JORDAN - Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan / Al-Mamlakah Al-Urduniyah Al-Hashimiyah

Jordan (Arabic: الأردن‎; tr. Al-ʾUrdunn), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Arabic: المملكة الأردنية الهاشمية‎; tr. Al-Mamlakah al-’Urdunniyyah Al-Hāshimiyyah), is an Arab country in Western Asia, on the East Bank of the Jordan River. Jordan is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and the east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and Israel and Palestine to the west. The Dead Sea is located along its western borders and the country has a 26-kilometre (16 mi) coastline on the Red Sea in its extreme south-west. Jordan is strategically located at the crossroads of Asia, Africa and Europe. The capital, Amman, is Jordan's most populous city as well as the country's economic, political and cultural centre. 

What is now Jordan has been inhabited by humans since the Paleolithic period. Three stable kingdoms emerged there at the end of the Bronze Age: Ammon, Moab and Edom. Later rulers include the Nabataean Kingdom, the Roman Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. After the Great Arab Revolt against the Ottomans in 1916 during World War I, the Ottoman Empire was partitioned by Britain and France. The Emirate of Transjordan was established in 1921 by the Hashemite, then Emir, Abdullah I, and the emirate became a British protectorate. In 1946, Jordan became an independent state officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan, but was renamed in 1949 to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan after the country captured the West Bank during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and annexed it until it was lost to Israel in 1967. Jordan renounced its claim to the territory in 1988, and became one of two Arab states to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1994. Jordan is a founding member of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation. The sovereign state is a constitutional monarchy, but the king holds wide executive and legislative powers. 

Jordan takes its name from the Jordan River which forms much of the country's northwestern border. While several theories for the origin of the river's name have been proposed, it is most plausible that it derives from the Semitic word Yarad, meaning "the descender", reflecting the river's declivity. Much of the area that makes up modern Jordan was historically called Transjordan, meaning "across the Jordan", used to denote the lands east of the river. The Old Testament refers to the area as "the other side of the Jordan".Early Arab chronicles referred to the river as Al-Urdunn, corresponding to the Semitic Yarden. Jund Al-Urdunn was a military district around the river in the early Islamic era. Later, during the Crusades in the beginning of the second millennium, a lordship was established in the area under the name of Oultrejordain.

Jordan was part of the Turkish Empire until 1918 and a number of Turkish post offices existed in the area. Stamps of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force were valid in Transjordan, Palestine, Cilicia, Syria, and Lebanon from 1918. In 1920, E.E.F. stamps overprinted "East of Jordan" in Arabic were issued for Transjordan. Transjordan became part of the League of Nations mandate for the territories of Palestine in 1922. Postal service was set up after the establishment of the Emirate of Transjordan, and started taking over the postal service that was run by the Ottoman Empire. The first stamps for the Emirate were E.E.F. stamps overprinted with the inscription "Arab Government of the East" in Arabic. Further overprints were also made with the stamps of Hejaz. The first set of definitives bearing the image of Emir Abdullah was issued In 1927. Transjordan remained a British mandate until 1946. On 25 May 1946, the Emirate became the "Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan", achieving full independence on 17 June 1946. In 1949, it was renamed the "Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan". By 2019, Jordan had issued 2,667 stamps. Jordan provided the postal stamps for the West Bank (incl. East Jerusalem) between 1948 and 1967. Prior to the incorporation of the West Bank into Jordan in 1950, Jordanian stamps overprinted "Palestine" in Arabic and English were issued from 1948 until April 1950. After 1950, stamps of Jordan were used in the West Bank until it was occupied by Israel in 1967.

Jordan Post Company is owned by the government of Jordan, and runs the postal services in the kingdom. The company is responsible to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. The first government-run postal service was established in 1921, immediately after the establishment of the Emirate of Transjordan, It was named the Postal Department and started by taking over the postal service that was run by the Ottoman Empire. The postal department started with eight post offices in 1921.