The turbulent political history of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a reflection of the country’s geopolitically strategic location in the north-western corner of the Arabian Peninsula. Jordan is bounded by Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf of Aqaba, Israel, and the West Bank – an area previously held by Jordan that has been occupied by Israel since 1967. The land was ruled by foreign powers until the early twentieth century, when under British mandate, Abdallah, son of a prominent Arab leader in Mecca, was offered the territory east of the Jordan River. Upon independence in 1946 and as a result of the escalating conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians, Jordan received a very large refugee population and became entangled in the conflict. King Hussein’s considerable efforts to negotiate and resolve the issue led to a peace treaty with Israel in 1994. The succession of his son, Abdallah, in 1999, has helped stabilize the political and economic situation in the country.