Tafilah Postal code

About Tafilah

Tafilah is one of Jordan's governorates, situated around 180 kilometres south of Amman, the country's capital.
Tafilah Governorate is bounded on the north by Karak Governorate, on the east and south by Ma'an Governorate, on the south by Aqaba Governorate, and on the west by Israel. This province covers 2.5 percent of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan's land area. It consists of three districts. As of 2005, the governorate's population was around 82,000 (1.6 percent of Jordan's population in 2005), distributed over 32 cities and villages ( making it the least populated governorate of Jordan).
As in other regions of the Levant, evidence of human occupation dating all the way back to the Palaeolithic era has been discovered in Tafilah Governorate. In 1984, archaeologists from the University of Arizona uncovered 90,000-year-old stone tools in caverns between Ain Defla and Hessa. Although no human remains from that period have ever been discovered, the discovery of ancient artefacts has provided scientists with a wealth of knowledge about the phases of human civilization in the Levant.
The Edomites have occupied Tafilah Governorate since the 11th century BC. Tafilah Governorate included the whole of the Edomites' stronghold, with the town of Busairah serving as their capital. Wadi al-Hasa (ancient Zered) constituted the border between Edom and the adjacent kingdom of Moab, and it continues to do so between Tafilah and Karak Governorates, although being officially part of Karak Governorate. Almost all settlements in Tafilah Governorate originate from the Edomite era, and the governorate's main city was known as Tophel in the Edomite period.
Edom often formed alliances with Moab and Ammon, and subsequently with the Nabataeans[dubious – discuss], until their demise at the hands of the Roman Empire. Later, the territory was administered by the Ghassanids, who were subject to Byzantine power.
It was then ruled by Muslims, save for a short period during the Crusades.
During the Arab Revolt, Arab soldiers seized the territory from the Ottomans at the Battle of Tafileh, owing to a "wonderful feat of arms." Arab troops launched a three-pronged assault: against Jurf al-Darwish Station east of Tafileh, headed by Sherif Nasir; on Shoubak, led by Sherif Abdul Mayin; and up the Wadi Araba, led by Sherif Mastur. On 25 January 1918, troops headed by T.E. Lawrence, Jaafar Pasha, and Prince Zeid bin Hussein defeated an attempt to seize Tafilah by 1000 Turkish soldiers led by Hamid Fakhri Pasha. Only 50 Turks escaped, while 250 were taken prisoner.
Tafilah Governorate's population is predicted to be about 81,000 in 2008. According to the 2004 Jordanian National Census, Tafilah Governorate had a population of 75,267 people residing in the city of Tafilah and 31 smaller towns and villages, of which 73,767 were Jordanians (98 percent ). Males outnumbered females 51 to 49. District population estimates based on census data