Рабба: История и современность города в Иордании

Town in Karak Governorate, Jordan

Rabba (الربة) is a town in Jordan in the Karak Governorate. As ancient Areopolis, it is a former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see. Rabba lies about 15 kilometers north of the city of Al Karak. It had a population of about 7200 in 2015.

Rabba lies on the historical King's Highway. It is situated on a thin semi fertile plain, giving way to Wadi Ibn Hammad in the west, and the desert in the east. Located near the northern edge of the town is the Farming College, a branch of Mu'tah University.

Rabba was formerly known as Rabbath Moab. In the Hellenistic and Roman times it was called Areopolis, its Greek name. It was one of the two leading cities of the Karak Plateau at this time. Eusebius, who cited the terrifying nature of the place, Hierocles and Stephen of Byzantium, Sozomen and also the Notitia Dignitatum The town is shown on the Tabula Peutingeriana and the Madaba map and is attested to on numerous milestones. Areopolis also minted its own coin between 193 and 222 CE.

In 1321 Abu'l Fida noted: "Maab, or Ar Rabba lies in the Balka Province. According to the 10th century Arab geographer al Muhallabi, this place and Adhruh are two towns in the Jabal Ash Sharah.} Maab was a very ancient town the relics of which have completely disappeared, and in its place is a village called Ar Rabbah. It is in the district of Al Karak, and lies about half a day's march from this to the north. Near Ar Rabbah is an extremely high hill, called Shaihan, which you see from afar."

In 1596 it appeared in the Ottoman tax registers named as Kafr Rabba, situated in the nahiya (subdistrict) of Karak, part of the Sanjak of Ajlun. It had 16 Muslim and 3 Christian households. They paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, vineyards/fruit trees, goats and bee hives; in addition to occasional revenues. The total tax was 12,000 akçe.

In 1961 there were 1,073 inhabitants in Rabba, of whom 200 were Christian.

Rabba is home to Nabatean, Roman and Byzantine ruins, which are located along the main street in the center of town. They consist of the remains of a Roman temple dedicated to the emperors Diocletian and Maximian, a Byzantine church and a cavernous ancient reservoir. There are many smaller ruins scattered all over town albeit not as extensive.

Rabba was traditionally populated largely by the Majali and Zureikat families, the first of which has considerable political influence in the country. However, since the establishment of Israel in 1948, many Palestinians, who left their homes in Palestine, settled in Rabba as well, now accounting for about a third of the town's population.

The economy in Rabba is largely agrarian, and relies greatly on seasonal crops such as wheat and oats. Many people own sheep goats or cattle.