As-Salt ( As-Salt), also known as Salt, is an ancient trading city and administrative centre in west-central Jordan. It is on the old main highway leading from Amman to Jerusalem. Situated in the Balqa highland, about 790–1,100 metres above sea level, the city is built in the crook of three hills, close to the Jordan Valley. One of the three hills, Jabal al-Qal'a, is the site of a 13th-century ruined fortress. It is the capital of Balqa Governorate of Jordan. The Greater Salt Municipality has about 107,874 inhabitants (2018). In 2021, the city of Salt was inscribed at the UNESCO World Heritage list. Etymology The name "Salt" is derived from the Latin word saltus, which means "forest". History It is not known when the city was first inhabited, but it is believed to have been built by the Macedonian army during the reign of Alexander the Great. The city was known as Saltus in Byzantine times and was the seat of a bishopric. At this time, the city was considered to be the principal settlement on the East Bank of the Jordan River. The settlement was destroyed by the Mongols and then rebuilt during the reign of the Mamluk sultan Baibars (1260–1277). Salt was once the most important settlement in the area between the Jordan Valley and the eastern desert. Because of its history as an important trading link between the eastern desert and the west, it was a significant place for the region's many rulers. The Romans, Byzantines and Mameluks all contributed to the growth of the city, but it was at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, when the Ottomans established a regional administrative capital in Salt and encouraged settlement from other parts of their empire, that Salt enjoyed its most prosperous period. Ottoman period In 1596, during the Ottoman Empire, Salt was noted in the census as being located in the nahiya of Salt in the liwa of Ajlun, with a Muslim population of 40 households and 5 bachelors; and a Christian population of 25 households. The villagers paid a fixed tax-rate of 25% on various agricultural products; including wheat, barley, olive trees/vineyards, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues and a market toll; a total of 12,000 akçe. By the end of the 18th century, Salt was the sole permanent settlement in the Balqa region, a situation which persisted