Jund al-Urdunn (, translation: "The

military district Military districts (also called military regions) are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters ...

of Jordan") was one of the five districts of

Bilad al-Sham Bilad al-Sham (), often referred to as Islamic Syria or simply Syria in English-language sources, was a province of the Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimid caliphates. It roughly corresponded with the Byzantine Diocese of the East, con ...

(Islamic Syria) during the early Islamic period. It was established under the

Rashidun The Rashidun () are the first four caliphs () who led the Muslim community following the death of Muhammad: Abu Bakr (), Umar (), Uthman (), and Ali (). The reign of these caliphs, called the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661), is considered i ...

and its capital was

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...

throughout its rule by 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 ...

and

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

caliphates. It encompassed southern

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round. Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...

, the

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

, the southern

Hauran The Hauran (; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, to the northeast by the al-Safa field, to the east and south by the Harrat ...

, the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

, and most of the eastern Jordan Valley (especially in the north).

Subdistricts and major towns

The 10th-century geographer

Ibn al-Faqih Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Faqih al-Hamadani () (fl. 902) was a 10th-century Persian historian and geographer, famous for his ''Mukhtasar Kitab al-Buldan'' ("Concise Book of Lands") written in Arabic. In the 1870s the Dutch orientalist Micha ...

held that besides its capital at Tiberias, the Urdunn's chief districts (''qura'') were

Samaria Samaria (), the Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Shomron (), is used as a historical and Hebrew Bible, biblical name for the central region of the Land of Israel. It is bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The region is ...

(al-Samira in Arabic), i.e.

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

Beisan Beit She'an ( '), also known as Beisan ( '), or Beth-shean, is a town in the Northern District of Israel. The town lies at the Beit She'an Valley about 120 m (394 feet) below sea level. Beit She'an is believed to be one of the oldest citie ...

Qadas Kedesh (alternate spellings: Qedesh, Cadesh, Cydessa) was an ancient Canaanite and later Israelite settlement in Upper Galilee, mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible. Its remains are located in Tel Kedesh, northeast of the modern Kibbut ...

Pella Pella () is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It served as the capital of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. Currently, it is located 1 km outside the modern town of Pella ...

(Fahl in Arabic),

Jerash Jerash (; , , ) is a city in northern Jordan. The city is the administrative center of the Jerash Governorate, and has a population of 50,745 as of 2015. It is located 30.0 miles north of the capital city Amman. The earliest evidence of sett ...

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

(Akka in Arabic), and Tyre (Sur in Arabic). The geographer

al-Muqaddasi Shams al-Din Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Bakr, commonly known by the '' nisba'' al-Maqdisi or al-Muqaddasī, was a medieval Arab geographer, author of ''The Best Divisions in the Knowledge of the Regions'' and ''Description of Syri ...

(d. 985) notes that the principal towns of the district were its capital Tiberias, Qadas, Tyre, Acre, Faradiyya,

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

, Beisan,

Lajjun Lajjun (, ''al-Lajjūn'') was a large Palestine (region), Palestinian Arab village located northwest of Jenin and south of the remains of the biblical city of Tel Megiddo, Megiddo. The Israeli kibbutz of Megiddo, Israel was built 600 metres ...

and Adhri'at. The 13th-century geographer

Yaqut al-Hamawi Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) () was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th–13th centuries). He is known for his , an influential work on geography con ...

counted the ''quras'' of Urdunn as Tiberias, Beisan, Acre,

Beit Ras Capitolias () was an ancient city east of the Jordan River, and is identified with the modern village of Beit Ras in the Irbid Governorate in northern Jordan. Anciently it was a town of Coele-Syria. The Peutinger Table placed it between Gadara a ...

, Jadar (Jaydur, area adjacent to the east of the

), Tyre and Saffuriya. The geographers

Ibn Hawqal Muḥammad Abū’l-Qāsim Ibn Ḥawqal (), also known as Abū al-Qāsim b. ʻAlī Ibn Ḥawqal al-Naṣībī, born in Nisibis, Al-Jazira (caliphal province), Upper Mesopotamia; was a 10th-century Arab Muslim writer, geographer, and chronic ...

(d. ) and

Estakhri Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Farisi al-Istakhri () (also ''Estakhri'', , i.e. from the Iranian city of Istakhr, b. – d. 346 AH/AD 957) was a 10th-century travel author and Islamic geographer who wrote valuable accounts in Arabic of ...

(d. 957) noted the Ghawr ( Jordan Valley) district, the low-lying area along the Jordan River between

Lake Tiberias The Sea of Galilee (, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ), also called Lake Tiberias, Genezareth Lake or Kinneret, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth and the second-lowest lak ...

to the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea (; or ; ), also known by #Names, other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valle ...

, with its capital at

Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...

(Ariha in Arabic), was administratively subordinate to Urdunn. The geographer

al-Ya'qubi ʾAbū al-ʿAbbās ʾAḥmad bin ʾAbī Yaʿqūb bin Ǧaʿfar bin Wahb bin Waḍīḥ al-Yaʿqūbī (died 897/8), commonly referred to simply by his nisba al-Yaʿqūbī, was an Arab Muslim geographer. Life Ya'qubi was born in Baghdad to a fam ...

(d. 892) held that the Ghawr was subordinate to

Jund Dimashq ''Jund Dimashq'' () was the largest of the sub-provinces (''ajnad'', sing. '' jund''), into which Syria was divided under the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties. It was named after its capital and largest city, Damascus ("Dimashq"), which in the Umayya ...

Population

Galilee

The Galilee was referred to as "Jabal al-Jalil" by the 9th century Arab geographer

Ya'qubi ʾAbū al-ʿAbbās ʾAḥmad bin ʾAbī Yaʿqūb bin Ǧaʿfar bin Wahb bin Waḍīḥ al-Yaʿqūbī (died 897/8), commonly referred to simply by his nisba al-Yaʿqūbī, was an Arab Muslim geographer. Life Ya'qubi was born in Baghdad to a fam ...

(d. 891), who noted that its residents were

Banu Amilah Banu Amila (, '), also spelled Amela, was an Arab tribe that historically dwelt in the Levant (greater Syria) during the Byzantine (3rd–7th centuries CE) and early Islamic periods (7th–11th centuries). Before or during the Crusades (late 11th� ...

Arabs. Michael Ehrlich asserts that while the majority of people in the Western Galilee and Lower Galilee probably embraced Islam during the early Islamic period, the Islamization process in the Eastern Galilee took a little longer and lasted until the Mamluk period.

Governors

Rashidun period

Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan ibn Harb ibn Umayya (; died 639) was a leading Arab Muslim commander in the conquest of Syria from 634 until his death in the plague of Amwas in 639. Following the capture of Damascus around 635, he was placed in command of ...

(639, appointed by Caliph

Umar Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Mu ...

after the death of the overall governor of Syria

Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah ʿĀmir ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Jarrāḥ (; 583–639), better known as Abū ʿUbayda () was a Muslim commander and one of the Companions of the Prophet. He is mostly known for being one of the ten to whom Paradise was promised. He was comm ...

; concurrently governed the junds of Dimashq and Filastin) *

Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan Mu'awiya I (–April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and immediately after the four Rashid ...

(639-), may have been appointed to the post by Umar after the death of his brother Yazid in 639, when he was appointed to Dimashq) **

Abu al-A'war al-Sulami Abu al-A'war Amr ibn Sufyan ibn Abd Shams al-Sulami (), identified with the Abulathar or Aboubacharos () of the Byzantine sources ( fl. 629–669), was an Arab admiral and general, serving in the armies of the Rashidun caliphs Abu Bakr (), Umar () ...

, governor under Mu'awiya.

Umayyad period

*Abu Uthman ibn Marwan ibn al-Hakam (685–705, governed for unspecified period during his brother Caliph

Abd al-Malik Abdul Malik () is an Arabic (Muslim or Christian) male given name and, in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' Abd'', ''al-'' and ''Malik''. The name means "servant of the King", in the Christian instance 'King' meaning 'King ...

's rule; identified by

Moshe Gil Moshe Gil (; February 8, 1921 – January 23, 2014) was an Israeli historian. Academic career Moshe Gil specialized in the historical interaction between Islam and the Jews, including the history of Palestine under Islamic rule, the institution ...

as Aban ibn Marwan, while Asad Q. Ahmed identified him with another brother of Abd al-Malik, Uthman ibn Marwan) *

Ubayda ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami ˈUbayda al-Ṭunbūriya () (also Obeidet or Ubaida; 830) was an Arabian tunbūr or pandore player and singer. Ubayda's father was the mawlā of one of Abdallah ibn Tahir al-Khurasani's companions. She was taught the tunbūr by Al-Zabaidi a ...

(685–705, governed for unspecified period during Abd al-Malik's reign; nephew of Abu al-A'war) *

Umar ibn al-Walid ʿUmar ibn al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik () () was an Umayyad prince, commander in the Arab–Byzantine wars and the governor of Jund al-Urdunn (district of Jordan) during the reign of his father al-Walid I (). He may have patronized the Umayyad d ...

(705–715, governed during the rule of his father Caliph

al-Walid I Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (; – 23 February 715), commonly known as al-Walid I (), was the sixth Umayyad caliph, ruling from October 705 until his death in 715. He was the eldest son of his predecessor, Caliph Abd al-Malik (). As ...

) * Ubada ibn Nusayy al-Kindi (717–720, governed during the rule of Caliph

Umar II Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan (; February 720) was the eighth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 717 until his death in 720. He is credited to have instituted significant reforms to the Umayyad central government, by making it much more efficient and ...

) *

Ishaq ibn Qabisa ibn Dhu'ayb al-Khuza'i Ishak, Ishaq or Eshaq may refer to: * Ishak (name), list of people with this given name or surname * Isaaq, a Somali clan-family in the Horn of Africa * Ishaaq bin Ahmed, the forefather and common ancestor of the Isaaq clan-family * Atakapa, a Nat ...

(724–743, governed during the rule of Caliph

Hisham Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (; 6 February 743) was the tenth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 724 until his death in 743. Early life Hisham was born in Damascus, the administrative capital of the Umayyad Caliphate, in AH 72 (691–692 CE). Hi ...

; son of one of Abd al-Malik's brother-in-laws and secretaries) *

Tha'laba ibn Salama al-Amili Tha'laba ibn Salama al-Amili () was an Arab military commander al-Urdunn, al-Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula, and briefly ruler of al-Andalus from August 742 to May 743. Thalaba ibn Salama belonged to Banu Amilah of the Yaman faction, lik ...

Al-Walid ibn Mu'awiya ibn Marwan Al-Walid may refer to: People * Khalid ibn al-Walid (592–642), one of the two famous Arab generals of the Rashidun army during the Muslim conquests of the 7th Century * Al-Walid I (668–715), Umayyad caliph who ruled from 705 to 715 * Al-Wal ...

(744–750, governed during the rule of his cousin Caliph

Marwan II Marwan ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan (; – 6 August 750), commonly known as Marwan II, was the fourteenth and last caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 744 until his death. His reign was dominated by a Third Fitna, civil war, and he was the l ...

; a nephew of Abd al-Malik)

Abbasid period

Abdallah ibn Ali Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAlī (; – 764 CE) was a member of the Abbasid dynasty, and played a leading role in its rise to power during the Abbasid Revolution. As governor of Syria, he consolidated Abbasid control over the province, el ...

(752–753, governed during the rule of his nephew Caliph

al-Saffah Abu al-ʿAbbās Abd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-ʿAbbās (‎; 721/722 – 8 June 754), known by his laqab, ''laqab'' al-Saffah (), was the first caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, one of the longest and most impor ...

) ** Ziyad ibn Abi al-Ward (''amil'', i.e. a fiscal supervisor, under Abdallah ibn Ali)) * Muhammad ibn Ibrahim (754–775, governed during the rule of his uncle Caliph

al-Mansur Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ‎; 714 – 6 October 775) usually known simply as by his laqab al-Manṣūr () was the second Abbasid caliph, reigning from 754 to 775 succeeding his brother al-Saffah (). He is known ...

; also governed Dimashq during al-Mansur's rule)

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{Districts of Islamic Syria Medieval history of Palestine Medieval history of Jordan Medieval history of Lebanon Subdivisions of the Abbasid Caliphate States and territories established in the 7th century Military history of the Umayyad Caliphate Syria under the Umayyad Caliphate Palestine under the Umayyad Caliphate Palestine under the Abbasid Caliphate Palestine under the Fatimid Caliphate