Tafilah
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Tafilah (Tafila) مدينة الطفيلة Tophel (in Edomite) |
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 Tafilah (Tafila)
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| Coordinates: 30°50′24″N 35°36′0″E / 30.84000°N 35.60000°E | ||
| Country | Jordan | |
| Province | Tafilah Governorate | |
| Founded | 1100 B.C. | |
| Municipality established | 1914 | |
| Government | ||
| • Type | Municipality | |
| • Mayor | Khalid Huneifat | |
| Area | ||
| • City | 18.518 km2 (7.150 sq mi) | |
| • Metro | 38.771 km2 (14.970 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 940 m (3,080 ft) | |
| Population (2009) | ||
| • City | 38,428 | |
| • Metro | 110,000 | |
| Time zone | GMT +2 | |
| • Summer (DST) | +3 (UTC) | |
| Area code(s) | +(962)3 | |
| Website | http://www.tafila.jo | |
At-Tafilah (Arabic: الطفيلة), also spelled Tafila, is a town with a population of 39,000 people in southern Jordan, located 183 kilometers (114 mi) southwest of Amman. It is the capital of Tafilah Governorate. It is well known for having green gardens which contain olive and fig trees, and grape-vines. Tafilah was first built by the Edomites and was called Tophel.
There are more than 360 natural springs in the at-Tafilah area, including the natural reservoir of Dana and hot natural springs at Afra and Borbeata. There are two phosphate and cement mines in at-Tafilah which are one of the country's main income sources.
As with other parts of the Levant, signs of habitation in Tafilah Governorate have been found dating from the Palaeolithic periods.
In 1984 a team of archeologists from the University of Arizona discovered stone tools estimated at 90,000 years old in caves in Ain Defla and Hessa. Although no human remains could ever be found dating from that era, the discoveries of prehistoric tools supplied scientists with much information about human civilization stages in the Levant
The oldest known civilization to establish a kingdom on Tafilah soils was that of Edom, and Tafilah lies on the ruins of the Edomite city of Tophel. The capital of Edom was at Busairah 23 km to the south of Tafilah. The Edomites often allied with their neighbors in Moab. Tafilah was then annexed to the Nabatean kingdom who had their capital in Petra. Following the Roman invasion, it was ruled by the Ghassanids, under Rome's authority.
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Wikipedia