Azraq ( meaning "blue") is a small town in

Zarqa Governorate Zarqa Governorate ( ''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 largest city in the governorate. ...

in central-eastern

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, east of

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

. The population of Azraq was 9,021 in 2004. The Muwaffaq Salti Air Base is located in Azraq.

History

Prehistory

Archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

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 3.3 million years ago when the first evidence for stone tool production and use by hominins appears ...

, 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 In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

, or a seasonal playa. Animals found in Lower Palaeolithic layers at the Shishan Marsh site include a large elephant (probably the extinct '' Palaeoloxodon recki''), a smaller elephant (probably '' Elephas hysudricus,'' the ancestor of the living

Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living ''Elephas'' species. It is the largest living land animal in Asia and the second largest living Elephantidae, elephantid in the world. It is char ...

), the extinct

narrow-nosed rhinoceros The narrow-nosed rhinoceros (''Stephanorhinus hemitoechus''), also known as the steppe rhinoceros is an extinct species of rhinoceros belonging to the genus '' Stephanorhinus'' that lived in western Eurasia, including Europe, and West Asia, as ...

camels A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provide ...

, lions,

wild horse The wild horse (''Equus ferus'') is a species of the genus Equus (genus), ''Equus'', which includes as subspecies the modern domestication of the horse, domesticated horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') as well as the Endangered species, endangered ...

, an

ass Ass most commonly refers to: * Buttocks (in informal American English) * Donkey or ass, ''Equus africanus asinus'' **any other member of the subgenus ''Asinus'' Ass or ASS may also refer to: Art and entertainment * Ass (album), ''Ass'' (albu ...

(either '' Equus heimonius'' or '' Equus hydruntinus''), gazelles,

aurochs The aurochs (''Bos primigenius''; or ; pl.: aurochs or aurochsen) is an extinct species of Bovini, bovine, considered to be the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle. With a shoulder height of up to in bulls and in cows, it was one of t ...

, and

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

. Protein residue analysis of tools at the site suggests that the people there butchered ducks, camels, bovines (probably aurochs) equines and rhinoceros (probably the narrow-nosed rhinoceros). 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) is that it lies in the middle of the Azraq oasis, 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. Azraq street view

Nabatean The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Levant. Their settlements—most prominently the assumed capital city of Raqmu (present-day Petra ...

period settlement activity has also been documented in the area. Qasr Azraq was built by the Romans in the 3rd century AD, and was heavily modified in the Middle Ages by the

Mamluks Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-sold ...

. In the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

period a water reservoir was constructed in southern Azraq. During the

Arab Revolt The Arab Revolt ( ), also known as the Great Arab Revolt ( ), was an armed uprising by the Hashemite-led Arabs of the Hejaz against the Ottoman Empire amidst the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On the basis of the McMahon–Hussein Co ...

in the early 20th century, Qasr Azraq was an important headquarters for T. E. Lawrence. Azraq view

The Azraq refugee camp, 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 , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

of 1990–91 as a transit camp for displaced Iraqis and Kuwaitis.

Demographics

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

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 Azraq Wetlands Reserve in Azraq al-Janoubi (South Azraq). The separate and larger Shaumari reserve is about south of the town.

References

External links

Photos of Azraq
at the American Center of Research {{Authority control Populated places in Zarqa Governorate Oases of Jordan Druze communities in Jordan