Azraq الأزرق | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Ruins of Azraq Castle and a street in Azraq | |
  Azraq Location in Jordan | |
| Coordinates:31°50′03″N36°48′54″E / 31.83417°N 36.81500°E /31.83417; 36.81500 | |
| Country |  Jordan |
| Governorate | Zarqa |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality |
| • Mayor | Mohammad Mustafa |
| Elevation | 525 m (1,722 ft) |
| Population (2004) | |
• Total | 14,800 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (UTC+3) |
| Area code | +(962)5 |
| Airports | Muwaffaq Salti Airbase |
Azraq (Arabic:الأزرق meaning "blue") is a small town inZarqa Governorate in central-easternJordan, 100 kilometres (62 mi) east ofAmman. The population of Azraq was 9,021 in 2004.[1] TheMuwaffaq Salti Air Base is located in Azraq.
Archaeological evidence indicates that Azraq has been occupied for hundreds of thousands of years,[2] with the oldest known remains dating to theLower Palaeolithic, around 500–300,000 years ago.[3] The spring-fed oasis provided a more or less constant source of water throughout this period, and probably acted as arefugium for humans and other animals at times when the surrounding area dried out.[4] The oasis itself changed as the climate fluctuated: at times a permanent lake, amarsh, or a seasonalplaya.[4]
Animals found in Lower Palaeolithic layers at the Shishan Marsh site include a large elephant (probably the extinctPalaeoloxodon recki), a smaller elephant (probablyElephas hysudricus, the ancestor of the livingAsian elephant), the extinctnarrow-nosed rhinoceros,camels,lions,wild horse, anass (eitherEquus heimonius orEquus hydruntinus),gazelles,aurochs, andwild boar.[5] Protein residue analysis of tools at the site suggests that the people there butchered ducks, camels, bovines (probably aurochs) equines and rhinoceros (probably the narrow-nosed rhinoceros).[6]
During theEpipalaeolithic period the oasis was also an important focus of settlement.
Azraq has long been an important settlement in a remote and now-arid desert area of Jordan. The strategic value of the town and its castle (Qasr Azraq) is that it lies in the middle of the Azraq oasis, the only permanent source of fresh water in approximately 12,000 km2 (4,600 sq mi) of desert. The town is also located on a major desert route that would have facilitated trade within the region.
Nabatean period settlement activity has also been documented in the area.Qasr Azraq was built by the Romans in the 3rd century AD, and was heavily modified in the Middle Ages by theMamluks. In theUmayyad period a water reservoir was constructed in southern Azraq.
During theArab Revolt in the early 20th century, Qasr Azraq was an important headquarters forT. E. Lawrence.[7][8]
TheAzraq refugee camp, shelteringrefugees of the Syrian Civil War, was opened in 2014 and is located 20 km (12 mi) west of Azraq.[9] The site had been previously used during theGulf War of 1990–91 as a transit camp for displaced Iraqis and Kuwaitis.[10]
According to the Jordan National Census of 2004, the population of Azraq was 9,021, of whom 7,625 (84.5%) were Jordanian citizens. 4,988 (55.3%) were males, and 4,033 (44.7%) females. The next census was conducted in 2014.
Azraq is also the site of one of Jordan's seven protected nature reserve areas (set up by theRoyal Society for the Conservation of Nature): the Azraq Wetlands Reserve in Azraq al-Janoubi (South Azraq).
The separate and largerShaumari reserve is about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of the town.
The fictional character "Oryx" From the gameRainbow Six Siege was born in Azraq.
