Salt, Jordan
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Al-Salt ( ar, السلط ''As-Salt'') is an ancient salt trading city and administrative centre in west-central
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 ...
. It is on the old main highway leading from
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 ...
to
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. Situated in the Balqa highland, about 790–1,100 metres above sea level, the city is built in the crook of three hills, close to 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 ...
. One of the three hills, Jabal al-Qal'a, is the site of a 13th-century ruined fortress. It is the capital of
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 ...
. The Greater Salt Municipality has about 107,874 inhabitants (2018). Al-Salt was added to the
UNESCO World Heritage list A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
in 2021.


History

It is not known when the city was first inhabited, but it is believed that it was built by the Macedonian army during the reign of
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
. The city was known as Saltus in
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 ...
times and was the seat of a
bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
. At this time, the city was considered to be the principal settlement on the
East Bank Transjordan, the East Bank, or the Transjordanian Highlands ( ar, شرق الأردن), is the part of the Southern Levant east of the Jordan River, mostly contained in present-day Jordan. The region, known as Transjordan, was controlled by nu ...
of the
Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...
. The settlement was destroyed by the
Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...
and then rebuilt during the reign of the
Mamluk 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'') ...
sultan
Baibars Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari ( ar, الملك الظاهر ركن الدين بيبرس البندقداري, ''al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Rukn al-Dīn Baybars al-Bunduqdārī'') (1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), of Turkic Kipchak ...
(1260–1277). Salt was once the most important settlement in the area between the Jordan Valley and the eastern desert. Because of its history as an important trading link between the eastern desert and the west, it was a significant place for the region's many rulers. The Romans, Byzantines and Mameluks all contributed to the growth of the city, but it was at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, when the
Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
established a regional administrative capital in Salt and encouraged settlement from other parts of their empire, that Salt enjoyed its most prosperous period.


Ottoman period

In 1596, during the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, Salt was noted in the
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
as being located 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 ...
'' of Salt in the '' liwa'' of
Ajlun Ajloun ( ar, عجلون, ''‘Ajlūn''), also spelled Ajlun, is the capital town of the Ajloun Governorate, a hilly town in the north of Jordan, located 76 kilometers (around 47 miles) north west of Amman. It is noted for its impressive ruins of t ...
, with a
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 ...
population of 40 households and 5 bachelors; and a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
population of 25 households. The villagers paid a fixed tax-rate of 25% on various agricultural products; including wheat, barley, olive trees/vineyards, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues and a market toll; a total of 12,000
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 ...
. By the end of the 18th century, Salt was the sole permanent settlement in the Balqa region, a situation which persisted well into the 19th century. The rest of the Balqa was dominated by the local Bedouin tribes. It was the most developed city and commercial center of Transjordan from the 18th century until the early years of the
Emirate of Transjordan The Emirate of Transjordan ( ar, إمارة شرق الأردن, Imārat Sharq al-Urdun, Emirate of East Jordan), officially known as the Amirate of Trans-Jordan, was a British protectorate established on 11 April 1921,
. The city's drinking water was supplied by two abundant springs, which also irrigated the town gardens along the
Wadi Shu'ayb Wadi Shueib ( ar, وادي شُعَيب), Arabic for the Valley of Jethro and properly Wadi Shuʿeib but with many variant romanisations, is a wadi in Jordan. The alluvial fan of the wadi where it enters the southern part of the eastern Jord ...
stream. It was situated along the slopes of a conical hill, at the top of which stood a fort, and along the ridges of two deep abutting valleys, which provided a natural defense against encroachments by neighboring Bedouin tribes. Salt's inhabitants negotiated terms with the tribes, who guaranteed the townspeople access to their wheat fields in the Balqa's eastern plains in return for giving the tribesmen access to the town's extensive markets. Sharecropping agreements were formed with the tribes whereby Salt townspeople would encamp in Amman and Wadi Wala in the spring until harvest and paid an annual tribute to the dominant tribe of the Balqa. Until around the 1810s, the paramount tribe was the Adwan, known as "lords of the Balqa". Afterward, the Banu Sakhr overtook the Adwan and collected the tribute from Salt. The city's defenses and isolation in a land practically controlled by Bedouin tribes also enabled its inhabitants to ignore the impositions of the Ottoman authorities without consequence. Western travelers in the early 19th century reported that the leader of the town effectively wielded the same authority as any of the provincial governors of
Ottoman Syria Ottoman Syria ( ar, سوريا العثمانية) refers to divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of Syria, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Arabian Desert and south ...
appointed by the sultan. In the early 19th century, the townspeople mostly belonged to the clans of Fakhoury, Akrad, Awamila and Qatishat. Each clan was headed by its own sheikh, one or two of whom would act as the ''shaykh al-balad'' (city leader), who was based in the fort and was in charge of protecting Salt from Bedouin attack. The population consisted of about four hundred Muslim and eighty Christian families. According to the observations of Buckingham in the 1820s, roughly 100 Christians in Salt were immigrants from
Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...
who moved to the town to avoid the exactions of
Jazzar Pasha Ahmad Pasha al-Jazzar ( ar, أحمد باشا الجزّار; ota, جزّار أحمد پاشا; ca. 1720–30s7 May 1804) was the Acre-based Ottoman governor of Sidon Eyalet from 1776 until his death in 1804 and the simultaneous governor of Da ...
, the Ottoman governor of
Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...
. Muslim–Christian relations were amicable and the two communities shared the same lifestyles, dress and the Arabic language. Salt was organized into quarters, each controlled by one of three main clans, and contained a number of mosques, a church and about twenty shops during this period. Salt served the surrounding countryside as far as Karak, which lacked a market until the late 19th century, and goods in its market originated as far as Tyre and Egypt. It exported raisins,
sumac Sumac ( or ), also spelled sumach, is any of about 35 species of flowering plants in the genus ''Rhus'' and related genera in the cashew family (Anacardiaceae). Sumacs grow in subtropical and temperate regions throughout the world, including Eas ...
leaves for the tanneries of
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, ''qili'' (a type of ash, a key ingredient of
Nabulsi soap Nabulsi soap ( ar, صابون نابلسي, ''ṣābūn Nābulsi'') is a type of castile soap produced only in Nablus in the West Bank, Palestine. Its chief ingredients are virgin olive oil (the main agricultural product of the region), water, a ...
) to
Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
, and ostrich feathers supplied by the Bedouin to Damascus. Nablus was Salt's primary partner, and Salt served as the Transjordanian center of the Nablus-based
Tuqan family The Tuqan clan ( ar, طوقان ''ṭūqān'', also spelled ''Toukan'', ''Touqan'', ''Tukan'' and ''Tokan'') is a prominent Palestinian and Jordanian political and business family. During the Ottoman era, they dominated the political and socio-e ...
. Although most of the inhabitants were farmers, there were also craftsmen and smaller numbers of shopkeepers, the latter of whom were commissioned by merchants in Nablus, Nazareth and Damascus. In 1834 the townspeople and local Bedouin fought together to drive out the forces of the practically autonomous province of
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
led by Ibrahim Pasha, the first recorded clash of the
Peasants' revolt in Palestine The Peasants' Revolt was a rebellion against Egyptian conscription and taxation policies in Palestine. While rebel ranks consisted mostly of the local peasantry, urban notables and Bedouin tribes also formed an integral part of the revolt, wh ...
. Ottoman rule in the Levant was restored in 1840, but Salt remained only nominally part of the Empire. In 1866–1867, the governor of Damascus
Mehmed Rashid Pasha Mehmed Râshid Pasha ( tr, Mehmed Râşid Paşa, ar, محمد راشد باشا, Muḥammad Rāshid Basha; 1824–15 June 1876) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman statesman who served as the ''wāli, vali'' (governor) of Syria Vilayet in 1866–1871 ...
(1866–1871) extended the imperial
Tanzimat The Tanzimat (; ota, تنظيمات, translit=Tanzimāt, lit=Reorganization, ''see'' nizām) was a period of reform in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Gülhane Hatt-ı Şerif in 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. ...
centralization and modernization reforms in Transjordan. He led a large force of Bedouin tribesmen from the
Rwala The Ruwallah ( ar, الرولة, singular Ruweili/Ruwaili) are a large Arab tribe of northern Arabia and the Syrian Desert, including modern-day Jordan. History Until the demarcation of borders in the Middle East in the early 20th century, the Ru ...
, Wuld Ali and Banu Hasan,
Hauran The Hauran ( ar, حَوْرَان, ''Ḥawrān''; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, eastwards by the al-Safa (Syria), al-Safa ...
plainsmen,
Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
mountaineers and regular infantry, cavalry and artillery troops toward Salt, stopping three hours north of the city. From there, he offered to pardon Salt's inhabitants for allying with the Adwan and Banu Sakhr against the authorities. The city organized a delegation of Muslim and Christian grandees who negotiated the unopposed entry of the Ottomans into Salt on 17 August. Rashid Pasha repaired the damaged fort where he garrisoned 400 troops. He appointed the Damascene Kurd Faris Agha Kadru as Salt's first district governor and established an elected administrative council composed of Salt's elite families. Rashid Pasha confiscated huge qualities of grain and livestock from the town as compensation for tax arrears. Salt's heyday was in the late 19th century when traders arrived from
Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
to expand their trading network eastwards beyond the
Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...
. As a result of the influx of newcomers this period saw the rapid expansion of Salt from a simple village into a city with many architecturally elegant buildings, many built in the ''Nablusi'' style from the attractive honey-coloured local stone. A large number of buildings from this era survive .


British Mandate, Emirate, and independence

During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Salt was captured from the Ottomans by the third battalion of the
Jewish Legion The Jewish Legion (1917–1921) is an unofficial name used to refer to five battalions of Jewish volunteers, the 38th to 42nd (Service) Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers in the British Army, raised to fight against the Ottoman Empire during ...
of the British expeditionary corps, and its commander, , was made military governor of Salt. After the war, the town was the site which
Herbert Samuel Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel, (6 November 1870 – 5 February 1963) was a British Liberal politician who was the party leader from 1931 to 1935. He was the first nominally-practising Jew to serve as a Cabinet minister and to beco ...
, British High Commissioner of Palestine, chose to make his announcement that the British favoured a
Hejaz The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...
i
Hashemite The Hashemites ( ar, الهاشميون, al-Hāshimīyūn), also House of Hashim, are the royal family of Jordan, which they have ruled since 1921, and were the royal family of the kingdoms of Hejaz (1916–1925), Syria (1920), and Iraq (1921 ...
ruled entity on the East Bank of the Mandatory Palestine (current Jordan). This wish became reality in 1921 when Abdullah I became Emir of Transjordan. Salt seemed to be the city that would be chosen as the capital of the new emirate since most of the industry and commerce flowed through Salt. During this period Salt had no high schools. Even so, Abdullah picked the city as the capital of his emerging emirate but later changed his mind and moved his compound and entourage to Amman when he and the notables of Salt had a disagreement. Amman at that time was a small city of only 20,000 people which experienced rapid growth. The Jordanian census of 1961 found 16,176 inhabitants in Al-Salt, of whom 2,157 were Christian. Al-Salt was also the hometown of Raed Mansour al-Banna, who was responsible for the 2005 Al Hillah bombing in Iraq.The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future, Vali Nasr, 2006, p. 247


Municipal districts

The Greater Salt Municipality is divided into nine districts:


Education

Salt contains many schools, including the public first secondary school of Jordan dating back to 1918, as well as many private schools that date back to the 1800s, such as the Latin School and the Catholic School. It is also the home of the
Holy Land Institute for the Deaf The Holy Land Institute for the Deaf (مؤسسة الأراضي المقدسة للصم) is a non-profit foundation located in Salt, Jordan, north of Amman, that provides educational and rehabilitation services for people with hearing impairment. T ...
, a non-profit educational center for people with hearing impairment. The city has two universities surrounding it: Al-Balqa` Applied University established in 1997 and
Al-Ahliyya Amman University Al-Ahliyya Amman University (AAU) (or Amman University, or Amman Private University) is located in Amman, Jordan. Founded in 1990, it was the first private university in Jordan. King Abdullah. (2011). ''Our Last Best Chance: The Pursuit of Peac ...
(Amman National University) located on the highway connecting
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 ...
to Salt.


Tourism


Ottoman mansions

At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, when the Ottomans established a regional administrative base in Salt and encouraged settlement from other parts of the empire, the city's status increased, many merchants arrived and, with their newly acquired wealth, built the fine houses that can still be admired in Salt today. These splendid yellow sandstone buildings incorporate a variety of styles. Typically, they have domed roofs, interior courtyards and characteristic tall, arched windows. Perhaps the most beautiful is the Abu Jaber mansion, built between 1892 and 1906, which has frescoed ceilings, painted by Italian artists, and is reputed to be the finest example of a 19th-century merchant house in the region.


Roman tombs and Ayyubid citadel

Tightly built on a cluster of three hills, Salt has several other places of interest, including Roman tombs on the outskirts of the city and the citadel and site of the town's early 13th century
Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty ( ar, الأيوبيون '; ) was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni ...
fortress, which was built by
Al-Mu'azzam Isa () (1176 – 1227) was the Ayyubid emir of Damascus from 1218 to 1227. The son of Sultan al-Adil I and nephew of Saladin, founder of the dynasty, al-Mu'azzam was installed by his father as governor of Damascus in 1198 or 1200. After his father's ...
, the nephew of
Saladin Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سه‌لاحه‌دین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...
soon after AD 1198.


Museums

Salt's Archaeological & Folklore Museum displays artifacts dating back to 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 ...
period to the Islamic era as well as other items relating to the history of the area. In the folklore museum there is presentation of Bedouin and traditional costumes and everyday folkloric items. A small museum and a handicraft school are presenting the traditional skills of ceramics, weaving, silk-screen printing and dyeing.


Muslim shrines

In the city of Salt and its environs, there are several Muslim shrines at the traditional tombs of the
prophets In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
Shu'ayb, Ayyoub, Yusha, and Jadur, the Arabic names of 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 ...
characters Jethro,
Job Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...
,
Joshua Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...
, and Gad. These sites of Muslim pilgrimage are known as An-Nabi Shu'ayb, An-Nabi Ayyub, An-Nabi Yusha' bin Noon, and 'Ayn al-Jadur ("Spring of Jadur") respectively, an-nabi being the Arabic word for prophet.


International relations


Gallery

File:Salt, Jordan.jpg, The hills around Salt in spring


Notes


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * *


External Links

Archival photos of Salt
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 ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salt Populated places in Balqa Governorate World Heritage Sites in Jordan