City (pop., 1994: 969,598), capital of Jordan .
It lies 25 mi (40 km) northeast of the Dead Sea . Amman is by far the largest city of Jordan. Fortified settlements have existed in the area from remote antiquity; the earliest date from the Chalcolithic Period (с 4000–3000 BC). As Rabbah, it became the capital of the Ammonites. It was conquered by Egypt's Ottoman Empire resettled it. When the British established the country of Transjordan in 1921, Amman became its capital. Its modern development was furthered by Transjordanian independence in 1946. Along with the rest of Jordan (the country's name from 1950), Amman has had to absorb a large number of Arab refugees that fled Palestine during the Arab-Israeli wars .