Human Settlements in Liwa Ajlun and the Southern Part of Hurran District in the End of 16th Century (1596 A.D)

Abstract

Abstract In 1596, Syria was ruled over by the Ottoman Empire, and it was subdivided into six administrative districts: Quds As-sharif, Nablus, Gazza, Lajjun, Ajlun and Sam As-sharif.This study is conducted to know both the nature of the administrative divisions in Syria, in general, and the region of the study in particular, and to determine the amount of taxes paid, the number and names of the human settlements in Liwa Ajlun and the Southern Part of Hurran district, the number of which was 335 settlements inhabited by 10183 families. The significance of this study is endorsed by the fact that this region with its settlements in question not only enhanced the Empire income with taxes paid then, but it also formed the Jordanian political identity in 1921, known as The Emirate of Trans-Jordan, and later, in 1946 as The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The researcher adopted the descriptive analytical approach to analyze the information, data, and statistics about the region sorted out in tables and maps that summarize the objectives clearly. The study came up with findings and recommendations that may contribute, even partly, to the progress of academic research in the cultural aspect of Historical Geography.