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Turkish rule in Jordan lasted until the beginning of the twentieth century. After the First World War, the major western powers dismembered the old Ottoman Empire to distribute the territories within themselves. During this move, the region lying in the east of the Jordan Rriver called Transjordania fell into the hands of Britain. Consequently, along with Palestine, Jordan came under the League of Nations controlled by the Britain. In 1946, Jordan attained complete independence under the present constitution.
Tracing the rulers of the land, King Abdullah ibn Hussein of the Arabian Hashemite Dynasty held the position of Emir since 1920s. Following his assassination in 1951, the throne was ascended by his son Hussein ibn Talal until early 1999. After independence, Jordan’s history and politics were predominantly determined by the issue of Palestine and the relations with Israel. During the Israel – Palestine war in 1952, Jordanian army was backed by the forces from neighbouring Arab countries and could occupy 6000 sq. km. of Palestine adjacent to the River Jordan.
The Jordan Valley and the northern highlands received enough rainfalls and were highly fertile. Most of the urban civilizations and agriculture flourished on these lands accounting for the major economic growth of Jordan. The south and east of Jordan were mere deserts. Most commonly, this region could not attract settled population in good numbers. Amidst this scenario, Jordan lost a majority of this fertile territory during the 1967 Middle East War thereby suffering a great set back in its economy. Over a half of Jordan’s population claimed Palestine in origin. During the war, thousands of Palestinian refugees fled across to Jordan and joined one of the many guerrilla groups organized under the title of Palestine Liberation Organization. Perceiving them to be a major threat to his authority King Hussein deployed the Jordanian army to expel them. After this, the political power in Jordan was solely concentrated in the hands of the king and the council of his ministers with a ban on any political party or activity. With the relaxation of this prohibition, political parties are now openly campaigning for elections, however with the strict hand of the government guarding against any form of Islamic fundamentalism.
In 1990, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait causing major problems to the Jordanians. The Gulf war of 1991 brought wide spread political and economic disaster to Jordan prominently pronounced by the UN sanctions imposed on Baghdad. King Hussein died in 1999 leaving the throne to Prince Abdullah. The economic reforms brought by King Hussein and Abdullah helped the country manage the inflation successfully. The progress of history during the past has left the country with a strong anti-American feeling due to the Bush administration’s support for Israel and the proposed assault on Arabs. Jordan is also deeply concerned about the economic consequences of a possible Gulf War. Jordan’s membership with the Council of Arab Economic Co-operation, the Arab Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization are significant in accounting for its welfare and productivity.
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