The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan was established in 1946, but the region has a history stretching back thousands of years. From the megalithic dolmens through the rise of cities, the reign of the Akkadian Empire, and on through the Kingdom of Nabatea and annexation by Rome, Jordan is among the most historically significant regions in the world.
Amman, the capital city of modern-day Jordan, dates to c. 7500 BCE, and archeological excavations in the Black Desert unearthed remains of charred bread dated to c. 11,600 BCE, suggesting Jordan as the region where bread was first baked (though this claim has been challenged). The oldest dam on earth is the Saad Jawa Dam, dated to c. 3000 BCE (though the oldest still in use is Lake Homs Dam in Syria), and there are over 100,000 other archeological sites throughout the region, including Petra, easily the most famous, which was popularized by the 1989 film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Equally famous, at least in some quarters, is the ancient site of Qumran, where, in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Jordan is also well-known from the many references to it in the Bible; 180 times in the Old Testament and 15 times in the New Testament.
The following gallery presents a brief sample of some of the most striking images of Jordan, illustrating its impressive past and the diversity of those who lived, and still live, in the region.
