Independence stamps of Jordan 1946

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan became an independent state on 25 May 1946. On the same day, the Jordanian postal administration issued the independence stamps of Jordan. It is a set of nine stamps, showing the map of the kingdom with the inscription “Commemoration of Independence” and “24 Jumada 2 1365 – 25 May 1946”.

Jordan 1946 - Independence stamps YT 184 — Independence stamps 1946 – YT 184

Until World War I, the territory of Jordan was part of the Ottoman Empire for more than four centuries, and was occupied by the British troops during the war.

Jordan 1946 - Independence stamps YT 185 — Jordan 1946 – YT 185

Jordan 1946 - Independence stamps YT 186 — Jordan 1946 – YT 186

After World War I:

In April 1920, the principal allied powers of World War I, Britain, France, Italy and Japan, held a conference in San Remo, Italy. The allied powers decided to devide the arab territories of the Ottoman empire into different entities. At the end of the conference, France obtained a mandate over Syria (including present-day Lebanon), Britain obtained a mandate over Palestine (including present-day Jordan) and Iraq.

The territory of Jordan was under the administration of the Arab Kingdom of Syria established by prince Faisal Ibn Al-Hussein in Damascus, from October 1918 until the french occupation of Damascus in July 1920.

Creation of Transjordan and British mandate:

In November 1920, the prince Abdullah Ibn Al-Hussein (1882-1951) entered the city of Ma’an in the south of Jordan with hundreds of combattants and was welcommed by the population, then entered Amman on 2 March 1921 to the cheers of the people.

The same month, the British colonial administration held a conference on the Middle East in Cairo and Jerusalem, from 12 to 30 March 1921. After a meeting between Winston Churchill, then Britain’s Colonial Secretary and Emir Abdullah in Jerusalem, it was mutually agreed that Transjordan was accepted into the British mandatory area as an Arab country apart from Palestine under the nominal rule of Prince Abdullah ibn Al-Hussein. After his return from Jerusalem, Emir Abdullah was appointed as Emir of TransJordan and formed his first government on April 11th, 1921.

On August 12, 1922, the League of Nations recognized Transjordan as an independent state and put it under British mandate.

The independence:

In March 1946, British government accepted the principle of the independence of Transjordan. Transjordan parliament meeting on 25 May 1946, proclaimed the independence of the country under the name of the Hashemite kingdom of Transjordan, and recognized the Emir Abdullah as its first king.

The country’s name changed to the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan in 1949.