Irbid founded
1399 BCE.
Shown on the map at 32.556°, 35.850°.
Irbid (Arabic: إِربِد) is a city located on the northern ridge of the Gilead mountains in northern Jordan in the Irbid Governorate. The city lies approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of the Syrian border, and is the largest city of the Irbid Governorate and the third most populous city of Jordan. Irbid was known in classical antiquity with its ancient Greek name of Arabella, close to the cities of Pella, Beit Ras, and Um Qais. Irbid was built on successive Early Bronze Age settlements and was possibly the biblical Beth Arbel and the Arbila of the Decapolis, a Hellenistic league of the 1st–2nd century BC. The population of Irbid swelled in the late 19th century, and prior to 1948 it served as a significant centre of transit trade. The greater Irbid Municipality was established in 1881 in the late Ottoman period, making it the oldest municipality in Jordan. It has the second-largest metropolitan population in Jordan after the capital Amman which lies about 70 kilometres (43 mi) to its south, with a population of around 2,003,800. It also has the third largest urban population in Jordan after Amman and Zarqa.
Text from the Wikipedia article Irbid, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.