Editing Amman (section)

==History==
{{see also|Timeline of Amman}}

===Neolithic period===
{{Main|Ayn Ghazal (archaeological site)}}
[[File:20100923 amman37.JPG|thumb|left|The [[ʿAin Ghazal statues]] on display at the [[Jordan Archaeological Museum]], which are considered to be the oldest large-scale human statues ever found.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/l/lime_plaster_statues.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912010835/https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/l/lime_plaster_statues.aspx|archive-date=12 September 2015 | title=Lime Plaster statues| work=British Museum| publisher=Trustees of the British Museum| access-date=1 June 2016}}</ref>]]

The [[Neolithic]] site of [[Ayn Ghazal (archaeological site)|ʿAin Ghazal]] today lies in the outskirts of Amman. At its height, around 7000 BC (9000 years ago), it had an area of {{convert|15|ha|abbr=off|sp=us}} and was inhabited by ca. 3000 people (four to five times the population of contemporary [[Tell es-Sultan|Jericho]]). At that time, the site was a typical [[aceramic]] [[Neolithic]] village. Its houses were rectangular mud-bricked buildings that included a main square living room, whose walls were made up of lime plaster.<ref>{{cite web|title=Prehistoric Settlements of the Middle East|url=http://docslide.us/documents/prehistoric-settlements-of-the-middle-east.html|access-date=22 September 2015|work=bhavika1990|date=8 November 2014|archive-date=25 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925132728/http://docslide.us/documents/prehistoric-settlements-of-the-middle-east.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The site was discovered in 1974 as construction workers were working on a road crossing the area. By 1982, when the excavations started, around {{convert|600|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}} of road ran through the site. Despite the damage brought by urban expansion, the remains of ʿAin Ghazal provided a wealth of information.<ref name=gard/>

ʿAin Ghazal is well known for a set of small human statues found in 1983, when local archeologists stumbled upon the edge of a large pit containing them.<ref>{{cite book| editor1-first = Chris | editor1-last = Scarre | title = The Human Past | publisher = Thames & Hudson | year = 2005 | page = 222}}</ref> These statues are human figures made with white plaster, with painted eyes. Thirty-two figures were found in two caches, fifteen of them full figures, fifteen busts, and two fragmentary heads. Three of the busts depicted two-headed characters, the significance of which is not clear.<ref name=gard>{{cite book | first1=Fred S. | last1=Kleiner | last2=Mamiya | first2=Christin J. | year=2006 | title=Gardner's Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective: Volume 1 | edition=Twelfth | publisher=Wadsworth Publishing | location=[[Belmont, California]] | isbn=0-495-00479-0 | pages=11–2
}}</ref>

===Iron Age: the Ammonites===
{{Main|Ammon}}
[[File:Rujm Al-Malfouf.jpg|thumb|right|[[Rujm Al-Malfouf]], Ammonite watch tower built around 1000 BC, currently located in a [[Jabal Amman|residential area]]]]

In the 13th century BC, Amman was the capital of the [[Ammon|Ammonite Kingdom]], and became known as "Rabat Amman". Rabat Amman provided several natural resources to the region, including sandstone and limestone, along with a productive agricultural sector that made it a vital location along the [[King's Highway (ancient)|King's Highway]], the ancient trade route connecting [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] with [[Mesopotamia]], [[Syria (region)|Syria]] and [[Anatolia]]. As with the [[Edomites]] and [[Moabites]], trade along this route gave the Ammonites considerable revenue.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/his_testament.html|access-date=10 October 2015|title=The Old Testament Kingdoms of Jordan|work=kinghussein.gov.jo|archive-date=6 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506015442/http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/his_testament.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Milcom]] is named in the [[Hebrew Bible]] as the [[national god]] of Rabat Amman. Another ancient [[deity]], [[Moloch]], usually associated with the use of children as offerings, is also mentioned in the Bible as a god of the Ammonites, but this is probably a mistake for Milcom. However, excavations by archeologists near [[Amman Civil Airport]] uncovered a temple, which included an altar containing many human bone fragments. The bones showed evidence of burning, which led to the assumption that the altar functioned as a [[pyre]] and used for [[human sacrifice]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.biblestudywithrandy.com/2014/08/temple-human-sacrifice-amman-jordan| access-date=22 September 2015| title=Temple of Human Sacrifice: Amman Jordan| work=Randy McCracken| date=22 August 2014| archive-date=1 October 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001143535/http://www.biblestudywithrandy.com/2014/08/temple-human-sacrifice-amman-jordan/| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/daily-life-and-practice/first-person-human-sacrifice-to-an-ammonite-god/| title=First Person: Human Sacrifice to an Ammonite God?| work=Hershel Shanks| publisher=Biblical Archaeology Review| date=September–October 2014| access-date=24 November 2022| archive-date=24 November 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221124042928/https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/daily-life-and-practice/first-person-human-sacrifice-to-an-ammonite-god/| url-status=live}}</ref>

Amman is mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible. According to the biblical narrative, the Ammonite king [[Hanun]] allied with [[Hadadezer ben Rehob|Hadadezer]], king of [[Zobah|Aram-Zobah]], against the [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|United Kingdom of Israel]]. During the war, [[Joab]], the captain of King [[David]]'s army, laid siege to Rabbah, Hanun's royal capital, and destroyed it ({{Bibleverse|2 Samuel|12:26-28|KJV}}, {{Bibleverse|1 Chronicles|20:1-2|KJV}}). David took a great quantity of plunder from the city, including the king's crown, and brought it to his capital, [[Jerusalem]] ({{Bibleverse|2 Samuel|12:29-31|KJV}}). Hanun's brother, [[Shobi]], was made king in his place, and became a loyal vassal of David ({{Bibleverse|2 Samuel|17:27|KJV}}). Hundreds of years later, the prophet [[Jeremiah]] foresaw the coming destruction and final desolation of the city ({{Bibleverse|Jeremiah|49:2|KJV}}).<ref>Horn, S. H. (1973). The Crown of the King of the Ammonites. ''Andrews University Seminary Studies'', ''11''(2), 3.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hammond |first=Philip C. |date=1 December 1960 |title=An Ammonite Stamp Seal from 'Amman |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/1355646 |journal=Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research |volume=160 |issue=160 |pages=38–41 |doi=10.2307/1355646 |jstor=1355646 |s2cid=163202864 |issn=0003-097X |access-date=23 January 2023 |archive-date=24 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124021940/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/1355646 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Several Ammonite ruins across Amman exist, such as [[Rujm Al-Malfouf]] and some parts of the [[Amman Citadel]]. The ruins of Rujm Al-Malfouf consist of a stone watchtower used to ensure the protection of their capital and several store rooms to the east.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.livius.org/articles/place/rujm-al-malfouf/| title=Rujm al-Malfouf| access-date=22 September 2015| year=2009| publisher=Livius.org| archive-date=25 July 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725233829/https://www.livius.org/articles/place/rujm-al-malfouf/| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.ammancity.gov.jo/en/services/histdetails.asp?id=5| title=Rujom Al Malfouf (Al Malfouf heap of stones / Tower)| access-date=22 September 2015| publisher=Greater Amman Municipality| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923060715/http://www.ammancity.gov.jo/en/services/histdetails.asp?id=5| archive-date=23 September 2015}}</ref> The city was later conquered by the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Assyrians]], followed by the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire|Babylonians]] and the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid Persians]].<ref name="KHh"/>

===Classical and late antiquity ===
{{Main|Philadelphia (Amman)}}

===Hellenistic period===
Conquest of the [[Near East]] by [[Alexander the Great]] firmly consolidated the influence of [[Hellenism (Greek culture)|Hellenistic culture]],<ref name= KHh>{{cite web| url=http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/his_hellenistic.html| title=The Hellenistic Period| access-date=22 September 2015| work=kinghussein.gov.jo| archive-date=1 July 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701042013/http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/his_hellenistic.html| url-status=live}}</ref> marking the start of the [[Timeline of Palestine region#Hellenistic period|Hellenistic period]]. Little is known about Greek/Macedonian control over the Levantine coast and Transjordan until 301 BCE, 22 years after Alexander's death, when the Ptolemies took control over this area.<ref name= JFS>{{cite book |last= Salles |first= Jean-François |chapter= The Hellenistic Age – (323 - 30 BC) |editor= Myriam Ababsa |title= Atlas of Jordan: History, Territories and Society |year= 2013 |publisher= Presses de l'Ifpo ([[Institut français du Proche-Orient|French Institute of the Near East]] Press) |place= Beirut, Lebanon |pages= 134–141 |via= openedition.org |isbn= 9782351594384 |doi= 10.4000/books.ifpo.4894 |chapter-url= http://books.openedition.org/ifpo/4894?lang=en |access-date= 22 September 2015 |archive-date= 23 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923061820/http://books.openedition.org/ifpo/4894?lang=en|url-status=live}}</ref> The Greeks founded new cities in the area of modern-day Jordan, including Gadara ([[Umm Qays]]), Gerasa ([[Jerash]]), [[Pella, Jordan|Pella]] (Tabaqat Fahl) and Philadelphia (Amman).<ref name= JFS/> [[Ptolemy II]] nicknamed Philadelphus, the Macedonian ruler of Egypt, established in or before 259/58 BCE<ref name= Cohen>{{cite book |author= Cohen, Getzel M. |title= The Hellenistic Settlements in Syria, the Red Sea Basin, and North Africa |year= 2006 |publisher= University of California Press |pages= 268–269 |isbn=978-0-520-93102-2 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=RqdPcxuNthcC&pg=PA268 |access-date= 29 October 2015 |archive-date= 21 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160521211950/https://books.google.com/books?id=RqdPcxuNthcC&pg=PA268 |url-status= live}}</ref> at the site of Amman what was initially probably a [[military colony]], which then developed into a full-blown Greek-type ''[[polis]]'',<ref name= PLG>{{cite web |last= Gatier |first= Pierre-Louis |title= Philadelphia-Amman: The Hellenistic, Roman & Byzantine City (Amman History Series #3, lecture given on 15 June 2021) |publisher=[[Institut français du Proche-Orient|French Institute of the Near East Press]] (Ifpo) |url= https://www.ifporient.org/amman-history-series-3/ |access-date= 11 May 2025}}</ref> possibly by settling there Hellenised [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyrean]] colonists.<ref name= Cohen/> Ptolemy II named it [[Philadelphia (Amman)|Philadelphia]] ({{langx|grc|Φιλαδέλφεια|Philadelpheia}}), evoking "brotherly love" in [[Greek language|Greek]], in adulation to his own nickname.<ref name= Cohen/>

Written sources speak of members of the [[Jews|Jewish]] [[Tobiads|Tobiad]] family based in [[Jerusalem]], who worked for the Ptolemies as tax collectors in charge of the entire region. The last known Tobiad, Hyrcanus, built the unique Hellenistic palace of Tyros (today's [[Qasr al-Abd]], 'Castle of the Slave') southwest of Philadelpheia, before killing himself in {{circa|170}}-168 BC as the Seleucid king [[Antiochus IV]] seemed poised to attack him.<ref name= JFS/> This was one of several episodes in the [[Syrian Wars]] between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies, ending with the 200 BCE victory of the Seleucids at the [[Battle of Panium]].<ref name= JFS/> In [[Third Syrian War|218/17 BCE]] for instance, Seleucid king [[Antiochus III]] destroyed the Ptolemaic garrisons in the centre of Transjordan, capturing Philadelpheia in the process.<ref name= JFS/> Even after 200 BCE, Philadelpheia seems to have broken free at times from Seleucid rule and probably also escaped capture by Hasmonean king [[Alexander Jannaios]] (r. c. 103 – c. 76 BCE),<ref name= Cohen/> who was more successful elsewhere in the region. Other [[Hasmonean]] and [[Nabataean]] rulers acted as regional power brokers, contributing to the instability of the political situation during the 2nd century BCE and until the advent of the Roman period in the following century, which led to the Hellenisation of the region only truly setting in under the Romans.<ref name= JFS/>

===Roman period===
[[File:Temple of Hercules - Amman citadel.jpg|thumb|[[Amman Citadel#Great Temple ("Temple of Hercules")|Great Temple ("Temple of Hercules")]] at the [[Amman Citadel]] (Jabal Al-Qalaa)]]
[[File:Amman Amphitheater 03.JPG|thumb|right|The [[Roman theater (Amman)|Roman Theatre]], built around AD 100, and the modern [[Hashemite Plaza]]]]

The [[Roman Empire|Romans]] conquered much of the [[Levant]] in 63 BC, inaugurating a [[Timeline of Palestine region#Roman period|period of imperial rule conducted from Rome]] that lasted for four centuries. In the northern parts of modern-day Jordan, the Greek cities of [[Philadelphia (Amman)|Philadelphia]] (Amman), [[Jerash|Gerasa]], [[Umm Qays|Gedara]], [[Pella]] and [[Irbid|Arbila]] joined with other cities in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] and southern parts of today's [[Syria]] to form the [[Decapolis|Decapolis League]], a confederation based on common economic and cultural interests<ref name= DOA>{{cite web |title= The History of a Land |publisher= Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Department of Antiquities (DoA) |url= http://www.doa.gov.jo/En/inside.php?src=sublinks&SlID=5024&MlID=8 |access-date=30 September 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150923215527/http://www.doa.gov.jo/En/inside.php?src=sublinks&SlID=5024&MlID=8 |archive-date= 23 September 2015 |url-status= dead}} See subsection [https://web.archive.org/web/20150923111729/http://www.doa.gov.jo/En/inside.php?src=sublinks&SlID=5034&MlID=5024 Roman Period 63 BC-324 AD].</ref> (see also [[Beit She'an|Scythopolis]], [[Hippos, Israel|Hippos]], [[Capitolias]], [[Qanawat|Canatha]] and [[Damascus]]). Philadelphia became a point along a road stretching from [[Aqaba|Ailah]] to Damascus that was built by Emperor [[Trajan]] in AD 106. This provided an economic boost for the city in a short period of time.<ref name= KH>{{cite web| url=http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/tourism1.html| title=Touristic Sites - Amman | work=kinghussein.gov.jo| access-date=16 October 2015| archive-date=15 January 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115010437/http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/tourism1.html| url-status=live}}</ref>

There are traces of Roman construction all across Jordan. In Amman the most conspicuous structures include the Great Temple (inaccurately known as the "Temple of Hercules") at the [[Amman Citadel]], the [[Roman theater (Amman)|Roman Theatre]], the [[Odeon theater (Amman)|Odeon]], and the [[Nymphaeum (Amman)|Nymphaeum]]. The two theaters and the [[nymphaeum]] fountain were built during the reign of Emperor [[Antoninus Pius]] around AD 161. The theatre was the larger venue of the two and had a capacity for 6,000 attendees. It was oriented north and built into the hillside, to protect the audience from the sun. To the northeast of the theatre was a small [[Odeon (building)|odeon]]. Built at roughly the same time as the theatre, the Odeon had 500 seats and is still in use today for music concerts. Archaeologists speculate that the structure was originally covered with a wooden roof to shield the audience from the weather. The Nymphaeum is situated southwest of the Odeon and served as Philadelphia's chief fountain. The Nymphaeum is believed to have contained a {{convert|600|m2|sp=us}} pool which was {{convert|3|m|sp=us}} deep and was continuously refilled with water.<ref name= KH/>

===Byzantine period===
During the late [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] period in the seventh century, several bishops were based in the city; a number of church sites from the [[Timeline of Palestine region#Byzantine period|Byzantine period]] have been discovered there<ref name= KH/> - see [[List of Byzantine churches in Amman]].

===Early Muslim period (7th–11th century)===
{{see also|Desert castles}}
[[File:Church of St. Stephen, mosaic depicting the city of Philadelphia (Amman), Um er-Rasas, Jordan (cropped) (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Depiction of [[Philadelphia (Amman)|Philadelphia]] in the [[Umm ar-Rasas mosaics|mosaics of the Church of St Stephen]] in [[Umm ar-Rasas]], dating to the 8th century]]
[[File:Umayyad Palace020.JPG|thumb|right|The [[Umayyad Palace]] on top of Amman's Citadel Hill, built around AD 700]]

In the 630s, the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] conquered the region from the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]], beginning the Islamic era in the Levant. Philadelphia was renamed "Amman" by the Muslims and became part of the district of [[Jund Dimashq]]. A large part of the population already spoke [[Arabic]], which facilitated integration into the [[caliphate]], as well as several conversions to [[Islam]]. Under the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] caliphs who began their rule in 661 AD, numerous [[desert castle]]s were established as a means to govern the desert area of modern-day Jordan, several of which are still well-preserved. Amman had already been functioning as an administrative centre. The Umayyads built a large palace on the [[Amman Citadel]] hill, known today as the [[Umayyad Palace]]. Amman was later destroyed by several earthquakes and natural disasters, including a particularly severe earthquake in [[749 Galilee earthquake|749]]. The Umayyads were [[Abbasid Revolution|overthrown]] by the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasids]] three years later.<ref name=DOA/>

Amman's importance declined by the mid-8th century after damage caused by several earthquakes rendered it uninhabitable.<ref name=Ifpo>{{cite book |chapter=The Exclusion of Amman from Jordanian National Identity |title=Cities, Urban Practices and Nation Building in Jordan |series=Cahiers de l'Ifpo Nr. 6 |author=Ali Kassay |editor=Myriam Ababsa |editor2=Rami Farouk Daher |year=2011 |location=Beirut |publisher=Presses de l'Ifpo |pages=256–271 |isbn=9782351591826 |url=http://books.openedition.org/ifpo/1748?lang=en |access-date=25 December 2015 |archive-date=26 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151226111837/http://books.openedition.org/ifpo/1748?lang=en |url-status=live }}</ref> Excavations among the collapsed layer of the Umayyad Palace have revealed remains of [[kiln]]s from the time of the [[Abbasids]] (750–969) and the [[Fatimids]] (969–1099).<ref name= Arce>{{cite journal |title=Early Islamic lime kilns from the Near East. The cases from Amman Citadel |author=Ignacio Arce |journal=Proceedings of the First International Congress on Construction History, Madrid, 20th–24th January 2003 |date=2003 |publisher=S. Huerta |location=Madrid |pages=213–224 |url=http://www.sedhc.es/biblioteca/actas/CIHC1_022_Arce%20I.pdf |access-date=26 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304085959/http://www.sedhc.es/biblioteca/actas/CIHC1_022_Arce%20I.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the late 9th century, Amman was noted as the "capital" of the [[Balqa (region)|Balqa]] by geographer [[al-Yaqubi]].<ref name= Strange391>Le Strange 1896, p. 391.</ref> Likewise, in 985, the [[Jerusalem]]ite historian [[al-Muqaddasi]] described Amman as the capital of Balqa,<ref name=Strange391/> that it was a town in the desert fringe of Syria surrounded by villages and cornfields and a regional source of lambs, grain and honey.<ref name="Le Strange 1896, p. 15 and p. 18">Le Strange 1896, p. 15 and p. 18.</ref> Its inhabitants he reports, at the time, were [[Shia Islam|Shia Muslims]].<ref name="Le Strange 1896, p. 15 and p. 18"/> Furthermore, al-Muqaddasi describes Amman as a "harbor of the desert" where Arab Bedouin would take refuge, and that its citadel, which overlooked the town, contained a small mosque.<ref name=Strange392>Le Strange 1896, p. 392.</ref>

===Crusaders and Ayyubids (12th–13th century)===
The occupation of the Citadel Hill by the [[Crusades|Crusader]] [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]] is so far based only on interpretations of Crusader sources. [[William of Tyre]] writes in his ''Historia'' that in 1161 [[Philip of Milly]] received the castle of Ahamant, which is seen to refer to Amman, as part of the lordship of [[Oultrejordain]].<ref name=Barber>[[Malcolm Barber|Barber, Malcolm]] (2003) "The career of Philip of Nablus in the kingdom of Jerusalem", in ''The Experience of Crusading, vol. 2: Defining the Crusader Kingdom'', eds. Peter Edbury and Jonathan Phillips, Cambridge University Press</ref> In 1166 Philip joined the [[Military order (monastic society)|military order]] of the [[Knights Templar]], passing on to them a significant part of his [[fief]] including the castle of Ahamant<ref>{{cite book|last=Barber|first=Malcolm|title=The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3uFtzINjLAoC&pg=PA86|year=2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-60473-5|page=86|access-date=24 August 2017|archive-date=18 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518204458/https://books.google.com/books?id=3uFtzINjLAoC&pg=PA86|url-status=live}}</ref> or "Haman", as it is named in the deed of confirmation issued by King [[Amalric I of Jerusalem|Amalric]].<ref name=Pringle>{{cite book |chapter='Amman (P4) |title=Secular Buildings in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: An Archaeological Gazetteer |author=Denys Pringle |year=2009 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=112–113 |isbn=9780521102636 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-_NbE5obqRMC&pg=PA152 |access-date=24 August 2017 |archive-date=18 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518201421/https://books.google.com/books?id=-_NbE5obqRMC&pg=PA152 |url-status=live }}</ref> By 1170, Amman was in [[Ayyubid]] hands.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Johns|first1=Jeremy|editor1-last=Rogan|editor1-first=Eugene L.|editor2-last=Tell|editor2-first=Tariq|title=Village, Steppe and State: The Social Origins of Modern Jordan|date=1994|publisher=British Academic Press|location=London|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lh1_ernmsnwC&pg=PA12|chapter=''The Long Durée'': State and Settlement Strategies in Southern Transjordan across the Islamic Centuries|page=12|isbn=9781850438298|access-date=7 September 2016|archive-date=2 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102122154/https://books.google.com/books?id=lh1_ernmsnwC&pg=PA12|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Amman Citadel#Ayyubid watchtower|remains of a watch tower]] on Citadel Hill, first attributed to the Crusaders, now are preferentially dated to the [[Ayyubid]] period, leaving it to further research to find the location of the Crusader castle.<ref name= Pringle/> During the Ayyubid period, the Damascene geographer [[al-Dimashqi (geographer)|al-Dimashqi]] wrote that Amman was part of the province of [[al-Karak]], although "only ruins" remained of the town.<ref>Le Strange 1896, p. 41.</ref>

===Mamluk period (13th–early 16th century)===
During the [[Mamluk Egypt|Mamluk]] era (late 13th–early 16th century), the region of Amman was a part of Wilayat Balqa, the southernmost district of Mamlakat Dimashq (Damascus Province).<ref>Walker 2015, p. 119.</ref> The capital of the district in the first half of the 14th century was the minor administrative post of [[Hisban]], which had a considerably smaller garrison than the other administrative centers in Transjordan, namely [[Ajlun]] and al-Karak.<ref>Walker 2015, pp. 119–120.</ref> In 1321, the geographer [[Abu'l Fida]], recorded that Amman was "a very ancient town" with fertile soil and surrounded by agricultural fields.<ref name=Strange392/> For unclear, though likely financial reasons, in 1356, the capital of Balqa was transferred from Hisban to Amman, which was considered a ''madina'' (city).<ref name=Walker120>Walker 2015, p. 120.</ref> In 1357, Emir [[Sirghitmish]] bought Amman in its entirety, most likely to use revenues from the city to help fund the [[Madrasa of Sarghatmish|Madrasa of Sirghitmish]], which he built in [[Cairo]] that same year.<ref name=Walker120/> After his purchase of the city, Sirghitmish transferred the courts, administrative bureaucracy, markets and most of the inhabitants of Hisban to Amman.<ref name=Walker120/> Moreover, he financed new building works in the city.<ref name=Walker120/>

Ownership of Amman following Sirghitmish's death in 1358 passed to successive generations of his descendants until 1395, when his descendants sold it to Emir Baydamur al-Khwarazmi, the ''na'ib as-saltana'' (viceroy) of Damascus.<ref name=Walker120/> Afterward, part of Amman's cultivable lands were sold to Emir Sudun al-Shaykhuni (died 1396), the ''na'ib as-saltana'' of Egypt.<ref>Walker 2015, pp. 120–121.</ref> The increasingly frequent division and sale of the city and lands of Amman to different owners signalled declining revenues coming from Amman, while at the same time, Hisban was restored as the major city of the Balqa in the 15th century.<ref>Walker 2015, p. 121.</ref> From then until 1878, Amman was an abandoned site periodically used to shelter seasonal farmers who cultivated arable lands in its vicinity and by Bedouin tribes who used its pastures and water.<ref name=Dawn>{{cite book |title=Displacement and Dispossession in the Modern Middle East |series=The Contemporary Middle East (Book 5) |author=Dawn Chatty |year=2010 |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=116–117 |isbn=9780521817929 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8OsgAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA117 |access-date=24 August 2017 |archive-date=18 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518204153/https://books.google.com/books?id=8OsgAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA117 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=McEvedy>{{cite book |title=Cities of the Classical World: An Atlas and Gazetteer of 120 Centres of Ancient Civilization |author=Colin McEvedy |year=2011 |location=London |publisher=Allen Lane/Penguin Books |page=37 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VZowqTafiacC&pg=PT37 |isbn=9780141967639 |access-date=24 August 2017 |archive-date=18 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518201422/https://books.google.com/books?id=VZowqTafiacC&pg=PT37 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Ottoman Empire]] annexed the region of Amman in 1516, but for much of the Ottoman period, [[al-Salt]] functioned as the virtual political center of Transjordan.<ref name= Hamed/>

===Modern era (1878–present)===
{{multiple image
| footer            = The historical center of Amman, showing the Roman ruins in 1878 immediately before its modern resettlement (left), and the same area in 2012 (right)
| image1            = View of the Roman theater and Odeon in Amman, 1878.jpg
| width1            = 175
| image2            = Amman Roman Theater 1.jpg
| width2            = 182
| align             = left
}}

====Late Ottoman period (1878–1917)====
Amman began to be resettled in 1878, when several hundred Muslim [[Circassians]] arrived following their expulsion from the [[North Caucasus]] by the [[Russian Empire]] during the events of the [[Russo-Circassian War]].<ref name=Hamed>{{Cite journal|last=Hamed-Troyansky|first=Vladimir|date=2017|title=Circassians and the Making of Amman, 1878–1914|journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies|volume=49|issue=4|pages=605–623|doi=10.1017/S0020743817000617|s2cid=165801425}}</ref> Between 1878 and 1910, tens of thousands of Circassians became refugees in the Ottoman Empire, which had moved large numbers of them into its province of [[Ottoman Syria|Syria]].<ref name=Rogan2002>{{cite book| author=Eugene L. Rogan| title=Frontiers of the State in the Late Ottoman Empire: Transjordan, 1850–1921| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AMAbXGQDmDYC&pg=PA73| date=11 April 2002| publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]| isbn=978-0-521-89223-0| page=73| access-date=29 October 2015| archive-date=29 April 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429084437/https://books.google.com/books?id=AMAbXGQDmDYC&pg=PA73| url-status=live}}</ref> The Ottoman authorities directed the [[Circassians in Jordan|Circassians]], who were mainly of peasant stock, to settle in Amman, and distributed arable land among them. Their settlement was a partial manifestation of the Ottoman statesman [[Kamil Pasha]]'s project, which did not materialize, to establish the Amman Province ([[vilayet]]) which, along with other sites in its vicinity, would become Circassian-populated townships guaranteeing the security of the Damascus–[[Medina]] highway.<ref name=Hanania2>Hanania 2018, p. 2.</ref> The first Circassian settlers, who belonged to the [[Shapsug]] tribe,<ref name=Hanania3>Hanania 2018, p. 3.</ref> lived near Amman's Roman theater and incorporated its stones into the houses they built.<ref name=Hamed/> The English traveller [[Laurence Oliphant (author)|Laurence Oliphant]] noted in his 1879 visit that most of the original Circassian settlers had left Amman by then, with about 150 remaining.<ref name=Hanania3/> They were joined by Circassians from the [[Kabardia]]n and [[Abzakh]] tribes in 1880–1892.<ref name=Hanania3/>

[[File:Map of Amman from the Survey of Palestine 1889 (as surveyed in 1881).jpg|thumb|right|The first scientific map of Amman, 1881. The British surveyors noted that: "The Circassian colony established by the Sultan at Amman about 1879 [is] neither prosperous nor likely to become so".<ref>[[PEF Survey of Palestine]], [https://archive.org/details/surveyofeasternp00conduoft Survey of Eastern Palestine] (1889), pages 29 and 291</ref>]]

Until 1900 settlement was concentrated in the valley and slopes of the Amman stream and settlers built mud-brick houses with wooden roofs.<ref name=Hanania3/> The French Dominican priest [[Marie-Joseph Lagrange]] commented in 1890 about Amman: "A mosque, the ancient bridges, all that jumbled with the houses of the Circassians gives Amman a remarkable physiognomy".<ref name=Hanania3/> The new village became a ''[[nahiye]]'' (subdistrict) center of the ''[[kaza]]'' of al-Salt in the [[Karak Sanjak]] established in 1894.<ref name=Hanania3/> By 1908 Amman contained 800 houses divided between three main quarters, Shapsug, Kabartai and Abzakh, each called after the Circassian groupings which respectively settled there, a number of mosques, open-air markets, shops, bakeries, mills, a textile factory, a post and telegraph office and a government compound ([[Saray (building)|saraya]]).<ref name=Hanania3/> [[Kurds|Kurdish]] settlers formed their own quarter called "al-Akrad" after them, while a number of townspeople from nearby al-Salt and [[al-Fuheis]], seeking to avoid high taxes and conscription or attracted by financial incentives, and traders from [[Najd]] and [[Morocco]], had also moved to the town.<ref>Hanania 2018, pp. 3–4.</ref>

[[File:Z Ottoman Ten arches Amman 2.jpg|thumb|left|Ottoman [[Ten Arches Bridge]], built in 1910 near Amman as part of the [[Hejaz railway]]]]

The city's demographics changed dramatically after the Ottoman government's decision to construct the [[Hejaz Railway]], which linked Damascus and Medina, and facilitated the annual [[Hajj]] pilgrimage and trade. Operational in central Transjordan since 1903, the [[Hejaz Railway]] helped to transform Amman from a small village into a major commercial hub in the region. Circassian entrepreneurship, facilitated by the railway, helped to attract investment from merchants from Damascus, Nablus, and Jerusalem, many of whom moved to Amman in the 1900s and 1910s.<ref name=Hamed/> Amman's first municipal council was established in 1909, and Circassian [[Ismael Babouk]] was elected as its mayor.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.albawaba.com/news/deputy-mayor-amman-inaugurates-%E2%80%9Cdocumenting-amman%E2%80%9D-conference|title=Deputy Mayor of Amman Inaugurates "Documenting Amman" Conference|work=Bawaba|access-date=30 January 2019|date=30 July 2009|archive-date=30 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130162104/https://www.albawaba.com/news/deputy-mayor-amman-inaugurates-%E2%80%9Cdocumenting-amman%E2%80%9D-conference|url-status=live}}</ref>

;First World War
The [[First Battle of Amman|First]] and [[Second Battle of Amman]] were part of the [[Middle Eastern theater of World War I|Middle Eastern theatre]] of [[World War I]] and the [[Arab Revolt]], taking place in 1918. Amman had a strategic location along the Hejaz Railway; its capture by British forces and the [[Sharifian Army|Hashemite Arab army]] facilitated the British advance towards [[Damascus]].<ref>{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2YqjfHLyyj8C&pg=PA98| title=Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History| author1=Spencer C. Tucker| author2=Priscilla Mary Roberts| year=2005| publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]| isbn=978-1-85109-420-2| page=98| access-date=24 August 2017| archive-date=18 May 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518225250/https://books.google.com/books?id=2YqjfHLyyj8C&pg=PA98| url-status=live}}</ref> The second battle was won by the British, resulting in the establishment of the [[Mandate for Palestine|British Mandate]].

====British Mandate; Emirate of Transjordan (1921–1946)====
[[File:רבת עמון - מראה-JNF001650.jpeg|thumb|Amman 1928]]

In 1921, the Hashemite emir and later king [[Abdullah I of Jordan|Abdullah I]] designated Amman instead of al-Salt to be the capital of the newly created state, the [[Emirate of Transjordan]], which became the [[Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan]] in 1950. Its function as the capital of the country attracted immigrants from different Levantine areas, particularly from al-Salt, a nearby city that had been the largest urban settlement east of the [[Jordan River]] at the time. The early settlers who came from [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] were overwhelmingly from [[Nablus]], from which many of al-Salt's inhabitants had originated. They were joined by other immigrants from Damascus. Amman later attracted people from the southern part of the country, particularly al-Karak and [[Madaba]]. The city's population was around 10,000 in the 1930s.<ref name=HistoryP>{{cite book |author1=Reem Khamis-Dakwar |author2=Karen Froud |date=2014 |title=Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics XXVI: Papers from the annual symposium on Arabic Linguistics. New York, 2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ctjLBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA31 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company |page=31 |isbn=978-9027269683 |access-date=15 April 2015 |archive-date=25 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725233244/https://books.google.com/books?id=ctjLBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA31 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The British report from 1933 shows around 1,700 Circassians living in Amman.<ref>Report by His Britannic Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Council of the League of Nations on the Administration of Palestine and Trans-Jordan for the year 1933, Colonial No. 94, His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1934, p. 305.</ref> Yet the community was far from insulated. Local urban and nomadic communities formed alliances with the Circassians, some of which are still present today. This cemented the status of Circassians in the re-established city.<ref name=Hamed/>

====Post-independence (1946–present)====
[[File:Sprt City Amman.JPG|thumb|Amman in 1985]]
[[File:Jamal Abdul Nasser Circle Amman Jordan.jpg|thumb|Amman in 2013]]

Jordan gained its independence in 1946 and Amman was designated the country's capital. Amman received many refugees during wartime events in nearby countries, beginning with the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]]. A second wave arrived after the [[Six-Day War]] in 1967. In 1970, Amman was a [[Battle of Amman (1970)|battlefield]] during the conflict between the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] (PLO) and the [[Royal Jordanian Army|Jordanian Army]] known as [[Black September in Jordan|Black September]]. The Jordanian Army defeated the PLO in 1971, and the latter were expelled to [[Lebanon]].<ref name=JWT>{{cite web| url=http://www.jordanwildernesstours.com/amman.htm| title=Amman| access-date=22 September 2015| work=Jordan Wild Tours| archive-date=26 October 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181026025059/http://www.jordanwildernesstours.com/amman.htm| url-status=live}}</ref> The first wave of Iraqi refugees settled in the city after the 1991 [[Gulf War]], with a second wave occurring in the aftermath of the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]].

On 9 November 2005, [[Al-Qaeda]] under [[Abu Musab al-Zarqawi]]'s leadership launched [[2005 Amman bombings|coordinated explosions]] in three hotel lobbies in Amman, resulting in 60 deaths and 115 injured. The bombings, which targeted civilians, caused widespread outrage among Jordanians.<ref>{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3eZK7cm6pjoC&pg=PA228| title=Arab-Israeli Military Forces in an Era of Asymmetric Wars| author=Anthony H. Cordesman| publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]]| date=2006| isbn=978-0-275-99186-9| page=228| access-date=24 August 2017| archive-date=18 October 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018104403/https://books.google.com/books?id=3eZK7cm6pjoC&pg=PA228| url-status=live}}</ref> Jordan's security as a whole was dramatically improved after the attack, and no major terrorist attacks have been reported since then.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.addustour.com/sn/962321/ |title=تـفـجيـرات عمـان.. حدث أليم لم ينل من إرادة الأردنيين |work=Addustor |publisher=Addustor newspaper |language=ar |access-date=23 September 2015 |date=9 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923173807/http://www.addustour.com/sn/962321/ |archive-date=23 September 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.jfranews.com.jo/more-96531-1-%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA%20%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86%202005%20%D8%AF%D9%81%D8%B9%D8%AA%20%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%86%20%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%83%D9%88%D9%86%20%D8%A3%D9%83%D8%AB%D8%B1%20%D9%8A%D9%82%D8%B8%D8%A9%20%D9%81%D9%8A%20%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%87%20%D9%84%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%A8| title=تفجيرات عمان 2005 دفعت بالأردن ليكون أكثر يقظة في تصديه للإرهاب| access-date=23 September 2015| language=ar| date=9 November 2014| work=JFRA News| archive-date=26 August 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826094157/http://www.jfranews.com.jo/more-96531-1-%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA%20%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86%202005%20%D8%AF%D9%81%D8%B9%D8%AA%20%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%86%20%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%83%D9%88%D9%86%20%D8%A3%D9%83%D8%AB%D8%B1%20%D9%8A%D9%82%D8%B8%D8%A9%20%D9%81%D9%8A%20%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%87%20%D9%84%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%A8| url-status=live}}</ref> Most recently a wave of [[Refugees of the Syrian Civil War|Syrian refugees]] have arrived in the city during the ongoing [[Syrian Civil War]] which began in 2011. Amman was a principal destination for refugees for the security and prosperity it offered.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://carnegieendowment.org/2015/09/18/jordan-s-refugee-crisis/ihwc| title=Jordan's Refugee Crisis| access-date=23 September 2015| date=21 September 2015| publisher=[[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]]| author=Alexandra Francis| archive-date=23 September 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923193733/http://carnegieendowment.org/2015/09/18/jordan-s-refugee-crisis/ihwc| url-status=dead}}</ref>

During the 2010s, the city has experienced an economic, cultural and urban boom. The large growth in population has significantly increased the need for new accommodation, and new districts of the city were established at a quick pace. This strained Jordan's scarce water supply and exposed Amman to the dangers of quick expansion without careful municipal planning.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nordregio.org/amman-one-of-the-fastest-grown-cities-in-the-world-is-moving-towards-sustainable-city-planning/|title=Amman, one of the fastest grown cities in the world, is moving towards sustainable city planning|date=17 January 2019|accessdate=7 January 2023|work=Nordregio|archive-date=16 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191116014216/https://www.nordregio.org/amman-one-of-the-fastest-grown-cities-in-the-world-is-moving-towards-sustainable-city-planning/|url-status=live}}</ref>