Jordan or Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, kingdom in the Middle East. Its full official name is Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Arabic Al Mamlakah al Urdunniyah al Hashimiyah). The term Hashemite refers to the Jordanian monarchy’s claim of descent from Hashim, the grandfather of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam.

Jordan’s arid desert landscape and few natural resources belie its importance in the history of the modern Middle East. The territory was part of the Ottoman Empire, which was dismantled after World War I (1914-191 cool and replaced, in this part of the Middle East, by British and French control. Transjordan—the territory east of the Jordan River—came under British control, as did Palestine to the west of the Jordan River. Transjordan’s status as an independent kingdom was recognized in 1946 (the kingdom’s name was changed to Jordan in 1949).