vast desert region. The name of the fortress and associated town came from these. The settlement was known in antiquity as ''Basie'' and the Romans were the first to make military use of the site, and later an early mosque was built in the middle. It did not assume its present form until an extensive renovation and expansion by the Ayyubids in the 13th century, using locally quarried basalt which makes the castle darker than most other buildings in the area. Later, it would be used by the Ottoman armies during that empire's hegemony over the region. During the Arab Revolt, T. E. Lawrence based his operations here in 1917–18, an experience he wrote about in his book '' Seven Pillars of Wisdom''. The connecti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zarqa Governorate
Zarqa Governorate ( ''Muħāfazat az-Zarqāʔ'', local dialects ''ez-Zergā'' or ''ez-Zer'a'') is the third largest governorate in Jordan by population. The capital of Zarqa governorate is Zarqa City, which is the largest city in the governorate. It is located east of the Jordanian capital Amman. The second largest city in the governorate is Russeifa. Zarqa Governorate hosts the largest military and air bases of the Jordanian armed forces. History The land of Zarqa Governorate has been inhabited since the Bronze Age, most prominent were the Ammonite kingdom and the Nabateans, who constructed the fort known as Qasr al Hallabat, which then was used as a fort by the Romans, and then as a desert palace by the Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyads. The most significant historical remains are the Umayyad desert palaces, such as Qasr Amra, a World Heritage Site, Qasr al Hallabat, Qasr Shabib in the center of the city of Zarqa, as well as the Castle of Azraq. After the construction of the Hedj ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shaheed Mwaffaq Air Base
Muwaffaq Salti Air Base (MSAB, , ) is a Royal Jordanian Air Force air base located in Azraq, Zarqa Governorate, Jordan. History In 1918, during World War I, T. E. Lawrence (also known as Lawrence of Arabia) used the historic castle in Azraq and the plains at that site as a base for use as a landing ground for the aircraft which were supporting the column pushing north towards Syria. The main qualities of the area were its good visibility and fine weather for flying. In 1976, the area was chosen by the Royal Jordanian Air Force for a major new air base. Construction started that same year and in November 1980, No 1 ( Northrop F-5A/B Freedom Fighter) and No 11 Squadrons (F-5E/F Tiger II) were deployed there. The air base was officially opened on 24 May 1981. It was named after Lieutenant Muwaffaq Salti who died in battle with the Israeli Air Force on 13 November 1966, during the Battle of Samou. It was initially home to Nos 1 and 25 Mirage squadrons. Between 1997 and 2007 Mir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muwaffaq Salti Air Base
Muwaffaq Salti Air Base (MSAB, , ) is a Royal Jordanian Air Force air base located in Azraq, Zarqa Governorate, Jordan. History In 1918, during World War I, T. E. Lawrence (also known as Lawrence of Arabia) used the historic castle in Azraq and the plains at that site as a base for use as a landing ground for the aircraft which were supporting the column pushing north towards Syria. The main qualities of the area were its good visibility and fine weather for flying. In 1976, the area was chosen by the Royal Jordanian Air Force for a major new air base. Construction started that same year and in November 1980, No 1 ( Northrop F-5A/B Freedom Fighter) and No 11 Squadrons (F-5E/F Tiger II) were deployed there. The air base was officially opened on 24 May 1981. It was named after Lieutenant Muwaffaq Salti who died in battle with the Israeli Air Force on 13 November 1966, during the Battle of Samou. It was initially home to Nos 1 and 25 Mirage squadrons. Between 1997 and 2007 Mira ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Narrow-nosed Rhinoceros
The narrow-nosed rhinoceros (''Stephanorhinus hemitoechus''), also known as the steppe rhinoceros is an extinct species of rhinoceros belonging to the genus '' Stephanorhinus'' that lived in western Eurasia, including Europe, and West Asia, as well as North Africa during the Pleistocene. It first appeared in Europe around 500,000 years ago during the Middle Pleistocene and survived there until at least 34,000 years Before Present, possibly surviving as late as 15,500 years ago in the Middle East. On average around in weight, it was comparable in size to the living black rhinoceros. The species was native to temperate and Mediterranean environments, ranging from forest to grasslands, where it fed on low growing plants and to a lesser extent woody plants. It reached its maximum geographical extent during interglacial periods, when its range would extend at least as far north as Germany and northern England. It was one of the last species of ''Stephanorhinus'' alongside Merck's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jordan
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories to the west. The Jordan River, flowing into the Dead Sea, is located along the country's western border within the Jordan Rift Valley. Jordan has a small coastline along the Red Sea in its southwest, separated by the Gulf of Aqaba from Egypt. Amman is the country's capital and List of cities in Jordan, largest city, as well as the List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, most populous city in the Levant. Inhabited by humans since the Paleolithic period, three kingdoms developed in Transjordan (region), Transjordan during the Iron Age: Ammon, Moab and Edom. In the third century BC, the Arab Nabataeans established Nabataean Kingdom, their kingdom centered in Petra. The Greco-Roman world, Greco-Roman period saw the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palaeoloxodon Recki
''Palaeoloxodon recki'', often known by the synonym ''Elephas recki,'' is an extinct species of elephant native to Africa and West Asia from the Pliocene or Early Pleistocene to the Middle Pleistocene. During most of its existence, the species (in its broad sense) represented the dominant elephant species in East Africa. The species is divided into five roughly chronologically successive subspecies, collectively termed the "''Elephas recki'' complex". While the type and latest subspecies ''P. recki recki'' as well as the preceding ''P. recki ileretensis'' are widely accepted to be closely related and ancestral to Eurasian ''Palaeoloxodon,'' the relationships of the other, chronologically earlier subspecies to ''P. recki recki, P. recki ileretensis'' and ''Palaeoloxodon'' are uncertain, with it being suggested they are unrelated and should be elevated to separate species. Taxonomy The species was initially named from specimens found at Bed IV in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania by Wilhe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elephas Hysudricus
''Elephas hysudricus'' is an extinct elephant species known from the Pleistocene of Asia. It is thought to be ancestral to the living Asian elephant, from which it is distinguished by the molar teeth having a lower crown height and a lower lamellae number. Remains of the species are primarily known from the Indian subcontinent, with the most important remains coming from the Siwalik Hills. The oldest remains of the species in the Siwaliks are placed at around 2.6 million year ago at the beginning of the Early Pleistocene, with the youngest dates in the Siwaliks during the Middle Pleistocene around 0.6 million years ago, though it likely persisted on the subcontinent later than this based on remains found elsewhere. Remains likely attributable to the species are also known from the Levant in Israel and Jordan, dating to the late Middle Pleistocene, likely sometime between 500-100,000 years ago. Isotopic analysis of specimens from the Indian subcontinent suggests that early member ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gazelle
A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . There are also seven species included in two further genera; '' Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third former subgenus, '' Procapra'', includes three living species of Asian gazelles. Gazelles are known as swift animals. Some can run at bursts as high as or run at a sustained speed of . Gazelles are found mostly in the deserts, grasslands, and savannas of Africa, but they are also found in southwest and central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. They tend to live in herds, and eat fine, easily digestible plants and leaves. Gazelles are relatively small antelopes, most standing high at the shoulder, and are generally fawn-colored. The gazelle genera are ''Gazella'', ''Eudorcas'', and ''Nanger''. The taxonomy of these genera is confused, and the classification of species and subspecies has been an unsettled issue. Currently, the genus ''Gazella'' is widely ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aurochs
The aurochs (''Bos primigenius''; or ; pl.: aurochs or aurochsen) is an extinct species of Bovini, bovine, considered to be the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle. With a shoulder height of up to in bulls and in cows, it was one of the largest herbivores in the Holocene; it had massive elongated and broad horns that reached in length. The aurochs was part of the Pleistocene megafauna. It probably evolved in Asia and migrated west and north during warm interglacial periods. The oldest-known aurochs fossils date to the Middle Pleistocene. The species had an expansive range spanning from Western Europe and North Africa to the Indian subcontinent and East Asia. The distribution of the aurochs progressively contracted during the Holocene due to habitat loss and hunting, with the last known individual dying in the Jaktorów forest in Poland in 1627. There is a long history of interaction between aurochs and humans, including archaic hominins like Neanderthals. The aurochs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flag Of Jordan
The flag of Jordan, officially adopted on 16 April 1928, is based on the 1916 flag of the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The flag consists of horizontal black, white, and green bands that are connected by a red Flag terminology, chevron. The colors are the pan-Arab colors, representing the Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid (black band), Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad (white band), and Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid or Rashidun Caliphate, Rashidun caliphates (green band). The red chevron represents the Hashemite dynasty, and the Arab Revolt. Features In addition to the bands and chevron, a white star with seven points is featured on the hoist side of the red chevron. The star stands for the unity of the Arab nationalism, Arab people; its seven points refer to the seven verses of Al-Fatiha. History File:Flag of Hejaz (1920).svg, First flag (1921–1928) File:Flag of the Emirate of Transjordan.svg, Second flag (1928–1939) Interpretation of the colors ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
