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20-563: Although the area has been inhabited since the first century AD, the city of Zarqa was only established in 1902, by Chechen immigrants who were displaced due to the wars between the Ottoman and Russian Empires. They settled along the Zarqa River. At that time a station on the Hejaz Railway was built in the new settlement. The railway station turned Zarqa into an important hub. On 10 April 1905,

40-568: Is Zarqa City, which is the largest city in the governorate. It is located 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of the Jordanian capital Amman . The second largest city in the governorate is Russeifa . Zarqa Governorate hosts the largest military and air bases of the Jordanian armed forces. The land of Zarqa Governorate has been inhabited since the Bronze Age , most prominent were the Ammonite kingdom and

60-412: Is 60 square kilometers. Zarqa has a cold semi-arid climate ( Köppen climate classification : BSk ). The average annual temperature is 17.4 °C (63.3 °F), and around 182 mm (7.17 in) of precipitation falls annually, mostly in winter months. Zarqa's elevation is 619 meters above sea level, and the city occasionally receives snowfall in winter. With 700,000 people as of 2010, Zarqa has

80-668: The Emirate of Transjordan , the United Kingdom mobilized a "mobile force" under the command of Captain Frederick Gerard Peake to defend the territory against both internal and external threats. The Mobile Force was based in Zarqa . 80% of its men were drawn from the local Chechen community. Chechens are heavily represented in the Jordanian armed forces and intelligence apparatus since

100-605: The Hedjaz railway by the Ottoman Turks at the beginning of the 1900s, Zarqa became a strategically important hub that connects Damascus to Medina , the cities along the railway started flourishing. Later, Jordan's Arab Legion led by Glubb Pasha had its main bases in Zarqa. Zarqa Governorate borders Mafraq Governorate from the north and north east, Amman Governorate from the south and south west, Jerash and Balqa Governorates from

120-731: The Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan. The city was home to jihadist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi , the first leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq . About one-third of Jordanians who left to fight in the Syrian Civil War , mainly for Islamist groups, are believed to have come from Zarqa - more than from any other area in the country. Zarqa is located in the Zarqa River basin in northeast Jordan . The city is situated 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Amman , and its area

140-659: The Nabateans , who constructed the fort known as Qasr al Hallabat , which then was used as a fort by the Romans, and then as a desert palace by the Umayyads . The most significant historical remains are the Umayyad desert palaces, such as Qasr Amra , a World Heritage Site , Qasr al Hallabat , Qasr Shabib in the center of the city of Zarqa, as well as the Castle of Azraq. After the construction of

160-581: The Ottoman Empire . An estimated 5,000 Chechen families were expelled to the Ottoman Empire. In March 1903, the Ottoman authorities sent the first 700 Chechen families to the region of Transjordan . The Chechen settlers chose to settle non-populated areas most suitable for agriculture and close to water sources. These settlers founded Zarqa , Jordan's second largest city. In October 1920, after establishing

180-572: The expulsion of North Caucasians in the 19th century . Chechens have played an important role in the foundation of Jordan as a modern state. In the second half of the 18th century, the Russian Empire was fighting the peoples of the Caucasus in an expansionist war , known as the Caucasian War . One of the outcomes of the war was that many native peoples of the Caucasus were forcefully expelled to

200-460: The Liberation of Palestine members hijacked five airplanes, and forced three to land at Dawson's Field , an airstrip in the desert near Zarqa. Zarqa is regarded today as a "marginalized" and "conservative" city, with a large Palestinian population. It is a stronghold of political Islamism , and is home to many supporters of the opposition Islamic Action Front party, which is the political wing of

220-573: The Ottoman governor issued a decree that allowed the Chechen immigrants to own the land they had settled on. The population then quickly grew in size. On 18 November 1928, the new Jordanian government issued a decree to establish the first municipal council for Zarqa. After the Transjordan Frontier Force was formed in 1926, military bases were constructed in the city by the British Army , and

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240-499: The Zarqa Chamber of Commerce, 10% of Jordan's total exports in 2011 came from Zarqa Governorate , amounting to more than US$ 512 million. Leather and garment products constituted about 52% of Zarqa'a exports, followed by chemical, agricultural and pharmaceutical products. In September 2020, massive explosions occurred at an army munitions depot for mortars near Zarqa, caused by a short circuit . There are three universities in Zarqa,

260-554: The camp initially consisted of tents, UNRWA eventually replaced these tents with concrete shelters. More refugees came to Zarqa after the 1990–91 Gulf War , when the Kuwaiti government expelled a quarter-million Palestinians , whom it suspected of supporting Saddam Hussein's Iraq in that war. More than half of those expelled went to Zarqa or the nearby city of Russeifa . During the Black September conflict in 1970, Popular Front for

280-568: The city later became known as the "military city". The headquarters of Jordan's Arab Legion were also located in Zarqa. The oldest Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan, known as Zarqa Camp , is located near the city. It was set up by the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1949, after the Nakba and the subsequent exodus of Palestinian refugees from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War . Although

300-476: The foundation of the Emirate of Transjordan . Chechens and Circassians are mandated 3 seats in the Jordanian house of representatives, currently two of those seats are held by Chechens. Zarqa Governorate Zarqa Governorate ( Arabic : محافظة الزرقاء 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

320-699: The largest of which is Hashemite University . The other two are Al-Balqa` Applied University and Zarqa University . Other community colleges and research centres are based in Zarqa such as the Al-Zarqa Educational & Investment. The city is also home to many secondary schools (or high schools), most notably the Zarqa Secondary School for Boys, which is considered one of the oldest high schools in Jordan. Chechens in Jordan Chechens of Jordan are Chechens who have inhabited Jordan since

340-499: The population of Zarqa Governorate for that year was 764,650 of whom 94.5% is considered urban population and 5.5% is a rural population. Jordanian citizens made up 97% of the population. The female to male ratio was 46% to 54%. The Jordanian Department of Statistics population estimate for the year 2010 is 910,800 with a female to male ratio of 48.25 to 51.75 and a population density of 191.3 persons per Km The population of districts according to census results: Zarqa Governorate

360-527: The south; and to Syria , to the north. Zarqa lies on the international highway that connects Saudi Arabia with Syria, and the international Amman- Baghdad highway also passes through the city. Zarqa is Jordan's industrial centre. It is home to over 50% of Jordanian factories. The growth of industry in the city is the result of low real estate costs and proximity to the capital Amman. Several facilities that are vital to Jordan's economy are based in Zarqa, such as Jordan's only oil refinery plant. According to

380-437: The third-largest metropolitan population in Jordan after Amman and Irbid . Zarqa city proper is the second-most populous in Jordan after Amman, with a population of about 635,000. The city of Zarqa is divided into five districts that have a combined area of about 60 km (23 sq mi), and another two districts within the radius of influence of the city. From 1908-20, the Hejaz Railway connected Zarqa to Amman, to

400-463: The west. It also shares an international border with Saudi Arabia in its south eastern edge. Most of the area covered by the governorate constitutes part of the Syrian desert plateau. the heavily populated western regions of the governorate constitute part of the Zarqa River basin. The two cities of Zarqa and Russeifa are the second and fourth largest cities in Jordan. The census of 2004 shows that

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