Annotation Archaeologist McDonald presents the history of the identification of an array of biblical sites and offers his own suggestions for site locations based of information from the biblical texts, extra-biblical literary information, toponymic considerations, and archaeology. Some of the specific sites examined in this book include the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah; the Exodus itineraries; the territories and sites of the Israelite tribes, such as Reuben and Gad; as well as Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Gilead. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

This volume offers an overview of the history, politics and economics of this fascinating country it's main focus being on King Hussein's reign, his quest to modernise, his internal struggle with the Palestinians and his pursuit of peace in the area.

King Abdullah played an active role in the partition of Palestine and, as a result, has always been viewed as one of the most controversial figures in modern Middle East history. This book is the first in-depth study of the historical and personal circumstances that made him so. Born in Mecca in 1882 of a family that traced its lineage to the Prophet Muhammad, Abdullah belonged to the Ottoman ruling elite. He grew up in Istanbul and returned to Mecca when his father was appointed Sharif in 1908. During the First World War he earned nationalist credentials as a leader of the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire. Owing to his alliance with Britain in the revolt, he emerged afterwards as a contender for power in a Middle East now dominated by Britain. Despite grandiose ambitions, Abdullah ended up as Britain's client in the mandated territory of Transjordan. His dependence on Britain was exacerbated by his situation in Transjordan, an artificial creation with no significant cities, no natural resources, and little meaning beyond its importance to British strategy. Within the constraints of British interests, it was left to Abdullah to make something of his position, and he spent the remainder of his life looking beyond Transjordan's borders for a role, a clientele, or a stable balance of interests which would allow him a future independent of British fortunes. He found all three after 1948 when, in conjunction with the creation of Israel, he came to rule the portion of Palestine known as the West Bank.

After a solid overview of the land, people, and history in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 covers religion. Jordan is still a conservative Muslim state, with a Sunni Muslim majority, that retains good relations with its citizens of other faiths. The discussion of literature and media in Chapter 3 emphasizes the pan-Arabic tradition. In Chapter 4, architecture, art, and traditional crafts in Jordan are shown to be linked to the history of the country and its religious and ethnic diversity. In Chapter 5, the cuisine and culture reveal inspiration from the region of Greater Syria. In the Gender, Marriage, and Family chapter, Shoup looks at the conservative and powerful family and changing women's roles. Highlighted in the Social Customs chapter are the topics of honor, shame, and respect, social clubs, and more on women's roles in the middle class. A final chapter on Music and Dance covers everything from their Bedouin roots to Arab rap.

In the first book to address the dilemma faced by Jordanian women in the workforce, Amira El-Azhary Sonbol delineates the constraints that exist in a number of legal practices, namely penal codes that permit violence against Muslim women and personal status laws that require a husband’s permission for a woman to work. Leniency in honor crimes and early marriage and motherhood for girls are other factors that extend the patriarchal power throughout a woman’s life, and ultimately deny her full legal competency. Significantly, Sonbol notes that society’s accepting as “Islamic” the legal constraints that control women’s work constitutes a major barrier to any effort to change them, even though historically the Islamic sharia actually encourages women’s work, and despite the fact that Muslim women have contributed materially to their society’s economy. The author covers new ground as she effectively illustrates how Jordanian laws governing gender, family, and work combine with laws and legal philosophies derived from tribal, traditional, Islamic, and modern laws to form a strict patriarchal structure.

This study considers the war from the Jordanian perspective.

A telling history of one of the most important relationships in the Middle East This is the first book to tell the remarkable story of the relationship between Jordan and the United States and how their leaders have navigated the dangerous waters of the most volatile region in the world. Jordan has been an important ally of the United States for more than seventy years, thanks largely to two members of the Hashemite family: King Hussein, who came to power at the age of 17 in 1952 and governed for nearly a half-century, and his son, King Abdullah, who inherited the throne in 1999. Both survived numerous assassination attempts, wars, and plots by their many enemies in the region. Both ruled with a firm hand but without engaging in the dictatorial extremes so common to the region. American presidents from Eisenhower to Biden have worked closely with the two Hashemite kings to maintain peace and stability in the region—when possible. The relationship often has been rocky, punctuated by numerous crises, but in the end, it has endured and thrived. Long-time Middle East expert Bruce Riedel tells the story of the U.S.-Jordanian relationship with his characteristic insight, flair, and eye for telling details. For anyone interested in the region, understanding this story will provide new insights into the Arab-Israeli conflict, the multiple Persian Gulf wars, and the endless quest to bring long-term peace and stability to the region.

In 2011, as the Arab uprisings spread across the Middle East, Jordan remained more stable than any of its neighbors. Despite strife at its borders and an influx of refugees connected to the Syrian civil war and the rise of ISIS, as well as its own version of the Arab Spring with protests and popular mobilization demanding change, Jordan managed to avoid political upheaval. How did the regime survive in the face of the pressures unleashed by the Arab uprisings? What does its resilience tell us about the prospects for reform or revolutionary change? In Jordan and the Arab Uprisings, Curtis R. Ryan explains how Jordan weathered the turmoil of the Arab Spring. Crossing divides between state and society, government and opposition, Ryan analyzes key features of Jordanian politics, including Islamist and leftist opposition parties, youth movements, and other forms of activism, as well as struggles over elections, reform, and identity. He details regime survival strategies, laying out how the monarchy has held out the possibility of reform while also seeking to coopt and contain its opponents. Ryan demonstrates how domestic politics were affected by both regional unrest and international support for the regime, and how regime survival and security concerns trumped hopes for greater change. While the Arab Spring may be over, Ryan shows that political activism in Jordan is not, and that struggles for reform and change will continue. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and interviews with a vast range of people, from grassroots activists to King Abdullah II, Jordan and the Arab Uprisings is a definitive analysis of Jordanian politics before, during, and beyond the Arab uprisings.

A wide-ranging account of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan and its ideological and behavioural development since its founding in 1945.