Ajloun (, ''‘Ajlūn''), also spelled Ajlun, is the capital town of the

Ajloun Governorate Ajloun Governorate (alternative spelling Ajlun Governorate) () is one of the governorates of Jordan, located north of Amman the capital of Jordan. Ajloun Governorate has the fourth highest population density in Jordan (after Irbid, Jerash, and ...

, a hilly town in the north of

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 ...

, located 76 kilometers (around 47 miles) north west 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 ...

. It is noted for its impressive ruins of the 12th-century Ajloun Castle.

Districts of Metropolitan Ajloun

There are eight districts in the Greater Ajloun Municipality: Ajlun Castle Night

History

In 1596, during the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, Ajloun was noted in the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

as being located in the ''

nahiya A nāḥiyah ( , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiyeh, 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 divisi ...

'' of '' Ajloun'' in the '' liwa'' of Ajloun. It had a population of 313

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

households, and 20 Muslim bachelors, in addition to 2

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

households. They paid taxes on various agricultural products, including olive trees, vineyards, fruit trees, vegetables and fruit garden, orchards, ''bayt al-mal wa mal ga'ib'', goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a market toll and water mill; a total of 14,500 akçe. In 1838 Ajloun's inhabitants were predominantly

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

s and Greek Christians. The Jordanian census of 1961 found 5,390 inhabitants in Ajloun, of whom 2,023 were Christians.

Demographics

According to the Jordan national census of 2015, the population of the town of Ajloun was 148,870. For

as a whole, the population was about 176,080 in 2015. Muslims make up the majority of Ajloun's population. They live alongside the Christian population. The governorate of Ajloun is highly agricultural.

Historical sites

There is a theory that the town's name is connected with the

Moab Moab () was an ancient Levant, Levantine kingdom whose territory is today located in southern Jordan. The land is mountainous and lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by ...

ite King Eglon mentioned in the Bible, though the precise derivation is obscure. Ajlun Castle is located on the site of an old monastery. It was renovated as a fort in 1184 by Izz al-Din Usama, a general in the army of

Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...

. The castle controlled traffic along the road connecting

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. The fortress marks the furthest limit of Frankish incursions during the Crusades. The Mamluks added a prominent tower to the castle. It was captured by the Mongols in 1260 and was partially destroyed in the process. Great damage was done by the Galilee earthquake of 1837 and the 1927 Jericho earthquake. Located in the center of Ajloun is the Great Ajlun Mosque. This mosque is one of the oldest extant in

and dates back around 800 years. there have been reports of Greek writing in the oldest sections. The prayer tower is called "the filter" by some locals (referring to a cigarette filter, because half of the tower was built over a square tower, most likely a Church bell tower). In 2007 work began on improving the mosque to allow tourists to visit it. There are also reports that when the west wall fell apart in the heavy rains and snow in January 2013 a Bible and crosses were found in the old section. Tell Mar Elias is located just outside the city limits. This site contains Byzantine church mosaics which were uncovered during the summer months for tourists. This location for Saint Elijah (Mar Elias) has been a shrine for centuries – people would go there and walk around the shrine singing ancient songs to cure a disease called "Rigeh". There are folk songs they sang for this visit. However, prior to the Pope's visit in 2000. A scholar on both Mar Elias and Ajlun Castle is Mohammad Abu-Abeileh in Jordan. The Ajloun Forest Reserve is also located nearby. The whole area had been reputed to be the largest forested area in the Middle East – however, the area was largely deforested by the Turks to secure fuel for their railroad to Mecca. The biblical figure

Jephthah Jephthah (pronounced ; , ''Yiftāḥ'') appears in the Book of Judges as a judge who presided over Israel for a period of six years (). According to Judges, he lived in Gilead. His father's name is also given as Gilead, and, as his mother is de ...

is said to have been buried in Ajloun.

Climate

Ajloun, has a

mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''Csa''). The average annual temperature is , and around of precipitation falls annually.

Topography

The Ajloun mountains are famous for their lush vegetation and thick green forests, many locals and tourists visit the area for hiking. Its highest mountain peaks reach around 1268 meters above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

and Ajloun mountains receive a few snow storms every year, usually in the winter season from December to March. It's one of the country's most beautiful regions. Ajloun has a Mediterranean weather rainy and snowy in winter season and pleasant in the summer time.

Notable people

* Shaher Momani, Mathematics Professor (2009–present) at University of Jordan, grew up in and was educated in Ajloun.

Landmarks

* Ajloun Castle * Tell Mar Elias * Great Ajloun Mosque * Listeb Mosque * Ajloun Holy Spirit Church
Shrine for Al-Khadir (St. George)

Gallery

File:Ajlun Green 02.jpg, Ajloun Mountains File:Ajluncastle.jpg, Ajloun Castle File:Ajlun Breakfast.jpg, Breakfast at Ajloun File:Ajlun Green.jpg, Forests surround Ajloun File:View of Ajloun.jpg, Downtown Ajloun File:Great Ajloun Mosque.jpg, The Great Ajloun Mosque

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Jordan Tourism Board

Middle East Travel Guide

Ajlun Discussion Forum

Photos of Ajlun
at the American Center of Research {{Authority control Populated places in Ajloun Governorate