What is the capital of Jordan?

The capital of Jordan is Amman. It is also Jordan’s largest city and the country’s main political, economic, and cultural center, situated in the northwestern part of the kingdom.

Amman is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited urban areas. Evidence from nearby ‘Ain Ghazal dates settlement in the area to the 8th millennium BC. In the Iron Age, the city was known as Rabbath Ammon and served as the capital of the Ammonite Kingdom. Under Hellenistic and Roman rule, it became Philadelphia, one of the Decapolis cities.

The modern name Amman returned during the early Islamic period. The city expanded rapidly after Circassian settlers arrived in the late 19th century and after the Hejaz Railway reached it in 1904. Amman became the capital of the Emirate of Transjordan in 1921 and remained the capital when Jordan became independent.

A frequent mix-up is confusing the capital with Jordan’s other important cities. Zarqa is a major industrial city, Aqaba is the country’s Red Sea port, and Irbid is a major northern university center—but none is the national capital.