Ma'an (Arabic: معان) is a city in southern Jordan 218 km away from the capital Amman. It is the capital of Ma'an Governorate. The modern city has a population of around 50,000. The city had a population of 22,989 in the 1992 census and is calculated as being 27,573 in 2007.[1] Civilizations with the name of Ma'an have existed since at least Nabatean times - the modern city is to the north and west of the ancient town. The city is an important transport hub situated on the ancient King's Highway and also on the modern Desert Highway. Ma'an was the site of clashes between the Jordanian army and Islamic groups in 2002 after the death of a U.S. diplomat.
Ma'an has two main groups of clans, Al-Hejazeen (from Hejaz in Saudi Arabia) and Al-Shameen (from Sham or modern day Syria).
