Irbid

The place-name Ἄρβηλα for present-day Irbid is first documented on civic bronze coins of the Decapolis struck in the late first century BC and the early first century AD, with the same Greek form recorded in 1 Maccabees 9 2 and in Josephus, Antiquities 12 11 1. The variant ʾrbl appears in Nabataean Aramaic inscriptions and in Safaitic Old Arabic graffiti dating from roughly the first century BC to the third century AD, and Eusebius lists a village called Arbela across the Jordan near Pella in his fourth-century Onomasticon. …

Artifacts and graves in the area show that Irbid was inhabited in the Bronze Age. Pieces of pottery and wall stones found at Tell Irbid were estimated to be made in the year 3200 B.C. A city wall dated to around 1300–1200 BC. Phase III (c. 3200 BC) Phase II (c. 1300–1150 BC) Phase I (c. 1150–800 BC) In the Hellenistic period, Irbid—then known as Arabella—was a major trade center. Before the advent of Islam, Arabella was famous for producing some of the best wines in the ancient world. The area in the region had extremely fertile soil and moderate climate, allowing the growing of high quality grapes. During the Early Muslim conquests, the city came under the rule of the Rashidun Caliphate in 634 and became known as Irbid, at which time it shifted from wine to olive oil production. Wheat was also an important product in the area. …

Irbid is situated in northern Jordan, on a fertile plateau. As of 2010, the city of Irbid encompassed an area of 30 km2, with residential areas making up 74.3% of the total area, followed by the Services areas occupying 9.5%, then Empty or unoccupied areas of 7.7%, then 4.2% is classified as Commercial areas, and 3.3% as Industrial areas, and finally gardens occupied 1% of the total city area. Al-Kūrah Al-Mazār ash-Shamālī Al-Wasṭīyah Ar-Ramthā Aṭ-Ṭaībah Banī Kenānah Banī 'Obeīd Irbid has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa), common in the Levant region. Summers are hot at days with warm nights, while winters are cool and wet, with two snowy days on average.

Most of the city's economy is based on the services sector, that is directly or indirectly related to the higher education institutions in the city, as an example there are 26 book publishing companies in the city. The number of internet cafes per capita is the highest in the world that took Irbid to the Guinness Book of World Records. Irbid is considered the cultural capital of Jordan. There is one Qualifying Industrial Zone in Irbid. Irbid has several modern shopping centres that function as major retail and leisure hubs for the city and surrounding northern governorates. The largest is Irbid City Centre, a multi-story shopping complex developed by Marseilles Real Estate Investment Company and widely described as the biggest mall in northern Jordan. …

The city of Irbid is located in Irbid Governorate. It is the largest city in Jordan after Amman and Zarqa. It is considered the economic centre of northern Jordan. The greater Irbid municipality encompasses Irbid city with its surrounding areas (population about 2,050,300) making it the second largest metropolitan area in Jordan and the seventh in the Levant. Irbid was one of the major towns of the territories of Jordan in the Ottoman era. One of the earliest censuses of Irbid was conducted by the Ottomans in 1596 where 72 households were recorded. The town gained importance after the creation of Transjordan region by the British after the first world war, as it was one of the major towns in that area. Irbid's population increased significantly as part of Jordan's overall population growth, with notable peaks in 1948, 1967, and 2011 due to refugee crises in neighbouring countries.