Ismael Babouk (; ar, إسماعيل بابوق; 1841–1920) was a
Circassian aristocrat that established the first mayoral council and held office as the first Mayor 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 ...
between 1909 and 1911.
Early life
Ismael Babouk was part of the first generation of
Kabardian Circassians that resettled in
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 ...
's ancient
Roman ruins after leaving their homeland
Circassia. The resettlement was the result of the
Russo-Circassian War that took place in historical
Circassia between 1763 and 1864, which roughly encompassed the major part of the
North Caucasus and the northeast shore of the
Black Sea.
Ismael Babouk, after whom one 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 ...
's downtown streets was named, resided with siblings Kamel Babouk, Maher Babouk and Sawrat-Khan Babouk in 1885 on the Italian Hospital Street.
Career
Career in agriculture & livestock trading
Ismael Babouk started his career in agriculture and raw agricultural land upon arriving in
Jordan. He later expanded his work to include livestock trading between
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 ...
,
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
and
Lebanon.
Career in politics
Ismael Babouk's career in politics started when he established
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 ...
's first mayoral council that helped transform the city from a village to a town.
Being one of the elders of his people, and being fluent in reading and writing
Arabic,
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
, and Circassian helped get him elected by the residents of the city 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 ...
as Mayor in 1909 where he held office till 1911.
His mayoral election helped increase the interaction between
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 ...
and
As Salt.
References
Mayors of Amman
1841 births
1920 deaths
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