Mahis ( ar, ماحص, Māḥis, alternatively spelled Mahas) is a town in the

Balqa Governorate Balqa' ( ar, البلقاء ''Al Balqā’'') is one of the governorates of Jordan. It is located northwest of Amman, Jordan's capital. The governorate has the fourth largest population of the 12 governorates of Jordan, and is ranked 10th by are ...

northwest from the governorate's capital

Salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

, and west of Amman. Its population was 17,754 in 2015. Most of the population of Mahis descends from the Abbadi tribe. ( ar, العبادي). The mountainous town is located at over , with views on the

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 ...

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

with

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

's walls visible on the horizon. Mahis is known for its orchards and its numerous water fountains and springs, notably the Fountain of Mahis.

History

Mahis is believed to emerged during the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

period, when it bordered Jewish

Perea Perea or Peraea (Greek: Περαία, " the country beyond") was the portion of the kingdom of Herod the Great occupying the eastern side of the Jordan River valley, from about one third the way down the Jordan River segment connecting the Sea ...

and the territory of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

- Amman 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 ...

, and in the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

period between the territory of the dioceses of

Gadara Gadara ( el, Γάδαρα ''Gádara''), in some texts Gedaris, was an ancient Hellenistic city, for a long time member of the Decapolis city league, a former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see. Its ruins are today located at Umm ...

and Philadelphia. The name comes from the Arabic word ( ar, محص) meaning to check out and examine due to its status as a border check point. In 1838 Mahis was noted located south of

Al-Salt Al-Salt ( ar, السلط ''As-Salt'') is an ancient salt trading city and administrative centre in west-central Jordan. It is on the old main highway leading from Amman to Jerusalem. Situated in the Balqa (region), Balqa highland, about 790–1, ...

, and as being in ruins. The village was listed in the 1915 Ottoman census for the district of Salt as Mahis and the tribe of Jabara and had a population of 505. The Jordanian census of 1961 found 1,154 inhabitants in Mahis. By the early 1980s, the town became a practical suburb of the capital Amman.

Religious importance

In Mahis there is a shrine of

Khidr Al-Khidr () ( ar, ٱلْخَضِر, al-Khaḍir), also transcribed as al-Khadir, Khader, Khidr, Khizr, Khazer, Khadr, Khedher, Khizir, Khizar, is a figure described but not mentioned by name in the Quran as a righteous servant of God possessing g ...

, a single room surrounded by a small garden with a green flag on top. Near Mahies (2 km West of Mahis) in an area called Wadi Shuaib, is the grave of prophet

Shuaib Shuaib, Shoaib, Shuayb or Shuʿayb ( ar, شعيب, ; meaning: "who shows the right path") is an ancient Midianite '' Nabi'' (Prophet) in Islam, and the most revered prophet in the Druze faith. Shuayb is traditionally identified with the Biblical ...

, or Jethro in the biblical tradition.

Economy

Mahis is based on an agrarian economy, including wheat, barley, and tobacco as well as pomegranates, grapes and olives. The importance of agriculture is decreasing, though figs and olives are still a primary source of income. The area also produces natural goods such as

kaolin Kaolinite ( ) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4. It is an important industrial mineral. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica () linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral ...

which is then produced in the neighboring city Fuhais.Jordandevnet.org
Online The southern part of the Mahis territory called Almeda also attracts tourism due to its forested mountains and location near the Dead Sea/West Bank as well as Amman. Mahis also focuses on education and is well known for its higher education academic disciplines.

Demographics

In the 2015 Jordanian census Mahis had 3,284 households for a total population of 17,754, of whom 47.6% were females and 52.4% were males. The inhabitants largely descend from the Jabara (Jubarah) section of the Abbad tribal confederation.

Gallery

File:Mahis Sigi.jpg, Farms in Mahis File:mahis1.jpg, Site from Mahis towards the Jordanian valley File:’Mahis khader 1.jpg, The tomb of

, a revered figure in Islam

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Mahis websitePhotos of Mahes
at the American Center of Research {{coord, 31, 59, N, 35, 46, E, region:JO_type:city_source:enwiki-GNS, display=title Populated places in Balqa Governorate