Ajloun

Ajloun (Arabic: عجلون, ‘Ajlūn or Ajlōn), also spelled Ajlun, is the capital town of the Ajloun Governorate, a hilly town in the north of Jordan, located 76 kilometers (around 47 miles) north west of Amman. It is noted for its impressive ruins of the 12th-century Ajloun Castle.

There are eight districts in the Greater Ajloun Municipality:

In 1596, during the Ottoman Empire, Ajloun was noted in the census as being located in the nahiya of Ajloun in the liwa of Ajloun. It had a population of 313 Muslim households, and 20 Muslim bachelors, in addition to 2 Christian households. They paid taxes on various agricultural products, including olive trees, vineyards, fruit trees, vegetables and fruit garden, orchards, bayt al-mal wa mal ga'ib, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a market toll and water mill; a total of 14,500 akçe.

In 1838 Ajloun's inhabitants were predominantly Sunni Muslims and Greek Christians.

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 5,390 inhabitants in Ajloun, of whom 2,023 were Christians.

According to the Jordan national census of 2015, the population of the town of Ajloun was 148,870. For Ajloun Governorate as a whole, the population was about 176,080 in 2015. Muslims make up the majority of Ajloun's population. They live alongside the Christian population. The governorate of Ajloun is highly agricultural.

There is a theory that the town's name is connected with the Moabite King Eglon mentioned in the Bible, though the precise derivation is obscure.

Ajlun Castle is located on the site of an old monastery. It was renovated as a fort in 1184 by Izz al-Din Usama, a general in the army of Saladin. The castle controlled traffic along the road connecting Damascus and Egypt. The fortress marks the furthest limit of Frankish incursions during the Crusades. The Mamluks added a prominent tower to the castle. It was captured by the Mongols in 1260 and was partially destroyed in the process. Great damage was done by the Galilee earthquake of 1837 and the 1927 Jericho earthquake.