Azraq, Jordan

Prehistory

Archaeological evidence indicates that Azraq has been occupied for hundreds of thousands of years,^[2] with the oldest known remains dating to the Lower Palaeolithic, around 500–300,000 years ago.^[3] The spring-fed oasis provided a more or less constant source of water throughout this period, and probably acted as a refugium for humans and other animals at times when the surrounding area dried out.^[4] The oasis itself changed as the climate fluctuated: at times a permanent lake, a marsh, or a seasonal playa.^[4]

Animals found in Lower Palaeolithic layers at the Shishan Marsh site include a large elephant (probably the extinct Palaeoloxodon recki), a smaller elephant (probably Elephas hysudricus, the ancestor of the living Asian elephant), the extinct narrow-nosed rhinoceros, camels, lions, wild horse, an ass (either Equus heimonius or Equus hydruntinus), gazelles, aurochs, and wild boar.^[5] Protein residue analysis of tools at the site suggests that the people there butchered ducks, camels, bovines (probably aurochs) equines and rhinoceros (probably the narrow-nosed rhinoceros).^[6]

During the Epipalaeolithic period the oasis was also an important focus of settlement.

Later history

Azraq has long been an important settlement in a remote and now-arid desert area of Jordan. The strategic value of the town and its castle (Qasr Azraq) is that it lies in the middle of the Azraq oasis, the only permanent source of fresh water in approximately 12,000 km² (4,600 sq mi) of desert. The town is also located on a major desert route that would have facilitated trade within the region.

Nabatean period settlement activity has also been documented in the area. Qasr Azraq was built by the Romans in the 3rd century AD, and was heavily modified in the Middle Ages by the Mamluks. In the Umayyad period a water reservoir was constructed in southern Azraq.

During the Arab Revolt in the early 20th century, Qasr Azraq was an important headquarters for T. E. Lawrence.^[7][8]

The Azraq refugee camp, sheltering refugees of the Syrian Civil War, was opened in 2014 and is located 20 km (12 mi) west of Azraq.^[9] The site had been previously used during the Gulf War of 1990–91 as a transit camp for displaced Iraqis and Kuwaitis.^[10]