ABSTRACT

The Christian tribes of Al-Karak have a long history of mutual tolerance, co-operation, and association with the local Muslim tribes. From the point to the reoccupation of the region by the Ottomans in 1893, the history of Al-Karak is the history of local tribal politics, relations with the neighbours of Al-Karak, new tribes entering the area, and the rise of the Majaly tribe to power. In the contemporary period, the political history and major socio-economic trends of the Kingdom of Jordan are sufficiently recorded. Agriculture has always been and is the economic base and principal economic activity in Al-Karak. In the contemporary period, however, other forms of economic occupation have increased, especially in the town, further differentiating it from the remainder of the district and its villages. Besides the demographic data, the chapter discusses the some major patterns: the broad ownership of land; and the improving economic position of the peasant and his escape from the usurers.