Balqa Governorate

Balqa Governorate (محافظة البلقاء)
Governorates of Jordan
Balqa Governorate in Jordan
Country	Jordan
Cities	Fuheis, Mahis, Deir Alla
Capital	Salt.
- coordinates	32°02′0″N 35°44′0″E / 32.03333°N 35.73333°ECoordinates: 32°02′0″N 35°44′0″E / 32.03333°N 35.73333°E
Area	1,120 km^2 (432 sq mi)
Population	428,000 (2012)
Density	382 / km^2 (989 / sq mi)
Governor	Fawaz Irsheidat
Timezone	GMT +2
- summer (DST)	+3
Area code	+(962)5
Urban	71.8%
Rural	28.2%

Fuheis, one of the municipalities of Balqa Governorate

The town of Mahis

Ottoman prisoners near Salt during World War I Battles for Amman

College of Management in Al-Balqa` Applied University

Balqa' (Arabic: البلقاء‎ Al Balqā’) is one of the governorates of Jordan. It is located northwest of Amman, Jordan's capital.

The governorate has the fourth largest population of the 12 governorates of Jordan, and is ranked 10th by area. It has the third highest population density in the kingdom after Irbid Governorate and Jerash Governorate.

History

The historical name Balqa' was applied to the entire area of the eastern plateau of the Jordan valley as early as the 7th century when Heraclius' brother Theodore fought an early campaign against the Arabs on the approaches to southern Syria.^[1]

During World War I, the British army led by General Allenby entered Salt on 24th of March 1918, in the Battles for Amman campaign, marking the end of a 500-year Ottoman rule.

On March 21, 1968, the town of Karameh near Shouna al-Janubiyya was the site of Battle of Karameh, between Israel on one side, and Jordan and Palestinian forces (Fatah, PLO) on the other side. It was one of the largest military confrontations of the War of Attrition, in the period between the Six-Day War of 1967 and the Yom Kippur War of 1973.

Administrative divisions

The capital of the Balqa' Governorate is Salt. Other cities and towns in the governorate are Mahis, Fuhais and Ain Al Basha.

Departments of Balqa Governorate by population (2004)^[2]

	Department	Arabic name	population (2004)	Administrative Center
1	Capital Department (Al-Qasaba)	لواء قصبة اﻟﺴﻠﻂ	109,877	Salt
2	Shuna al-Janubiyya Department	ﻟﻮاء اﻟﺸﻮﻧﺔ اﻟﺠﻨﻮﺑﻴﺔ	38,757	Shuna al-Janubiyya
3	Deir Alla Department	ﻟﻮاء دﻳﺮ ﻋﻼ	46,481	Deir Alla
4	Ain Al Basha Department	ﻟﻮاء ﻋﻴﻦ اﻟﺒﺎﺷﺎ	128,949	Ain Al Basha
5	Mahis and Fuheis Department	ﻟﻮاء ﻣﺎﺣﺺ واﻟﻔﺤﻴﺺ	22,290	Mahis

Economy

Due to its fertile mountains, the governorate's economy is based on agriculture, and a light industry, mainly the Cement factory in Fuheis by the Jordan Cement Factories Ltd- Lafarge. Some pharmaceutical industries are based in Salt, such as the Arab Pharmaceutical Manufacturing company.

There are 2 universities in the governorate of Balqa, Balqa Applied University (BAU) located near the Salt Ringroad and Al-Ahliyya Amman University (AAU) located on the main highway between Amman and Salt.

References

1. Howard-Johnston, James, Witnesses to a World Crisis: Historians and Histories of the Middle East in the Seventh Century, Oxford University Press, 2010, p. 373
2. 2004 Census