Jordan (Arabic: الأردنّ‎ al-'Urdunn), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country inWestern Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba. Jordan shares borders with Syria to the north, Iraq to the northeast, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, the Gulf of Aqaba to the southwest, and Israel and the West Bank to the west. It shares control of the Dead Sea with Israel. Much of Jordan is covered by desert, particularly the Arabian Desert; however the north-western area, with the Jordan River, is regarded as part of the Fertile Crescent. The capital city of Amman is in the north-west.During its history, Jordan has seen numerous civilisations, including such ancient eastern ones as the Canaanite and later other Semitic peoples such as the Edomites, and the Moabites. Other civilisations possessing political sovereignty and influence in Jordan were: Akkadian, Assyrian,Judean, Babylonian, and Persian empires. Jordan was for a time part of Pharaonic Egypt, theHasmonean Dynasty of the Maccabees, and also spawned the native Nabatean civilisation which left rich archaeological remains at Petra. Cultures from the west also left their mark, such as theMacedonian, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Turkish empires. Since the seventh century the area has been under Muslim and Arab cultures, with the exception of a brief period when the west of the area formed part of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and a short time under British rule.The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a constitutional monarchy with representative government. The reigning monarch is the head of state, the chief executive and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The king exercises his executive authority through the prime ministers and the Council of Ministers, or cabinet. The cabinet, meanwhile, is responsible before the democratically elected House of Deputies which, along with the House of Notables (Senate), constitutes the legislative branch of the government. The judicial branch is an independent branch of the government.Jordan is a modern Arab nation with a predominantly middle class population that lacks the vast wealth of some of its neighbors. Jordan's population is 92% Sunni Muslim with a small Christian minority. Jordanian society is predominantly urbanized and very ethnically diverse. Jordan is classified as an emerging market by the CIA factbook. Jordan is a pro-Western regime that has very close relations with the West especially with the United States, the United Kingdom andFrance. Jordan became a major non-NATO ally in 1996. Jordan is one of only two Arab nations, the other being Egypt, that has relations with Israel[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. It is a founding member of the Arab League[12][13] and the CAEU, a member of the OIC[14][15], theWTO[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24], the AFESD[25], the Arab Parliament[26], the AIDMO[27], theAMF[28], the IMF[29][30], the International Criminal Court[31], the UNHRC[32], the GAFTA, theESCWA[33], the ENP[34][35][36] and the United Nations[37]. Jordan is also currently undergoing close integration with the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Jordan expects to receive "advanced status" with the EU by 2011. [38]