Irbid إربد | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| Nickname: Bride of the North | |
  Irbid  Irbid | |
| Coordinates:32°33′0″N35°51′0″E / 32.55000°N 35.85000°E /32.55000; 35.85000 | |
| Grid position | 230/217 |
| Country |  Jordan |
| Governorate | Irbid Governorate |
| Founded | 7000 BC |
| Municipality | 1881 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality |
| • Mayor | Imad Al-Azzam |
| Area | |
• city | 410 km2 (160 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 1,572 km2 (607 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 620 m (2,030 ft) |
| Population (2025) | |
• city | 569,068 |
| • Density | 1,400/km2 (3,600/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 2,003,800[2] |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | +3 |
| Area code | +(962)2 |
| Website | www |
Irbid (Arabic:إِربِد), known in ancient times asArabella orArbela (Άρβηλα inAncient Greek), is the capital and largest city ofIrbid Governorate. It has the second-largest metropolitan population inJordan afterAmman, with a population of around 2,003,800.[3] As a city, Irbid is Jordan's third-largest, after Amman andZarqa.
Irbid is located about 70 kilometres (43 mi) north of Amman on the northern ridge of theGilead, equidistant fromPella,Beit Ras (Capitolias), andUm Qais, and approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of theSyrian border.
Irbid was built on successiveEarly Bronze Age settlements and was possibly thebiblical Beth Arbel and the Arbila of theDecapolis, a Hellenistic league of the 1st–2nd century BCE. The population of Irbid swelled in the late 19th century, and prior to 1948 it served as a significant centre of transit trade.[4]
The greater Irbid Municipality was established in 1881 in the Ottoman era.[5] It is the oldest municipality in Jordan.
The city is a major ground transportation hub between Amman,Syria to the north, andMafraq to the east. The Irbid region is also home to several colleges and universities.
The place-name Ἄρβηλα for present-day Irbid is first documented on civic bronze coins of the Decapolis struck in the late first century BCE and the early first century CE,[6][7] with the same Greek form recorded in 1 Maccabees 9 2 and in Josephus,Antiquities 12 11 1.[8][9] The variant ʾrbl appears in Nabataean Aramaic inscriptions and in Safaitic Old Arabic graffiti dating from roughly the first century BCE to the third century CE,[10][11][12] and Eusebius lists a village called Arbela across the Jordan near Pella in his fourth-centuryOnomasticon.[13] Excavations on Tell Irbid show continuous occupation from at least the Early Bronze Age around 3200 BCE,[14][15] placing the settlement more than two millennia before these Hellenistic attestations and more than three millennia before the earliest archaeological evidence for a permanent Jewish community in the northern Transjordan, which appears with the third or fourth century CE synagogue at Gerasa.[16][17]
Artifacts and graves in the area show that Irbid was inhabited in theBronze Age. Pieces of pottery and wall stones found atTell Irbid were estimated to be made in the year 3200 B.C.[18] A city wall dated to around 1300–1200 BC.
In theHellenistic period, Irbid—then known asArabella—was a major trade center. Before the advent ofIslam, Arabella was famous for producing some of the bestwines in the ancient world. The area in the region had extremely fertile soil and moderate climate, allowing the growing of high quality grapes.[19][20][21]
During theEarly Muslim conquests, the city came under the rule of theRashidun Caliphate in 634 and became known as Irbid, at which time it shifted from wine toolive oil production. Wheat was also an important product in the area.[22]
In 1596 it appeared in theOttomantax registers named asIrbid, situated in thenahiya (subdistrict) of Bani Juhma, part of theHauran Sanjak. It had 72 households and 35 bachelors; allMuslim. The villagers paid a fixed tax-rate of 25% on agricultural products; including wheat (22,500akçe), barley, summer crops, fruit trees, goats and bee-hives; in addition to a market toll. The total tax was 38,116akçe.[23]
In 1838,Eli Smith noted Irbid (Arbela) as being a place withSunni Muslim.[24]
The Jordanian census of 1961 found 44,585 inhabitants in Irbid.[25]
The city is home to four major universities:Yarmouk University,Jordan University of Science and Technology,Irbid National University andJadara University. In addition, it has two campuses ofBalqa Applied University and several private colleges.
Though not otherwise a major tourist destination, Irbid has two notable museums: theMuseum of Jordanian Heritage and the Jordan Natural History Museum, both on the campus of Yarmouk University. Furthermore, Irbid's strategic location in northern Jordan makes it a convenient starting point for tourists interested in seeing the northernJordan Valley; visitingUmm Qais, Beit Ras (Capitolias),Pella,Ajloun,Umm el-Jimal and other historical sites; or travelling on toSyria.
Irbid is situated in northern Jordan, on a fertileplateau. As of 2010, the city of Irbid encompassed an area of 30 km2, with residential areas making up 74.3% of the total area, followed by the Services areas occupying 9.5%, then Empty or unoccupied areas of 7.7%, then 4.2% is classified as Commercial areas, and 3.3% as Industrial areas, and finally gardens occupied 1% of the total city area.
Irbid has ahot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa), common in theLevant region. Summers are hot at days with warm nights, while winters are cool and wet, with two snowy days on average.
| Climate data for Irbid (1985–2018) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 13.3 (55.9) | 14.7 (58.5) | 18.1 (64.6) | 23.1 (73.6) | 27.4 (81.3) | 30.2 (86.4) | 31.8 (89.2) | 32.0 (89.6) | 30.3 (86.5) | 27.1 (80.8) | 21.0 (69.8) | 15.7 (60.3) | 23.7 (74.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 9.4 (48.9) | 10.0 (50.0) | 12.9 (55.2) | 17.9 (64.2) | 21.1 (70.0) | 24.0 (75.2) | 25.8 (78.4) | 26.2 (79.2) | 24.6 (76.3) | 21.3 (70.3) | 15.6 (60.1) | 11.1 (52.0) | 18.3 (65.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 5.2 (41.4) | 5.9 (42.6) | 8.4 (47.1) | 11.5 (52.7) | 15.1 (59.2) | 18.2 (64.8) | 20.3 (68.5) | 20.7 (69.3) | 19.2 (66.6) | 16.2 (61.2) | 10.8 (51.4) | 6.8 (44.2) | 13.2 (55.8) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 100.3 (3.95) | 99.8 (3.93) | 63.6 (2.50) | 19.9 (0.78) | 5.8 (0.23) | 1.6 (0.06) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.7 (0.03) | 12.4 (0.49) | 42.6 (1.68) | 83.2 (3.28) | 429.9 (16.93) |
| Average precipitation days | 11.3 | 10.6 | 9.4 | 4.6 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 3.2 | 6.0 | 9.6 | 57.1 |
| Source: Jordan Meteorological Department[26] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1884 | 1,300 | — |
| 1922 | 3,500 | +169.2% |
| 1952 | 23,157 | +561.6% |
| 1961 | 44,585 | +92.5% |
| 1970 | 73,000 | +63.7% |
| 1980 | 116,000 | +58.9% |
| 1994 | 208,329 | +79.6% |
| 2004 | 250,645 | +20.3% |
| 2015 | 502,714 | +100.6% |
| 2022 | 561,000 | +11.6% |
The city of Irbid is located inIrbid Governorate. It is the largest city in Jordan afterAmman andZarqa. It is considered the economic centre of northern Jordan. The greater Irbid municipality encompasses Irbid city with its surrounding areas (population about 2,050,300) making it the second largest metropolitan area inJordan and the seventh in theLevant.
Irbid was one of the major towns of the territories of Jordan in the Ottoman era. One of the earliest censuses of Irbid was conducted by the Ottomans in 1596 where 72 households were recorded.[23] The town gained importance after the creation ofTransjordan region by the British after thefirst world war, as it was one of the major towns in that area.[27]
Irbid's population increased significantly as part of Jordan's overall population growth, with notable peaks in1948,1967, and2011 due to refugee crises in neighbouring countries.
Irbid is divided into city districts forming smaller cities within the metropolitan sphere of influence of Irbid:
| District | District | District | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al'al (علعال) | 9 | Foa'ra (فوعرا) | 17 | Maru (مرو) |
| 2 | Al Husn (الحصن) | 10 | Hakama (حكما) | 18 | Al Mughayer (المغير) |
| 3 | Al-Rabia (الرابية) | 11 | Hashemiyah (الهاشمية) | 19 | Naser (نصر) |
| 4 | Al-Sareeh (الصريح) | 12 | Hawar (حور) | 20 | Rowdah (روضة) |
| 5 | Al Barha (البارحة) | 13 | Huwwarah (حوارة) | 21 | Sal (سال) |
| 6 | Beit Ras (بيت راس) | 14 | Kitim (كتم) | 22 | Nu'aimah (نعيمة) |
| 7 | Bushra (بشرى) | 15 | Kufr Jayez (كفر جايز) | 23 | Nuzha (نزهة) |
| 8 | Aydoun (ايدون) | 16 | Manarah-Hatim (منارة-حاتم) |
Irbid is known for its healthcare infrastructure.[citation needed] The largest hospitals in Irbid are:
As of 2007, there were 70,000 registered students in Irbid's 10 universities, community colleges and institutes, of whom 8,000 were international students from 47 countries.[28] This high concentration of institutions of higher education has played a role in the identity of the city.[citation needed] The largest universities in Irbid are:
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Some of the private schools in Irbid (sorted by alphabetical order):
Most of the city's economy is based on the services sector, that is directly or indirectly related to the higher education institutions in the city, as an example there are 26 book publishing companies in the city. The number of internet cafes per capita is the highest in the world that took Irbid to theGuinness Book of World Records.[35] Irbid is considered the cultural capital of Jordan.[36] There is oneQualifying Industrial Zone in Irbid.
The Irbid-based clubAl-Hussein (Irbid) was ranked fourth in the Jordanian football premier league in the year 2008. Its home matches are held inPrince Hasan Youth City's Stadium. The other major football club in Irbid is Al-Arabi. Established in 1945, it is one of the oldest athletic clubs in the country. As of 2008, there are 22 cultural and sport clubs registered in Irbid. Irbid hosted the1999 Pan Arab Games.
Irbid istwinned with:
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