Al-Zarqāʾ

Al-Zarqāʾ, one of the largest cities in Jordan, located 12 miles (19 km) northeast of Amman.

Once the site of a small Arab fortress, Al-Zarqāʾ marked the defense line east of Al-Ṣadaqah and west of Maʿān. Although in the 1920s Al-Zarqāʾ was a small Circassian village, it expanded rapidly after 1948. In 1924 the headquarters of the Arab Legion was established there, and in 1962 an oil refinery was constructed to the north of the town. The Hashemite University (1992) is located at Al-Zarqāʾ. Pop. (2015) 635,160.