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Timeline: Jordan's battered but enduring dynasty

Modern Jordan came out of the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire in 1916
Last Updated 09 April 2021, 04:06 IST

From the creation of the Emirate of Transjordan 100 years ago this week to the current crisis within the royal family, we look back on a century of the Hashemite kingdom.

Modern Jordan came out of the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire in 1916 that was led by Sharif Hussein of Mecca and his four sons, one of whom, Abdullah, proclaims the Emirate of Transjordan on April 11, 1921.

It remains under British mandate from the League of Nations, as does neighbouring Palestine.

Abdullah's brother Faisal becomes king of Iraq after being driven from Syria by the French, and another brother, Ali, is ousted from Mecca by Ibn Saud, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia.

The Hashemite family had ruled the holy city since the 10th century.

On May 25, 1946, the new Arab kingdom of Transjordan declares independence from Britain, with Abdullah as sovereign of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Two years later, Israel declares its own independence and five Arab countries including Transjordan attack it.

Jordan takes control of the West Bank and mainly Arab east Jerusalem in 1949.

Both the city and the West Bank are formally annexed by Jordan in April 1950, to the dismay of other Arab countries which want the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank.

After King Abdullah is assassinated and King Talal is declared mentally unfit after a year on the throne, Abdullah's 17-year-old grandson Hussein is proclaimed king in August 1952.

He formally takes the throne the following year, starting a reign that will span 46 years.

In the Six-Day War of June 1967, Jordan loses the West Bank and east Jerusalem to Israel.

Some 200,000 Palestinians flee to Jordan, where more than half the country's population today is of Palestinian descent.

King Hussein deploys 40,000 troops to crush the growing power of Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). The 10-day conflict, known as Black September, leaves several thousand dead.

Jordan officially cuts administrative ties with the West Bank in 1988.

In 1989, after bloody demonstrations over high living costs, King Hussein agrees to democratic reforms.

Elections are held in 1993, with independents supportive of Hussein prevailing. The prime minister and cabinet are chosen by the king.

In 1994, the United States oversees the signing of a peace treaty between Israel and Jordan.

King Hussein dies of cancer on February 7, 1999, leaving the throne to his son Abdullah II.

The early years of Abdullah's reign are marked by the war in neighbouring Iraq, which sends a wave of Iraqi refugees into the kingdom.

In November 2005, an Islamist bomb attack at a wedding reception in an Amman hotel leaves 36 dead, while more than 20 others are killed in bombings of two other hotels.

In January 2011, in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings, mainly Islamist opposition activists begin regular protests to demand reforms.

Later that year, thousands protest against an increase in energy prices, with some demanding the removal of the king -- unprecedented in Jordan.

The war in neighbouring Syria sends hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing to Jordan.

In June 2018, prime minister Hani Mulki resigns after days of popular protest against proposed tax reforms and energy price increases.

Protests continue under new premier Omar al-Razzaz and, a year later, Human Rights Watch condemns Jordan for repressing opposition.

In September, Jordan joins a Washington-led coalition against the Islamic State group in conflict-strewn Syria.

Four months later, IS jihadists burn a captured Jordanian pilot alive in a cage, sparking widespread horror.

Amman hangs two jihadists and steps up its support for the anti-IS coalition to Iraq.

In June 2016, an IS suicide bomber kills seven Jordanian soldiers near the Syrian border.

Six months later, IS fighters attack a tourist site near Kerak, killing seven police officers, two Jordanians and a Canadian tourist.

On April 3, Abdullah II's half-brother Prince Hamzah, a former crown prince, is accused of plotting against the king and put under house arrest. He accuses Jordan's governors of corruption and incompetence.

Abdullah says Wednesday that the crisis -- which he claims involves foreign parties -- is over and "the sedition has been nipped in the bud".

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(Published 09 April 2021, 04:06 IST)

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