Jordan
Transjordan, the Land beyond the Jordan River, has always been a key nexus of activity in the region, seeing Bedawi nomads and mercantile caravans moving north and south, and an equal number of east-west travelers skirting the southern wastes between the Levant and Mesopotamia.

Contains: Ammon, Gadara, Gerasa, Ghassan, Heshbon, Jordan, al-Karak, Kedar, Moab (incl. Krak des Moabites), Nabataea, Nabatu, Pella, Peraea.

 
AMMON Located in north-central Jordan, and based on what is now the capitol of Amman. The Ammonites were a West Semitic folk quite closely related to Hebrews and Moabites. * Name based on inscriptions only, lacking in vowel marks.


GADARA (Umm Qays) In the extreme northwestern corner of Jordan, southeast of the Sea of Galilee. It was an important town in Roman times - there are the remains of at least two different ampitheatres there. Despite the form of the name, it is questionable whether this is the locus of the New Testament story of the Gadarene swine and the cure of the demoniac; the description of the locale in scripture is better matched by the town of Kersa.

GERASA (Jarash) An ancient city in northeastern Jordan, it is some 24 miles (38 km.) north of Amman, on the hills overlooking the Zarqa River - Jarash is a modern village immediately adjacent to the ruins of the city.
Within Ammon ?-300

HESHBON Located in central Jordan, between Ammon and Moab.


JORDAN The eastern shore of the River Jordan and the Dead Sea, together with the arid interior of northern Arabia west of Mesopotamia and south of Syria.


KEDAR In Biblical historiography, Kedar was the second son of Ishmael. The Kedarites were a nomadic Arabic tribe, the Bedouins generally, living in the deserts of eastern Syria and Jordan.  They were known for living in tents made of black goat hair and made a living by raising goats and raiding sedentary populations in the Levant.


MOAB Located in south-central Jordan; the southeastern shore of the Dead Sea, together with the interior; basically much of the modern province of al-Karak. The Moabites were a West Semitic people very closely related to the Hebrews, and normally at fierce odds with them.


NABATAEA An Arab nation (South Semitic) originating from the deserts in the south at some time before 312 BCE. The names are given in two forms - the first is the correct Arabic form, the next, parenthesized, is the typically encountered Hellenized form.


PELLA An exceedingly ancient city in northeast Jordan, on the Jordan River. Not to be confused with the ancient capital of Macedonia of the same name.


PERAEA The area of Transjordan along the eastern bank of the Jordan River, between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea.The main cities in ancient times were Amathus and Betharamphtha. The main city in modern times is al-Salt, which was the original capital of Jordan before the government was moved to the new railroad hub of Amman.
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