Al-Shunah al-Shamalyah ( ar, الشونة الشمالية, also spelled Esh-Shuneh esh-Shamaliyeh), which translates to North Shuna, a name it is also known by, is a

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

ian town. It is located in

Irbid Governorate Irbid or Irbed ( ar, إربد) is a governorate in Jordan, located north of Amman, the country's capital. The capital of the governorate is the city of Irbid. The governorate has the second largest population in Jordan after Amman Governorate, an ...

, overlooking the Jordan River Valley. The city sits at the intersection of Highway 65 and

Highway 10 Route 10, or Highway 10, can refer to routes in the following countries: International * European route E10 * European route E010 Argentina * La Pampa Provincial Route 10 Australia Queensland * Smith Street Motorway (Queensland) * Scenic ...

, and lies just south of the confluence of Yarmouk and

rivers.

Etymology

''Shunah'' translates in the region's Arabic to "barn". Shunah is also spelled Shuneh and Shuna. The Arabic definite article ''al'' when followed by certain consonants undergoes assimilation to the latter, so that in cases like this, ''al'' is sounded ''ash'', also spelled ''esh'', (See

Hart's Rules ''Hart's Rules for Compositors and Readers at the University Press, Oxford''—today published under the short title ''New Hart's Rules''—is an authoritative reference book and style guide published in England by Oxford University Press (OUP ...

). yielding here ''ash-Shunah/esh-Shuneh''. Likewise ''al-Shamalyah'' is often rendered ''ash-Shamaliyah/esh-Shamaliyeh''. For the beginning of place-names, at least when reproduced in English, common convention allows for the definite article to be dropped, yielding here ''Shunah'' (''Shuneh/Shuna''). ''Sham'' is Arabic for "north",Rajki, András (2005)
''Arabic Dictionary with Etymologies''
Accessed 5 September 2018. and ''al-shamaliyah'' means "northern". Therefore, ''Al-Shunah al-Shamaliyah'' translates to, and is often rendered in English, as "North Shuna"

Japan International Cooperation Agency The is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social growth in developing countries, and the promotion of international co ...

(JICA). Accessed 27 Jan 2022. or "Northern Shuna". Another place called Shunah, a village located at the opposite, southern end of the Jordan Valley, is known as South Shuna.

Demographics

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 3,462 inhabitants in Al-Shuna al-Shamalyah, while the website www.arabs48.com mentions 25,000 inhabitants in 2014.

Sites

Tell esh-Shuneh (North)

In 1953, archaeologists

Henri de Contenson 250px, Henri de Contenson Henri de Contenson (4 March 1926 – 8 September 2019) was a French archaeologist and was the Research Director at the CNRS, The Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (National Center for Scientific Research), a ...

and

James Mellaart James Mellaart FBA (14 November 1925 – 29 July 2012) was an English archaeologist and author who is noted for his discovery of the Neolithic settlement of Çatalhöyük in Turkey. He was expelled from Turkey when he was suspected of involvem ...

excavated the site of Tell esh-Shuneh esh-Shamaliyyeh (Tell Shuneh North), overlooking the

Wadi Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water onl ...

el-'Arab, just outside of the city. The site was re-excavated in the 1980s by Carrie Gustavson-Gaube and again in the 1990s by

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

. The artifacts recovered from Tell esh-Shuneh (North) include remains of structures, pottery, and silver dating from the

Chalcolithic The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular ...

and

Early Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

. Excavations also uncovered numerous macrobotanical remains, suggesting that both Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age settlements at the site utilized agricultural irrigation.

Shrine of Muadh ibn Jabal

The tomb of

Muadh Ibn Jabal Muʿādh ibn Jabal ( ar, مُعاذ بن جبل; 605 – 639) was a sahabi (companion) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Muadh was an '' Ansar'' of Banu Khazraj and compiled the Quran with five companions while Muhammad was still alive. He was kn ...

(official name in ), a prominent

Sahabah The Companions of the Prophet ( ar, اَلصَّحَابَةُ; ''aṣ-ṣaḥāba'' meaning "the companions", from the verb meaning "accompany", "keep company with", "associate with") were the disciples and followers of Muhammad who saw or m ...

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

and compiler of the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

, is located in Al-Shuna al-Shamalya. The tomb is noted for its pleasant, yet allegedly unexplained smell. North Shuna used to be called Shunat Muadhi due to its proximity to the tomb of Muadh ibn Jabal.

References

Bibliography

* Populated places in Irbid Governorate {{Jordan-geo-stub