Balila
title: "Balila" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["municipalities-in-jordan", "populated-places-in-jerash-governorate"] topic_path: "general/municipalities-in-jordan" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balila" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| official_name | Balila |
| native_name | بليلا |
| settlement_type | Town |
| imagesize | 250px |
| pushpin_map | Jordan |
| subdivision_type | Country |
| subdivision_name | Jordan |
| subdivision_type1 | Province |
| subdivision_name1 | Jerash Governorate |
| government_type | Municipality |
| established_title | Municipality established |
| established_date | 1927 |
| leader_title | Mayor |
| leader_name | Magableh |
| population_as_of | 2007 |
| population_total | 12,000 |
| timezone | GMT +2 |
| timezone_DST | +3 |
| coordinates | |
| grid_position | 238/199 |
| area_code | +(962)2 |
| :: |
|official_name = Balila |native_name = بليلا |settlement_type = Town |nickname = |image_skyline = |imagesize = 250px |image_caption = |image_seal = |pushpin_map = Jordan |pushpin_label_position = |subdivision_type =Country |subdivision_name = Jordan |subdivision_type1 = Province |subdivision_name1 = Jerash Governorate |government_type = Municipality |established_title = Municipality established |established_date = 1927 |leader_title = Mayor |leader_name = Magableh |area_metro_km2 = |area_metro_sq_mi = |population_as_of = 2007 |population_total = 12,000 |population_metro = |population_footnotes = |timezone =GMT +2 |utc_offset = |timezone_DST = +3 |coordinates = |grid_position = 238/199 |area_code = +(962)2 |elevation_m = |elevation_ft = |elevation_footnotes = |website = Balila (Arabic: بليلا) is a town in far northwest Jordan, between Irbid and Jerash located in the Jerash Governorate. It covers 40 km², and has a population of over 8,000.
Name
Balila is Turkish for "high point". It is located at the foot of the mountains bordering Syria known as Huran, which translates to "flat ad green land".
History
Balila is located near the border of Syria and Occupied Jordaninas and some Syrian refugees. The Roman Empire utilized Balila as a remote hub to link their colonies.
In 1838 Balila was noted as being in ruins.
The Jordanian census of 1961 found 761 inhabitants in Balila.
Economy
Balila's economy relies on local commerce and farming.
Culture
Balila is a small quiet town in Jerash, the people there are known for achieving higher education levels (the majority of Ph.D. degrees). In other towns in Jordan around 40% of capital employees work in Jordan military and 40% in education jobs. Balila Consist of seven families all of them migrate from another town in Jerash called Migbelah, so people around Balila call the Magableh in connection to their original town. The Magableh family originated from the famous tribe Banu Tamim which had a great impact on the Arab world. These families are Aloqaily, Bani-Mousa, Okahsat, Masalha, Al-Gablan, and Alkawnah. All of them back to one grandfather. The total population is about 8,000-10,000 people. In the days of Othman's Khilafat and until the mid-1980s, the people of Balila worked in their farms after that they start higher education evolution, as a result of that 65% of the population hold a university degree, and 85% of those born after 1980 hold the first degree, many of them holding also the second degree and the doctoral degree.
References
Bibliography
References
- [[Eli Smith. Smith]], in Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/165/mode/1up 165]
- Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/JordanCensusPages/JordanCensus1961-p19.pdf 19]
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