The provincial town of Umm al-Jimal, 50km northeast of
Amman, was garrisoned by Roman soldiers from about 200 AD onward.
This triggered an expansion of trade and commerce, until by 500 AD
the town could boast a population of three or four thousand people.
The precincts were gradually abandoned following the 7th century
Arab conquest and 8th century earthquakes, although they were
briefly re-occupied by the French Army in the 1920s,
and by the Druze in the 1930s.
Little is known of pre-historical times in Umm el-Jimal, aside from few
scattered remains of what appear to be settlements of wandering
nomadic/hunting tribes. In some of these places it is possible to find
chert napping stones and some prehistoric tools.
