Azraq ( ar, الأزرق meaning "blue") is a small town in
Zarqa Governorate
Zarqa Governorate ( ar, محافظة الزرقاء ''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 ...
in central-eastern
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 ...
, east of
Amman
Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...
. The population of Azraq was 9,021 in 2004. The
Muwaffaq Salti Air Base
Muwaffaq Salti Air Base - Azraq ( ar, قاعدة الشهيد موفق السلطي الجوية - الازرق ) is a Royal Jordanian Air Force air base located in Azraq, Zarqa Governorate.
History
In 1918, during World War I, T.E. Lawrence ...
is located in Azraq.
History
Prehistory
Archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
evidence indicates that Azraq has been occupied for hundreds of thousands of years, with the oldest known remains dating to the
Lower Palaeolithic
The Lower Paleolithic (or Lower Palaeolithic) is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 3 million years ago when the first evidence for stone tool production and use by hominins appears in ...
, 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 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
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...
, or a seasonal
playa.
During the
Epipalaeolithic
In archaeology, the Epipalaeolithic or Epipaleolithic (sometimes Epi-paleolithic etc.) is a period occurring between the Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic during the Stone Age. Mesolithic also falls between these two periods, and the two are someti ...
period the oasis was also an important focus of settlement.
Later history
Azraq has long been an important settlement in a remote and now-arid desert area of Jordan. The strategic value of the town and its castle (
Qasr Azraq
Qasr al-Azraq ( ar, قصر الأزرق, "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 ca ...
) is that it lies in the middle of the
Azraq oasis
Azraq ( ar, الأزرق 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
Archaeo ...
, the only permanent source of fresh water in approximately of desert. The town is also located on a major desert route that would have facilitated trade within the region.
Nabatean
The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Lev ...
period settlement activity has also been documented in the area.
Qasr Azraq
Qasr al-Azraq ( ar, قصر الأزرق, "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 ca ...
was built by the Romans in the 3rd century AD, and was heavily modified in the Middle Ages by the
Mameluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
s. In the
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
period a water reservoir was constructed in southern Azraq.
During the
Arab Revolt
The Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية, ) or the Great Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية الكبرى, ) was a military uprising of Arab forces against the Ottoman Empire in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On ...
in the early 20th century, Qasr Azraq was an important headquarters for
T. E. Lawrence
Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...
.
![Azraq view](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Azraq_view.jpg)
The
Azraq refugee camp
The Azraq refugee camp is a refugee camp, located near Azraq, Jordan, built for refugees of the Syrian Civil War. It was developed, and is operated, by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in conjunction with the Government ...
, sheltering
refugees of the Syrian Civil War, was opened in 2014 and is located west of Azraq.
The site had been previously used during the
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
of 1990–91 as a transit camp for displaced Iraqis and Kuwaitis.
Demographics
![Qasr Al-Azraq](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Qasr_Al-Azraq.jpg)
According to the Jordan National Census of 2004, the population of Azraq was 9,021, of whom 7,625 (84.5%) were Jordanian citizens. 4,988 (55.3%) were males, and 4,033 (44.7%) females. The next census was conducted in 2014.
Wildlife reserve
![Shaumarinaturereserve](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Shaumarinaturereserve.jpg)
Azraq is also the site of one of Jordan's seven protected nature reserve areas (set up by the
Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature
The Royal Society for The Conservation of Nature (RSCN) is an independent voluntary organization that is devoted to the conservation of Jordan's natural resources; it was established in 1966 with the late King Hussein as Honorary President.
R ...
): the Azraq Wetlands Reserve in Azraq al-Janoubi (South Azraq).
The separate and larger
Shaumari reserve is about south of the town.
See also
*
Azraq Wetland Reserve
The Azraq Wetland Reserve is a nature reserve located in the town of Azraq in the eastern desert of Jordan. An oasis for migratory birds, the reserve was established in 1978 and covers . The natural springs dried up in 1992 and most migratory bir ...
*
Desert castles
The Umayyad desert castles, of which the desert castles of Jordan represent a prominent part, are fortified palaces or castles in what was the then Umayyad province of Bilad al-Sham. Most Umayyad "desert castles" are scattered over the semi-arid ...
, of which the Azraq oasis has two:
Qasr Azraq
Qasr al-Azraq ( ar, قصر الأزرق, "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 ca ...
and Qasr Ain es-Sil
*
Druze in Jordan
Druze in Jordan refers to adherents of the Druze faith, an ethnoreligious esoteric group originating from the Near East who self identify as unitarians (''Muwahhideen''). Druze faith is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion, and Druze do no ...
References
Further reading
*
External Links
Photos of Azraqat the
American Center of Research
{{Authority control
Populated places in Zarqa Governorate
Oases of Jordan
Druze communities in Jordan