Emirate of Transjordan

Emirate of Trans-Jordan
إمارة شرق الأردن (Arabic)
Imārat Sharq al-Urdun
1921–1946
Flag of Transjordan
Flag
(1928–1939)
The region administered by the Emirate
The region administered by the Emirate
StatusLeague of Nations Mandate administered under the Mandate for Palestine
CapitalAmman
31°57′27″N 35°56′51″E / 31.9575°N 35.9475°E / 31.9575; 35.9475
Official languagesArabic
GovernmentAbsolute monarchy
Emir 
• 1921–1946
Abdullah I
Resident 
• 1921
Albert Abramson
• 1921
T. E. Lawrence
• 1921–1924
St John Philby
• 1924–1939
Henry Fortnam Cox
• 1939–1946
Alec Kirkbride
Historical eraInterwar period
March 1921
11 April[1][2] 1921
• Independence announcement[3]
25 April 1923
• Anglo-Transjordanian treaty
20 February 1928
22 March 1946
• Full independence
25 May 1946
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Arab Kingdom of Syria
Interregnum (Transjordan)
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Today part ofJordan
Saudi Arabia
Iraq
In 1965, Jordan and Saudi Arabia exchanged some territory.

The Emirate of Transjordan (Arabic: إمارة شرق الأردن, romanizedImārat Sharq al-Urdun, lit.'the emirate east of the Jordan'), officially known as the Amirate of Trans-Jordan, was a British protectorate established on 11 April 1921,[4][1][2] which remained as such until achieving formal independence as the Kingdom of Jordan in 1946.

After the Ottoman defeat in World War I, the Transjordan region was administered within OETA East; after the British withdrawal in 1919, this region gained de facto recognition as part of the Hashemite-ruled Arab Kingdom of Syria, administering an area broadly comprising the areas of the modern countries of Syria and Jordan. Transjordan became a no man's land following the July 1920 Battle of Maysalun,[5][6] during which period the British in neighbouring Mandatory Palestine chose to avoid "any definite connection between it and Palestine".[7] Abdullah entered the region in November 1920, moving to Amman on 2 March 1921; later in the month a conference was held with the British during which it was agreed that Abdullah bin Hussein would administer the territory under the auspices of the British Mandate for Palestine with a fully autonomous governing system.

The Hashemite dynasty ruled the protectorate, as well as the neighbouring Mandatory Iraq and, until 1925, the Kingdom of Hejaz to the south. On 25 May 1946, the emirate became the "Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan", achieving full independence on 17 June 1946 when in accordance with the Treaty of London ratifications were exchanged in Amman.

In 1949, after annexing the West Bank in Palestine, and "uniting" both banks of the Jordan river, it was constitutionally renamed the "Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan", commonly referred to as Jordan.

  1. ^ a b Salibi 1998, p. 93.
  2. ^ a b Hashemite Monarchs of Jordan Archived 8 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine, "The Emirate of Transjordan was founded on April 11, 1921, and became the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan upon formal independence from Britain in 1946"
  3. ^ Wilson 1990, p. 75: Wilson cites Political report for Palestine and Transjordan, May 1923, FO 371/8998
  4. ^ Reem Khamis-Dakwar; Karen Froud (2014). Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics XXVI: Papers from the annual symposium on Arabic Linguistics. New York, 2012. John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 31. ISBN 978-9027269683. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bentwich was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Yoav Gelber (22 May 2014). Jewish-Transjordanian Relations 1921–1948: Alliance of Bars Sinister. Routledge. pp. 9–. ISBN 978-1-135-24514-6. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2019. Politically, Transjordan was no-man's-land where the British, the French, Faysal's emissaries, Palestinian nationalists and even Turks were all active in...
  7. ^ Lord Curzon in August 1921: "His Majesty's Government are already treating 'Trans-Jordania' as separate from the Damascus State, while at the same time avoiding any definite connection between it and Palestine, thus leaving the way open for the establishment there, should it become advisable, of some form of independent Arab government, perhaps by arrangement with King Hussein or other Arab chiefs concerned.": quote from: Empires of the sand: the struggle for mastery in the Middle East, 1789–1923, By Efraim Karsh, Inari Karsh Archived 22 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine