Irbid ( ar, إِربِد), known in ancient times as Arabella or Arbela (Άρβηλα in

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

), is the capital and largest city of the

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 ...

. It also has the second largest metropolitan population in

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 ...

after

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 ...

, with a population of around 2,003,800. Irbid is located about north of Amman on the northern ridge of the

Gilead Gilead or Gilad (; he, גִּלְעָד ''Gīləʿāḏ'', ar, جلعاد, Ǧalʻād, Jalaad) is the ancient, historic, biblical name of the mountainous northern part of the region of Transjordan.''Easton's Bible Dictionary'Galeed''/ref> Th ...

, equidistant from

Pella Pella ( el, Πέλλα) is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is best-known for serving as the capital city of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, and was the birthplace of Alexander the Great. On site of the ancient cit ...

Beit Ras Capitolias ( grc, Καπιτωλιάς, Kapitolias) was an ancient city east of the Jordan River, and is identified with the modern village of Beit Ras in the Irbid Governorate in northern Jordan. Anciently it was a town of Coele-Syria. The Peut ...

(

Capitolias Capitolias ( grc, Καπιτωλιάς, Kapitolias) was an ancient city east of the Jordan River, and is identified with the modern village of Beit Ras in the Irbid Governorate in northern Jordan. Anciently it was a town of Coele-Syria. The Peut ...

), and

Um Qais Umm Qais or Qays ( ar, أم قيس , , Mother of Qais) is a town in northern Jordan principally known for its proximity to the ruins of the ancient Gadara. It is the largest city in the Bani Kinanah Department and Irbid Governorate in the extrem ...

, and approximately south of the

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

n border. Irbid was built on successive

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 ...

settlements and was possibly the

biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

Beth Arbel and the Arbila of the

Decapolis The Decapolis (Greek: grc, Δεκάπολις, Dekápolis, Ten Cities, label=none) was a group of ten Hellenistic cities on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire in the Southern Levant in the first centuries BCE and CE. They formed a group b ...

, a Hellenistic league of the 1st century BCE through the 2nd century CE. The population of Irbid swelled in the late 19th century, and prior to 1948 it served as a significant centre of transit trade. Irbid is the second largest metropolitan in Jordan by population after

. But as a city Irbid is the third largest one after Amman and

Zarqa Zarqa ( ar, الزرقاء) is the capital of Zarqa Governorate in Jordan. Its name means "the blue (city)". It had a population of 635,160 inhabitants in 2015, and is the most populous city in Jordan after Amman. Geography Zarqa is located in t ...

. The province of

has the second largest population, and the highest population density in the kingdom. The city is a major ground transportation hub between Amman,

to the north, and

Mafraq Mafraq ( ar, المفرق ''Al-Mafraq'', local dialects: ''Mafrag'' or ''Mafra''; ) is the capital city of Mafraq Governorate in Jordan, located 80 km to the north from the capital Amman in crossroad to Syria to the north and Iraq to the east ...

to the east. The Irbid region is also home to several colleges and universities. The two most prominent universities are

Jordan University of Science and Technology The Jordan University of Science and Technology ( ar, جامعة العلوم والتكنولوجيا الأردنية ''Jami'at Al-Ulum wa Al-Tiknolojia Al-Urdunia''), often abbreviated JUST, is a state-supported university located on the ou ...

and

Yarmouk University Yarmouk University ( ar, جامعة اليرموك), also abbreviated YU, is a comprehensive public and state supported university located near the city centre of Irbid in northern Jordan. Since its establishment in 1976, Yarmouk University (YU) ...

History

Artifacts and graves in the area show that Irbid was inhabited in the

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 pri ...

. Pieces of pottery and wall stones found at Tell Irbid were estimated to be made in the year 3200 B.C. In the

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

period, Irbid, then known as Arabella was a major trade center. Before the advent of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, Arabella was famous for producing some of the best

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

s in the ancient world. The area in the region had extremely fertile soil and moderate climate, allowing the growing of high quality grapes. After the Muslim conquests, the city came under the rule of the

Muslim Empire This article includes a list of successive Islamic states and Muslim dynasties beginning with the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632 CE) and the early Muslim conquests that spread Islam outside of the Arabian Peninsula, and contin ...

and became known as Irbid, at which time it shifted from wine to

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...

production. Wheat was also an important product in the area. In 1596 it appeared in the Ottoman tax registers named as ''Irbid'', situated in the ''

nahiya A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division w ...

'' (subdistrict) of Bani Juhma, part of the

Sanjak of Hawran Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province" ...

. It had 72 households and 35 bachelors; all

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. The villagers paid a fixed tax-rate of 25% on agricultural products; including wheat (22,500

akçe The ''akçe'' or ''akça'' (also spelled ''akche'', ''akcheh''; ota, آقچه; ) refers to a silver coin which was the chief monetary unit of the Ottoman Empire. The word itself evolved from the word "silver or silver money", this word is deri ...

), barley, summer crops, fruit trees, goats and bee-hives; in addition to a market toll. The total tax was 38,116

. In 1838,

Eli Smith Eli Smith (born September 13, 1801, in Northford, Connecticut, to Eli and Polly (Whitney) Smith, and died January 11, 1857, in Beirut, Lebanon) was an American Protestant missionary and scholar. He graduated from Yale College in 1821 and from Andov ...

noted Irbid (Arbela) as being a place with

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...

. The Jordanian census of 1961 found 44,585 inhabitants in Irbid.

Present-day

Irbid today combines the bustle of a provincial

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

ern town and the youthful nightlife of a typical college town. The city is home to four major universities: Yarmouk University, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid National University and Jadara University. In addition, it is home for two campuses of Balqa Applied University and several private colleges. University Street, which defines the western border of the Yarmouk University campus, is popular with locals as well as with the occasional foreign visitors who stop by to relax in any of its numerous restaurants and cafés that open late into the night. Though not usually a major tourist destination itself, Irbid is home to two notable museums: the Museum of Jordanian Heritage and the Jordan Natural History Museum, both on the campus of

. Furthermore, Irbid's strategic location in northern Jordan makes it a convenient starting point for tourists interested in seeing the northern

Jordan Valley The Jordan Valley ( ar, غور الأردن, ''Ghor al-Urdun''; he, עֵמֶק הַיַרְדֵּן, ''Emek HaYarden'') forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. Unlike most other river valleys, the term "Jordan Valley" often applies just to ...

; visiting

Umm Qais Umm Qais or Qays ( ar, أم قيس , , Mother of Qais) is a town in northern Jordan principally known for its proximity to the ruins of the ancient Gadara. It is the largest city in the Bani Kinanah Department and Irbid Governorate in the extreme ...

, Beit Ras (

, Ajloun,

Umm el-Jimal Umm el-Jimal ( ar, ام الجمال, "Mother of Camels"), also known as Umm ej Jemāl, Umm al-Jimal or Umm idj-Djimal, is a village in Northern Jordan approximately 17 kilometers east of Mafraq. It is primarily notable for the substantial ruins o ...

, La Foossi baitaras and other historical sites; or traveling on to

. File:Jordan Irbid Museum Of Jordanian Heritage 0993.jpg, Irbid Museum Of Jordanian Heritage Dolmen File:Jordan Irbid Museum Of Jordanian Heritage 0995.jpg, Irbid Museum Of Jordanian Heritage Decorated stone File:Jordan Irbid Museum Of Jordanian Heritage 0994.jpg, Irbid Museum Of Jordanian Heritage Decorated stone File:Jordan Irbid Museum Of Jordanian Heritage 0986.jpg, Irbid Museum Of Jordanian Heritage Mosaic File:Jordan Irbid Museum Of Jordanian Heritage 0987.jpg, Irbid Museum Of Jordanian Heritage Mosaic File:Jordan Irbid Museum Of Jordanian Heritage 0988.jpg, Irbid Museum Of Jordanian Heritage Mosaic File:Jordan Irbid Museum Of Jordanian Heritage 0989.jpg, Irbid Museum Of Jordanian Heritage Mosaic File:Jordan Irbid Museum Of Jordanian Heritage 0991.jpg, Irbid Museum Of Jordanian Heritage Mosaic File:Jordan Irbid Museum Of Jordanian Heritage 0992.jpg, Irbid Museum Of Jordanian Heritage Mosaic File:Irbid clock on Memorial Square 1044.jpg, Irbid Centre File:Irbid clock on Memorial Square 1000.jpg, Irbid Clock tower

Geography

Situated in northern Jordan, in a fertile

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

. As of 2010, the city limits of Irbid had an area of 30 km² of which most of it is classified as Residential areas making up 74.3% of the total area, followed by the Services areas occupying 9.5%, then Empty or unoccupied areas of 7.7%, then 4.2% is classified as Commercial areas, and 3.3% as Industrial areas, and finally gardens occupied 1% of the total city area.

Border cities

* Al Koura *

Ar Ramtha Ar-Ramtha ( ar, الرَّمثا, ar-Ramṯā), colloquially transliterated as Ar-Romtha ( ar, الرُّمثا, ar-Rumṯā), is a city situated in the far northwest of Jordan near the Jordan–Syria border, border with Syria. It covers 40 k ...

Climate

Irbid has a

hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: Csa), common in the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

region. Summers are hot at days with warm nights while winters are cool and wet with two snowy days in average.

Districts of Greater Irbid Municipality

Irbid is divided into 23 city districts forming smaller cities within the metropolitan sphere of influence of Irbid: The Snows of Huwwarah

Cities, Towns, and Villages

Many villages surround the city of Irbid including: * Birqish-Kufr Rakeb (برقش - كفر راكب) * Irbid (اربد) * Aṭ-Ṭaībah (الطيبة) * Natfeh (ناطفه) * Habaka (حبكا) * Kufr-Rahta (كفررحتا) * Al-Mazar Al-Shamali (المزار الشمالي) * Hareema (حريما) * Al'aal (علعال) * Kufr Asad (كفرأسد) * Kufr Aan (كفرعان) * Jumha (جمحة) * Kufryuba (كفر يوبا) * Zahar (زحر) * Qum (قمّ) * Sammou' (سمّوع) * Izmal (زمال) * Kufrelma (كفر الماء) * Sawm (سوم) * Saydoor (صيدور) * Kufr Soom (كفر سوم) * Sama al-Rousan (سما الروسان) * Ibser Abu Ali * Assarieh (الصريح) * Aidoon (ايدون) * Al Husn (الحصن) * Baleela (بليلة) * Beit Ras (بيت راس) * Dowgarah (دوقرة) * En-Nu`aymeh (النعيمة) * Habaka (حبكا) * Houfa Al-Westiyyah * Qumaim (قميم) * Bushra (Jordan) (بشرى) * Huwwarah (حوارة) * Imrawah * Al Ramtha (الرمثا) * Sal (سال) * Samad (صمد) * Al Shajara (الشجرة) * Al Turrah (الطرة) * Fou'ara (فوعرة) * Zoubia ( زوبيا) * Jdaita (جديتا) * Rehaba (رحابا) * Kufor Alma (كفرالماء ) * Kharja (خرجا) * Dair Yousef (دير يوسف) * Dair Abos'eed (دير أبو سعيد) * Kufor Kefia (كفر كفية) * Summer (سمر) * E'nbeh (عنبة) * Bayt Yafa (بيت يافا) * Dair Esse'neh (دير السعنة) * Mandah (منده) *

Maru (Irbid) Maru is one of the main agricultural villages in Irbid Governorate, Jordan. It is located to the north-east of the city of Irbid, about 7 km, and about 4536 people live in Maru by 2015. History Archaeological situation Was found the an ...

(مرو) * Zabda (زبدة) * Bait Idis (بيت ايدس) * Makhraba (مخربا) * Al-Murajjam * Al Mughayer (المغير)

Hospitals

* Abu Obaida Hospital * Al-Najah Hospital * Al-Qawasmi Hospital * Al-Ramtha Hospital * Al-Yarmouk Hospital * Ibn-Alnafees Hospital * Irbid Islamic Hospital * Irbid Speciality Hospital *

King Abdullah University Hospital King Abdullah University Hospital ( ar, مُستشفى الملك المؤسس عبد الله الجامعي), often abbreviated KAUH, is a teaching hospital in Ar Ramtha, Jordan. It is the largest medical structure in the north of the country, ...

* Muaath Bin Jabal Hospital * Princess Badeea Hospital * Princess Basma Hospital * Princess Rahma Hospital * Princess Raya Hospital * Rahbat Al-Wardieh Hospital * Roman Catholic Hospital

Education

As of 2007, there were 70,000 registered students in Irbid's 10 universities, community colleges and institutes, of whom 8,000 were international students from 47 countries. This high concentration of institutions of higher education has played a key role in carving a unique identity of the city. The largest universities in Irbid are: YUPanorama

Reservoir (Jordan University of Science and Technology)

Irbid National University Irbid National University ( ar, جامعة إربد الأهلية, abbreviated INU) is a university in Jordan. Established in 1994, it is located in the northern town of Irbid. It has a student body of 6,000. Irbid National University is a pri ...

* Al-Balqa` Applied University (Irbid campus) * Jadara University Private Schools in Irbid (sorted by alphabetical order): * Adventist School * Al-Arabiya Model School * Al-Manara Schools ^{/sup>
* Al-Nahda Private School ^{/sup>
* Alwatany center
* American University School of the Middle East
* Dar Al Uloum Schools ^{/sup>
* Greek Catholic School

Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

* Irbid International Schools
* Irbid Model School ^{/sup>
* Islamic School ^{/sup> (Al-Madares Al-Islamiya)
* Jeel Al Jadeed School
* Jordan National Schools ^{/sup>
* Khawla Bint Alazwar ^{/sup>
* Rosary Sisters School
* Shoa'a Alammel School ^{/sup>
* Yarmouk University Model School ^{/sup>

Economy

Most of the city's economy is based on the services sector, that is directly or indirectly related to the higher education institutions in the city, as an example there are 26 book publishing companies in the city. The number of internet cafes per capita is the highest in the world that took Irbid to the Guinness Book of World Records

''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
. Irbid is considered the cultural capital of Jordan. There is one Qualifying Industrial Zone in Irbid.

Sports

The Irbid-based club Al-Hussein (Irbid)

Al-Hussein SC (Irbid) ( ar, الحسين إربد) is a professional football club based in Irbid which competes in the Jordanian Pro League.

Al-Hussein (Irbid) participated in the 2005 AFC Cup, winning its group. The club has never won the Jor ...
was ranked fourth in the Jordanian football premier league in the year 2008. Its home matches are held in Prince Hasan Youth City's Stadium. The other major football club in Irbid is Al-Arabi. Established in 1945, it is one of the oldest athletic clubs in the country. As of 2008, there are 22 cultural and sport clubs registered in Irbid. Irbid hosted the 1999 Pan Arab Games.

Twin towns – sister cities

Irbid is twinned with:

* Gaziantep

Gaziantep (), previously and still informally called Aintab or Antep (), is a major city and capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region, approximat ...
, Turkey
* Zhengzhou

Zhengzhou (; ), also spelt Zheng Zhou and alternatively romanized as Chengchow, is the capital and largest city of Henan Province in the central part of the People's Republic of China. Located in north-central Henan, it is one of the National ...
, China

Notable people

See also

*

Citations

General bibliography

*
*
* El-Khouri, Lamia, "Roman and Byzantine Settlements in the Region of West Irbid," ''Palestine Exploration Quarterly'', 139,3 (2007), 166–185.
*

External links

Irbid - Jordan Tourism Board

Beautiful Natural Scenes From Al-Koura Department - Irbid

Irbid News

Greater Irbid Municipality

Irbid Guide

Irbid Discussion Forum

Al Husun FM Radio Station

Photos of Irbid
at the American Center of Research

The American Center of Research (ACOR) is a private, not-for-profit scholarly and educational organization. Based in Alexandria, Virginia, with a facility in Amman, Jordan, ACOR promotes knowledge of Jordan and the interconnected region, past and ...

{{Authority control

Gilead
Populated places in Irbid Governorate}}}}}}}}}